Interview: Brett Booth talks Batman/Superman

I recently caught up with DC Comics artist, Brett Booth, to talk about his new project, Batman/Superman, written by Greg Pak. Check out the interview below and enjoy!

 

The first thing to ask about is your upcoming project, Batman/Superman. What's it like to be drawing two of the greatest comic book characters of all time at the same time?

 

A lot of fun! I wasn't sure how it would go. I usually have problems when I first start working on the more iconic characters. And I did, but after that it's been mostly smooth sailing. I'm really enjoying Superman, I don't have to hold back, I can go as big as I want!

 

Batman/Superman #5 Cover

Your first issue on the series is horizontal, why was this decision made?

 

Right before I started the first cover, [editor] Eddie Berganza called me up and pitched me the idea. I thought it was a fun idea so I said cool. When I started the issue wasn't sure. After the first Double Page Spread I hated it, but after that I started to love it! It's like drawing 22 double page spreads in miniature! 

 

And to let you know ALL 3 are this way. I liked working this way so much it seemed odd to just do one this way so the whole arc is now sideways! 

 

What are the advantages of drawing an issue that way?

 

The big one is it's easier to read, you naturally read from left to right so you automatically follow the flow of most of the pages. Also, for some reason vertical panels are faster to draw... I have NO idea why, but they are, so I save a bit on time which I needed for 6 and 7, holiday deadlines are killers!

 

Batman/Superman #6, with Mongul

Is there a particular villain for your arc, if so what can you say about them?

 

Mongul! He's trying to take over the world! OK, not exactly, but I don't want to spoil it!

 

If you could draw any other duo of characters, who would you pick?

 

It would be a toss-up. Wally West Flash and Nightwing OR Blue Beetle (Ted) and Booster Gold.

 

What's your favourite part of drawing this series?

 

Bruce and Clark’s relationship... It's not exactly what we've seen before but it feels quite real, Greg's done an excellent job with them! And of course the action!

 

Which of the two characters do you think is more challenging to draw?

 

Superman. When in doubt you can simply cover Bats with his cape, close him off. With Clark, he needs to be open, larger than life. So it's big and bold, you can't skimp and toss him in a shadow.

 

What can you tell us about what's to come for the series?

 

From what I've been told it will be about exploring the greater DC U so expect lots of guest stars! Eddie and I had talked about doing an undersea arc with sea monsters.. only time will tell!

 

When both characters are together do you have to exaggerate an aspects of them separately to make them both stand out in different ways?

 

Nope, they are basically opposites so they seem to automatically do that. 

 

Batman/Superman #1 cover, by the second
series artist, Jae Lee

You've said in a previous interview that you and your fellow Batman/Superman artist, Jae Lee, would be taking turns with the art duties for this series, is that still happening and if so, what will be the difference between your two arcs, apart from the obvious?

 

Yes and no, I can' really say more. The arcs will be more tailored to the artist so the ones I'll be doing are action oriented. 

 

If you had to sum up this arc of Batman/Superman in one word, what would it be?

 

3-D. Not sure if that's one word or not. But it's the feel I'm trying to give the pages.

 

The last time we did an interview it was on Justice League of America, the time before that it was Nightwing, can it be refreshing have short runs on loads of different projects?

 

Batman/Superman #7 cover

Yep, it's fun to draw lots of different characters, that way you never get bored with anything. BUT I do miss the longer run, getting to really know the character/s!

 

Can we expect to see some other projects after this?

 

Since I'm not doing the next arc, I'll be doing a few issues on another book then back to Batman/Superman! 

 

Brett Booth took over the art duties on Batman/Superman ( along with Inker, Norm Rapmund and colourist, Andrew Dalhouse ) with #5, which is in stores now! You can also check out his blog and his twitter page.

Brett Booth to join Batman/Superman in November!

Now I could've just named this post "YAAAAAYY!" but I think it needed a bit more explanation.

DC Comics artist ( and my favourite ), Brett Booth, will be taking on the role of pencilling the new series Batman/Superman this November, with issue five!

Brett has recently finished drawing Nightwing, Justice League of America and his next project before starting Batman/Superman will be a Doomsday one-shot this September for DC's Villain Month. I'm really excited to see this, as Brett is my personal favourite artist ( you can probably tell from the top 10 posts list on the right hand side of this post.)

From Booth's first issue of his run on Batman/Superman, #5

Booth will be taking over from current artist Jae Lee ( who has an extremely different style of art ) and says "I guess now they're going to be switching back-and-forth between me and Jae", which is brilliant news!

Brett Booth will be working with series writer, Greg Pak, and his usual collaborators Inker, Norm Rapmund and Colourist, Andrew Dalhouse. They start their run on the series in November with a Horizontal issue, which should be interesting. I think he mentioned him working on his next project ( which would be this ) for six-issues in my last interview with him, so expect to see his art lead through into the first few months of next year!

( Source: CBR)

Review: Justice League of America #4

So far in JLA's run, I haven't really been keeping up with it, I'm not sure why but I haven't really managed to pick it up. I decided to pick up this issue backup, because I'd seen a lot of reviewers and writers for comic book websites talking about it and heard that it was a really interesting issue, and it certainly was!

I've really been enjoying a lot of Geoff Johns' work recently, and this issue was no exception. The premise of  this series is interesting, a really odd Justice League team that seem to be forced together, and the interactions between these members make for a really good read.

The story of this issue was great, I haven't been reading the last few issues but just jumping on here I still enjoyed it. I liked seeing Stargirl rebelling against Amanda Waller's orders and heading into the battle. And my final bit about the story, the ending. The ending is amazing, I really wasn't expecting it, I won't spoil it but I do recommend you pick up the issue as soon as possible before it sells out!

The main reason I decided to pick up this issue was because my favourite artist, Brett Booth, drew this issue. Anybody who reads this blog is aware that I'm a big fan of Brett and I enjoyed his art in this issue a lot. I don't think this is the best work he's done recently, but I'm bearing in mind that he drew this at the same time he was drawing Nightwing, so he'd be working extra to get this done.

One thing I love about the art is the fact that Brett Booth has been put with Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse for inks and colours, Rapmund and Dalhouse have worked on almost every book Brett Booth's pencilled in the New 52 and the three of them make a pretty good art team!

Now onto the back-up by Matt Kindt and Andres Guinaldo. I've never been a big Martian Manhunter fan so I was a bit hesitant about reading a story focused on him but I really enjoyed it. It focuses on J'onn J'onzz' fear of fire which is something I've never really understood before but the creators do a good job of explaining it. I'm looking forward to reading more of it!

Overall, this is an enjoyable and exciting issue with a great cliff-hanger ending. Pick it up before it's too late!

Rating: 8/10

DC Comics release eight new Superman Unchained variants

Today DC Comics have ( through USA Today ) released eight new variant covers for the upcoming Scott Snyder and Jim Lee series, Superman Unchained. Each cover is based on a different era of Superman's history with each by a different artist, and they're all pretty good. Look out for the Mullet of Steel by Dan Jurgens!

Here are the eight covers, which I think I've organised chronologically, the best I could anyway...

1930s Superman by Bruce Timm

Golden age Superman by Dave Johnson

Silver age Superman by Garcia Lopez with Trish Mulvihill

Bronze age Superman by Neil Adams and Alex Sinclair

Superman Reborn by Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund and Alex Sinclair

Modern age Superman by Jerry Ordway with Alex Sinclair

Superman VS Lex Luthor by Lee Bermejo 

New 52 Superman by Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse

That last one's my favourite!

Review: Nightwing #19

Nightwing #19 cover, by Booth, Rapmund and Dalhouse

some SPOILERS below, be warned!

Let me just start off by saying that I loved this issue, I've enjoyed Kyle Higgins' run from the start, Love Brett Booth's art ( and with Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse, it's even better!) and Dick's one of my favourite characters. So this issue was pretty perfect.

Kyle Higgins' decision to send Nightwing to Chicago was a great idea, it gives the character a chance to shine without being in the shadow of the bat, and it's nice to see Nightwing as the only masked hero and not surrounded by all the other Bat-Characters.

It's also really fun to see Nightwing take easy care of the Chicago Police Department, who definitely seemed a bit unprepared for somebody like Dick Grayson.

Now onto the art, which I loved. This is the same art team as most of the first 16 issues of Teen Titans, which was one of my favourite New 52 books, mostly because of the art. Brett Booth has a really great style, he manages to capture Nighwing's movements just right, and seeing Nighwing's facial expressions in this issue, He also manages to show the emotions of the character well.

The Inks and Colours by Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse really add to Booth's art, they've become a bit of a team in the New 52, with a lot of Booth's work being inked and coloured by the pair.

My only problem with the issue is that the cover is a bit misleading, Nightwing and the Prankster never actually come face to face, and the villain only turns up in the last few pages. But this isn't a major problem.

Score: 9/10 !

Comics Catch up: Nightwing #19

Welcome to comics catch-up! In this feature I'll be getting you up to speed on what you need to know for some of this week's comics!

Today we're talking Nightwing!

Issue 19 of Nightwing hits the stands tomorrow, April 17. Written by Kyle Higgins and Pencilled by Brett Booth ( with inks and colours by Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse ), this issue takes Nightwing to a new enviroment for him, the city of Chicago.

So, here we go!

Dick recently became involved with a project to re-invent Haly's circus, his former home, in one of Gotham's abandoned areas, Amusement mile. He was setting it up with the daughter of the man who murdered his parents, Sonia Branch, who he soon became romantically involved with.

Dick was doing a good job setting up the new Amusement mile when tragedy struck, Tragedy in the form of a maniacal homocidal clown. The Joker.

The Joker burned Dick's plans to the ground, murdered his friend Jimmy, and ex-girlfriend/ traitor, Raya Vestri. He pushed the Bat-family away from eachother.

Dick was hated by some members of the circus and blamed for the death of Raya and Jimmy, as you can guess, he was in a pretty bad mood.

After the events of the Joker attack ( Death of the family), Dick nearly brutalised a group of men scavenging the Haly's corcus grounds for "trophies" from recent events. Dick was stopped by the son of Batman, and former Robin, Damian Wayne.

Dick managed to hunt down the man collecting these "trophies", the Dealer. He'd taken the Flying Graysons outfit of Dick's father, John Grayson. Dick was in the middle of getting the suit back from the Dealer, when a fire broke out in the building. There were people who were bidding for items in the building and they were trapped, Dick managed to save the people, but his father's suit burned.

After all of the tragedies in Dick's life something worse than anything else happened, Damian Wayne, effectively a little brother to Dick, died. Dick was in a terrible state, he felt utterly destroyed.

The final shock in Dick's life was something unvelievable for him. Tony Zucco, the man who killed his parents, was alive. Dick couldn't stay in Gotham any longer. He had to find him.

Dick has now moved to Chicago, a city without masked heroes, and where vigilantism is banned. He has one Nightwing suit and hardly any money.

As you can tell, these are tough times for Dick Grayson.

Nightwing 19 hits stands April 17, by Kyle Higgins and Brett Booth. with inks and colours by Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse.

Interview: Brett Booth on Comics, Nightwing and more!

CS: First off, Hi, Brett, thanks for doing the interview!

BB: You are most welcome!

CS: Brett, how does drawing a solo book like Nightwing compare to a team book such as Teen Titans or even crossover stories, like the Culling story?

BB: It's different. WAY more backgrounds! There are different tricks you need to do. In a team book you can use the other characters to create depth, in a solo you have to do it with backgrounds. The Culling was a bit different, that's a crossover kinda thing and that can get messy. So much in every panel, you just want it to end!;) With a solo you can focus on just the main character more, so he or she needs to look good!

CS: Is there any particular aspect of a character that you add or exaggerate when you're drawing Bat-related characters like Dick and Tim?

BB: Well, I try to make their agility pop. They are the more acrobatic characters so they move with more of a purpose. And Dick needs to reflect this even more than Tim. He needs to be agile yet graceful, flashy yet elegant. Hard to do right and I have plenty of scrapped pages to show this. It needs to be 'right'.

CS: How closely do you work with a writer when you're drawing a book? And do different writers control different amounts of the storytelling duties?

BB: It's different with every writer. Scott left me alone after some headbutting at the beginning. Took me a bit to figure out how to do the panels for him to show the story and not over panel the page. I usually call them up and talk to them if I want to move something around or tweak it. Most times they're game, anything to make the book look better!:)

CS: Now, onto some questions about your new book, Nightwing!

How does it feel to be joining the book in what seems like a new beginning for the character and the series? With Dick Grayson moving to Chicago after Gotham, and, I'm assuming, a new supporting cast.

BB: Well... MOSTLY new cast. It's both easier and harder. Now everyone has to be introduced and this can be a slow process. With the old city you could just drop a name and you knew who they were, now you have to explain everything. On the other hand I'm not stuck drawing to someone else's designs so more freedom

CS: I've noticed that your Nightwing costume is a little different to Eddy Barrows and Juan Jose Ryp's. Specifically the finger stripes, belt and neck. Were the small changes your idea?

BB: Kyle and I were talking and he mentioned the finger stripes. They couldn't figure out a way to do them with the new gauntlets. So I took a stab. After the stripes, we decided to see what else we could tweak and after a few designs we had something we liked. We were going to work up to the changes but our Editor said to just go for it, and we did.

CS: Is there anything specific you like to do for drawing Nightwing? Any specific research for his style of movement?

BB: Not really. Because you sort of have to pose him for what he's doing. Forcing him into some pose just 'cause I saw it doesn't quite work. He really needs to flow on the page but that needs to work with what he's doing

Nightwing Design, by Brett Booth. With added finger stripes!

CS: Now, you've drawn a lot of Nightwing for your weekly Sketch Saturday that you do on your twitter page, did drawing Nightwing in a book feel slightly easier than drawing a character you'd never drawn before?

BB: Yeah, because I already have a feel for him. With all those sketches, they serve a few different purposes, one is me getting a feel for a character. It usually takes me a few issue to get a proper feel for someone. This way I knew what I was doing right out of the block!

Sketch Saturday Nightwing, by Brett Booth

Sketch Saturday Nightwing, by Brett Booth

CS: How much research do you do before drawing a city? Is it harder to draw real cities than Fictional cities, and which do you prefer?

BB: It depends, if I have to do something specific I'll try and get some shots of what I need. Most cites look pretty much the same. Average person wouldn't know the difference if they were magically plopped into one. 

I prefer fictional, because I can make the city do exactly what I need it to do! And what's in my head is simply cooler;P

CS: Is it nice to still be working with the same inker and colourist, Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse, that you were on Teen Titans?

Nightwing print, by Booth, Rapmund and Dalhouse

BB: Yep! We're one crazy dysfunctional family! But we can count on each other to get stuff done!

CS: Can you say which issue you're on at the moment?

BB: Was in the home stretch of 21, but got pulled off to help on another book. So 21:)

Sneak peek at Nightwing #21, by Brett Booth

CS:  Is there anything you can tease for the upcoming arc in Nightwing?

BB: Nope;)

CS: A few more general questions here.

Now, you do a lot of costume designs for characters in the New 52, if you could re-design any of the existing characters who would you pick?

BB: Hmmmm.... not sure. Earth 2 Flash I think. I just don't like that helmet... I know, WW 1 but with all the changes on Earth2  that would have been a good one. I know I'm in the minority on that!

CS: are there any characters, from any company that you'd like to draw in a regular book?

BB: Besides Wally West and Ted Kord? Booster Gold! Cyclops from the X-men. He was may favorite character growing up!

CS: And one crazy question, if Dick Grayson was a fruit, what would he be?

BB:  Pineapple... Wait that's Ted Kord.... Blueberry

CS: Thanks again, Brett!

BB: Best!

Nightwing #19 is released on April 14, and is written by Kyle Higgins and pencilled by Brett Booth. With inks and colours by Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse.

You can also catch Brett on his blog, http://demonpuppy.blogspot.co.uk/ . And his twitter page, https://twitter.com/Demonpuppy .