Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: comcis, Douglas Wolk, entertainment, idw, judge dredd, Judge Dredd: Mega-City Two, ulises farinas

'This Is What The World Looks Like' – Talking With Judge Dredd: Mega-City Two's Ulises Farinas

Published Tue, 04 Feb 2014 17:00:00 -0600

by Hannah Means Shannon

Last updated Tue, 04 Feb 2014 21:58:40 -0600

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Comics artist Ulises Farinas keeps popping up in work from a variety of publishers (Dark Horse, Vertigo, Boom! Image, IDW), and chances are you've seen the strange, intricate worlds he's created with what he acknowledges is a very distinctive style. His detailed inkwork has an inexplicably light touch and his fantasy-driven imagination often conveys a dream-like quality in his art that's remarkably active in its feel. Right now, he's the artist on the new run of IDW's Judge Dredd comics in Judge Dredd: Mega-City Two, written by Douglas Wolk. The team have kicked off their arc, with the second issue coming out this week, and Farinas talks with Bleeding Cool here about self-promotion for artists, breaking the stranglehold of depicting solely "white guys" in comics, and even delivers an on-the-drawing-table peek at Issue #3.

Hannah Means-Shannon: You've worked with a wide range of comics publishers and illustrating for magazines. What's the benefit of working widely and having such opportunities for diversity as an artist?

Ulises Farinas: There's not really any benefit. I have a pretty distinct look, so there's no publisher knocking down my door for a long series or anything. Often when one project is finished, there's a "now what?" feeling, and the only solution is to have something or three things ready to go.

HMS: Do you have any advice for freelancers promoting their artwork and looking for new opportunities?

UF: One thing I did, and still do, is always pay special attention to who likes your work, who's sharing your work on social media, and what their positions are in their companies. People always ask "Where do I start?", the answer is you start with your first fans. The nature of social media, is that everyone wants to be the first to get on that new shit, and you want to make work that exploits that impulse. Make a mailing list of sorts – of editors, publishers, fellow artists and writers, and always keep in contact with them, and eventually, they'll be doing your promotion for you.

HMS: How did your work on Judge Dredd: Mega-City Two with Douglas Wolk come about?

UF: I worked with Douglas Wolk on a future of digital comics article; that image is now on display at Comixology's offices.

HMS: What's your process like working with Wolk to develop each issue of the comic? Is there a lot of back and forth or is it more of a full-script, fullydrawn scenario?

UF: Its a bit like the old school Marvel Method. He gives a me a script, and my mind starts figuring out all the world building aspects around it. I draw it, make a few changes to panel layouts or action sequences, and we usually text throughout the process. So its not unlikely that several pages will be reworked on the fly as I go, while brainstorming with Douglas.

HMS: How did you develop your feel and characters visually for the Judge Dredd universe?

UF: One of my main thoughts was that I wanted almost the entire cast to look like they are of mixed-ancestry. Way too frequently, I see visions of the future, and it's just a bunch of white faces. LA and other cities are brown to me. I wanna see Latinos, Filipinos, Blacks and whatever else as the population of Mega-City 2. Movies like Blade Runner try to tell you that Japan has taken over the future, but every main character is still a white guy. That movie Elysium still managed to make Matt Damon the main character, who spoke Spanish, with other Spanish folks, but was inexplicably…not Spanish.

I don't want it to be a political statement, I just think it's obvious: This is what the world looks like.

HMS: Were the challenges for you in doing that and making it happen?

UF: It's not a challenge to draw more minorities in comics. Most people making comics, though, are white guys, and white guys in comics are just really lazy about making any new character not another white person. There's lots of academic bullshit about "But how do you write for (insert not white man here)", when the solution is you, just as easy as me, telling Ryan Hill, "Hey, the inhabitants of Scorpio Rising are mostly Black and Asian, so color them various shades of brown".

HMS: What's your favorite Judge Dredd work so far? Do you have any hints or teasers for readers about what's coming up?

UF: Issue 3 is getting even crazier than any issue before…