Ethan Van Sciver Interview
January 2007

Ethan Van Sciver was the artist on the critically acclaimed, Geoff Johns written, Green Lantern: Rebirth mini-series, and he is currently teaming up with Johns again on the Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps one shot.  

Interview Conducted by Christopher Hoerdemann

What was your first comics work?
That would be the brilliantly imagined and realized CYBERFROG #1 for Hall of Heroes in 1993. It paid me nothing, except for the sheer joy of having a comic book published. I took a Greyhound bus out to Elkhart, Indiana to meet my publisher and take home a big box of complimentary copies, which I handed out to the other Greyhound passengers on the return trip. I colored the cover myself with Crayola markers. Truly, if you haven't had a comic book published before, I recommend it. It's a shiny, happy feeling.

Since you've worked for both Marvel and DC, what can you say about how the companies function differently?
I have no idea. People ask me this question a lot. Do other creators who have worked at both companies get asked this too? I wonder. The intricacies of how Marvel and DC function don't interest me. It's about people, it's about optimism, creativity and fun. And money, but money comes AFTER all that stuff. DC is a better company to work for in my opinion, but I only worked for Marvel for a year over 5 years ago. So what do I know? It could be like sliding down a licorice rainbow at Marvel right now. You'll have to find out for yourself.

You are a pretty prominent artist right now, and your art is quite realistic. My question is how much photo reference do you use? Do you use actors as models for certain characters?
I am? It is? I use a little photo reference here and there to remind myself of what things look like. RARELY, and I mean RARELY, do I take a photo and use it to draw a panel or a cover. It's happened maybe twice. Photo reference is important for information, because if asked to draw a city street, I can wing it with the best of them, but you can't beat the random, gritty truth in detail that photo reference can give you. So it's a tool, not a crutch, and I don't believe in lightboxing people from magazines and slapping spandex on them. It looks strange. I don't use models or actors for certain characters. I tend to have images in my brain of what these people look like, and work hard to transcribe that to paper. So, to sum up, photo reference is there to help dress your backgrounds, give a nudge to your facial expressions, and draw cars and animals that are impossible to create on your own. Not to trace, not to swipe, and not to rely upon. 

   

What is your opinion on the state of comics right now? What positive things are happening right now, and what negative things?
Oh, I don't know. I honestly don't care what's going on outside of my studio these days. I suppose comics are doing very well. 52 and Civil War seem to be breaking sales records, which means that the rest of us get to keep working. It's fine.

You are infamous for hiding messages in your art. What places can we look to find some more of your messages?
Look wherever you want. I don't put messages and images in my art for the purpose of entertaining anyone but myself, so if you find something, have a chuckle. But I'm not providing a key. Some of it is embarrassing.

Do you view your job as a comic book artist as a "job" or more of a fun thing? Do you get up every morning dreading the work you have to do that day?
Sometimes it's a joy and I feel absolutely exhilarated by what I'm doing, and other times, it's a chore, but I have to slug it out anyway. Sometimes I can't believe what I'm being asked to draw and it's torture. But I don't dread it. Drawing is still great fun, even though it's so incredibly difficult for me. It's not something I can do without great concentration. You want to know what it feels like? It's like being submerged 100 feet underwater, and you've got to hold your breath and fight for the surface. (The surface representing completion.) It's often that stressful to me, but finishing the drawing and being pleased with it is like taking a big huge breath of air. It's satisfying in a unique way. I'll stare at my own work for a while, studying it, finding my mistakes, trying to learn. I don't want to be average. I want to be a great comic book artist. GREAT. As in John Romita and Neal Adams. Someday I'd like to be considered alongside those guys, and that's worth every minute of this. 

   

Have you been interested in comics since you were younger? If so, what type of stuff did you tend to read?
Eh, I loved DC Super heroes from the age of 3, but not the comics. The movies, cartoons and toys. I didn't read comics until 7th grade or so. John Byrne's MAN OF STEEL, Todd McFarlane's HULK...that stuff hooked me.

What is the character that you haven't had the chance to draw yet, that you really have the urge to draw?
Metamorpho. I've drawn almost everyone, just not enough. I haven't ever drawn Metamorpho, and I like that bastard. He's got a wooden leg.

You're getting ready to team with Geoff Johns on a Green Lantern project. What beans can you spill on that project?
GREEN LANTERN: SINESTRO CORPS. It's an annual, 48 pages long, that leads into a six-issue arc on the regular series. It features the entire cast of REBIRTH, and contains at least half a dozen HUGE revelatory moments for Green Lantern fans that will knock their heads off. I might do another 48 page bookend after that, but I'm not sure yet. We'll see how well this one is received.

What's your favorite part about working with Geoff Johns?
He never fails to be enthusiastic about his work. You can tell that he's having a great time, and his energy is infectious. You want to live up to it as an artist. It's lots of fun. 

   

You've worked on a lot of big characters throughout your career. Which ones are your favorites to draw?
Doesn't it suck that I'm going to answer you by saying "Batman"? Everyone says that. Well, I like drawing him too. I love Wonder Woman, and I'm having a great time doing these FLASH covers. Obviously all of the Green Lanterns. John Stewart especially. Oh, they're all good. All of these super heroes are awesome.

If you had the chance to go back and redo a project you did in the past, which one would it be?
Errr, I don't think I want to redo any of them. Not because I think they're perfect, I'm just glad they're finished. I could probably go back and draw some more NEW X-MEN. I wish I'd gotten to draw #119 and 120, but the cookie crumbles that way, and that's life.

Do you have any additional teasers that you can give us about your upcoming work?
Batman stuff.

I wasn't sure if you've ever written a comic before, so I will go on the assumption that you haven't......what comic book would you be interested in writing?
I wouldn't be interested in writing anything. If someone said, "Ethan, come and write a big Justice League story," I'd politely say, "I don't wish to offend you or anyone, but I must decline your kind offer." And that would be that. I'd hope we could leave it there, without violence or reprisals.

What is the best comic book coming out right now?
Um...Justice Society of America.

Final Question: What is the one thing you just have to do before your comic book career is over?
Finish GREEN LANTERN: SINESTRO CORPS #1.