Chris Eliopoulos.. Do you recognize the name somewhere, but not quite sure
where? He's the LETTERER! You'll find his name inside many big name comic
books. Right now he works on Green Lantern and Savage Dragon (hmm.. a Green
fetish? whats next, the Hulk and Martain Manhunter?!?). But forget all that.
He's now doing his own funny book called Desperate Times. No that wasn't a
crack, it truely is a funny book. Full of laugh your arse off comic strips
that he's been doing in the back of Savage Dragon. But enough of the
introduction.. let Chris tell you about it.
Coville:
Why did you start Desperate Times?
Eliopoulos:
I've always wanted to do a comic strip. I was telling Erik that one day and
he suggested I do one in the back of Savage Dragon.
Coville:
What is it about?
Eliopoulos:
Basically, it's about two guys recently out of college, living in an
apartment. One guy is cynical and the other a nice guy who is too shy.
Marty(the cynic) looks down on everything while Toad is just trying to meet a
nice girl. There are other characters as well as time goes on.
Coville:
Will it be a running story strip like Doonsbury or just one strip gags like
Garfield?
Eliopoulos:
I like to do a running storyline with humorous endings. So, each strip can be
self-contained but can be read on the whole and still, hopefully, get a laugh.
Coville:
Be honest, are you the main character?
Eliopoulos:
Marty is definitely me. I've gotten quite cynical. Toad is based on a friend
of mine from college--he looks like him, but he is the more thoughtful me from
years ago. I always read interviews with creators saying their characters are
other people, but also themselves and now I see what they mean.
Coville:
Are all the gags completely made up or did they happen in real life?
Eliopoulos:
Most of the storylines are based on things that have happened to me or things
I've experienced, but it usually just gets my mind working and I play with
the ideas until I get something funny.
Coville:
Have you ever tried to do comic strips professionaly before?
Eliopoulos:
I've tried sending out samples to Syndicates, but I was always trying to give
them a very homogenous, unoffending strips. Now that I'm working on DT, I
don't try to cater to people or not do something because I'm afraid of what
people think. I do it for me. I've also done cartoons here and there in other
comic books.
Coville:
What are your favorite comic strips?
Eliopoulos:
My all-time favorite is Bloom County. Great characters with an edge. Calvin
and Hobbes was great. I try to enjoy Krazy Kat, but it's kind of like
Picasso--you know it's great, but you have to work at it to enjoy. FoxTrot is
good, For better or worse is a very nice strip, but sometimes gets too sickly
sweet for me. It's the cynic in me.
Coville:
Now that you have a monthly book full of Desperate Times, will you continue
to do strips in the back of Savage Dragon?
Eliopoulos:
We'll see if it's a regular book. I'm going to put it out every other month
if sales are good enough, if not Image will pull the plug. I plan on doing
the strips in back of SD as long as Erik will have me. who knows, maybe if
the book sells, I can do another strip in the back of Dragon.
Coville:
Do you want to do any crossovers with other comic books or strips?
Eliopoulos:
I don't think my stuff lends itself to crossovers with many comic books, but
there will be a slight crossover with Savage Dragon's main story in issue #48.
As for other comic strips, I'd like to see Marty bump uglies with Cathy.
Coville:
When will Desperate Times come out and how much is it?
Eliopoulos:
The first issue will be out in June with a $2.95 cover price.
Coville:
Do you think you will try other strips in the future?
Eliopoulos:
Like I said earlier, I may if the circumstance presents itself.
Coville:
Okay, now on to lettering.
Coville:
We always here how pencilers name Jack Kirby and such as inspiration. Who
do letterers get their inspiration from?
Eliopoulos:
Like everyone else, I never paid much attention to lettering, but I picked up
on it later. Jim Novak, Mike Heisler, Ken Lopez, Phil Felix, Tom Orzechowski,
Bill Oakley among others I think are great hand-letterers.
Coville:
How many books can you letter a month?
Eliopoulos:
Depends month-to-month. When Image first started I was doing something like
23 books a month. I've cut down a bit over the years to save my sanity. Now
I do between 5 to 10 a month.
Coville:
Do you letter by hand or are you using computers and special fonts now?
Eliopoulos:
Both.
Coville:
What do you think of the computer lettering and special fonts?
Eliopoulos:
The process is good in that it saves time, but you have to be careful not to
overwhelm the art by having every bell and whistle blaring. Lettering should
be very subtle and not take away from the stars of the book--the art and
writing.
Coville:
Do you have to fix spelling mistakes all the time?
Eliopoulos:
All the time--it's a wonder that some writers can be call writers since they
can't spell a word.
Coville:
Who gets blamed when spelling mistakes gets through, you or the editor?
Eliopoulos:
The editor is ultimately responsible, but they also have proofreaders and
others who check the book, but even so mistakes get through.
