As the countdown continues toward the Lakes International Comic Art Festival next month in Bowness-on-Windermere (27th – 28th September 2022), we’re delighted to bring you an interview with one of its guests – a quick chat with comic creator Michael Lark.
Michael is the artist and co-creator of Lazarus and Lazarus: Risen, published by Image Comics, written by Greg Rucka. In his nearly thirty years in the comics industry, he has drawn many of the most iconic characters in the medium, including Spider-Man, Captain America, Daredevil, Batman, Superman, and many others.
What are you working on, comics-wise, right now, and when will it be published?
I’m currently drawing the final volume of my book Lazarus for Image Comics. We should begin publishing it in monthly instalments beginning early in 2025.
Which comic project you’ve worked on are you most proud of and where can people see it or buy it?
Aside from Lazarus, which is available on Amazon and in any comics shops, I am quite proud of the work I did on DC’s Gotham Central, especially the Eisner-Award-winning story “Half A Life.” It’s available as part of the Gotham Central Omnibus, also at Amazon and all comic book shops.
How do you plan your day as a creator? (Do you plan your day?)
It’s more of a monthly and weekly planning. It takes me about two months to do the pencils, inks, and covers for an issue of Lazarus. When I first get the script, I spend time gathering reference and designing all the new characters, sets, and important props that will appear in the issue. That usually takes about a week.
Then each week, I take Monday to break down four pages, Tuesday and Wednesday to pencil them, and Thursday and Friday to ink them. But that’s just a rough estimate. Some pages take longer, some pages go more quickly.
My goal is to average four pages a week.
What’s the best thing about being a comics creator?
Not having to answer to a “boss,” and getting to work at home in my pyjamas!
And the worst?
As an artist, the worst thing is when I have to draw elaborate set pieces and/or large numbers of individual characters in a scene. That kind of work is really time consuming. A writer can write “Two people are in a room talking” or “The Roman Legion comes over the hill” in the same amount of time. But the Roman Legion will take me hours and hours longer to draw than the two people in a room.
What most distracts you from getting your work done?
Just day-to-day things. Delivery people knocking on the door, laundry that needs doing, errands that need to be run.
I work best when I can just go from early morning to late afternoon with no breaks (except to grab a meal or coffee from the kitchen). That allows me to get into a zone where everything flows much more quickly. Even the smallest interruption can cause me to have to recalibrate my mindset when I get back into my studio.
I can get more done in six hours of unbroken work than I can in 12 hours that are broken up into chunks of an hour here and two hours there.
Do you think it’s easier or harder for young comic creators to get published today?
I’ve been in this business full-time for over 30 years, so I’m not sure I can answer that. I am sure there are just as many hurdles now as there were when I started out, but many of them are different hurdles. One thing will always be the same, which is that it’s important to draw consistently and regularly and to always be open to constructive criticism from people and creators who you respect.
Do you think AI is impacting work opportunities for artists and writers?
I honestly have no idea. It doesn’t impact me in any way whatsoever.
What do you think might be its most significant impact on the comics industry in general, long term?
I suspect it is like any new tool, especially digital ones. It can be used constructively, or it can be abused. In the end, though, nothing can replace a human creator.
Which one comic creator would you most like to meet, and why?
I’ve lived long enough now to know that meeting one’s heroes rarely works out well. I find that, more often than not, I get much more enjoyment out of accidentally stumbling across creators that I’ve never even considered meeting. Those types of happy accidents are much more satisfying.
What one piece of advice do you offer people looking to work in the comics industry?
I can only speak to artists, but I would say, as I mentioned above, that you have to draw regularly and consistently. When you choose to be an artist, whether it’s for fun or for a living, you’ve decided to embark on a journey that has no destination. It’s a constant striving to get better, to be the best artist you can be, with the knowledge that you will never get it perfect. That holds true whether you’ve been doing it 30 minutes or, like me, 30 years
What’s your favourite comic right now and where can people get it?
I don’t actually read many comics these days. I do have favourite artists, though, ones who influence me and get me excited about drawing.
My favourite at the moment is Gigi Cavenago, whose most recently published mainstream work is the Batman/Dylan Dog mini-series from DC. As always, available on Amazon or in fine comics shops in the UK and USA!
Michael, thank you very much for your time and we look forward to seeing you in Bowness!
• The Lakes International Comic Art Festival returns to Bowness-on-Windermere Friday 27th – Sunday 29th September 2024 | Ticket details here
• The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is online at: comicartfestival.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Sign up for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Newsletter
• Follow Michael Lark on Facebook
LAZARUS COLLECTIONS
All links are AmazonUK Affiliate Links – check out Lazarus bestsellers here
In a dystopian near-future, government is a quaint concept, resources are coveted, and possession is 100% of the law. A handful of Families rule, jealously guarding what they have and exploiting the Waste who struggle to survive in their domains. Forever Carlyle defends her family’s holdings through deception and force as their protector, their Lazarus. Shot dead defending the family home, Forever’s day goes downhill from there…
• Lazarus: The First Collection
This prestige hardcover collects the first two arcs of the critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling series; “Family,” which introduces Forever Carlyle and her Family as they are brought to the brink of war in a future of economic collapse; and “Lift,” where Forever uncovers a terrorist plot against her Family while another family altogether, the Barrets, take desperate measures to escape their life of poverty. Plus never-before-seen work by Michael Lark and graphic designer Eric Trautmann, and exclusive world-building content.
Collects Lazarus #1-9 with four-page preview and additional content.
• Lazarus: The Second Collection
In “Conclave,” the 16 Familieshave gathered together in the exclusive luxury confines of Triton One to resolve the emerging conflict between Carlyle and Hock, and they’ve brought their Lazari with them. While Forever’s romance with the Morray Lazarus, Joacquim, continues to blossom, she finds herself not only questioning her identity, but also her loyalty to her Family and her father, Malcolm, when orders her to kill her brother, Jonah.
Next, in “Poison,” the world is at war, and Family Carlyle is struggling to defend itself. With Malcolm Carlyle hovering at death’s door, the siblings struggle to maintain control. But deception and war go hand in hand, culminating in a final revelation that will truly change everything for ForeverCarlyle.
Plus never-before-seen work by Michael Lark and graphic designer Eric Trautmann, and exclusive world-building content.
Collects Lazarus #10-21 with additional bonus content.
• Lazarus: The Third Collection
There are sixteen families fighting to control the world. That’s fifteen too many. The time has come for the Cull. So begins the next phase of the Conclave War that has plunged the entire world into chaos and instability. But Forever Carlyle, the Lazarus of the Carlyle Family, has been sidelined, and her loyalties are thrown into question as she struggles to come to terms with who and what she is.To win her trust, her sister Johanna must reveal the Family’s most closely guarded secret-the truth of Forever Carlyle. Meanwhile, the effects of the war are felt around the globe in six individual stories focusing on Lazari, Serf,and Waste, all struggling to find their way in a world that refuses compromise and demands complicity.
Collects LAZARUS#22-26 and LAZARUS: X+66 #1-6
Also available: Lazarus Volume One, Lazarus Volume Two, Lazarus Volume Three, Lazarus Volume Four, Lazarus Volume Five, Lazarus Volume Six, Lazarus Volume Seven and Lazarus X+66 – in Trade Paperback format
• There are details of Lazarus collected editions here on the Image Comics web site
MORE BY MICHAEL LARK
Gotham Central Omnibus
By by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka (Writers), Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano and Kano (Artists)
Gotham City: a town teeming with corrupt cops, ruthless crime lords, petty thieves … and just a small handful that would oppose them. Grizzled veteran Harvey Bullock, Captain Maggie Sawyer, Detective Renee Montoya and the GCPD are the law force that stands between order and complete anarchy.
Gotham’s Finest work around the clock to not only keep the world’s most psychotic criminals off the street… but also cleaning up the mess left behind by Batman’s one-man war on crime.
This Eisner Award-winning series follows the detectives of Gotham City’s Special Crimes Unit as they navigate against the city’s greatest villains – in the shadow of Batman himself. Collects issues #1-40.
- About the Author
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events, US Comics
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