Klaus Janson certainly needs no introduction, but
we'll give him one anyway. A native of Germany,
Janson found his way to these great United States and
began a decades-long career in the comic
industry. With notable runs on Daredevil (with
Frank Miller), Defenders, and Howard the
Duck, Janson arguably received his highest-profile
role as the inker on Miller's classic The Dark
Knight Returns.
Slushfactory.com spoke to Janson about his past and
current projects, Frank Miller, his teaching career,
and a brand new Batman project with Greg Rucka.
Peter Dyson: Do you check out the state of comics
online?
Klaus Janson: Oh sure. I’m online at least once a
day to check on the latest news. I’m not really sure
that one can understand the “state” of comics from
what’s online, though. It’s more a question of
sticking your finger in the air and seeing which way
the wind is blowing on any given day. The electronic
medium shares a problem with the print medium: the
reporting is only as good as the individual reporter.
I don’t think, for example, that I’ve ever read an
article in Wizard that represented any
particular story accurately.
PD: Did you feel restricted having to use only DC
comics as examples for your book, The DC Guide to
Penciling Comics?
KJ: Not really. At some point everyone has worked
at DC so there was plenty of material available if you
know where to look. When I submitted the art for the
book, I used some material from the ABC and Wildstorm
catalogue, but that was not available for legal
reasons I think. So I substituted other art that
illustrated the point I was trying to make and it
worked out fine.
PD: Did you use materials mostly from memory or did
you do a lot of research?
KJ: Well, both really. My memory of the art that
influenced me is pretty extensive so I had that to
rely on. And as a working artist, I obviously look at
everything I can lay my hands on and I put aside comic
art that I thought would be useful in the book. The
penciling book took about a year or so to write and
draw so it was an ongoing organic process.
PD: So you mostly reference four or five artists
besides yourself like Neal Adams and Gil Kane and a
lot of modern Walt Simonson. What do you like so much
about Simonson’s work?
KJ: Well, I don’t think that’s correct. I tried
to mix as many artists from as many periods as I
could. I think I had three pieces by Walter in the
whole book. But what I particularly admire about
Walter’s work is his page design and the energy that
he infuses onto a page. He has a very broad
storytelling vocabulary that I admire greatly. I
wanted to show the reader that there are many options
to consider when designing a page and I think Walter
is a good example of that.
PD: Have you inked all those guys?
KJ: I’ve never inked Neal Adams and I would bet
that boat has sailed. I’ve inked Walter on Battlestar
Galactica and we also did the adaptation of Close
Encounters of the Third Kind with Archie
scripting. I remember seeing the movie with Walter and
Archie a few weeks or months before it was released
and having to sign a confidentiality agreement, it was
great fun working on that. I also colored the last
Manhunter story by Archie and Walt, which was
enormously satisfying. I’ve inked Gil Kane several
times over the last few decades. My third job was to
ink him on the Black Panther. And I recently
inked what was his last job on Legends of the DC
Universe. He was a great, great artist. No matter
how complimentary people are to his work I still feel
he is under-rated. He is a tremendous talent and
exceptionally intelligent and conscientious artist.
PD: I was surprised to see Ed McGuiness in there
only because he’s so new. Are you a fan of the Manga
style that is pervading comic books right now?
KJ: I really try not to put artists in categories
like “new” or “old.” I think that is a very
prejudicial way of looking at the work. My criteria
are based on whether the work is effective or not.
Does it tell the story in a clear way? Is it exciting?
None of those qualities necessarily have to do with
the age of the artist.
I approach Manga in the same way. It’s irrelevant
to me ultimately in judging the art whether it is
Manga influenced. It’s an interesting footnote at
best. I really only care whether the art has any
intrinsic value.
Manga, by the way, is not the prevalent influence
on comics at the moment. It is the European, for lack
of a better term, approach to comics that has managed
to influence comic book storytelling to a great degree
most recently. Almost any Vertigo book, a lot of the
current Marvel books and even a very mainstream book
like the New X-Men by Frank Quietly is
representative of a shift in comic book
storytelling.
For the first time in almost 40 years, we are
living in a post Kirby world. The Kirby aesthetic and
approach to storytelling dominated comics from as far
back as World War II. A rather cool and distanced form
of storytelling is slowly superceding the emphasis on
power, energy, compositional dynamics and the ability
to involve the reader. I assume that this is part of
the globalization of comic book styles. I hope so
anyway. I would like to see a variety of approaches
co-existing at one time. Although I have my
preferences in storytelling approaches, comics as a
medium can only benefit from diversification. I think
that is where we are headed.
PD: When I got the book I was a little surprised to
see Superman on the cover drawn by you. I can’t seem
to remember you ever drawing Superman.
KJ: I did a short story with Superman maybe 15
years ago in an annual. But that was the only time I’ve
done that character.
PD: So was that a requirement to put him on the
cover or did you want to draw him?
KJ: DC was open to using any of their characters
but it made sense to use their most recognizable
characters instead of say, like Booster Gold or
someone like that. I’m working on the How to Ink
book right now and the feeling is that Batman was used
for Denny O’Neil’s writing book, and Superman for
the penciling book, so it was by default that the
inking book will feature Wonder Woman on the cover. I’m
curious to see who will be on the cover of the How
to Color Book.
PD: Why did you do the penciling book?
KJ: Oh, God, that’s a long answer. Ever since I
started developing certain theories about visual
storytelling in my art class at The School of Visual
Arts here in New York, I kind of knew that I wanted to
do a book on this material at some point. When DC
asked me to do the project, it was an opportunity that
coincided with my own interests. I also knew that I
would be more likely to finish a book that had a
deadline than a book that I would try to squeeze in
between my other projects.
In addition to providing information to up and
coming artists, I was also hoping to communicate to
other members of the comic community who are NOT
artists. I often read critiques of comic art by
reviewers online, for example, and am appalled at the
level of discourse. There is a tremendous lack of
understanding in many of these discussions. So I was
hoping that the How to Pencil book would offer
some basic criteria that we all could agree on and use
to evaluate the material we all read.
I was also hoping that non comic book readers might
learn that sequential art is a very difficult and
complicated process that involves thought and
intelligence. A small stab at raising the level of
respect of the medium in general.
PD: People seem to forget that comic books are not
beautiful panels just strung together. They are a
beautiful sequence of panels.
KJ. That’s right. It’s the story, stupid.
Anything we do that gets in the way of the story is
counter productive.
PD: I don’t read his work now, but I remember
when Jim Lee was very popular in the early 1990’s. I
felt he was an amazing panel artist but they just didn’t
flow. I’m sure he is better now though. Is that what
you emphasize in your classes at School of Visual
Arts?
KJ: I try to discuss anything that contributes to
effective visual storytelling; from composition to
anatomy, character design to symbolism. The class and
I analyze anything that falls under the category of
storytelling. By the end of two semesters, I can
hopefully pull it into a coherent whole.
PD: Were you approached to do the book?
KJ: The publisher is Watson-Guptil, who has done a
lot of instructional books through several decades.
They are also located across the street from me, which
I find amusing. I go uptown for 45 blocks to the
offices of DC Comics to drop off work and then they
send it back down to Watson-Guptil across the street.
But DC asked me to do the book. I’m under the
impression that I was not their first choice [laughs].
PD: I’m sure you were their first choice for the
inking book though.
KJ: Maybe-could be. I’m not sure. I think they
realized that I had been teaching a lot of this stuff
for longer than ten years so it made a lot of sense to
everyone involved.
PD: Is this the book you are going to use to teach
at School of Visual Arts?
KJ: Absolutely not. Obviously there will be overlap
in terms of content, but the book and the class are
two different things. The class is a performance and
has to be handled and paced differently. There’s an
interaction with the students that often causes the
class to go in different directions. I like to think
that the course is suited to the needs of the
individual class. Every one is different. I’m also
toying with the idea of completely throwing the book
out and starting from scratch.
PD: Did you ever think you would be teaching?
KJ: I have a great deal of affection for this
medium and I always wanted to give something back to
it. I think I’m very lucky to be a comic book
artist. It was my goal since I was 6. I find it very
satisfying and fun. Teaching is my way of repaying the
medium and spreading the word. I also became a better
artist as a result of it. At this point, I sometimes
think I benefit as much or more from the experience
than the students do.
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