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Matthieu-David: Which artists influenced you the most ?
And what are your influences in general ?
Michael
Avon Oeming: The most must be Mike Mignola, but I have many influences. My strongest
ones are Steve Rude, Frazetta, Alex Toth, Bruce Timm and
animation in general.
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M-D:
Is there an artist you would you love to work with ?
(writer, inker or colourist )
M.A.O.:There
are many artists I admire, but right now, I enjoy
working on my own art.
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M-D: On which comic book would you like to work or is there a specific
character that you would like to work on (
can even be a dream project )?
M.A.O.:
Batman,
Daredevil, Captain America, The New Gods,
SPiderman, Thor and Conan.
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Batman by Mike Oeming
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M-D: If you hadn’t worked in comics, what would you have done for a
living ?
M.A.O.:
I
don't know, I've always wanted to be a comic book artists
since I was like 13 years old.
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M-D: Could you describe your
typical day ?
M.A.O:
Work, work, work. No joke.
I make sure I spend time with the family, but some days
its just all work and we go out for dinner. But then there
are days like today, Ive spent all day with them and I
love that.
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M-D:
If you were a comic book character, who would you be ?
and why ?
M.A.O.:The
Beyonder, because he has god-like Powers, I could then
choose any Power I wanted, right?
M-D:
right, you're sure it's not because of his clothes ?
M.A.O.:
Maybe,
the 80's are back!
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M-D:
What’s your favourite movie
?
M.A.O.:
Cant say I have one. I like Xanadu because its soooo bad and
cheesey.
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M-D:
Speaking of movies do they inspire you in your work ?
M.A.O.: I just watched NARC-
what a great film, very inspirational. Taxi Driver is a huge
influence on my work.
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M-D:
speaking of movies what do you think about the translation
from comics to films ? ( which do you think succeeded in
terms of visual ideas and story telling )
M.A.O.:
I
think its great. Like novels, not all ideas are translated
well, like League of Extraordinary Gents, some are molded
into a leaner, cleaner version of the story like the Crow.
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M-D: What’s your favourite song ?
M.A.O:
I cant choose just
one. Has to be a Zeppelin tune, or maybe that Paul Simon
song "she loved me like a rock" because my mother
used to sing it to me.
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M-D: do
you listen to music when you draw ?
M.A.O.: Yes. Everything from gangster rap to traditional celtic music.
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M-D: What’s your favourite book ?
M.A.O.:
Hitch
Hickers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
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M-D: Is there a comic book character that you really can’t stand ?
which one and why ?
M.A.O.:
Oh
theres too many to choose. Most characters have never had a
good writer to bring life to them.
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M-D: Did you have some hard
times in your career ? which ones and how did you deal
with those ?
M.A.O.:
Lots of
hard times. I had hard times breaking into comics, then
hard times staying in comics. After Foot Soldiers, my
career was very slow and I made very little money for
about four years. Once we had our first child, I had to
actually get a real job, I did security. Then Powers came
and things turned around. Patience is a virture they say,
and if I have any, its patience.
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M-D: What is your best achievement so far ?
M.A.O.:
In comics, its the current storyline in
Powers, Foreverman.
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M-D: What's your favourite
type of scripts ? very detailled or not ?
M.A.O.:It depends on the writer. If he's an amazing visualist like Brian, than I
like it tight, but I also love working on scritps that are
vague and let me mold the story.
M-D: What material do you use for your art ? what
type of pencils do you use ?
M.A.O.: 3-h pencils and lazer copy paper. Its 11x17 and comes
in large amounts, very cheap and thin. Not too thin, but
more thin than Marvel or DC paper, so I can lightbox
better. I do all my layouts on lightbox and then transfer
them.
M-D: how do you look back at your past work ? Are you
still happy with your past pages ? Or do you critizise
your work a lot ?
M.A.O.: No, its crap!
Everything before Foot Soldiers was weak. I was learning
on the job. You can really track the growth from Judge
Dredd to Foot Soldiers, Ship of Fools, Bulletproof Monk
then Powers.
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M-D: What’s the weirdest drawing a fan asked you ?
M.A.O.:
I was asked to draw a Cat woman Falling in love with
Judge Dredd.
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M-D: What surprised you the most when you arrived in Paris ?
M.A.O.:
That I liked warm
beer. I cant wait to go back. Also, the chocolate was sooo
much better than here in the states. And the racial
situation was very different, I wish it could be more like
that here in the states.
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M-D: And since My
website is on Dr Doom mainly, How would you describe the character ?
M.A.O.: What? The big guy with the mask, right?
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M-D: Right Lol. Who do you think
wrote Dr Doom the best ?
M.A.O.:
I dont
know. I guess Stan Lee/Kirby ?
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M-D: Who draw Dr DOOM the
best in your opinion ?
M.A.O.: Mignola, even though Ive only seen it in a pin up
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Thanks a lot Mike ! I owe you a warm beer next
time you come to Paris !
Visit
Mike's website at : http://www.mike-oeming.com/
Join the Oeming
newsletter by emailing him at oeming@aol.com
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