LICAF Guest Spotlight: Ed Brubaker

By John Freeman on July 30, 2013

Comic creator Ed Brubaker

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival has over 70 guests lined up for its first out in October. As the event is on our doorstep (downthetubes is based in Lancaster), we thought we’d try and spotlight as many as we can in the run up to the event…

Ed Brubaker was raised partly on Navy bases and began school in Cuba on the Naval base at Guantanamo Bay. He credits being forced to go to his mother’s Alcoholic’s Anonymous meetings throughout much of his childhood with planting the seed of writing in his brain, and his father’s love of comics and movies for nurturing it.

Brubaker’s first early comics work was largely in the crime fiction genre, with works such as Lowlife, The Fall, Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives and Scene of the Crime. Today, he’s perhaps most famous for his work on comics like Captain America, Batman, Catwoman, Uncanny X-Men and Daredevil and has won the Best Writer Award in the Harveys and the Eisners five times since 2006.

“I think it’s pretty clear from what I did on the series, that the Steranko issues were my favorites,” says Brubaker of his work on Captain America, in an interview for Comic Alliance. “They had a big impact on me when I first saw them, when I was like four or five. I loved that mix of espionage and superheroics he got across. And I loved the way Steve Rogers just looked haunted and tragic all the time whenever he wasn’t in action.”

His work with artist Sean Phillips on Sleeper, Criminal, Fatale, and Incognito, has been translated around the world to monumental acclaim.

Fatale tells the story of the forever youthful Josephine, a woman cursed to destroy the men who fall in love with her. Fatale’s storyline moves from era to era, revealing details of Josephine’s tragic history; tales set in the 1950s and 1970s have more recently given way to stories from medieval times, the American west and the Second World War.

Originally a 12-issue limited series, Fatale’s critical and commercial success have led to it becoming an ongoing title.

Brubaker says he loves the immediacy of the comics form. “I’ve loved the medium of comics since the first time I saw it, when I was three or four,” he told Rue Morgue earlier this year, “but having now worked in film and television, I definitely love how three people – me and Sean and Bettie [Breitweiser], our colourist, can do a comic all by ourselves, and get it on the stands within weeks of finishing it. With no compromises to anyone but ourselves.”

In his first ever appearance at a UK comic art event Ed Brubaker will be talking to Dr Andrew Miles about his life in comics.

• Ed Brubaker on Twitter

• Ed Brubaker appears at LICAF on Saturday 19th October 2013 – 15:45 – 16:45. Venue: The Brewery Arts Centre: Screen One. Tickets: £7. Purchase tickets online at The Brewery Arts Centre or by telephone Box Office: 01539 725 133 or in person in advance

In order to ensure access to events LICAF advise you book tickets in advance and you’ll be guaranteed a seat – no uncertainty, no queuing. They offer two options: 1) Purchasing tickets for individual events; 2) Purchasing a special pass offering substantial discounts to which you can add additional tickets if you wish.

A Weekend Pass – £25 includes unlimited access to Comics Clock Tower plus you choose four daytime events (starting before 7.00pm). A Day Pass – £14 Saturday or Sunday includes unlimited access to Comics Clock Tower plus you choose 2 daytime events.

John Freeman

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.