Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, dc, ethan van sciver, green lantern

Ethan Van Sciver And The Sudden Four Pages Of Green Lantern

Published Sat, 02 Nov 2013 18:00:28 -0500

Tommy Zimmer wrote from Detroit Fanfare;

Ethan Van Sciver quietly entered the doors of the Great Lakes Ballroom at the Adoba Hotel in Dearborn noiselessly. He sat down at his booth, and started to draw humbly and quietly. No stir, nothing; just a legendary comics artist at work.

When I approached him for an interview that Saturday afternoon, he shook my hand, and I began to catch up with the man who gave me one of my first interviews at Detroit's Motor City Comic Con almost three years ago about his current work with writers Gregg Hurwitz and Geoff Johns.

How's your con going thus far?

It's going good now that I have caffeine. I sent my friend Oakley to go get Rockstar Energy drinks. So, now I think I will be able to draw.

Is this the famous Oakley from the podcast VanSciverTown?

(laughs) Yah!

You have been doing "Batman: The Dark Knight" with Gregg Hurwitz, and then you took a break. Why?

Yah, I took a break, and have been doing some covers. And I got these two issues of Batman fighting Man-Bat which is catnip for an artist like me. I love Man-Bat, and am excited of doing two whole issues. I love that whole werewolf thing with guys turning into werewolves. I like monsters, and I like Batman fighting monsters.

Are you guys peeling back the layers of this character like with previous issues of BTDK?

This is a different Man-Bat. This is not Kirk Langstrom. This is someone else. We peel back the layers of a few characters by introducing this particular Man-Bat.

Is any of it related to what John Layman has been doing in Detective Comics?

No. It is not.

What is it like working with Gregg?

I love working with Gregg. He's a great artist, an engaging collaborator and has great ideas and great insight into the DC Universe; particularly, the Batman universe. He is fun to talk to about stuff.

You have mentioned he churns script out after day after day after day. What's it like working in that capacity?

Yah. We are trying something different this time. With Man-Bat, we are going to try a different method with it being a little bit more Marvel style in certain sections; just the action portions of the story will be more up to me to direct which is something I have wanted to try.

Is that just something that comes naturally from you guys having worked together for so long?

Yah. In our first issue together, there was one sequence where it was really just three pages worth of conversation between Bruce and Natalya. Because it was so many panels, it was like twenty five or thirty; Gregg indicated in the script to lay it out anyway I want to. To me, I love that; it was an opportunity. I did the panels in the shapes of piano keys because Natalya was a pianist, and I wanted to do more of that in certain areas. So, I just said to him just let me direct the action, and he is meticulous about his storytelling which is cool but I wanted to do a little of that too. He allowed of that, and I appreciated it.

You are one of the most well-known artists. What do you enjoy more doing? Sequential art? Or Cover art?

I go back and forth. Sometimes with sequential art, I wish I could just do one big image. And with covers, I sometimes wish I could tell more stories. I enjoy both equally.

Did Geoff approach you about coming onto the last issue of "Green Lantern"?

You know, that's a funny story. I was at Geoff's house about a year ago, and we were catching up like buddies talking about GL. One of us said we should do more GL tomorrow. Geoff said when I finish my run, I want you to do the last four pages; I have it all planned out. And I said yah, that will be 2020, whatever year that will be. So, I said let's talk about something a little bit sooner. He said those four pages are very important, and after that, I didn't think much of it. All of a sudden then, it was about February when his editor called asking me to draw four pages of GL. It was so sudden, and I knew exactly what that meant: he was finishing his GL run. The editor asked if I was saying no, and I said no, I am saying yes but I was like no. That was how I learned Geoff was learning GL. It was very sad but it was a privilege to be a part of the run at the beginning and end.

How do you feel about where you left the characters off?

I think Geoff finished his run as best possibly he could. I thought it was a very good conclusion to all the storylines he put in motion, and I don't think any of us are ever done with any of these kids. I know Geoff's run on GL is done but there's always hope he will return to tell more GL stories in some capacity, and I certainly would love to draw more GL stories.

Are you planning on BTDK long-term?

After these two issues, I have another project already in the works.

Is that from DC?

Oh, of course.

Any possibility you will be working with Geoff or Gregg again in the future?

Oh, of course, I hope so. I would love to work with both of them for the rest of my life. But, neither of them wrote this one.

Is this the long awaited Gail Simone Plastic Man project?

Ha, no.

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