|
Ty Templeton has done a mix of big name superhero, independent and
licensed cartoon comics during his career. His latest work is something
different: it's an original, black and white graphic novel published by
DC/Vertigo. The book is called Bigg Time and is about something Ty is
very familiar with, show business and fame. Ty comes from a very
famous family. His mother was a singer with a few hits and his father was
heavily involved in show business and politics. In this interview, we
talk about graphic novels in general, Bigg Time, politics, his future and
more.
Jamie:
How did you like doing an original graphic novel compared to a
monthly comic book?
Ty Templeton:
First and foremost, it's wonderful to have the time to stretch out and
really TELL a story, rather than racing through everything in twenty
two pages. I get to indulge the characters more, and indulge the
pace . . .
This particular graphic novel was originally conceived as a six
issue mini-series however, so many of the monthly comic book joys
and headaches were all packed into the experience anyway.
I wrote it in eighteen page chunks, for instance so I could get a
paycheck every couple of weeks. The chapters tend to run to the
same breaks that were written into the script when it was intended to be a
miniseries . . .
Jamie:
Did you find yourself trying to put in a cliffhanger every 24 pages or
so like a normal comic series?
Ty Templeton:
WHOOPS! See answer above! Since it was conceived that way, yup, I
did . . . But we knew it was a graphic novel before I'd gotten much
farther than the first dozen or so pages anyway . . . so I wasn't a slave
to that format in the end. But there are elements of that, that
remained in the finished thing, because they're in the original plot
structure.
Jamie:
I noticed with Bigg Time, you did *everything* on the comic, some
things your not known for like
lettering, colouring and separations. Why did you take on all aspects
of doing the book?
Ty Templeton:
Well, I'm not known for them cause I haven't done them in a while.
But I used to letter everything I drew, and when I worked in the
independent comics industry in the Eighties, I had no choice but to do
everything, including boxing issues up to be shipped. I even drove
comics home from a printer once . . . I also used to colour my own
covers on Batman, so I'm used to working with a computer to colour
things. I'm very big on the idea that comics should be created by as
few hands as possible. That's one of the joys of the medium . . . I can
conceive, write, draw, colour and (should I suddenly wish to lose
money) print and publish my own comic iffen I want to. Vive la
Artiste Solo! You can't do that in Movies or TV!
Jamie:
Did you do lettering, colouring and separations by hand or by
computer?
Ty Templeton:
Most of the word balloon lettering is done on a computer. All my
sound effects letters are done as line art on the boards. I
always feel sound effects are part of the art, and ALWAYS do those
myself when I pencil.
Jamie:
Do you think graphic novels are the future of the comic industry?
Ty Templeton:
Gosh, I hope so and I hope not. Id like to see more of them, but only
good ones, of which there haven't been that many over the years.
Road to Perdition is a wonderful graphic novel, as is Stuck Rubber Baby,
and Maus, and everything Will Eisner ever did with the form . . . but
some of the best of the "Graphic Novels", such as Watchmen, or
Sandman, were originally serialized stories anyway. They just happen
to collect up nicely. GON, and Asterix, arguably my favorite graphic
novel characters, are both in ongoing series, ALSO originally printed
in a serialized form . . . But, I still get a kick out of reading Batman
or Wolverine's adventures every month. Guilty pleasure, the ongoing
series, who'd like to see that go? And I don't much agree with the
graphic novels that are essentially just long, long superhero stories.
There's been a few Batman or Green Lantern stories that came out as
hundred page hardcover books that would have worked far better as
four issue mini-series, both in terms of pace, and price. From a
marketing standpoint, I'm all for my publisher making money,
but the stories that make it as graphic novels don't always deserve the
format. More stuff by Eisner and Kyle Baker and folks like that, hell yeah.
Superheroes belong in the monthlies, though.
Jamie:
I'm no longer a huge superhero lover myself but it's surprising that
you would "write off" a whole
sub-genre as not being worthy of a different format. How would you
react if someone were to say oh.. Westerns should be off limits to a
different format like free digest sized weekly books?
Ty Templeton:
I don't think I "wrote off" a whole sub-genre with the phrase "the
(superhero) stories that make it as graphic novels don't always
deserve the format". That's more of a judgment about what's BEEN
done with the format, rather than a rule of conduct for future
projects. An awful lot of the stuff that gets turned directly into a
graphic novel, (rather than a series that gets collected up, such as
Dark Knight, etc . . . ) just hasn't met my particular critical standards.
In my experience, the Punisher, Spider-Man, JLA, Batman, Wonder Woman,
Green Lantern, Avengers, X-Men "direct to graphic novel" format projects
that I've read haven't particularly
deserved the high price or high page count. I could mention specific
titles, but that's just needlessly mean to the creators involved, most of
whom are fine writers and artists, and often friends of mine.
Can you name an original superhero graphic novel published in the
last ten years that was particularly good?
Examples of Superhero graphic novels that WERE to my liking include
The Death of Captain Marvel by Starlin, Batman: Birth of the Demon,
by O'Neil and Breyfogle, Superman vs. Mohammad Ali by O'Neil and
Adams. Those were all a while ago, I'll admit . . . but I haven't found
many that blew me away of late. I haven't read Catwoman's Big
Score, by Cooke, which I'm told is pretty good, so I may change my
mind any day now.
But think through your favorite superhero stories or moments over the
years . . . I'll be surprised if many, or if ANY of those moments come in
an original graphic novel format. My favorite moments sure don't. But
some of my favorite moments in comics DO come in graphic novels.
Cowboy Wally, Maus, The Building . . . all manage sublime moments of
wonder, without a cape in sight. I think pop songs, sit-coms, poetry,
candy, liquor, comedy sketches, and superheroes all work best is short
doses. I'm certainly willing to watch a four hour Fawlty Towers
marathon, or read Dante's epic poems, because no rule of art and
creativity is written in stone. But I don't think a four hour Just
Shoot Me marathon would keep my attention, and consider all the SNL
sketch characters who get expanded out to star in HORRIFIC two hour
films. But I LOVE the idea of free digest sized Westerns. Who can we
contact to get started on that?
Jamie:
Do you want to do more original graphic novels?
Ty Templeton:
I might enjoy writing one. I don't think the art side attracts me
quite so much, unless I get around to actually learning to draw. I
have no natural talent for art . . . I'm self taught, and hardly taught at
that . . . I'm too much the perfectionist, and I sweat out each line sometimes,
continuously dissatisfied with what goes onto the paper. I'm getting less
angry at my hands, but I still don't much enjoy the constant fight that
illustrating is to me. I'm much better in short bursts, like single
issues, or covers. Writing makes me giggle and smile though.
Jamie:
Are not artists supposed to be this way? Perfectionists, always
unsatisfied with their work, etc . . . ?
Ty Templeton:
Not for their own sanity, they're not supposed to be. I'd rather not
spend my days frustrated. I get more of a hoot out of laughing and
tickling my children than fighting with my lack of ability to draw.
I'm a good writer, and a good inker, and I never seem to sweat that
stuff, but penciling is something I'm not basically very good at, and
I find it frustrating. I've read that Jerry Ordway and Al Williamson
are like that too, and they are two of my FAVORITE pencilers in the
biz . . . so there!
Jamie:
With a monthly series, you can get some feedback along the way to
what readers do and don't like about your work. Was it any easier
or more difficult to do a whole story without audience feedback
along the way?
Ty Templeton:
I had feedback working on the book. My wife and a number of my
friends read the chapters as I was doing them, and of course, both my
editors, Joan Hilty and Heidi MacDonald were good to bounce off of. I
may not have had much feedback directly from fans for the story, but
the story was fairly personal anyway, and wouldn't have benefited
from too many hands on the tiller.
Jamie:
I can't but notice that the book takes place in a very similar Toronto
town, even a few blocks from here (the Toronto Expo) is the Bay Street
Station. "The Bums Rush" has a familiar looking background. Why did you
base this Hollywood story so close to home?
Ty Templeton:
As I said, it's a more or less personal story. If you read the "About
the Author" in the back of the book, you'll find out I've been in and
around show biz and the famousness business my whole life, which I
happened to have spent in Toronto. I didn't see a need to put it in
L.A. or New York, since I haven't really lived in either city. I
actually don't name the city any of this takes place in, but you're
right, it's Toronto. Besides, more movies are made in Toronto, and
more albums recorded up here, than in any city in North America BUT
New York and LA. Why NOT put it up here? We're Hollywood North,
ain't we?
Jamie:
Yes, but American entertainment companies often like to Americanize
things in order to make them more commercial. Did you choose to not
name Toronto so the story would be more universal?
Ty Templeton:
Well, I more or less did name Toronto, by not particularly hiding that
it was Toronto. T.O. Subway stations, street signs, and the Canadian
Prime Minister run about the novel unmolested . . . well, the PM gets
molested a LITTLE bit. The name of the town simply never came up in
the script, but it was a Canadian town, since I'm a Canadian writer.
Jamie:
How did the idea of you doing Bigg Time come about? Did you have
to aggressively pitch that to DC/Vertigo or did they come to you?
Ty Templeton:
While at a convention in Chicago, I pitched Joan Hilty about a science
fiction project I wanted to do (and still do, btw). She told me she
wasn't buying anything SF at the time, but did I have something with a
magical angle to it . . . ? I mentioned an old screenplay idea that I'd
started and never finished a year or so before, and she asked to hear
about it . . . liked it, and we went from there. It mutated through a
mini-series, to a graphic novel, back to a mini and back to a graphic
novel along the way, and the plot underwent a couple of major and a
few minor changes from the pitch, but that was about it. There wasn't
much aggressive pitching on my part. Right place at the right time.
Plus, the pitch made her laugh . . .
Jamie:
How Americans do you think will get the Canadian Prime Minister
Jean Crouton joke?
Ty Templeton:
Believe it or not, the name was actually Cretien RIGHT up until about
a week before the whole thing went to the printer. Literally on the
last proofread through, the editor called me up and asked me if
Cretien was the P.M's real name. "Yeah," I said . . . "Oh we can't have
that," said the editor . . . "For legal reasons, you can't use the Prime
Minister's real name." So we relettered the balloon so it read
Crouton . . . but here's the best part: No one caught the fact that it
was the real PM's name, because both the editor and the proofreader
thought I made the name "Cretien" up. They thought it was a French
spoof on the word cretin.
Jamie:
Of course you noticed he resigns as Prime Minister the day after your
book hits the stands. So that's obviously your fault.
Ty Templeton:
All according to plan. Now if only the Bush people get the secret
hypnotic message that's intended for them, then my work here is done.
Jamie:
And who would you replace Cretien and Bush with?
Ty Templeton:
I have nothing particularly against Cretien. I've voted for him, and
might have even done it again. I'm basically a Liberal or NDP kind of
vote, pretty well every election. Paul Martin seems like a fine
replacement for Jean . . . I'm fairly sure he's who we'll get anyway. As
for replacing Bush? Pretty well any creature, vertebrate or
invertebrate could do a better job than that smirking frat boy clown.
Don't even get me started on the ruinous car wreck that I find his
Fraudulent and embarrassing administration to be. Imagine someone
actually usurping the position of "Worst American President of my
Lifetime" from Nixon . . .
Jamie:
Was this book a nice change of pace from doing all those cartoon
comics for the last few years?
Ty Templeton:
My whole career is a change of pace. Cartoon comics (including Ren
and Stimpy, Batman Adventures, Bugs Bunny, the Simpsons) have
been a mainstay of my work for the last little while, by my own choice, and
as a change of pace from the mainstream superhero comics I did for a
while, (Superman, Avengers,
Justice League) which were a change of pace from the funky independent
stuff (Stig's Inferno, National Lampoon, Mr. X, etc . . . much like this
graphic novel, in fact) that I did for most of the Eighties and early
Nineties.
Jamie:
Are there any particular genre's and/or formats you want to explore in
the future?
Ty Templeton:
I'm getting a tickle to work on some more Looney Toons stuff in the
future. I may or may not get to . . . but I did a little bit for the
100th anniversary issue of Looney Toons from DC, and enjoyed it
greatly, and wouldn't mind doing more.I've got a nibble from a
friend of mine to help art direct yet another TV pilot, (making it
about a dozen I've worked on over the years) which I hope I get to do.
Beyond that, I'm focusing on Batman, the Simpsons and the other
projects I have actualy ON my desk. I don't get too far ahead of the
present . . . I'm a live in the moment kind of guy.
Jamie:
According to ICV2.com Bigg Time placed #18 in the top 50 Graphic
Novels, selling approximately 6,400 pre orders through Diamond.
Is that better or worse than you expected?
Ty Templeton:
We had a re-order a couple of weeks later that took us up to about eight
thousand, I believe. That's about what my editor and I guessed it was
going to do . . . about eight thou . . . It would be nice if it could sneak up
to ten thousand over the next year . . . it would be nice, but I'm not
holding my breath. So it did about what we expected.
Jamie:
What are you doing in the future?
Ty Templeton:
I'm writing a mini series for DC, that's not yet scheduled, so it's
hush hush time. More or that later. I'm doing a little more Batman
work again . . . I just inked an issue, and might be writing and/or
drawing a few more. I always loved Batman to work on, so it's nice to be home with him
again. Gotham City is familiar and fun territory. I did a couple of
Simpsons/Bongo comics stories . . . a Simpson's Hallowe'en special that's
just come out, and a Radioactive Man story that's due out in a few
months, I think.
I did a page in the Looney Toons 100th issue special, and had so much
fun on it, I promised myself to do more with the Warner Bros
characters in the future. Joan Hilty is editing the Warner Bros.
comics at DC, and since we worked together on the BIGG TIME novel . . .
well, we're happy to work together again . . . so maybe a Duck Dodgers
giant, or something. Who knows?
|
