Supernatural Talent

Phil Hester

By Mary Borsellino
March 1, 2007

Best known to Marvel readers for the new Ant-Man series and to DC audiences for a long and memorable run on Green Arrow, Phil Hester also provided the art duties for the five-page back up story in issue one of Wildstorm's upcoming Supernatural: Origins.

Sequential Tart: What made you want to work in comics?

Phil Hester: I drew from an early age, and was always an avid reader, so the blend of art and narrative in comics seemed like the most natural way to communicate to me. I remember a cliffhanger in an issue of Iron Man that came out when I was ten or eleven. I couldn't wait for the next issue, so I made up and drew my own conclusion. That was the beginning of my affliction.

ST: One of the things that's really striking about your work is how comfortably the tone shifts between the big action sequences and the quieter moments — a lot of artists can do one, or the other, but struggle to mesh the two together. Is this a skill you've cultivated, or one that occurred naturally as you started working?

PH: I'm a big admirer of great storytellers like Miller and Eisner and Krigstein, and one of the things I admire about their work is the refusal to "punt." When they come across what could be a boring point in the story they intensify their efforts to make the story visually engaging. Check out the first page of Krigstein's classic EC tale Monotony. It's simply a man at work in a tedious office job, but Bernie not only makes it fun to look at, he communicates the man's tedium. That's the sort of thinking I aspire to, and surely fail to achieve. There's no budget in comics, meaning if I can visualize something I can get it across to the reader. It's a shame to waste that kind of freedom, so I try to make every page count.

ST: This isn't really a question, because I can't think of a way to cunningly disguise it as one, but I'd be kicking myself if I passed up the opportunity to compliment you on the way you draw women. You give super heroines an obvious strength in both mind and body, and treat them with the same respect within the panel's framing and composition as the male heroes around them. Thank you for that.

PH: I do appreciate that. I know it's sort of disqualified me from a lot of "good girl" jobs, but I can live with that. It probably comes from me seeing figures as compositional forms first and human figures second. Also, I took a ton of life drawing classes in college and I married very young (18), so I never had a developmental period as an artist when my concept of a woman's body was purely imaginary or media fed.

ST: On a similar note: You co-created the gloriously awesome Mia Dearden and remained on Green Arrow through some fairly major plot movements for the character. Did you follow what was being said in the mainstream press about the HIV storyline?

PH: It was hard to ignore, but because we work so far ahead all the hype and strife came long after the work was done, in fact, we were off the book. We focused strictly on what Judd wanted to get across and I hope we succeeded.

ST: A number of the creators involved on the show Supernatural have mentioned in interviews that they read Vertigo titles, so having a Swamp Thing artist do a story for the comic seems like the equivalent of when the show casts stars from horror TV and film in guest roles. Can you tell us much about your involvement on the first issue of the Supernatural comic? Have you seen the show?

PH: I have seen the show, but I'm the last person on earth sans TiVo, so I don't always catch it. I do admire it, though. It's the sort of show I'd create if, for some reason, a network gave me that kind of gig.

Ben Abernathy called me about doing some stuff a long time ago, and I had to pass because my Marvel schedule was so busy. He hunted up this assignment that was super short and could be worked into my down time on Ant-Man (back when we had down time). It was a chance to work with Geoff, and any artist would be crazy to pass on that. Thankfully, I was able to work it in without disrupting Ant-Man.

ST: Could you talk a bit about any projects you've got coming up in the near future?

PH: As an artist it's strictly Ant-Man. As writer and artist I have a short story coming up in Villard's Postcards anthology. As writer I have a new Firebreather mini in the works at Image along with new issues of Antoine Sharpe at Desperado. I have three more projects written, and in some cases drawn, that are still looking for a home. Golly — a hillbilly Hellblazer horror comedy, Deathless — my next big sci-fi horror project with Mike Huddleston, and Thirteen Steps — a monster self-help drama/parody.

ST: What's your personal favourite of the comics you've worked on?

PH: As an artist probably a dead heat between Ant-Man and Green Arrow. As a writer The Coffin and the short I just did for Postcards.

ST: Are you attending any conventions in 2007?

PH: I'll be at Emerald City in Seattle, both Kansas City shows, Iowa's I-Con, San Diego Comic-Con, Wizard World Chicago, and Madrid.

ST: Anything else you'd like to talk about?

PH: How about the Red Sox?

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