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Friday, September 3, 2010
How Big Are Your Thumbnails?
A conversation with Dale Eaglesham
How Big Are Your Thumbnails?
A Conversation with Dale Eaglesham
By Michael May
Dale Eaglesham has large shoes to fill. He’s following the very talented and imaginative Scot Eaton as regular penciler on CrossGen’s space opera series Sigil. Not to worry, though. Dale’s got some experience drawing big, cosmic stories. About a year and a half of Green Lantern worth. And not only is he familiar with the genre, but working with Sigil writer Chuck Dixon is a sort of homecoming for Dale as well. His first published comics story was written by Chuck Dixon for Savage Sword of Conan. Dale’s first Sigil issue is #36 and came out last month. Dale was kind enough to put down his busy pencil for a bit and chat with us about working with Chuck, drawing space opera, how Sam Rey is similar to Conan and the Punisher, and yes, the size of his thumbnails.
Michael May (CWN): How is it working with Chuck again? Is it as cool as you remembered?
Dale Eaglesham (Dale): I always seem to do my best stuff on Chuck Dixon stories. Unfortunately, I’ve only worked with Chuck sporadically over the years.
My first professional story was a Chuck Dixon Kull story that appeared in the back pages of Savage Sword of Conan. I inked my own pencils on that story, for the first and last time, so maybe it’s a good thing that it was buried in the back! Kidding aside, I’m proud of those early Kull and Conan stories. Being the dedicated escapist that I am, those Kull and Conan stories were exactly what I needed. Chuck’s were some of the best written.
One thing that hasn’t changed with Chuck over the years is that he tells his stories with visuals as much as he does with text and dialogue. Chuck’s not the kind of writer who feels he isn’t writing unless he’s writing dialogue and text. He’s not afraid to go quiet in his scenes and let the art express what needs to be portrayed.
In 1993, I did “Cold Lands,” a Chuck Dixon Punisher story. I feel it’s my personal career best. For the first time in a long time, I feel that I am going to top that story. Actually, I think I am going to blow it away. I’ve got Chuck Dixon material every month now, and sooner or later I will beat that story. I’m looking forward to it.
CWN: You’re like the eight-billionth penciler who has worked with Chuck in the past who has now moved to CrossGen. Although I suppose given his body of work, it’s difficult to find someone who hasn’t worked with Chuck in the past, did Chuck help recruit you or is both of you ending up there a coincidence?
Dale: Chuck was definitely a player in that recruitment drive. We’ve worked together enough in the past that he knows what he’s going to get with me handling the pencils… lots of erasing. Kidding. According to Chuck, I was on a “very short list of one”. That’s a tremendous compliment.
CWN: Why do you think you were specifically chosen to follow Scot Eaton on Sigil? Did your work on Green Lantern have anything to do with it or was it your overall style or approach or something else?
Dale: I work in a realistic style, but it’s not a stiff kind of realism. It’s the kind of “heroic” style befitting the giant epic that is Sigil. Sigil is also a very tough book to work on. Being sci-fi/fantasy, there is constant design work to do on ships, architecture and body armor. They needed a hard working penciler like Scot Eaton to take over this book. I think the company as a whole seeks tenacious, industrious and hard working artists to work on its books. That’s the only way I can explain the amazing quality they bring to each of their titles month after month. As any follower of the GL MB’s can attest, I do work hard and I am utterly dedicated and loyal to my book, my team and my readers. I will go the extra nine yards every time. That’s one of the big reasons that CG hired me. 
I also think they hired me based upon my GL work. What they may not have realized is that I have a history with characters just like Samandahl Rey. My two favorite characters are Conan and the Punisher. Sam is made from the exact same mold as those two characters. Huge, muscular brooding giants that explode into action. I love drawing characters like that. I never really got to do that on GL and I feel like I’ve jumped back in time to those old days. If they were aware of that old stuff, and it’s possible Chuck may have shown it to them, that would definitely have been another reason they hired me for Sigil.
CWN: You worked on a lot of books for various publishers before moving to CrossGen. What was your favorite pre-CrossGen comics experience, creatively speaking?
Dale: It’s tough to choose, so I’ll give a few of my favorites.
“Masque of the Demon”, was a fifty-page Conan story I did for Savage Sword of Conan. That would turn out to be the last Conan story I was to pencil. I’m glad it was. Conan was the reason I got into comics in the first place and so it made for a fine fare-thee-well to Conan.
I drew two Punisher favorites that were both Chuck Dixon stories. The first was the “Cold Lands” story I mentioned before. The second was a story called “Hurt So Good,” featuring the character called Thorn (a mobster turned zombie called Sal Carbone). I always thought Thorn would have made a great Punisher.
The third is a series I did with John Arcudi for Dark Horse comics called “The Creep”. It was a detective series that featured a man afflicted with acromegaly, a disease that distorts and enlarges the facial features. Oxel Karnhus is a hulking, terrifying looking guy who, in actuality, could be beaten up by a twelve-year-old girl. Acromegaly leaves the bones soft and brittle. I think this series is the one I’m the most proud of in my career. This one stands outside the superheroscape and was truly something different. I hope that someday John and I will be able to do some more of it.
CWN: What led you to CrossGen? Was that an easy or a difficult decision? Did you know much about Sigil before you were offered the job?
Dale: I was aware of CrossGen in general and the kinds of books they were producing before I was offered any work there. I was envious of the artists working there. The books were fantasy oriented and the kind of book no artist in his right mind would refuse to work on. The decision to work for CG was a really difficult one to make personally. It entails great personal upheaval because of the move to Florida (in another country) and the mega change of going to work in an office. Professionally, it was the easiest decision I ever made. I was being offered a sci-fi book, which I love, and its lead character, Sam, is a rough and tumble leviathan in the Frank Castle/Conan tradition. My short stint on Gotham Knights wasn’t enough to fulfill my quota of spectacular, muscular action. I feel right at home on this book.
CWN: Your first issue of Sigil hit the stands last month. How far ahead are you? How many issues of Sigil have you finished drawing so far? Do you feel pretty comfortable with the characters and setting already or is that going to take some more time?
Dale: As of this writing, issue #36 is out on the stands. I’m currently working my way through issue 38. Not a huge lead, but over time that lead will grow as it did on GL. Sigil has been a whole new challenge for me. I’m working harder than ever before because the demands of the book are much higher. I had developed a certain pace for the Green Lantern material, but the material wasn’t anywhere near as challenging. There’s going to have to be a period of adjustment.
That’s not to say I’ll eventually end up doing less to compensate for the more difficult material, but allow more time to get the job done. I’m learning as I go along. The same can be said for the characters. It takes me time to learn the characters and the various other visual facets of the book. I was comfortable with the characters right off the bat in the sense that I had worked with very similar characters before. I’ll need four or five issues before I really feel “in the groove”.
CWN: While Sigil and Green Lantern are both science fiction comics, there’s a huge difference between the two, especially in terms of setting. Green Lantern spends a lot of time on present day Earth, while Sigil is set in its own fantastic reality. That has to be an exciting change for you. Have you had a chance to really stretch your creative muscles as much as you’d hoped?
Dale: I was doing so right from the first issue I drew and it felt euphoric. I’d been feeling creatively stifled, smothered even, for a number of years now but when I drew issue 36, I was thinking “stories like this are the reason why I got into comics in the first place”. When I drew Tchlusarud in his triumphant procession down the street on page 11 of issue 36, it was a wonderful freeing experience for me. I haven’t used my imagination like that in a long time. I felt myself escaping into the imagery, enrapt in every aspect of the scene. Sci-fi comics is living art right on the edge where you can be in the zone one day and open up some marvelous alien vistas, and tumble down those copper dunes the next, mouth full of sand and completely lost as to how to approach that alien landscape or palace. You just ride the lightning of creativity and hope for more than just singed space pants. It’s pretty exciting.
CWN: When CrossGen first started releasing their trade paperbacks, they had a page in the back of each one that listed the various titles and to whom each might appeal. Stuff like, “If you like Tolkien, you’ll enjoy Sojourn” or “If you like Sherlock Holmes, you should read Ruse.” Using that basic approach, how would you characterize the target readership of Sigil?
Dale: If you like Andre Norton or Edgar Rice Burroughs you’ll love Sigil.
CWN: You mentioned that you were really looking forward to drawing Sam. Has he turned out to be your favorite character to draw or have you been surprised by another?
Dale: Sam all the way. I love those brooding, taciturn giants. Once upon a time, it wasn’t all that hard to penetrate Sam’s psyche. He was a very straight forward “get the job done” kind of guy. I would even describe him as a possessor of an energetic joy for life. Sam’s complexity began to deepen the day a being in the guise of a Saurian placed his talons on Sam’s chest and said, “You… you will find them, gather them, and lead them.” The responsibility of being a Sigil Bearer is changing Sam, making him darker, more complex and fascinating to work with. A close second is Tchlusarud. I haven’t worked with him nearly enough yet, but his character is utterly compelling to me. As a soldier he was commanding. As an emperor? Can’t wait to find out.
CWN: You kind of got to be known for putting Easter Eggs in your Green Lantern pages. Can Sigil readers look forward to that kind of thing? Are we going to see G’Nort in the background anytime soon?
Dale: I don’t think we’ll see G’nort in Sigil anytime soon. The one character deserving of cameos in Sigil is the little dino, Trouble. We last saw Trouble on Delassia where Zanni left him. Fans have been clamoring for his return, or at the least a cameo appearance, ever since. He will be making his return in Sigil #41 and I am truly looking forward to that!
CWN: Is there anything that you’re really hoping Chuck will throw into Sigil for you to draw? How much input do you have on what kinds of things get put into the story?
Dale: I won’t know how much input I’ll have in the story direction until I get there. For now, I’m isolated from the team way up here in Canada. I’m a huge fan of space adventure. I would like this comic to be about adventure and exploration as well as delivering solid war action. I would love to explore dead alien cities with towering spires, abandoned for thousands of years, its secrets whispering to us in the Andre Norton tradition. Expanding the crew of the Bitterluck with new characters would be lots of fun as well. I’m also looking to Chuck to cook up some truly insane, action imagery for me to draw. The more impossibilities it implies, the better. I’d also love to have that colossal action interspersed with some good emotional interactions between the characters.
CWN: Given your sword-and-sorcery roots at Savage Sword of Conan and CrossGen’s wide variety of fantasy titles, are there other CrossGen titles you’d like a shot at someday if the opportunity were to present itself?
Dale: Brath and Meridian would both be a treat to work on. Route 666 is also a book I’d love to do an issue of. I just love Carl Moline’s take on the setting and the characters.
CWN: What's your dream project? Is there a Holy Grail that you haven’t yet achieved in your career?
Dale: Absolutely. My career is marching inexorably in one specific direction. I have my own series that has been in the works for the last seven years. It’s a huge story that will take many years to tell. My dream is to produce this comic independently someday. It’s about magic in a small town and the story just seems to keep building. It’s a story that I have to tell before I leave this world. I might not have much time for it while I’m at CrossGen, but I’ll never, ever lose sight of it.
CWN: What’s the one question that no one’s ever asked you that you really want readers to know the answer to?
Dale: How big are your thumbnails? About 15 x 15 millimeters. |
April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
