EXTRA INTERVIEW:
RYAN SOOK [PART I]
BY JASON D. CROWE

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RYAN SOOK's dense, shadowy artwork has illustrated Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Superman: Man of Tomorrow, and Challengers of the Unknown. Currently, the 24-year-old artist is teamed with J.M. DeMatteis on DC's Spectre. This two-part interview gives you an overview of Ryan's ascending career.

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JC: Why'd you get into comics in the first place?

RS: When I was a little kid…my dad's a graphic designer, and he helped start a local TV station out here, and he's always been into the arts. And he collected comics as a kid and introduced me to comics when I was real young. And so I think that's…as soon as I saw them, I had a fascination with them, and always liked the art form, so that's kind of why.

JC: OK. So how did you end up getting your first job? Was that the fill-in on Challengers [of the Unknown]?

RS: Yeah.

JC: So how'd that come about?

RS: Actually, the editor at DC told me that Mignola…Mike Mignola had mentioned my name to him.

JC: Do you remember which editor that was?

RS: Yeah. His name was Dan Thorsland…He gave me my first job, and I guess Mignola had mentioned my name to him, and then I met him down in San Diego. I was showing my portfolio to my current editor, Dan Raspler, who did not like my stuff at all, at the time…and [Raspler] sent me over to Thorsland, and so I went over to Thorsland, and he said, "You know, I need a fill-in guy for Challengers, maybe I can give you a job." And so I called him and harassed him for about a month until he sent me a script, and then that's how I got my first job.

JC: When did it really sink in that you'd made that jump from a comic book fan to a comic book professional? When you got your check, or when you saw the issue, or what?

RS: When I saw the issue. I mean, every step of it was really that. I mean, you get a check in the mail that has Wonder Woman on the front of it…

JC: [laughs]

RS: I'm pretty sure I have a photocopy of that sitting around somewhere.

JC: Pasted up over your drawing board: "This is my first real comic check."

RS: I think I did, for a little while. I think I had it pinned to the wall, just because it was too cool. I couldn't really believe it. But…

JC: And then after that, it was just like every thing was new, and you…

RS: No, I did that, and I was supposed to be the regular fill-in guy on Challengers, until the book ended. Because they knew it was cancelled, so it was going to end around issue 15.

JC: Uh-huh.

RS: Or issue 18, or something like that. So I had a few more issues I was going to draw--and so I quit my day job--never heard back from the editor. He just kind of flaked on me. I called him all the time, and he called me and said, "Yeah, we keep getting the script coming. We've got a script coming." And then it never came, and Dan Thorsland no longer worked at DC [laughs], and I never got that job again. So I sat around for about four months, doing nothing. Waiting for a script, living off the check for one comic for that time, and then I had to go back and get a day job again.

JC: What was that day job that you quit and then went back to?

RS: Actually, I was working at the grocery store…and then I was working at a recycling plant when I started drawing Challengers of the Unknown. I was working at a, in a truck that recycled…[both laugh] I sat next to a rigged trailer, and people brought me their aluminum cans to recycle. I did that, and then when I went back to work, though, I started driving, delivering medical supplies in a van, all over the Bay Area.

JC: Right. And then after Challengers, you went right to the Buffy stuff, right? Or was there stuff [in] between?

RS: I did one short story for DC, for the Tangent Green Lantern thing. That was my next job, that was my second job, and I did it while I was working my day job. And…I got that job pretty much because Mick Gray, who lives locally, had seen my stuff somewhere, or something. And [he] told the editor on that book that he wanted to ink some of my stuff, so that's how I got that job. And that's also how I met Mick Gray, who's become a pretty good friend, so…

JC: Cool. So the Buffy stuff was really your first high-profile, "This is a Ryan Sook job," right?

RS: Yeah, I guess so. That's the first job that they pretty much let me do everything. But my first job at Dark Horse was with Mike Mignola, on the DHP story that we did together…

JC: Oh, the Gosbro Coffin stuff?

RS: Yeah. So that was the coolest thing ever, because, you know…

JC: Working with Mignola, right?

RS: Yeah! It's like, this guy I've been a fan of for so many years, and then all of a sudden, he's going to write a story for me to draw; it's just bizarre.

JC: [laughs] So when you were doing the Buffy stuff, what kind of challenges does that present? I mean, because that was really high-profile, there were likenesses you had to draw, and there was a big fan base, and a big studio. So what was that like, working on that book?

RS: You just nailed it. I mean, everything. [laughs] The likenesses, the fact that you're dealing with [a] TV audience, and TV writers, who don't normally write comics. Which is kind of a weird thing, too, because the scripts are very hard to translate. There was a lot of weird stuff with that, but it was a lot of fun, too. I mean, I think the thing was most difficult for me was trying to nail down how to draw the characters in a way that I felt fit into the way that I draw comfortably. But also would be something that fans could look at and say, "Oh that's Xander," or "Oh, that's Buffy," you know, and not "Wow, that's a really…who the hell is that?"

JC: [laughs]

RS: That was kind of tricky. But I got lots of reference, and I bought some videos, and sat there and studied the show and looked at how they made the show look. And just tried to make that, translate that feel to the comic.

JC: Gotcha. So then after that, you worked with [John] Arcudi on some of the Ragnok DHP stuff, right?

RS: Yeah, actually, right when I started drawing the Buffy books--the first thing, the Spike and Dru, stuff like that--Mike Mignola was talking to Arcudi and introduced us to each other, basically via phone. And he called me up with this idea about this character--this giant scarecrow warrior god-guy-- and wanted to know if I wanted to help him create it or create it with him. He had already created the characters and the stories, and wanted someone to visualize it, and I said, "Of course!" So we did, and Ragnok was--is--still one of the coolest things. It's too bad that it only ever appeared in DHP in three parts that didn't really make sense…[laughs] Because it was a prelude to a mini-series.

JC: Ah.

RS: That would've been fantastic, and probably, hopefully one day will be.

JC: Yeah. I mean that sounds like the sort of thing that maybe Oni would pick up, or some other company that specializes in the more off-beat stuff, fantasy, horror, things like that. So when you worked with Arcudi, he was kind of your mentor, or friend, or co-worker or what?

RS: I don't know. It's weird. Me and Arcudi and Mignola--my editor up at Dark Horse calls Mignola and Arcudi my "strange, protective uncles."

JC: "Strange, protective uncles?"

RS: [laughs] Yeah. Because they would call all the time. And I still always call them up and ask their advice about stuff, because they've been in the business for so long. They know what they're talking about. So they--I guess I'd consider them mentors, but they didn't do it in a, you know…

JC: In an obvious way?

RS: No. They were just--we're just friends.

JC: That's great.

RS: John's definitely one of my really good friends. And Mike's a really good friend, too. And, yeah, it was just cool. We just kind of hit it off on that level.

JC: How did you guys actually meet? I mean, did you just talk over the phone?

RS: I met--I was at a convention trying to get a job, and showing my stuff around. Showing my samples around. They were really awful.

JC: [laughs]

RS: And I was showing them to Dave Scroggy at Dark Horse, and he said, "You should show these to Mike Mignola, because he'd probably really like them." So I went over and I showed them to Mignola, and he really liked them! And a week later, after that convention, I got a call from Mike's editor, Scott Allie, and he said, "Hey, Mike showed me your stuff, and I really like it." And then Mike gave me his card, and said, "Send me more stuff and give me a call." And I gave him a call, and I sent him some stuff, and we just kind of hit it off like that, and kept talking ever since.

JC: Cool. So, bringing up Mike Mignola. I mean, obviously people compare your work to his, I would imagine. There are some similarities and some differences. So, how do you feel about that and how do you view your work compared to his? Does that ever come up for you?

RS: It comes up a lot. I think mostly just because…I like his stuff. He's my favorite guy working in comics right now; I'm gonna be as honest as I can about it. And that's the reason for the similarities. And I think the only other reason that people don't see any difference--a lot of people don't see any difference between our work--and I think the reason for that is most of the guys that I'm influenced by don't work in comics anymore. Or don't work in comics at all.

JC: Uh-huh.

RS: And Mignola and I both were influenced by a lot of the same guys. But really, I've learned a lot from him. I've learned a lot about drawing and a lot about storytelling from Mike, and I think he's just a really fantastic comic artist, so getting compared to him is a good thing. I don't take any offense to it. I think I might have at first, because I felt like, I'm my own artist, and all that kind of stuff. But I look at Mike's stuff, and I can say "Hey, that kind of looks Frazetta-esque," or "That looks kind of Kirby-esque." And I don't think he takes offense to it; those guys are great! You know…so that's kind of how it is, I guess. I'm happy to be compared to him.

JC: Well, it seems like to me, especially in the Spectre, your faces are maybe a little softer. There's a little bit more linework showing details or reflections or shadows, or things like that. The Spectre is actually your first real monthly assignment, right?

RS: Yes.

JC: You worked with DeMatteis before, on [Superman] Man of Tomorrow, correct?

RS: Mm-hmm.

JC: He requested you, actually, to be on the Spectre.

RS: Yeah. Well, I was doing--I think I sent some photocopies of some of the Buffy stuff that I did to Dan Raspler at DC. And he called me and asked me if I was doing anything and if we could line something up, and I wanted to. And he said, "OK, well, let's get you on something." And just so happens that at that time, DeMatteis had suggested they…DC was thinking about doing the Spectre--a new series--and DeMatteis asked for me, and Raspler was going to be the editor. So he called him, and said, "Well, let's do this. If you want to do something, let's do this." But at the time, I couldn't do it. I had to actually turn it down, originally--the Spectre series. And that's why Michael Zulli did the Legends of the DCU arc. And then after my schedule cleared up, and I was able to get out of my other contracts at Dark Horse, and finish up the work up there. They came back to me and said, "Do you want to start doing the Spectre now? And take it over right now, and we'll do this as a new series, and you can start it." And I was like, "Yes." I wanted to do it from the very get-go. DeMatteis is a great writer, it was flattering for him to ask for me on the book after I did the Superman book with him. Which was really great experience, so there was no way I could turn it down.

JC: Just really briefly, what do you see the Spectre series being about, really? Set it up for people who may not have picked it up.

RS: The Spectre series, it's not…it's weird, because I don't think it's what anybody expected it to be. I think a lot of people expected it to be Hal Jordan's…pathway to becoming the Green Lantern again. And some people expected it to be a horror comic about the Spectre, which was kind of what he was in the past. Some kind of cosmic, kind of wrath-of-God judgment. Turning into a giant stapler and stapling criminals to the sky, or something. [both laugh] But it's not that. What it is, is it's Hal Jordan's life, after being the Green Lantern, after living his life as a man. Now he's got this chance to redeem his… guilty conscience, all the crimes that he committed as a man, as Green Lantern--now he's got a chance to redeem himself using this power as the Spectre. And so, it's not, it's not like the old Spectre comics and it's not like Green Lantern--it's about a man, Hal Jordan, and his transformation from a superhero into a supernatural hero. And a more spiritual, cosmic kind of journey for him. And that's really what the book is about. It's about his journey into understanding why he did what he did when he was Green Lantern, where he's come from and how he's--he's got this power now--and how to use it to benefit mankind.

JC: It seems to me the book kind of has a little bit of a Starman flavor, where it's in the DC Universe, [but] it's kind of to the side, it's doing things a little bit differently. With the narrative and the issues it's tackling, like religion, and vengeance, and justice, and things like that. Is that your impression of the book? How do you see it just as reading a comic? What do you get out of it?

RS: Definitely. It's strange, because it's not a superhero comic. It's like you said, it's not a regular DCU book. As a matter of fact, a lot of people have said to me already, "I'm surprised it's not a Vertigo book. It seems like a Vertigo book." And I don't know if it seems like a Vertigo book to me, because it seems still really…it's really in touch with the DCU, because there's so much back story to it. And it still deals with…we still have Superman and Batman showing up, and really heroic adventure. But it's, yeah, I guess it is more related to the Starman kind of stuff. It's got it's own thing going on. It's there, but it's off to the side. You know, doing its' own thing.

JC: Since it's not really a Vertigo book, or a mature-readers book, there hasn't been any problem with the Comics Code, as far as drawing gruesome vengeance or anything like that?

RS: No. And the thing is, though, is me and DeMatteis--neither of us wants that in it. And I don't think there has been any of it, to any real degree. I mean, the most gruesome it gets is a hand and a drop of blood next to it on the ground. I try not to get gory, and I think DeMatteis tries not to get gory with it either. Because it's not really a horror comic. It's about a character, and these things happen, you know. So we're trying to deal with it in a way that…we don't have to worry about the Comics Code at all anyway. We don't want them to say, "You can't do this," or "You can't do that." We're just going to try and do it the way we want to do it from the get-go, which is without all that stuff. It doesn't have to be a mature-readers book.

JC: Working with DeMatteis, does he send you plots or scripts?

RS: He sends me plots.

JC: When you get the plot, how do you process it, how do you interpret it? What's your work starting point from there?

RS: Usually, I read the plot all the way through twice, maybe even three times. And then I go back and look at each page and I'll break it down in thumbnails in my sketchbook. Usually, the first week of an issue is the toughest. It takes me a long time to go through and figure out exactly how I'm gonna lay out each page and move stuff around. And then I dig around [for] reference, and all those sorts of things. Spectre shows up in WWII, in a war zone--I like to have reference on that. I don't want to fake it. So at the beginning of every issue, I spend about a week just laying it out. Going through the plot, laying out the page, and then digging up reference for whatever I need and then I can start drawing it.

JC: Would you consider yourself a perfectionist, or do you kind of have to abandon your art at a certain point? I mean, what [are] your work habits? Does that impact your art?

RS: Yeah. I look at it kind of two ways: there's the artist and then there's the illustrator. And the illustrator is a businessman. I get called, I have a deadline and I have to do this certain amount of work by that deadline--that's my job. And so as an illustrator, I have to have kind of a formula. I have to know what the figures are gonna look like, how to lay out a comic book page from left-to-right so that it can be read easily. And then there's the artist side, which is the side where I can do anything I want, and I'll experiment as much as I possibly can. So when I'm not working, if I'm doing art, I'm using any medium, anything I want. And I can always incorporate those things into the illustrator. And bring new things into my working, you know?

JC: So is it a constant struggle between the artist and the illustrator, to see who's going to be on top?

RS: I wouldn't say that, no. I would say it's more-- no, I wouldn't say that at all. I think illustrating, that's my job, and so I try and do the best I can. I'm a perfectionist in that sense. But I never feel like I'm not being creative or artistic in the work, I don't think. I always try and do that.

JC: How do you think your art's changed over the course of your career? What's it been, like three, three and a half years, something like that?

RS: Yeah. Well, every project, anyway, it's been really different. For me, anyway. I look at Ragnok, and it's completely different from you know, Buffy--the Ring of Fire graphic novel, and that's completely different from Challengers of the Unknown, and they're all really different to look at, to me. Other people might not notice the subtle differences, but to me, they're great differences. Just because of whatever tools I might have been using or whatever I might have been using at the time. And I think my art's changed quite a bit. I think now, working on the Spectre, my focus is more on storytelling and page design, than on getting the anatomy and the muscles in the exact right spot. Because I spent a lot of time doing that. And I still look back at it and go, "God, that's horrible." So that's how my art's changed. I think just the focus of what it is. I was more focused on the pure drawing of it early on, and now I'm more focused on telling a good story. And making it visually interesting, and not worrying about making it anatomically perfect.

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Come back next week for Part II of Jason Crowe's interview with Ryan Sook.

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