By St. Tim
One of the biggest treats for me during Staple! was the chance to meet one of my
favorite artists and creators, Eric Powell. Eric has supplied art for the big boys in
Marvel and DC comics, but you may recognize his most acclaimed work from the
Eisner Award winning comic book “The Goon” which follows a brawling antihero
and his sidekick as they run across all sorts of shenanigans. Eric’s unique style
and pop culture references keep the book fresh, and I was pleased as punch to
be able to talk with him…
BG: So how long have you been doing this?
Eric Powell: I started “The Goon” I think I finished the first issue in ’98 and it was
probably published in ’99 so coming up on about 10 years.
BG: You have a very unique style, where do you get a lot of your influences from as
far as the artwork is concerned?
Eric Powell: I have a lot of influences in and out of comics, a lot of painters and
illustrators. Norman Rockwell, Jack Kirby, Jack Davis, all the guys. I like their work
so it’s a really… broad range of guys that I just mashed together and that’s how it
came out.
BG: I saw in your website that 2008 is the year of “The Goon”. So what is gonna
make it the year of “The Goon” this year?
Eric Powell: Last year I took a large chunk of time off to finish the “Chinatown”
graphic Novel, so we’re doing this kind of “Event Year” thing. We’re gonna keep
the book monthly for 2008 and we’re coming out with another hardcover
collection… “Fancy Pants Volume 2” which is a lot material collected into one
volume. It’s a really nice looking book.
BG: There was an action figure line that came out, you have a lot of thins here, are
there any other plans for merchandise for the character?
Eric Powell: We just had a statue come out from Bowen designs not too long ago,
we don’t really have anything new yet as far as merchandise slated because it’s
been a while since we’ve done anything. We’ll probably have something soon.
BG: What’s your favorite medium to work with?
Eric Powell: Definitely Oils, I love to oil paint. It’s really rewarding to paint. I get the
most enjoyment out of that….
Check out Eric Powell’s work at www.thegoon.com. Tell him the Busy
Gamer Crew sent you to avoid getting beat down by the awesome art
you’re going to see there… On second thought, just enjoy the site and
the art. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
One of the biggest treats for me during Staple! was the chance to meet one of my
favorite artists and creators, Eric Powell. Eric has supplied art for the big boys in
Marvel and DC comics, but you may recognize his most acclaimed work from the
Eisner Award winning comic book “The Goon” which follows a brawling antihero
and his sidekick as they run across all sorts of shenanigans. Eric’s unique style
and pop culture references keep the book fresh, and I was pleased as punch to
be able to talk with him…
BG: So how long have you been doing this?
Eric Powell: I started “The Goon” I think I finished the first issue in ’98 and it was
probably published in ’99 so coming up on about 10 years.
BG: You have a very unique style, where do you get a lot of your influences from as
far as the artwork is concerned?
Eric Powell: I have a lot of influences in and out of comics, a lot of painters and
illustrators. Norman Rockwell, Jack Kirby, Jack Davis, all the guys. I like their work
so it’s a really… broad range of guys that I just mashed together and that’s how it
came out.
BG: I saw in your website that 2008 is the year of “The Goon”. So what is gonna
make it the year of “The Goon” this year?
Eric Powell: Last year I took a large chunk of time off to finish the “Chinatown”
graphic Novel, so we’re doing this kind of “Event Year” thing. We’re gonna keep
the book monthly for 2008 and we’re coming out with another hardcover
collection… “Fancy Pants Volume 2” which is a lot material collected into one
volume. It’s a really nice looking book.
BG: There was an action figure line that came out, you have a lot of thins here, are
there any other plans for merchandise for the character?
Eric Powell: We just had a statue come out from Bowen designs not too long ago,
we don’t really have anything new yet as far as merchandise slated because it’s
been a while since we’ve done anything. We’ll probably have something soon.
BG: What’s your favorite medium to work with?
Eric Powell: Definitely Oils, I love to oil paint. It’s really rewarding to paint. I get the
most enjoyment out of that….
Check out Eric Powell’s work at www.thegoon.com. Tell him the Busy
Gamer Crew sent you to avoid getting beat down by the awesome art
you’re going to see there… On second thought, just enjoy the site and
the art. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
ERIC POWELL
The Year of The Goon
The Year of The Goon
Eric Powell signs his work during Staple
08 at the Monarch Event Center Austin
Texas.
08 at the Monarch Event Center Austin
Texas.
