Brereton is best known for his creator-owned NOCTURNALS, his artwork on BATMAN: THRILLKILLER, and his writing on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.
But Brereton is ready to strike again, with the monster epic known as GIANTKILLER. The first issue ships this week (06-16-99), as does the FIELD GUIDE TO BIG MONSTERS!
BSJ: Welcome, Dan... Thanks for making time for this Interview. I'm sure there's still a couple lost souls out there who've been stuck in a cave somewhere and haven't heard about GIANTKILLER -- Break it down for us.
DB: 25 Giant Monsters. One big, scary, inhuman warrior with a sword and a big crab-claw tail. One tough, tomboy-type girl with a big crossbow. Volcanoes, poisonous atmospheres. Wormholes. Lots of action. GIANTKILLER basically comes form my love of samurai movies, giant monster comics (of the sort Jack Kirby was a master at creating), and of course, Japanese giant monster movies.
The teaser poster DC released says it all quite nicely:
FROM THE HEART OF A DEAD VOLCANO, MONSTERS CAME TO CRUSH THE EARTH. WHO WILL STOP THEM?
The main character is Jack. He's been created from human and daikaiju (giant monster) DNA to hopefully wage war against an invasion of big nasties who have arrived in the wake of a volcanic event in Northern California. Jack has been trained as a sort of beast-like samurai with one thought in mind: destroy all monsters!
Jack has been engineered to function in an impossibly harsh environment: the area around the newly-active Mount Diablo is poisonous, toxic and completely uninhabitable for a 50-mile (or more) radius. The military's equipment won't function there; their radar, sonar, all imaging equipment are useless; and a sort of EMP-type field blocks anything from functioning properly. They're dealing with a totally alien set of physics (and rules) that they just can't combat...
So Project: Giantkiller is born; it turns out that the monster DNA will meld with nearly any other form of living DNA, and the geneticists working on the project have no trouble creating a hybrid. Thus, Jack is born and is sent forth to conquer and kill. And he does just that... with an ease and skill that are uncanny and even a little scary to those who created him...
BSJ: Ok then! Sounds like a tale of mayhem and destruction! Now you noted the influences of Japanese samurai cinema and Jack Kirby monster comics, but it seems like there may be some references to fairy tales and nursery rhymes in the names of your lead characters -- Jack and Jill. Was this a conscious decision, and if so, how did you amalgamate the Jack that went up the Hill with the Jack that climbed the Beanstalk?
DB: I didn't plan it, I swear. Jill's character was imported from a Nocturnals script I wrote about five years ago: she was just this FBI agent who tracked cults and subversives, who seeks out the Nocturnals because she's not exactly human either. I decided to put her in Giantkiller because I wanted to explain her non-human abilities and where they came from. It quickly dawned on me, what I had done, teaming a "Jack" with a "Jill," not to mention a "Hill" in the form of the volcano...it was purely coincidental, but it works somehow...
BSJ: Now this book doesn't take place in the DCU proper... Perhaps it shares a "universe" with your other creator-owned book, THE NOCTURNALS, especially with the inclusion of Jill...? But it's been rumored that GIANTKILLER might take place in the "real world" Northern California where you grew up -- something about your High School being destroyed by one of the Giants facing Jack...
With the backlash from Columbine High still fresh in people's minds, do you think this book might become targeted by politicians and media as yet *another* instance (as silly as it seems to me...) wherein Pop Culture somehow leads to School Violence?
DB: Not for one second, but that would be funny... I would laugh my ass off... until I started coughing... and had to drink a big glass of water afterwards!
Let me explain something. I have had friends request that I have a monster flatten their school or their old job site in the comic, because the place where GIANTKILLER is set is indeed a factual location. The Diablo Valley in Contra Costa County includes the towns of San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek, Concord, Lafayette, Orinda and more... this is the area I lived in much of my life. But to say that I have anything but fond memories of the place would be untrue.
I love that area, but I will say that as a kid, I watched it plowed up and built-over, and much of what I loved about it -- mostly the orchards and woods, ponds, old railroad lines and fields where we used to play, catch snakes and have adventures -- is now covered with housing tracks and industrial parks. It used to be farmland, ranch land, and little of that is left. I am not claiming that GIANTKILLER is making any sort of statement, but I suppose you could equate a story about giant monsters moving in and destroying the landscape with big developers carving-up the countryside and making it less fun for kids - like my brother and sister and I - to run around and explore... So, yeah, maybe there's something to that, but its not a conscious thing...
So, if the media were to glom on to GIANTKILLER, I'd not only think it hilarious, I'd welcome it: the sales on the book would soar!
I believe it's the news media who are responsible for all of the copy-catting that has followed in the wake of Columbine.They know damn well that these things always come like bananas, in bunches, and I believe they love to saturate the media with this stuff: it encourages more of the same, and they can go out and capitalize on those tragedies as well... So, you know, let them come for me and my comic. I could care less. Comics are the soil in which creativity and imagination are rooted, and comics should be not only protected, but hailed in this country as an art form, the way they are in other countries. We've been lead astray by the media, who are just trying to keep us glued to CNN for the next big catastrophe, and the religious right, who are poisoning us with the plague of PC...
I... I can't believe I'm talking about this in a comics interview...
THANKS, BRI! WAY TO GO! : )
BSJ: Ha-Hah! Media Bad. Comics Good.
Now being a big BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER fan, and having written some of her comic book adventures, I'm guessing that you're mighty miffed about the BUFFY SEASON FINALE being shelved here in America because of the events at Columbine. Have you bootlegged it in from Canada yet?
DB: If I had thought of that, I would... But no, I'll be patient. Tv shows cost money to make: they gotta show those three or four episodes they held back eventually, I figure, or make them available on dvd when they collect the episodes. I can wait... It sucks, but I can wait.
BSJ: How was your experience with Dark Horse and their BUFFY license? You adapted the Original Movie Screenplay into comics form with Christopher Golden, and wrote the Dust Waltz Graphic Novel all by your lonesome... Did Joss Whedon (or 20th Century Fox) try to control all aspects of their property -- sort of like George Lucas and all things STAR WARS?
DB: Whedon and his people are good folks: they really care about Buffy and yeah, sometimes, I didn't always understand why they kiboshed some of my ideas, but I respect their right to do that, obviously, and believe Joss knows best. It doesn't mean I'm gonna sit there and re-write stuff forever, though... I have my own vision to follow, and Buffy was beginning to sublimate that for me, so I took a break. But I'm very happy with the Dust Waltz and the other projects that have my name on them. To me, that's the best thing I could have hoped for.
BSJ: That speaks volumes. Now speaking of STAR WARS, you recently contributed a cover to Issue #4 of their ongoing series. Can we expect more STAR WARS work from you? More Dark Horse work?
DB: If they want me to, perhaps. I have a few ideas that would be fun to explore...
I was invited, back in '95, to send my portfolio to Lucas-film. They were looking for the next Ralph McQuarrie or a team of McQuarries' to design and conceptualize the next trilogy of films. My name had been given to them by a former instructor at CCAC, where I studied art. I was really jazzed about it, but decided not to send them my work in the end. Ultimately, I realized that I had my own ideas and dreams to follow, and I couldn't put them aside for STAR WARS. I don't think they would have hired me anyway, but its cool to have gotten that call. Lots of people I know think I'm crazy, but I think it's crazy to dash your dreams to follow another's. Still, it would have been cool to see creatures I designed up there on the screen...
BSJ: So long as it wasn't like JarJar. Yeesh!
So where would you, ideally, like to hang your hat? You've recently done work for DC Comics, Dark Horse, Oni Press, plus some smaller indy companies like CPM Manga and ShadowHouse. Do you prefer working with various editors at a handful of companies, or would you rather commit to just one character, one property, one company?
DB: I am a freelance illustrator. I take the jobs that come, as they come. When the jobs aren't forthcoming, I create my own work. It's really that simple. I've been lucky that I've been able to produce things like NOCTURNALS and GIANTKILLER... if I'm *really* lucky, I'll get to do more. If it means I have to do other people's characters too, that's fine because I like doing that stuff too. Variety is what makes this job the most fun. Even when I'm in the middle of something I want to do, like GIANTKILLER, I'm plotting the next project, creating new characters and story ideas... it's fun. It keeps the bills paid.
BSJ: Now speaking of the work you've done for some Indy companies -- do you consider yourself a Small Press / Independent / Alternate Comics sort of creator? Because many people see your Batman and Superman projects, and might find that association a bit odd... What is it that about the Indy scene that "feels like home," and what is it that lures you away to the World's Finest?
DB: I don't feel at all like an Indy guy. I just consider myself a freelancer in the comics community who can do the job, and most publishers and editors who know me and my work know I'm gonna deliver. There are plenty of actors who switch back and forth from the Hollywood system to the Indy route, but they are labeled for it. They're actors. I admire Bruce Willis for never letting money get in the way of doing some really cool indy thing, even though he commands such huge fees for big-budget films. To me, that's what making it in the field of art is about: balancing creativity with making a living.
BSJ: Some people might wonder why all your "mainstream" stuff seems to fall towards DC Comics... are there any Marvel characters you'd like to tackle? No interest in Spider-Man? No love for the X-Men?
DB: I love the old Marvel. I was attached to many Marvel projects, no less than five of them, before the last great wave of firings that decimated Epic, and most of the company. It was scary and I've never looked at Marvel the same way again. Also, figure in the scumbags who were running Malibu after Marvel moved in and took over, scumbags who tried to screw me six ways from Sunday in an effort to get the rights to the Nocturnals away from me and destroy my contract, and yeah, I think I could go for the rest of my life without working for them, and I'd be fine.
The Marvel comics I love have already been made and they were done decades ago by better men: Gene Colan, John Buscema, Jack, Stan, Steve and Roy. That was Marvel to me. I don't know what this newer Marvel is. I don't even pay attention to it. But if they called me up and offered me the Man-thing title to do whatever I wanted with it, like I said, I'm a freelancer, I go where the work is...
On the flip side, DC is a dream to work with. I love those guys and even though there are corporate influences that can get in the way of a man's mojo from time to time, that's life. Nothing is perfectly smooth and shouldn't be. DC has never let me down, and I like the people and I like the way they treat me and the way they treat my books, for the most part. They have never mistreated me and have always made me feel welcome there.
BSJ: So what's next on your plate? GIANTKILLER should wrap up around, what, November of 1999 -- what's next? Will we see the Return of THE NOCTURNALS?
DB: Rob Zombie and I have plans down the road for a sort of Zombie / Nocturnals crossover thing. It's on the back burner for now, due to Rob's wacky schedule, but we will do it.
I have other things I'd like to do with the Nocs, like a children's book type thing...
BSJ: No kidding... What's it like working with Rob Zombie? How did you two hook up?
DB: He hired me back in '97 when he was still attached to the third Crow film he'd written and was going to direct. I did three huge paintings of the characters and they turned out really nice. After that, when Rob was back in the studio, I did a piece for the new album (you can get a shirt with my design from Rob's website) and have done other stuff since then, like recently, I finished a LIVING DEAD GIRL piece based on the video. It's fun. Rob's a very creative guy, and he loves comics. I look forward to working with him on an actual comic book project. The only problem is he's sought-after now, its hard to pin the guy down, he's always on tour and e-mail is pretty much the only way to communicate. That's not exactly conducive to comic book making, so we're waiting 'til there's more time to delve into a Zombie / Nocs project.
BSJ: Music and Comics come together to produce Horror! That's just beautiful...
DB: Yes, it is. Its the way God intended.
BSJ: Now one of the biggest entertainment mediums of late has been the Internet. No longer exclusive to "rich computer geeks" and "deviant porn connoisseurs," you can find almost anything you need online. Everyone has an e-ddress. You've been online yourself for quite some time... How do you think the Internet is helping (or hindering) the Comic Book Industry?
DB: It's definitely helping. Not as much as if we sold comics in vending machines in public transit stations, or if comics were being read in the classroom, but it's helping. I use the internet more and more now, but not really in the making of comics. I have considered using the computer as a tool in the basic art process, but I'm just mulling it over now... I was very impressed by Kyle Baker's art in YOU ARE HERE. But is that painting, really? I don't know...
BSJ: Sounds like there may be some paint splashed all over that keyboard of yours!
But on the subject of paint people often associate you with your "fully-painted art," from beautiful covers to lush interiors... Even the Eisners have you billed as a "Painter"... but you once told me that you were a little irked by the term. Tell us about that... What do you consider yourself, and how would you label your work?
DB: I consider myself an illustrator, a comic-book artist. Paint is only a medium; it's not my religion. If I were better with pen and ink, I'd be doing that instead. It's just what I know how to do. The term fully-painted is a necessary one to describe a book's content in a comic catalog, I suppose. But you don't see the term anywhere else in illustration.
BSJ: Now what about writing... You've worked with some of the biggest and best writers in the comics industry -- Howard Chaykin, Chuck Dixon, James D. Hudnall, James Robinson, Beau Smith, Walt Simonson -- but you've recently been tackling more of the scripting chores yourself. You've even written some books that you didn't illustrate. Was this a nature progression for you as a storyteller?
DB: Definitely. I knew I was eventually going to have to write my own stuff, because in the beginning, I would get a script from the writer and read it and know that I could do what they were doing, maybe even better in some cases.
At a certain point in my career, I chose who I was going to work with , and it was based totally on our mutual desire to work together. After a while, writing my own stuff was just me taking the next step. It helped me a lot to be accepted by some of my more esteemed peers like Walter and Howard, Steven Grant and Jim Starlin, to name a few, in the formation of Bravura. I felt like the novice among them for a long while...
But in retrospect, I think I put forth as good a comic as anyone else in that group and I value their support of me, even when I couldn't see for myself that I was "worthy." The funny thing is, after I wrote the Nocturnals, there were a few writers who were less than supportive of my move. Most of them were behind me and helped in some way, but a few of them, obviously caught up in their own insecurities or whatever, had very little to say of a positive nature about my work...
Then there were people like Alex Ross, who called me to tell me I was a "great f***ing writer!" That made my day, especially in light of some less than supportive comments from other writers who I had once considered my friends. But I took that as a compliment of sorts, as it told me I was on the right track. See, I had no clue as to whether I had any talent as a writer, or that other people thought I did either, so to have validation from fans and in critical reviews and from contemporaries - that was a great thing for me. And for the most part, the feedback was good and I realized I wasn't sticking my neck out that much... They're just comics!
BSJ: Now having dropped some names of former collaborators above, you've also been known to associate with a band of mostly Indy creators who're slowly and steadily becoming the Best Creators in the Market - in both a critical and a commercial sense. They include Brian Michael Bendis, Kieron Dwyer, John Estes, David Mack, and Mike Manley -- How did you fall in with this bunch?
DB: Just from going to Cons and hanging out. They are all great.
John Estes and I are bros, and have known each other since art school, though. We painted the same nude models in class, but really bonded over our mutual desire to break into comics.
Bendis and Mack are my two newest pals. They're great guys and extremely gifted. I am very proud of them both.
Kieron and I share a similar juvenile sense of humor and thin skin, and he's the best draftsman I have ever seen. He draws circles around everybody. Even if he is a degenerate. And a vegetarian.
I don't know Mike Manley all that well, but I like what he's doing in comics and he's a nice fella. I have other pals in comics I like to hang with too... It's a shame we're spread out over the map so much. I'd love to have weekly meeting with these guys.
That's why I love Cons so much.
It's also nice to see fans too: you really need to get that sense that there's a physical audience out there, an audience who likes what you do and care about your projects.
BSJ: Now David Mack is also up (against you) for the Best Painter Award at the Eisners... Any competition there? Does the winner buy the first round after the Awards are announced in San Diego?
DB: There is no competition between us. We're all going to be very happy for Alex (Ross) when he wins.
BSJ: So you're banking on Alex Ross, huh? He's another guy you seem to be on friendly terms with -- all you painters seem to stick together! How do you think Ross has impacted the industry?
DB: Alex is a good guy. He's very odd, but I like him. He's very talented. I think one day, after he's gotten a few thousand more pages, prints, covers and trading cards under his belt, he's going to surprise us all and become a really accomplished artist. Right now he is very green and way too dependent on photo-realism. He needs to unwind, relax and loosen-up. That's when he's *really* gonna get good.
BSJ: What would winning the Eisner mean to you? You've been nominated before - back for THE NOCTURNALS, as I recall - but have you ever won? What about the Harvey Awards or Russ Manning Awards? How much critical success have you achieved over the years?
DB: I won the RUSS MANNING "PROMISING NEWCOMER AWARD" in 1990 for the Black Terror. I would like to win one Eisner, just so I can get that feeling of having come full circle. In that respect its really important, but not crucial for me. On the other hand, the Russ Manning is an award from one's peers, whereas winning an Eisner seems less so. But as I approach that time, I am coming to care less and less about it, and more about the fact that a painted artist like myself has a career that is still going strong for going on 12 years now. That's important to me.
Beyond that, I have gotten excellent reviews, I have been nominated for one or two Harveys, numerous Eisners and other awards. I love that, but winning isn't that big a deal. Like I said, when the same names are winning over and over again, it tells you something. I have gotten great feedback from fans and pros, and I continue to work. I get to do stuff like GIANTKILLER which isn't a project DC would have let just anyone do, I don't think. I seem to have come to a place in my career where they want to see me do new things. I like that. That's reward enough, I should think. I was walking around on a cloud for a month or so after GIANTKILLER was approved. The same thing happened when NOCTURNALS was approved. Winning the Russ Manning never felt that ecstatic.
BSJ: Well, since you brought it up... Rumor has it Todd McFarlane is going to bring back the BLACK TERROR, one of the properties he purchased in the Eclipse deal. Those same rumors have one of the original writers, Beau Smith, on tap for the supposed ongoing series. Has McFarlane contacted you about providing the artwork? Perhaps just covers?
DB: Neither Todd, his people, nor Beau Smith have contacted me about the Black Terror, and to me, its kind of disappointing. But at the same time, it doesn't surprise me either. You'd think they'd at least ask me to do covers... but it's their show.
When I asked Beau at a con a year or two back about the possibility of Todd collecting the Black Terror into a trade, he told me they couldn't find the film for the book... I recommended that he look to the German publisher who did the German language version of the Black Terror almost ten years back: they had to have had the films at some point, and maybe never sent them back... Beau said that he thought that was a good idea, and that he'd have to check that possibility out... I have no idea if he ever did, if the films are actually missing, or if Todd's company would even want to collect the books...
The fact that I haven't been asked to work on the newer Black Terror sort of tells me more than Beau ever did about it all. I'm sure what they publish won't resemble my version in the least, and that's fine. If they did ask me, I might be interested, but my guess is they have no use for my work in whatever incarnation of the character they have planned.
BSJ: Well, we've talked a lot about your peers and former collaborators - and thus their work - What comics do you read these days? Anything out there, maybe some quiet little gem, that we need to know about? Some under-rated artist that deserves a second glance? An exceptional writer lost among the hacks?
DB: This industry is equal parts geniuses and hacks. I like Jay Stephens' work. Greg Rucka is a name to pay attention to, I think. There are so many of them, that I like, that I tend to not be able to recall them all, honestly.
BSJ: I'm with you on Greg Rucka; WHITEOUT was superb.
Well, Dan, I'm afraid that was the last of our 20 Questions...
Again, thanks for spending some time with us here at KHEPRI.COM... This has been a hoot! Any parting shot for the readers out there? This is your Open Mike moment:
DB: Thanks for sticking around with us and reading our stories. Please don't be railroaded by retailers who tell you they can't get our books. They don't care about the industry. Take your business to the sellers of comics who care passionately about them. It makes reading comics so much more enjoyable... and it helps us too!
BSJ: There you have it folks... Be sure to buy GIANTKILLER this Wednesday, and in the meantime, check out these collections of Dan's previous works:
LEGENDS OF THE WORLD'S FINEST TPB
VISIT DANIEL BRERETON'S NOCTURNALS.COM
FROM ALL OF US AT KHEPRI.COM: