To his fans, Cole Dennis is a heavyweight contender with a devastating right hook. To a city being held hostage to chaos and terror, Dennis has a grit and charisma that make him the shining hope for justice–until he is arrested for a brutal murder. Framed for a crime he did not commit, he finds himself captive in a foreboding high-tech superprison whose masters secretly conspire to turn inmates into tomorrow’s most terrifying bioweapons–with Cole Dennis as the intended prize specimen. But Dennis is nobody’s lab rat. Reborn as a towering engine of destruction, Dennis will prepare for the fight of his life. He will rename himself Ghostface Killah. And his cry of righteous rage will echo beyond the cold steel walls of Cell Block Z.
So we love art and we love music, but it was only within the past couple years we noticed that musicians, specifically hip hop MCs, are beginning to star in their own graphic novels. Good hip hop MCs have already created vivid images of themselves with their lyrics, music, videos, photos and so on. Now, these MCs that we’ve known and loved for years are exploding onto pages, or even LCD displays in digital form. Method Man was the first of the Wu-Tang Clan to release a graphic novel for Hachette Book Group, followed by members GZA and now the great Ghostface Killah.
When given the opportunity for an interview with Chris Walker, the illustrator behind Ghostface’s new graphic novel Cell Block Z, we couldn’t resist. Walker’s work has appeared in the pages of such substantial comics as Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman when he worked for Marvel, and he is currently producing and developing animated projects for Humouring the Fates animation studios, and creating communication solutions for companies through 5Rings Design.
Interview:
How did you get into comic books and graphic novels when you were younger?
Chris Walker: Well, I was always into comics. Some of my first drawings as a kid, where you can tell what they are, are of Batman and Robin. I’ve always liked cartoons and comics so it was just one of those things.
Hipsterwave: Just made sense, huh?
Chris Walker: Yeah. I would save my money and buy comics at the drug store, and when I got older, I would go to the comic shop we had downtown.
Hipsterwave: They had a bigger/better selection, I’m guessing?
Chris Walker: :D Just a little. That’s when you get serious. At first it’s like Spider-Man is cool. Then you want to know what happened in the story and somehow you find out, “At the comic book store, they have all the back issues with all the story lines you’ve ever wanted to know!!” LOL! I’ve seen it happen old and young: like someone who has been away from comics for years discovers the comic book store and they are hooked at least for 2-3 years from that point.
Hipsterwave: Right.
Chris Walker: It’s like finding a new show and getting the box sets of the first three seasons.
Hipsterwave: Interesting. So the next question, How did you get your start in illustrating, although that’s not all that you do currently?
Chris Walker: Professionally, I started in high school, doing T-Shirt designs and I worked in college at a T-Shirt shop. After college I picked up freelance gigs by submitting my portfolio to various companies. It’s really about making the best portfolio you can and sending it out.
Hipsterwave: And then eventually one of those companies picked you up and you were working for them?
Chris Walker: Kind of. As a free lance illustrator, it’s more about keeping new projects coming in to your desk, so it’s not like finding a job with a company, unless you work in-house for like a card company or gaming company. It also depends on the type of illustrator you are. If you are an editorial illustrator, you are probably working hard to keep editors calling about new work.
Hipsterwave: Okay, the next question. How do you think your background influenced your work on Cell Block Z?
Chris Walker: I really wanted to have it reflect in the work. I’ve worked in a lot of industries: music, advertising, comics, animation. I went to school for painting and am a huge fan of anime and Manga, so there are bits and pieces of all that stuff. I’m also into street art and graffiti, so I let all those things come out in the work.
Hipsterwave: Lots of cool ideas tied together.
Chris Walker: Definitely. I brought in Rob Haynes: a friend of mine who works in comics. Rob is really great at story telling. He did the layouts for the book, which allowed me to think about the creative and art direction: thinking about the marks I wanted to make, the textures I wanted to use, the feeling I wanted the pages to have when you flipped through the book. Plus, I knew Rob’s layouts would make sure there was always a good story underneath the style.
Hipsterwave: So you were trying to bring it to life for the reader, in a way?
Chris Walker: Totally. I wanted to really bring to life Ghostface’s rawness. He’s a really talented MC and his work is very intense and immediate.
Hipsterwave: Agreed.
Chris Walker: I wanted the pages to reflect that.
Hipsterwave: What was some of the creative process for you in illustrating Cell Block Z?
Chris Walker: I submitted ideas about the look and feel of the book, as well as the character designs to the creative team so Ghost could approve them. After that, I got the script from the writers, Shauna Garr and Marlon Chapman. Rob did breakdowns and layouts of the script. From there, working in Photoshop, I would go in and interrupt the layouts, think about the style I wanted, and start applying really heavy lines and inks to give it a hard drawn feel. I really thought about old 70’s comics and about Japanese calligraphy. Other times, I thought about raw ink lines and graffiti. After I had the line art like I wanted I went back in and applied tones to the pages to get the light and darkness. On top of that I built the modeling and lighting on the figures.
Hipsterwave: All still in Photoshop?
Chris Walker: Yeah. It’s a very robust program. You can really make it look like things are hand drawn when they are not. I applied a lot of the stuff I learned in school about mixed media approaches to drawing. So, then I went back in and added textures to the figures and would apply a painting style to the backgrounds, maybe put another texture on top, and then you throw in some lighting effects.
Hipsterwave: So there were endless possibilities?
Chris Walker: Haha. Sounds complicated, but most artists do this kind of stuff. If it’s a fully rendered piece, it might be done by hand, paint brush or air brush, but the process is very similar. You just keep building it up until you have what you want and you can stop anywhere in the process, if you get the look you want. So, sometimes you stop at the line stage, and maybe put just a little bit of tones in.
Hipsterwave: Is that difficult to know — when to stop?
Chris Walker: It can be. It’s all for effect. So for a comic artist, it’s all about the story. How does the style and look affect the story? Is it over-emphasizing a character too much? Is it slowing down your eye? Speeding it up? All those things enhance the story for the reader.
Hipsterwave: Interesting.
Chris Walker: Comics are very cool. They seem very straight-forward, but there’s science behind them, just as much as there is an art.
Hipsterwave: What was your involvement with Ghostface, Marlon Chapman and Shauna Garr and how did it influence your art?
Chris Walker: They were the writing team, so they worked together to develop the story.
It was up to me to bring it to life and try to give it a feeling that was as unique as Ghostface himself. So it was really in the early stages: turning in designs, turning in style guides to show the approach I wanted to use. They were very cool about everything. They gave me a lot of room to bring my artistic expression to the table and interpret their words and ideas. I really wanted to give the book a street art edge: make it feel like what is out there in the culture right now, while thinking about everything from graphic tees, to websites, to the influence of Manga. I think a lot about youth culture.
Hipsterwave: Yeah, I like the influences you’re talking about as well.
Chris Walker: Right. I also wanted it to fit into that conversation, while still feeling classic at the same time. So it was a lot of fun. Not often you get the opportunity to do something like at that at this level with someone as big as Ghostface.
Hipsterwave: Yeah, he’s everywhere.
Chris Walker: He is Ghostface. :P
Hipsterwave: What’s your favorite graphic novel?
Chris Walker: Wow. Hard question, can we say first one to pop into my head?
Hipsterwave: Sure.
Chris Walker: Dark Knight. Awesome book. I have other favorites but it always pops in even though it wasn’t a graphic novel. LOL!
Hipsterwave: What about Dark Knight did you like so much?
Chris Walker: It was DC Prestige format that came out in issues. LOL! Well, Frank Miller really took it there. He was just balls to walls. The art, the story, everything: it was an amazing ride.
Hipsterwave: What interests you in the graphic novel world?
Chris Walker: The ability to tell stories the way the artists want to tell them. It’s the equivalent of an Auteur film, but many times graphic novels are like this really insanely long work of art. You really get a peek into the artist’s mind. Graphic novels and comics in general, that’s one of the few places where the story is often exactly what the creator wanted to tell. Creature Tech, by Doug TenNapel. I really like that book too. Amazing and lots of fun.
Hipsterwave: What drew you to the Cell Block Z project? What’s your take on it?
Chris Walker: Well, you don’t say no to a Wu-Tang project. LOL!
Hipsterwave: LOL.
Chris Walker: Especially when you grew up listening to their music and being a big hip hop fan. So for me it was something I always wanted to do. Make an interesting comic and narrative project with an MC I really liked.
Hipsterwave: Yeah.
Chris Walker: I think it’s a fun project.
Hipsterwave: It’s a really creative idea to begin with.
Chris Walker: It’s big. It’s fun. It’s over-the-top, but there are some great character moments. I think the story really pulls you in as you start reading and has a classic feel to it, like an old school fight movie or the old school Marvel comics: Iron Fist and Luke Cage kind of stuff.
Hipsterwave: Gives it its own unique flavor, eh?
Chris Walker: Totally.
Hipsterwave: What do you feel about the mainstreaming of comic books, like in Hollywood, on TV, etc. and how it relates to this project?
Chris Walker: I think it’s great. Comics are an American treasure. I think it’s cool that people outside of comics are starting to see the merits of the art form and are getting a chance to interact with some really great characters and stories. Iron Man the movie was fantastic and I think the next round of superheroes movies will only get better. I’m sure that helped to open the doors for projects like this and the great thing about comics is that while Marvel and DC are getting a lot of attention right now, it also helps the indie guys get attention as well. So, all the creators out there doing their indie projects are also getting a little extra light on their work since popular culture is becoming more and more into comics. While they may not get a movie deal or even want a movie deal, they will probably get new readers and new fans.
Hipsterwave: So that probably encourages more people in general to get more into their work with comics and to stick with it?
Chris Walker: Exactly.
Hipsterwave: Yeah, that’s rewarding to have.
Chris Walker: I think it’s a win-win for everyone. I heard they have comics on the iPhone now. How cool is that if you are an indie creator? Now people can buy your comic on their phones.
Hipsterwave: Yeah and also just being able to have a comic right there in your pocket. Although, I know some fans prefer having larger pages and such.
Chris Walker: I do, but it’s cool. You’re on the train, or have some time to kill, you whip out your iPod or iPhone and you read a comic. That’s cool. I’m an artist, so I love seeing the art, but it’s great for audiences.
Hipsterwave: Right. Plus the fact that you can download new comics from anywhere you get a cell signal, even comics released that same day!
Chris Walker: Yup. It will be interesting to see how the art form evolves to meet technology.
Hipsterwave: Agreed.
Do you have any plans to work on similar projects in the future or are you open to that?
Chris Walker: I’m definitely open. I really like guys like Kid Cudi, Mickey Factz, Theophilus London: they are very art driven.
Hipsterwave: Yeah, I know what you mean.
Chris Walker: Kanye and Pharell are as well. You could come up with some really wild stuff with them, probably super abstract.
Hipsterwave: Yeah, I’ve heard some say that their album covers can be heavily into art, among other aspects of their artist image.
Chris Walker: Yup. So for a visual artist like myself it’s really exciting to hear musicians and performers being into art at that level.
Hipsterwave: Right, something different compared to what we’re accustomed to getting with music.
Chris Walker: Totally. I think collaboration is the key to any artistic venture when you have several creative people at the table: something that is music and visuals all together. I’m also a big fan of Justice, Daft Punk, and Phoenix. They are killing it right now. I was a DNB head a long time ago, same with Trip Hop and Acid Jazz.
Hipsterwave: Right and if the music is telling a story, the art can bring life to a side of the story you wouldn’t have seen.
Chris Walker: Exactly. It’s like Jazz and Abstract art in the 50’s: they were fueling each other. I think where we are right now in music and pop culture, it’s almost at the same level.
Hipsterwave: Interesting.
Chris Walker: We just have to keep pushing as creators and fans demand it more.
Hipsterwave: Then the whole experience will be better.
Chris Walker: Yup. People love art. It gives our lives meaning. It gives us context for the randomness of life.
Hipsterwave: I agree. Well, I think that sounds like a pretty good place to stop, do you?
Chris Walker: Sure do. By the way, check out Blade of the Immortal. Amazing!!!!!
Hipsterwave: Will do.
Chris Walker: Cool. Well, back to work for me…
Check out more of Chris Walker’s work at chriswalkerart.com
Go here, or click on the image above, for more information on Cell Block Z.
