Now on to the interview which includes a special appearance by another
popular creator.
Jamie:
Ramona:
Jamie:
Are you enjoying Toronto?
Ramona:
Jamie:
Have you been out to see the sites at all?
Ramona:
No I haven't, I've been sitting here drawing steadily.
Jamie:
Ramona:
Jamie:
Okay to start off, I've recorded your panel and I'm going to try
not and duplicate those questions. At the beginning you said you read
comic strips. What strips in particular?
Ramona:
Oh I like all the daily newspaper strips. I liked Dick Tracy,
Orphan Annie, Alley Oop, Mandrake the Magician and more. The only one I
didn't really like was Brenda Starr (laughter). I never read it, I
didn't like the way it looked.
Ty Templeton (to Ramona):
Hi, I can't let this convention end without
saying you are one of my favorite people in this business. I love
absolutely everything you have ever done. My name is Ty Templeton and I
worked on Plastic Man at DC. We've shared characters. I didn't want to
interrupt this conversation but I at some point just had to come by and
shake your hand.
Ramona (to Ty):
Ramona (to Jamie):
Lets leave that part in (laughter).
Jamie:
Jamie:
You said your father got you into becoming an artist. How did
that go about?
Ramona:
Well, he just kept saying it was conditioning. When I got to
high school I took a lot of art courses. Not because I was particularly
interested in it, but because it was something I could do. I had
neglected studying so I couldn't get into college with the grades I had.
So I went to art school but I didn't have any idea of what I'd do.
Jamie:
So you just went along with the flow?
Ramona:
Yeah, I went a long with the flow. When I got out I was just
bewildered. I had no idea and I just got steered into cartooning.
Jamie:
When you were learning art was there any particular influences
that you had?
Ramona:
Will Eisner. I just thought he was incredible when I first saw
the Spirit. It was just the way it should be you know? There was a mix
of serious and cartooning.
Jamie:
Did you ever get a chance to meet him?
Ramona:
I was nominated for an Eisner and at one point I was on a stage
with him and shook his hand.
Jamie:
He was here two years ago.
Ramona:
He was a genius, definitely a genius.
Jamie:
Oh yes. You mentioned that you almost worked with Fox?
Ramona:
I got a script from Fox and I returned it because I heard they
didn't pay. I then did three scripts for Stan Lee at Timely. The last
job was for the dogs (laughter). It was bad.
Jamie:
Were there any other publishers besides DC and Marvel that you
worked for?
Ramona:
No, just those two. And mostly DC.
Jamie:
So you never bothered with Charlton?
Ramona:
I never knew anything about them. I was lucky.
Jamie:
At DC how strict was the creative process of drawing? I know they
were a lot more strict than Marvel.
Ramona:
Well DC was interested in maintaining a certain format. When I
started they wanted to maintain the 6 panel grid, two panels to a line.
They didn't really want to deviate from that. But as time went on they
got looser. By the time I finished I could make any type of layout that
I wanted. I mean, they were strict at first, they were very worried
about the continuity from one panel to another.
Jamie:
Ramona:
Yes, sometimes I could get something in the wrong place.
Jamie:
Did you every deviate from the script at all?
Ramona:
I never wanted to. Unless it was something that was so horrible
to draw (laughter). The most that I would do is when the writer would
say... and this is the thing that made me quit cartooning... there was a
panel where I had to draw thousands of roses being dropped out of an
airplane. And I thought, I cannot do this, this is just insane
(laughter). So you have to think of ways of abbreviating the idea, the
impression. Thats the only way I would change things.
Jamie:
You've spent a long time on Aquaman. Do you know why Aquaman
stuck around while other superheroes didn't?
Ramona:
I really don't know. I guess it was all the silly young men that
kept reading him. He's changed though, I don't see him as the character
at all.
Jamie:
Are you surprised Aqualad is still around after all these years?
Ramona:
Yes, I never understood while he had any appeal to begin with
(laughter).
Jamie:
I know you took some time off and then they called you back to
work on Metamorpho.
Ramona:
Yes, I think I was out for about 3 years. George Kashdan called
me and asked me to at least help get it started. I then stopped again
around 1973 I think.
Jamie:
Ramona:
I had a baby. She was clinging to my knee while I was trying to
draw and it was terrible. So I just quit.
Jamie:
What went into the creation of Metamorpho? Were you given any
visual cue's on how he should look?
Ramona:
No, no, we did do a lot of talking about it. The first sketches
I did and I think I may have them somewhere.. I made him a conventional
type hero with a cape and tights and whole thing. That didn't seem to
work, then we talked some more. I think I finally figured it out that
since he was based on 4 basic elements that he should be divided into 4
parts and that he shouldn't have any clothes on. I mean.. otherwise, how
would he do that? So it just evolved as we reasoned it.
Jamie:
Do you know why they ended his series?
Ramona:
I don't know, I know it sorta fizzled out and they keep trying
to revive it from time to time. I think his time you know..
Jamie:
Ramona:
Jamie:
So how did you end up working at Marvel?
Ramona:
Well, I didn't "end up" (laughter). It was the 70s, I was
retired for about 7 years and there was the womens movement. They had a
Womens strip and they wanted a women to illustrate it. I heard somewhere
that Stan Lee really loved my work on Metamorpho and maybe they were
hoping I could still draw that way, but my drawing was really rusty. And
besides, it wasn't the same story.
Jamie:
Yeah, not the same character. The Cat is not Metamorpho.
Ramona:
No, not at all. My drawing has always been really influenced by
the script. It tends to change with the script and that was quite
different.
Jamie:
The last story that I know of, that you did was an 8 page Aquaman
for Just imagine Stan Lee's Aquaman.
Ramona:
Oh that's right, yeah. That was hard to do. That was bad. I
mean, I was rusty. It's very hard to get back into illustrating a script
after you've been gone a long time. That was not my proudest moment
(laughter). And I hate the colors. There is a woman down here she's got
that.. have you seen her coloring? It's beautiful! The computer stuff is
just bad.
Jamie:
Going back to Metamorpho, do you know how they decided on the
colors of the character?
Ramona:
I don't know if I did that or not. I have a feeling that I did.
I never colored so I'm not sure how I would have. I don't know.
Jamie:
Did you like inking your own work?
Ramona:
No. It was like doing it all over again.
Jamie:
I heard Kirby say the same thing.
Ramona:
I never got a handle working with a brush. You never know what
it's going to do.
Jamie:
As of late a lot of work is being reprinted by DC. Hopefully you
are being compensated for that?
Ramona:
Oh yes. DC has been really good about royalties, they really
have. I can't complain. I get paid better now than when I was first
drawing them (laughter).
Jamie:
That's good to hear. Have you seen the new Metamorpho trade?
Ramona:
Jamie:
Do you like it better in black and white or color?
Ramona:
I think I'd like to see it in color.
Jamie:
So you have no interest in going back and doing comics at all?
Ramona:
Jamie:
Ramona:
Yes. It's WORK. I don't draw easily. I've seen some of these
artists and they just spin it out. Marie Severin is like that. She's
just do-do-do-do and it's a finished drawing. I can't do that. I really
struggle. It's hard unless I'm up against a deadline I just put aside
all inhibitions and just draw. Then it's easy. Otherwise it's just hard
for me. I keep editing and changing.
Jamie:
I'm trying to think of a Brenda Starr question that hasn't
already been asked...
Ramona:
On Brenda I did my own inking.
Jamie:
You penciled and inked that?
Ramona:
It was a more comic style. It was easier to ink that. Every
week, 7 pages. I used to number the panels. 25-26 panels a week,
penciled and inked. It was just a grind. It was horrible (laughter). And
it wasn't like the strip was making a million dollars either. The
Syndicate was so cheap. In over 5 years I didn't get in increase in pay.
And not only that I used to get the receipts, the statements, and I
began to notice that when the receipts went up, the production costs
went up. And that was what my pay was based on. This went on and I
thought it was crazy. So I got a lawyer. Then it didn't happen anymore.
They are just criminals.
Jamie:
They didn't want to pay you any more?
Ramona:
I just can't say enough bad about the Syndicate. Everybody I
know that worked for them was treated badly by them. They're all
criminals in expensive suits.
Jamie:
You mentioned Dale Messick left Brenda Starr under bad
circumstances.
Ramona:
She hated them. She made them hundreds of millions of dollars
over the years with movies rights and merchandising. They fired her
actually and they didn't even give her a wrist watch. They probably
ripped her off for all those years too. She promised she'd live forever
so they'd have to keep paying that puny pension they gave her.
Jamie:
Okay, you are doing commissions now. Is that going well for you?
Ramona:
Oh yes. It's as much as I want to do and I can do it whenever I
want.
Regards,
Jamie Coville
http://www.TheGraphicNovels.com
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