Cosmic Conversations: A Chat with Andy W. Clift

The Adventures of Captain Cosmic #1 - Cover

After reading the first issue of The Adventures of Captain Cosmic #1, creator Andy W. Clift and I chatted online and I got to ask him a few questions about how Captain Cosmic came into being. Read on, Cosmic Chums!

(You can read my review of The Adventures of Captain Cosmic #1 here)

Andy W. Clift

Andy W. Clift

Andy W. Clift is an animator and illustrator. Since graduating in 2009, he has worked on many animated and live action films commercials in various roles from storyboard artist to director.

Andy made the transition into comics working on a variety of books, both self-published and for different publishers including Marvel and Image. He’s the creator of Bertie Bear, published by Bounce Comics, and, now, Captain Cosmic…

 

Tony Esmond: Dude, firstly I have got to say that this new series The Adventures of Captain Cosmic is a joy from the style to the dialogue to the colouring. Spot on!

Andy W Clift: Thank you! I very much appreciate that.

Tony: Now. I’ve heard you say that this is somewhat of a homage to Silver Age comics. I’m going to guess at something like World’s Finest or Adam Strange? I’m also going to have a guess at there being some Star Trek in there. Anyone else?

Andy: Where to start? World’s Finest for sure. I love those books. Some of those stories are beautifully surreal. I’m always reading a lot of DC Silver Age books: Green Lantern, Flash, Strange Adventures, etc. A lot of classic TV too, Star Trek of course.

The Hanna-Barbera Space Ghost cartoons were a big influence on the tone of the book as well. There was just something wonderful about the visual story telling in the 1960’s. I also took cues from pulp books – Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and, particularly, the Phantom. I love it all.

The Adventures of Captain Cosmic Banner

Tony: I’m also going to hazard a guess that you’ve been designing and noodling around this for a while? Did you want to talk about the evolution of the book?

Andy: I’ve been working on this, on and off, for around about two years from start to finish. It’s gone through a lot of changes, but some core things have always remained the same:

It had to look as authentically Silver Age as possible.

It had to be all ages.

It was always going to be a Father/Daughter hero team.

The Adventures of Captain Cosmic #1 - Kid CosmicI’ve always loved the fact that the mantel of the Phantom was passed down the Walker family line and I hoped to do something similar with Cosmic. It was also very important to me to create a mantel that could be passed from parent to child regardless of gender. This opens up the possibility of future stories a lot

more, while hopefully, appealing to a wider all ages audience.

 

Tony: Since the days of a certain Bear adventurer, your art has grown and changed. was there anything you did differently here or any artists you looked to?

Andy: Aww thank you. I feel I’ve learnt a lot from all the different projects that I’ve worked on. I did a lot of research and design work for this book, probably more than I’ve done for any other. I think I drew about five different fully rendered covers before I found the right one.

I did a lot of colour tests as well, to make sure the palette was right. Jack Kirby, Darwyn Cooke, Bruce Timm, Alex Toth and Mike Allred are always my go to artists for inspiration. But specifically, I read at a lot of Dick Sprang and Curt Swan. I don’t think anybody draws happy superheroes like those two, their work is just a joy.

Tony: The design has a real retro feel all the way down to the back matter and page tints.

Andy: The look of the book is every bit as important as the story. I wanted it to feel authentic to the era, so the reader felt like they were reading a silver age comic book. I researched and replicated as much of that as I could, while also trying to keep my own stamp on the book.

The Adventures of Captain Cosmic #1 Sample Art

Tony: The tone is also unashamedly enthusiastic and cheerful. Something that you felt we needed at the moment? I keep hearing Adam West in my head as I read.

Andy: Very much so. I’ve always felt that superheroes are meant to inspire us to be better and as much as I enjoy realistic, gritty stories, I think we could all use some happy, positive and even cheesy stories at the moment. There’s certainly some Adam West Batman in Cosmic, for sure.

 

Tony: It’s currently available on the Comichaus app. Any plans to real ease a physical copy? And when are we getting #2?

Andy: I’m hoping to kickstart a small print run for #1 next month, which I’m very excited about. I’m hoping to have #2 ready for some time in the summer. I’ve already plotted it out.

Tony: Any chance or a Robox 5 mini series/one shot?

Captain Cosmic by Andy W Clift - HeadshotAndy: I’d love that! Yeah, I think I’m going to have to that. Maybe a page or two in the back of #2, like they used to do with Action Comics.

Tony: Thanks so much Andy. Much appreciated.

The Adventures of Captain Cosmic #1 is available via the Comichaus app or in digital direct from Andy here (a print edition is in the works)

• Find out more about Andy, his art and this new series at www.awclift.co.uk or Follow him on Twitter @andyWclift

Read my review of The Adventures of Captain Cosmic #1 here

Many thanks for reading.

This feature first appeared on my adult-oriented blog Never Iron Anything



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