For years now Jerry Ordway has been known as the guy doing Superman, and
lately the Power of Shazam. He was recently fired off Superman, and decided
to tell us why and how. He also let us know about his future plans at Marvel
and possibly Image Comics. On with the interview!
Coville:
Where did you get your first break in comics and how did you end up working
at DC and Marvel?
Ordway:
My first break came when I got work through a talent search DC did
at the 1980 Chicago Comicon! Mark Silvestri, and Larry Malstadt were the
other "finds." DC was first to hire me, so I stayed with them, only leaving
twice, to work on Fantastic Four. Now make that three times, as I left them
after being fired from Adventures of Superman recently.
Coville:
How does one get the much desired job of working on Superman?
Ordway:
I worked my way up, like any job, til I felt I'd earned a shot at
either Batman or Superman. Dick Giordano, VP of DC at the time, (1985)
thought I'd be more suited to Supes.I also drew tremendous inspiration from
the first Superman Movie!
Coville:
Why do you think Superman has been so successful for the last 60 years?
Ordway:
Mainly because it's a terrific character, with a great back story!
Partly because DC has a strong vested interest in keeping it going, and the
money to do carry it for periods of time when it's not doing so well.
Without a corporate sponsor, it could have fallen by the waysides in the
eighties, I think.
Coville:
Do you think Captain Marvel-Shazam will ever be as popular as he was in
the 1940's?
Ordway:
I don't see it happening, for much the reason I used in the
Superman answer. Cap hasn't received the same committment from DC that
Superman has, and they're not willing to treat it like a staple as they do
Wonder Woman,Flash, etc-- keeping the title in print through good and bad
times. Maybe this attitude is a holdover to the great legal battles DC had
with Fawcett, I don't know. They own this big Icon, and they just don't
push it! It's frustrating.
Coville:
What are your opinions on Rob Liefeld's Supreme?
Ordway:
Hey, I thought Alan Moore made that book special. Sure it's a take
off on Superman, but what about all the all too obvious clones of the Xmen
that are published? Moore invested a personality into Supreme, and made it
work.
Coville:
You're best known for your Superman and Shazam work, what else have you
done?
Ordway:
I've done All Star Squadron, Infinity Inc (which I co-created for
DC) inked Fantastic Four, half of Crisis, Co creatd WildStar for Image,
plus done characters of my own. Currently I'm writing and drawing 3 issues
of the Avengers!
Coville:
Are you at all interested in doing another creator owned project through
Image or Wildstorm?
Ordway:
Absolutely, though I would rather do it for Image. The problem I
have is, I can't afford to draw several issues for free, and hope to earn a
royalty after the book comes out. I'd hoped to attempt that this next year,
if I still had the Superman writing gig to bring in some money every month,
while I worked on "Proton" a character I created . It's a liberating
experience, working for nothing! Ask any small press guys!
Coville:
What about doing some non-superhero work through Dark Horse or Vertigo?
Ordway:
Again, I'd rather do my own stuff,like "the Messenger" which is
more sci-fi based, but I have no interset in Vertigo. I don't need to swear
that badly in print.
Coville:
There have been some rumors around you and Dan Jurgens being fired from
the Superman books. One rumor says two big name writers were interested in
doing the books and the new editor fired the two of you to get them. Then
the powers that be came down on the new editor and asked him to hire the
both of you back. Is this what happened?
Ordway:
Kind of. I was told that Berganza had no authorization to fire me,
but did so on his own while Mike Carlin was away on vacation. When Mike got
wind of it, he offerred me the job back, but by this time, I had already
accepted the Marvel assignments, and I didn't think it would make for a
good working relationship to write for Berganza, an editor who wanted me
gone. Dan's exit was apparently approved, as he had been on Superman for
like ten years straight, and they wanted new blood. In my case, I'd only
been dialoguing Kesel's plots for a year, and hadn't been to a Superman
story conference in over five years, so they couldn't blame me for what was
going on in the books! I was looking forward to a fresh start on the
character, and Cavalieri had given me a year's committment, which I think
DC should have honored! They offerred me nothing in exchange. This, after
twelve years being loyal to them (WildStar notwithstanding).
Coville:
So if DC offered you work on another one of their other titles, would
you take it?
Ordway:
I want an apology from a higher-up there. None has been
forthcoming, despite the fact that I was fired without authorization, in
some botched scheme of Berganza's. I know that Waid, who was apparently
offerred the book, and then had the offer recinded, got an apology from DC.
Why not me? So no, I won't work for them, until they treat me with some
respect.
Coville:
We know you're doing the inks to Thor #9 and filling in for Avengers #16-18.
Anything else coming up?
Ordway:
Dan Jurgens and I have got an idea for a project that Jurgens and I
would both work on-- two separate titles, four issues each, involving the
Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Marvel's probably going to green light it
for the fall of 1999. Besides that, I'd like to work on my own characters!
Coville:
Speaking of your Avengers fill in, you said you were doing a 'Marvel
Family' of sorts by bringing in Warbird (formerly Ms. Marvel) and Photon
(formerly Captain Marvel II). Will you also be bringing in Quasar and Genis
due to their relationship to the Captain Mar-vel name?
Ordway:
Editor Tom Brevoort said I had too many characters already for my 3
issues, so no Quasar or Genis. sorry. Maybe they'll find their way into the
new project? Who knows.
Coville:
Did Avengers editor Tom Breevort ask you do fill in for Avengers or did
you come up with the idea first and pitch it to him?
Ordway:
I got the call for them to do it about three days after I was off
Superman, and it was their idea. I was already committed to do the inking
on the Thor issue, so it was just good luck on my part. I'm not a good one
to write proposals and such. I just like to have stuff pop up, which I then
can pour my energies into!
Coville:
Will you also be inking your Avengers fill in?
Ordway:
The Avengers stuff is being inked by my WildStar collaborator, Al
Gordon! Al Vey, an old frind, may ink the last one, depending on his
schedule, otherwise Al will do that too.
Coville:
Are there any Marvel characters you would really enjoy working with,
obscure or major?
Ordway:
Daredevil, Spiderman, you name it! I grew up on the core books, and
loved them all!
Coville:
If you had the chance to do another comic book in the 'Power of Shazam'
style would you do it?
Ordway:
Probably, even though it would be creative suicide. I like all-ages
stuff. I have young children of my own, and there's very little wholesome
stuff for them to read. I'm not a prude, but I think comics in general are
way too skewed to the older readers these days. It takes some of the fun
out of it for me. I have enjoyed more adult material myself, but I think
comics are slowly dying because they can't appeal to kids-- and then if
something comes out that is kid-friendly, like Batman or Superman
Adventures, they can't get them into the mass market! Believe me, I love
comic stores, but they aren't as accessible as drugstores were in my
childhood.
Coville:
Which is a stronger. Your desire to draw or write?
Ordway:
I like to write stories, but the artistic side of me fights to draw
them! Really, I've enjoyed collaborations in the past, but there's nothing
like having the pressure resting firmly on one back (mine) to get your
heart pumping!
Coville:
What tools do you use when drawing and inking?
Ordway:
I use mechanical pencils, HB lead in the summer, 2H lead in the
winter. I prefer the rougher finish strathmore drawing paper, and ink with
a Hunt #102 crow quill pen, along with a Grumbacher #2 brush dipped in
Pelikan ink. For my color work, I use Dr Martin's Transparent Watercolor
Dyes, which are increasingly hard to find!
Coville:
How do you fix your mistakes?
Ordway:
I use white-out, or sometimes an electric eraser.
Coville:
When you write and draw a comic, how much do you put into the writing
part? Do you make a full script first or do you make basic plot and go
on from there?
Ordway:
I either do a really detailed plot, or break the story down in
small layout form. I like to indicate dialogue in my plots, as a way to
help me when I dialogue the pages faster.
Coville:
As an artist working with other writers, how much detail do you like?
Lots or little?
Ordway:
I like a fair amount of description, but hate when the writer can't
rein it in to six panels or less.
Coville:
Who are your inspirations as both an artist and writer?
Ordway:
Artistic inspiration comes from evryone who ever put pencil or pen
to paper, but especially, Kirby, Wood, Ditko, John Buscema, Alex Raymond,
Neal Adams, Byrne, Zeck, Romita-- and more! Writing comes from Kirby, Stan
Lee, Roy Thomas, John Byrne, Mike Carlin, Raymond Chandler, Stephen King,
Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and lots more!
Coville:
Have you been contacted about doing Marvel Knights or Marvel Tech related
work?
Ordway:
I was contacted about a year ago to see if I was interested in
doing the Punisher, which I was not. I think Grant and Zeck said the last
word on that character.
Coville:
Anything you want to say to your fans?
Ordway:
Thanks for the support. This wouldn't be much fun without an
interactive audience! People have followed my work right from the
beginning, and I owe my livelihood to them! I hope I can keep them
entertained.
