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Herb Trimpe is best known for his 8 year run on The Incredible Hulk.
Many fans and pros say his version of the Hulk is the definitive one.
He also drew the first appearance of Wolverine within that Hulk run. In
this interview we talk about his career, Wolverine, Stan Lee, his time
working at the Twin Towers after 9/11 and other things he's been doing
since he stopped drawing for Marvel Comics.
Jamie Coville:
Do you have any desire to get back into drawing comic books?
Herb Trimpe:
Not really. Making some money might be nice, but I'd rather find
another way to do it. I do some commission work, and that's about enough.
Jamie:
If you were to do some comic book work, how would you draw it?
Herb Trimpe:
With a pencil. Ha, ha. Sorry, I really don't know what you mean.
Would that be the style? If so, it would be the way the work has
looked in the later days. As far as inking goes, I used to use a brush
but have lost the touch. Probably mostly with a pen which gives the
work a certain look.
Jamie:
You've said in previous interviews Stan Lee would point artists
to Kirby to see how things should be done. In your latter years, you
adapted your style to look more like Rob Liefeld's and Jim Lee's
work. If DC were to give you a Superman story to draw, would you
mimic another artists style?
Herb Trimpe:
No, probably not. The other thing, I mostly changed to the
Liefeld/Lee style as a joke for an inventory job I did. Just to
show that anyone could do it. Marvel wound up buying it. Also, it
was mostly Jack's dynamics and story telling, not his style so much that
Stan wanted.
Jamie:
You worked at Marvel as a staff artist. I assume you did more
than just pencil books when you were there?
Herb Trimpe:
I did some inking, also. I usually liked to ink my own work, but
the schedule didn't always allow for that. I actually started out in
the production department operating a photocopy machine.
Jamie:
Among your earliest Marvel work was a Phantom Eagle story printed
in Marvel Super-Heroes #16. Who created the character?
Herb Trimpe:
Gary Friedrich, who was a staff writer at the time. He knew I
liked airplanes and thought it would be cool to do a story together. I'm
amazed that you know about the Phantom Eagle.
Jamie:
Was he at all inspired by the Phantom Eagle that appeared in
Fawcett's Wow Comics?
Herb Trimpe:
We knew there was such a character, but there was no intent to
bring him back to life. Ours was a totally new feature, at least that's
what it was meant to be.
Jamie:
In other interviews you mentioned liking Disney Comics, EC books
and Superman. Were you not at all interested in The Blackhawks?
Herb Trimpe:
Oh, yes, definitely. Funny, though, I really didn't read that
comic. I liked to look at the airplanes, but I think there were too
many words. I especially liked the airplanes they used, particularly the
Grumman Skyrocket. It was never put into production in real life, but
the Blackhawks got quite a bit of use out of it.
Jamie:
What did you think of Wolverine when you first saw him?
Herb Trimpe:
Since Wolverine first appeared in a Hulk comic I drew, I was not
impressed one way or the other. At the time, it was just another
character we needed to develop to complete a story -- and, I think there
was some thought to appeal to the Canadian market.
Jamie:
Are you surprised at his popularity?
Herb Trimpe:
I'm not surprised by anything that happens in comics -- and I
wouldn't want to predict what would be popular and what wouldn't. A lot
of it's just plain timing and luck.
Jamie:
In the 70s you used to travel with Stan Lee and do drawings for
his presentations. What was that like?
Herb Trimpe:
How do you know about that? It's not that I was his sidekick or
anything, it mostly had to do with availability. I just happened to be
around at the right time. I went with Stan to a Philadelphia TV show
once, and there was a show in England at which I drew for the audience,
but I was actually living there at the time and didn't travel with Stan.
There was something in NY also, a PR thing, but just about everybody
was at that one, and of course we did a show at Carnegie Hall with some
well-known personalities, and I got to play in a rock band. That was fun.
Jamie:
I've heard that during the media spotlight, Stan got and
effectively took credit for Marvel's success, which is what angered
Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. Did you see any of that while there?
Herb Trimpe:
Well, no, I didn't, but, you know, Stan is the Man, and he has a
certain charming way about him, and it almost doesn't matter what he
says, he'd still get all the credit because people don't always want to
believe what they are hearing. I'm sure if you talked to Stan
personally, he would give full credit to all the people who made Marvel
what it was, especially to the KING of COMICS, Jack King Kirby. Keep in
mind that people love controversy.
Jamie:
Lately you've been writing a lot. At Marvel you written a bit of
stuff, usually scripting. Looking back do you wish you had written
more?
Herb Trimpe:
No, because writing is work-intensive and the pay proportionally
isn't as good as doing the art. That's not to say I don't enjoy
writing, because I do very much. But when it comes to making money, I'd
just as soon do it the easiest way I know how.
Jamie:
Herb Trimpe:
Of course not. I think they're free, anyway. Generally, fans are
only interested in the things they like--or the things that have some
nostalgic appeal. That's their connection to the person who does the
work. You could be a Hemingway or a Vonnegut underneath it all, but it
wouldn't matter. That doesn't mean to say that I, for instance,
couldn't be successful in another field, say writing. I could, and I
have tried. But the only people who go into a comic artist's website
are comic book fans, and they only want one thing when looking at my
website--the Hulk, or Godzilla, or whatever.
Jamie:
Do you have any interest in writing new comic books?
Herb Trimpe:
Nope. That being said, I have been working on a novel graphic on
and off for a while. I say "novel graphic" instead of "graphic novel"
because it would basically be a novel with illustrations rather than
illustrations with words -- which is really not a novel at all, it's just
a fat comic book.
Jamie:
Okay, what is this illustrated book about and do you know when we
will see it?
Herb Trimpe:
It's a kind of a retro 30s thing that goes back
and forth between Mars and Earth over a million year period. I'm
doing it for the fun of it, and nobody will probably ever see it.
Remember, it's not the Hulk.
Jamie:
You wrote a very well publicized article for the New York Times
about getting fired from Marvel and your transition to a teaching
job. Did you hear any reaction from Marvel after that saw print?
Herb Trimpe:
No, I didn't, but I got a nice note from Stan complimenting me on
the writing.
Jamie:
I understand you did some paintings after Marvel fired you. Will
we ever see those on your website?
Herb Trimpe:
Wait a minute! How the heck do you know that? Were you living in
my house, or something? Hiding in a closet? Yes! I did some
paintings, but nobody knows that except my family, the dogs and the
cats. I did a bunch of small paintings with flowers being the subject.
Also, a couple of landscapes. Some in oils, some in acrylics. And,
no, they are not going on my website, thank you very much. Can you
imagine how many people would be interested in THAT?
Jamie:
I haff my ways . Seriously, you mentioned the
paintings in a previous interview. Bob Kane and Carl Barks did
paintings after they retired from comics. You ever think about
painting monsters like Frankenstein or working something out with
Marvel and doing Hulk paintings?
Herb Trimpe:
I hate painting, actually. It is the toughest way to make a picture.
It is a very difficult and disciplined learning process, and I've
never had the energy to proceed in that direction.
Jamie:
For a few years you were an art teacher. Do you know if any of
your students made themselves a name in art?
Herb Trimpe:
That is such a funny question. Don't ask me why. I taught mostly
middle school art, and my first class just graduated last June, sooo,
not much time to make a name for themselves. I was just a regular art
teacher (photography, also) and did all the stuff that you remember art
teachers doing. The only exception was, I did a section on comic art.
That was a trip and a half, I can tell you that.
Jamie:
I understand you worked at the World Trade Center after 9/11
being a Chaplain. Can you tell us what your duties were?
Herb Trimpe:
I was a chaplain in the on-site morgue and assisted in the recovery
of, and officiated over, human remains. There were around sixty of us
from all denominations and faiths providing a twenty four/seven service,
working under the authority of the American Red Cross.
Jamie:
You wrote a book about your experience called The Power of Angels
and said the profits from it will go to a charity. Can you tell us
a bit about the book and the charity any profits would go to?
Herb Trimpe:
The Power of Angels is based on a journal I kept in order to help
me process what went on down there. The book is an insider's view of
the wonderful people I met at Ground Zero, and the great job they did.
It is shown on my website at www.herbtrimpe.com.
I think there may be links, and I believe it is still for sale on
www.amazon.com. The book has sold three copies that I know of for sure,
so sales have not even been close to the break even point. Remember, it's not
about the Incredible Hulk. The designation of profits will be decided upon by
myself and the publisher, when and if a profit is realized. The money
will be distributed according to needs at that time.
Jamie:
As of late there have been a lot of conspiracy theories floating
around about the 9/11 attacks and how the Twin Towers went down.
Having been at the site and seen the wreckage, what are your
thoughts?
Herb Trimpe:
It's all nonsense. What happened, was, a bunch of horribly
misguided people acting upon their religious zeal flew airplanes into
two of the worlds's tallest structures as well as the Pentagon. God
knows where else they were headed with the airplane that went down in
Pennsylvania. Thousands were killed, and it's not the first time in
history people have been so motivated. Unfortunately, you can bet it
won't be the last.
Regards,
Jamie Coville
http://www.TheGraphicNovels.com
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