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Friday, September 3, 2010
The Three Rs of Lettering
Part One: Richard Starkings
With the Comic-con International approaching at an alarming rate, I’ve asked my friend Jason Hanley to step in and focus on something he knows well but most of us ignore… lettering. Jason is quite the letterer himself and I’m sure you will be seeing more of him very soon. This is the first part of three pieces Jason is doing on the topic, he will be interviewing Robbie Robinson of IDW Publishing, Robin Spehar of Dreamer Design and, of course, he starts with the immortal Richard Starkings of Comicraft. Enjoy – Dan W. The 3 "R's" of Lettering Part One. A Letterer is something of an enigma. If a Letterer has done his job well, his work may go completely unnoticed; the reader is simply too immersed in the story. Lettering may seem like the least important step in the creation process of a comic book, but it is in fact the determining factor in how a comic is read, and, more importantly, whether or not it is enjoyed. So, it could be said that the duty of a Letterer is to stay out of the spotlight. The forgotten cousin of comic creation. There are, however, several of these mysterious creatures that have distinguished themselves in the craft. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to ask a few questions to the finest in the business. This week, we'll be chatting it up with one of those fine gentlemen, Richard Starkings. Hanley: Why letter comic books? What’s in it for you? Starkings: I'm not really sure I can answer that for myself. Over the twenty years (gasp!) I've been lettering comics, I have noticed that I have some of the qualities and characteristics I see in writers and also some of the qualities and characteristics I see in artists. I think you need to be a little of both to best understand the American production line process that most people think of as "The Comic Book Industry." Writers tend to be more concerned with getting their ideas across, and use the placement of captions and balloons to help create the pace and rhythm of their story; artists are thinking more about time and place, or the atmosphere of a scene and look at captions and balloons as graphic elements that contribute towards the mood they're trying to evoke. Somewhere in the middle there, the job of the letterer is to meet the needs of both the writer and the artist. When you're working with the right team -- like Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale or Alan Moore and Brain Bolland -- lettering comic books is just an absolute pleasure. Hanley: Where did you get your start in the business? Starkings: Working at my brother's table at the Liverpool Bluecoat Chambers Comic Mart when I was ten. Even though I was just helping out, it helped me to realize that you could make a living working in "The Comic Book Industry," And it was fun to hang out with my brother and talk about Spider-man and Captain America. Years later I lettered strips for WARRIOR and TRANSFORMERS and eventually got myself a job designing and pasting up SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY at Marvel UK, long before computers made the task a million times easier. And yer try tellin' that to these young 'uns today... Hanley: What are some of your other duties when creating a comic? Starkings:Making cups of tea and fetching bags of Famous Amos cookies for myself and fellow Comicraftsmen from the fridge in the garage! Meeting the outrageous demands of overworked and under appreciated editors on a daily basis! Listening to the hopes and fears and Big Ideas of jaded colleagues and young hopefuls. Hanley: Explain the process a bit. How do YOU letter a page? Starkings:I find that explaining process tends to get in the way of process. If anyone really wants to know how to get started, John "JG" Roshell and I wrote a book, Comic Book Lettering, The Comicraft Way, just so we didn't have to answer this kind of question ever again! Hanley: Fair enough. I've got that book, by the way. Fantastic stuff. Would you say there's a best method of placing the words on the page? Starkings:It's very intuitive. I rarely follow placements sent by editors and writers unless they also have a good sense of pacing. It's very difficult for me to read comic books with bad balloon placement. Again, when you're part of a team where the writer knows how much to write and the artist knows how much room to leave for copy, it's like falling off a log. Jim Lee, Joe Madureira and J Scott Campbell are extremely easy to letter, they're masters and they're always thinking about all aspects of the story; I try to do the same. Hanley: What’s the toughest part about lettering? Starkings:The deadlines. You're always the guy who has to pick up the slack. I created the Comicraft studio so that I wasn't working till midnight every night just to meet deadlines. Hanley: Have you ever had to “bend the rules” to get the job done? Starkings:If you're good at your job, you're always bending the rules. When I was starting out, I frequently (shock! horror!) rewrote and trimmed dialogue, as I was working with a lot of young writers and artists who hadn't developed a good sense of what would fit on a page. I'm not quite so presumptuous these days, but the creators who trust my judgement often allow me to become more creatively involved in certain aspects of the process. Once you've developed strong friendships with colleagues, it's only natural that you exchange ideas and make suggestions that influence and affect one another. Hanley: What are your thoughts on the use of "Thought Balloons?" Starkings: Thinks: Bring 'em back! A comics a comic! Internal narratives are just "sophisticated" thought balloons. Bring the children back -- when I was a kid, the concept of reading someone's thoughts was just mind-blowing, I loved it! Most of the trendy writers today take their work waaaaaaay too seriously. Lighten up -- comics should be fun! Hanley: Are there any exemplary pieces of work out there that an up-and-coming Letterer should look at for inspiration? Starkings:Less and less now that mainstream companies are adopting a one-font-fits-all philosophy. THE SPIRIT is a goldmine of inspiration, as is Barry Smith's CONANs and his WEAPON X book, Tom Orzechowski's work on WARLOCK and the Byrne/Claremont UNCANNY X-MEN and Steve Craddock's brilliant lettering for the Moore/Davis/Delano CAPTAIN BRITAIN stories. My current favorite is Paul Grist on JACK STAFF, just amazing. Great story, great comic, great coloring and great lettering. Fun all the way. Hanley: Any final words of wisdom for someone trying to break into Lettering? Starkings: Do what you love, the money will follow; everything comes to he that hustles while he waits. Read everything you can get ahold of that gives you even half a clue. I almost have a whole clue now. Hanley: Thank-you for taking the time, Richard. And thank-you, kind reader. Next week, we'll be talking to IDW Publishing's Robbie Robbins about the thrills and chills of lettering the IDW comic line. Until then, Take care. - Jason
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April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
