Posted in: Comics | Tagged: adventures of superman, Comics, deadpool, dynamite, entertainment, Evan Ahaner, flash gordon

Artist Spotlight – Evan "Doc" Shaner Of Dynamite's Flash Gordon

Published Wed, 21 May 2014 19:00:43 -0500

by Dan Wickline

Last updated Thu, 22 May 2014 08:23:59 -0500

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Through his work on Ghostbusters for IDW, Deadpool Annual for Marvel, Adventures of Superman for DC and now Flash Gordon for Dynamite, Evan "Doc" Shaner is quickly building a name for himself in the comic book industry. Shaner has a classic art style that works in almost any genre and I'd expect to see big project after big project to continue to come from him as time goes on.

BLEEDING COOL: How did you get started drawing?

EVAN SHANER: I started drawing pretty early on, around age 5 or 6. I learned to draw from the newspaper strips mostly– Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, Dennis the Menace, etc. For a long time it was just the humor stuff. I didn't get into comic books until late in high school, so even into college I drew more like a humor cartoonist.

BC: Who were your biggest influences?

ES: As a kid, definitely Schulz and Watterson. In high school I discovered Mike Wieringo and Joe Kubert and still consider them to be two of my biggest influences artistically.

BC: What is your process for doing a page? How long does it take you?

ES: I thumbnail a page at about 4"x6", scan it and pencil over that digitally. Then I print out those pencils in blueline and ink them traditionally. Uninterrupted, I can do a page a day depending on how intricate it is. More often than not though, a typical page is about two days' work. The penciling is usually the longest stretch in the process.

BC: Where might folks have seen your work previously?

ES: I started out drawing "Buddy Cops" for Dark Horse Presents a few years ago. I did two issues of IDW's Ghostbusters series last year, as well as a Deadpool Annual for Marvel. This year I drew a three-part story for Adventures of Superman with writer Ron Marz and colorist Matt Wilson.

BC: What are you working on now?

ES: My current gig is the new Flash Gordon series at Dynamite Entertainment with Jeff Parker and colorist Jordie Bellaire. The book spins out of King's Watch, which featured Flash Gordon, the Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician, also written by Parker and drawn by Marc Laming. I'll be on Flash Gordon for the rest of the year.

BC: What is your dream project?

ES: Oh, there's a number of them. Superman was one of them, certainly, so it was nice to check that off the list. I've always wanted to do a western, as well as a Zorro story. Tarzan. Something with the Fantastic Four. Plastic Man. I'd really like to do a children's book at some point, in addition to some original work. All sorts of stuff. Mostly I'm just glad to be working though.