Let’s jump right back into the interview, we last left Eric as he recalled all the rejection letters from when he first started…Jimmy - So ignoring the rejection letters, you brought your portfolio to show Bernie Wrightson. Bernie was doing a signing at a local comic shop. What did you think would happen? He'd take you under his wing?
Eric – I really didn’t have an expectation. I was like wow, Bernie Wrightson was going to be in Nashville. I was just excited to meet him. I was hoping I would get some advice or some word of encouragement. Tom Sniegoski who I met there, who really jump started my career, remembers exactly what I said to Bernie, I guess I plopped down my portfolio on the table and said “do you think I have a chance?”
J – [Laughs]
E – Bernie was really encouraging and it was nice to meet him. It was a fateful day because up until then I was not getting any positive feedback.
J – By believing in yourself and taking a change to meet Bernie Wrightson it actually put you in contact with Tom Sniegoski. Do you think writers are always looking for artists and that’s why he was able to spot your talent?
E – Writers can’t draw so they are always looking for someone to work with.
J – And Tom helped you get your first real comic industry job “Razor: Uncut” series. Did Tom write the issues that you drew?
E – He wrote them and I drew them.
J – What did you learn from that first real job in the industry?
E – I learned to work from a script a little better. Up until then I’d never really done anything, I was really learning on the fly, like how to make layouts from a script and about story telling.
J – Did Tom help you with this?
E- He pretty much gave me free reign. I got spoiled by Tom because he knows how to write a script for an artist. A lot of guys will write a comic book script with a whole string of action and I only have one panel to work with. I try to describe it as writing a film script but instead of filming it with a movie camera you are filming it with a still camera. You have to take single snap shots. A lot of guys don’t understand that. Tom is really good about just giving the information that you need and not overdoing it.
J – So you were really lucky to work with him at the beginning. If it was anyone else…
E – I’d probably put a gun to my head.
J –[Laughs] Are you still friends with him? Have you gotten him any jobs?
E – Yeah I’m still friends with Tom we actually worked on a young readers series called “Billy Hooten” I did the covers and some illustrations for that. I actually did get him a job once. Marvel contacted me about doing a “Devil Dinosaur” book which is this crazy 1970’s Jake Kirby comic about a giant red dinosaur. Ironically Tom and I were talking about “Devil Dinosaur” a couple of weeks before so I called Tom and said “guess what Marvel just offered me?” So we worked on that together.
J – After the “Razor: Uncut” work you did some Freelance work, then you ended up releasing the Goon with Avatar Press but you were not happy with it.
E – The production value was not good; the ink would come off on your hands when you read the book. The covers looked like someone took a can of black spray paint to them. I talked to them about the production value asking if they could at least get it on a better grade of paper and they said the sales didn’t justify putting it on better paper. So we had a little bit of conflict with that. So we parted ways.
J - You state your turning point was the 2001 Wizard World convention in Chicago?
E – Yeah [Laughs] it was pretty pathetic. I bought a table for about one hundred bucks, I had been drawing some Buffy comics for Dark Horse but that stuff dried up. I was doing some inking work for Marvel and all that work dried up. So I didn’t have any work coming in. I had this Artist Alley table at the convention and I only did one sketch for twenty bucks so it didn’t even pay for the table. I drove out there by myself and I drove back all pissed off. It was a point where I thought “Is this going to work or should I quit?” It was a six or seven hour drive and I had the whole time to think about it. It was pretty sad but I realized I was never able to do what I wanted to do. So I decided to self publish my book to see what happens.
J - I can really relate to you going DIY and self-publishing. That’s what Calabrese has done with all our recordings and merchandise.
E – It’s really gratifying. I like being at Dark Horse but it was really gratifying when I put it out on my own.
J – You had to take out a loan to self-publish, was it a business loan? I know printing comics can be expensive. Didn’t you have credit cards?
E – I think I had an auto loan at the time and my ex and I went there to take out a small personal loan. Luckily we were able to pay it back with the first two books. That was nice.
J – That was my next question did you ever pay it off.
E - That’s when I actually got excited. Wow, this was going to work. I honestly didn’t believe it was going to work. It was one of those things that I had to try or I’d wonder “if” my whole life. I thought I’d take out a huge loan, I’d put out a couple of books so I could say “did you see my comic I put out a few years back… No?” Then I’d have to get a regular job to pay back the loan.
J – Could you have kept self-publishing when Dark Horse approached you or was it becoming too much work to handle by yourself?
E – I spent too much time doing the busy stuff, the advertising, dealing with the printer. It took away too much from actually drawing the book and because Dark Horse has much bigger distribution, I just jumped at it when they offered.
J - What's your comedy influences? It seems somewhat slapstick- any 3 Stooges influence?
E – There’s a lot of Python, to me anyway. I also think its part of where I grew up, the violent humor.
J – Seriously “Monty Python”? Have you actually laughed at a Monty Python sketch?
E – [Laughs] I do I think it’s funny. It’s absurd, the kinda funny that makes no sense.
J – You’ve also mentioned “The Andy Griffith Show”?
E – Yeah, it’s a weird thing. That’s what I grew up watching, I think that actually influenced my work. Also the “Twilight Zone”, “The Little Rascals” all those old stupid black and white T.V. shows.
J – I can see that.
E – I think it also has a lot to do with where I grew up. I don’t know how to put it, there seems to be this level of cruelty here.
J – What did you learn from that first real job in the industry?
E – I learned to work from a script a little better. Up until then I’d never really done anything, I was really learning on the fly, like how to make layouts from a script and about story telling.
J – Did Tom help you with this?
E- He pretty much gave me free reign. I got spoiled by Tom because he knows how to write a script for an artist. A lot of guys will write a comic book script with a whole string of action and I only have one panel to work with. I try to describe it as writing a film script but instead of filming it with a movie camera you are filming it with a still camera. You have to take single snap shots. A lot of guys don’t understand that. Tom is really good about just giving the information that you need and not overdoing it.
J – So you were really lucky to work with him at the beginning. If it was anyone else…
E – I’d probably put a gun to my head.
J –[Laughs] Are you still friends with him? Have you gotten him any jobs?
E – Yeah I’m still friends with Tom we actually worked on a young readers series called “Billy Hooten” I did the covers and some illustrations for that. I actually did get him a job once. Marvel contacted me about doing a “Devil Dinosaur” book which is this crazy 1970’s Jake Kirby comic about a giant red dinosaur. Ironically Tom and I were talking about “Devil Dinosaur” a couple of weeks before so I called Tom and said “guess what Marvel just offered me?” So we worked on that together.
J – After the “Razor: Uncut” work you did some Freelance work, then you ended up releasing the Goon with Avatar Press but you were not happy with it.
E – The production value was not good; the ink would come off on your hands when you read the book. The covers looked like someone took a can of black spray paint to them. I talked to them about the production value asking if they could at least get it on a better grade of paper and they said the sales didn’t justify putting it on better paper. So we had a little bit of conflict with that. So we parted ways.
J - You state your turning point was the 2001 Wizard World convention in Chicago?
E – Yeah [Laughs] it was pretty pathetic. I bought a table for about one hundred bucks, I had been drawing some Buffy comics for Dark Horse but that stuff dried up. I was doing some inking work for Marvel and all that work dried up. So I didn’t have any work coming in. I had this Artist Alley table at the convention and I only did one sketch for twenty bucks so it didn’t even pay for the table. I drove out there by myself and I drove back all pissed off. It was a point where I thought “Is this going to work or should I quit?” It was a six or seven hour drive and I had the whole time to think about it. It was pretty sad but I realized I was never able to do what I wanted to do. So I decided to self publish my book to see what happens.
J - I can really relate to you going DIY and self-publishing. That’s what Calabrese has done with all our recordings and merchandise.
E – It’s really gratifying. I like being at Dark Horse but it was really gratifying when I put it out on my own.
J – You had to take out a loan to self-publish, was it a business loan? I know printing comics can be expensive. Didn’t you have credit cards?
E – I think I had an auto loan at the time and my ex and I went there to take out a small personal loan. Luckily we were able to pay it back with the first two books. That was nice.
J – That was my next question did you ever pay it off.
E - That’s when I actually got excited. Wow, this was going to work. I honestly didn’t believe it was going to work. It was one of those things that I had to try or I’d wonder “if” my whole life. I thought I’d take out a huge loan, I’d put out a couple of books so I could say “did you see my comic I put out a few years back… No?” Then I’d have to get a regular job to pay back the loan.
J – Could you have kept self-publishing when Dark Horse approached you or was it becoming too much work to handle by yourself?
E – I spent too much time doing the busy stuff, the advertising, dealing with the printer. It took away too much from actually drawing the book and because Dark Horse has much bigger distribution, I just jumped at it when they offered.
J - What's your comedy influences? It seems somewhat slapstick- any 3 Stooges influence?
E – There’s a lot of Python, to me anyway. I also think its part of where I grew up, the violent humor.
J – Seriously “Monty Python”? Have you actually laughed at a Monty Python sketch?
E – [Laughs] I do I think it’s funny. It’s absurd, the kinda funny that makes no sense.
J – You’ve also mentioned “The Andy Griffith Show”?
E – Yeah, it’s a weird thing. That’s what I grew up watching, I think that actually influenced my work. Also the “Twilight Zone”, “The Little Rascals” all those old stupid black and white T.V. shows.
J – I can see that.
E – I think it also has a lot to do with where I grew up. I don’t know how to put it, there seems to be this level of cruelty here.
J – Why to you think that is?
E – That cruelty in humor? I don’t know, I think it’s a redneck thing. In a more sophisticated area they treat their dogs like children and here they tie their dog up to a tree and leave him out in a rain storm.
J – [Laughs] Here's a quote from you: "Back in the yester-years when VCRs were a new technology, me and my sister used to rent videos from the back of the Dairy Queen, one horror move and one comedy." Can you tell me more about this “Dairy Queen”, it sounds amazing.
E – [Laughs] When VCR technology really started to click, out here the first place you could rent movies was the back of the Dairy Queen. There was this little addition they built on to the back of it. It was a little ten by ten room with shelves filled with videos. Every weekend we’d go out there and rent videos. We had to get something funny and something scary. We’d sprinkle in the action movie now and then to see shit blow up.
J – What horror movies influenced your psyche?
E – The most obvious influence on “The Goon” was “The Evil Dead.” The Universal Monster stuff was pretty influential early in my childhood like Frankenstein. We used to rent slasher movies, “Friday The 13th” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
J – The cover art of those video boxes back then were amazing. How could you not resist renting a horror movie?
E – It’s kinda a shame they don’t paint posters anymore or the movie box covers. Remember the poster for the first “Nightmare On Elm Street”? That’s a great painting. The one with the claw.
J – [Laughs] Here's a quote from you: "Back in the yester-years when VCRs were a new technology, me and my sister used to rent videos from the back of the Dairy Queen, one horror move and one comedy." Can you tell me more about this “Dairy Queen”, it sounds amazing.
E – [Laughs] When VCR technology really started to click, out here the first place you could rent movies was the back of the Dairy Queen. There was this little addition they built on to the back of it. It was a little ten by ten room with shelves filled with videos. Every weekend we’d go out there and rent videos. We had to get something funny and something scary. We’d sprinkle in the action movie now and then to see shit blow up.
J – What horror movies influenced your psyche?
E – The most obvious influence on “The Goon” was “The Evil Dead.” The Universal Monster stuff was pretty influential early in my childhood like Frankenstein. We used to rent slasher movies, “Friday The 13th” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
J – The cover art of those video boxes back then were amazing. How could you not resist renting a horror movie?
E – It’s kinda a shame they don’t paint posters anymore or the movie box covers. Remember the poster for the first “Nightmare On Elm Street”? That’s a great painting. The one with the claw.
J – Or “Halloween” where the knife morphs into the pumpkin. Based on past interviews, why do you think you cannot draw pretty people very well or modern buildings with details?
E – It takes a subtly to draw a pretty face. A person with character you put lines in there face and you give them a weird nose. That stuff I can scribble out just fine. Drawing something attractive you have to be really subtle with your lines. If your drawing a twenty year old woman and you put a line by her nose all of the sudden she’s forty.
J – So it’s not a product of low self-esteem or a bad childhood, it’s just a style preference.
E – If I was going to read any of that into my art it would be more in the writing than in the drawing. I just like drawing creepy ugly guys. It’s more of an aesthetic thing. I’m attracted to monster movies and Frankenstein. It’s boring to draw the pretty happy person. I want to draw the big ugly guy who’s rejected.
J – What was your influence on story telling? That’s a different talent than drawing.
E – It’s something that just came naturally. I never really studied other than looking at movies. After I started working in comics I started thinking about telling stories more. I was kinda going on instinct before. I thought I should develop the storytelling a little bit better. The best training I think I got was from Spielberg movies like “Jaws” and “Close Encounters”. There is a deliberate pace and visual quality that would work perfect in comics. There are not a lot of quick crazy cuts in those movies and composition was really nice. It’s not the same medium but his movies are a great tool to study storytelling.
J - You have said to break into the comic industry you need to dedicate practically all your time. Are you at a point in your career you can take a breather? Do you work every day, do you take weekends off?
E – It seems like I work every day. Unless I’m at a convention, I do a little something everyday. Last year we took “The Goon” and did it monthly for a year because we had this big story and that burnt me out. I couldn’t wait for that to be over, it was a non-stop workload. After each issue they were on me for the next one, it was a constant rush.
J – Do you have any hobbies? How do you make time for your family?
E – You just have to make time. When my boys come over and I have a deadline they sit on the floor and draw with me or they come in and out. As far as hobbies go, I watch movies and listen to music. I’m pretty much doing a hobby for a living. The only thing I’d really like to do, and I keep thinking about it but I don’t even bother cause I know I don’t have the time- I want to have an old muscle car.
E – It’s something that just came naturally. I never really studied other than looking at movies. After I started working in comics I started thinking about telling stories more. I was kinda going on instinct before. I thought I should develop the storytelling a little bit better. The best training I think I got was from Spielberg movies like “Jaws” and “Close Encounters”. There is a deliberate pace and visual quality that would work perfect in comics. There are not a lot of quick crazy cuts in those movies and composition was really nice. It’s not the same medium but his movies are a great tool to study storytelling.
J - You have said to break into the comic industry you need to dedicate practically all your time. Are you at a point in your career you can take a breather? Do you work every day, do you take weekends off?
E – It seems like I work every day. Unless I’m at a convention, I do a little something everyday. Last year we took “The Goon” and did it monthly for a year because we had this big story and that burnt me out. I couldn’t wait for that to be over, it was a non-stop workload. After each issue they were on me for the next one, it was a constant rush.
J – Do you have any hobbies? How do you make time for your family?
E – You just have to make time. When my boys come over and I have a deadline they sit on the floor and draw with me or they come in and out. As far as hobbies go, I watch movies and listen to music. I’m pretty much doing a hobby for a living. The only thing I’d really like to do, and I keep thinking about it but I don’t even bother cause I know I don’t have the time- I want to have an old muscle car.
J – [Laughs] No you’re never going to have any time for that. You have to wait till you retire- if you ever retire.E – [Laughs] Screw comics I’m going to work on this old car.
J – The movie coming up looks pretty exciting. I looked up the Director David Fincher and I see he’s directed “Alien”, “Fight Club” and “Se7en”. Your animated movie looks like it’s going to be the real deal.
E – I hope so. I’ve got my fingers crossed that we actually get this thing going. Blur, the animation studio, has been doing some test stuff and it looks amazing. I’ve been having story meetings with Fincher and the Blur guys and I think we got it going in a really good direction.
J – What kind of rating are you going for?
J – The movie coming up looks pretty exciting. I looked up the Director David Fincher and I see he’s directed “Alien”, “Fight Club” and “Se7en”. Your animated movie looks like it’s going to be the real deal.
E – I hope so. I’ve got my fingers crossed that we actually get this thing going. Blur, the animation studio, has been doing some test stuff and it looks amazing. I’ve been having story meetings with Fincher and the Blur guys and I think we got it going in a really good direction.
J – What kind of rating are you going for?
E – I think PG or PG-13. It’s definitely going to be a little edgy, we are not going to tone anything down. We want it to be what it is. Fincher and Blur realize if we start stripping it down and taking the “balls” off it’s going to be this watered down thing, not “The Goon.”
J – Yeah, then what’s the point?
J – Yeah, then what’s the point?
E – It’s not the reason people got into it.
J – The Mezco toys of “The Goon” turned out really cool.
E – Yeah I was really happy with them. I wish they sold better so they would do a second series. [Laughs]
J – When the movie comes out I hope they produce more action figures.
E – Yeah, once we have a release date for the movie I’m sure there be all kinds of merchandise happening.
J - Do your boys play with “The Goon” action figures?
E – Yeah, I gave them some of the action figures and they played with it for a little and then they moved on to their robots and stuff.
J – [Laughs]
E - Again, they are just not impressed. They are a like “yeah it’s just this thing my dad does, whatever.”
J - Do you do any exercises to keep from getting carpal tunnel? Is that even an issue?
E – I haven’t had any problems with it yet. I’ve had a few times where I’ve had to pull some crazy weeks and my hand and wrists start giving me trouble so I put on a workout bandage. [Laughs] I don’t know if that’s good or bad for it but it makes my wrists stop hurting.
J – I assume you are open to a Goon video game especially if the movie explodes.
E – I already talked to Blur about that. Blur does a lot of animatics for video games so we are definatly talking about it.
J – Have you thought about the Wii? You can make it so when you punch your the Goon.
E – That would be awesome. I’m going to suggest that – “Wii Goon.” So you can punch zombies and stuff.
J – So when you listen to music while you’re working have you ever listened to Calabrese?
E – Hell yeah. That CD I picked up at DragonCon, I listen to it all the time. J – That warms the cockles of my heart. E – [Laughs] I wouldn’t have asked you guys to take part in the party if I didn’t listen to your music.
J – They say art imitates life. After viewing your drunken debauchery on myspace I'm starting to think Nortons Pub is a real place in your world somewhere.
E – [Laughs] I wish there was, I need a Nortons Pub. I need some place I can roll out of bed and go hang out in but unfortunately I don’t live anywhere close to a Nortons Pub.
J – I have few last questions about some projects you worked on. I see you were one of the inkers on Brian Pulido’s 1st issue of "Evil Ernie: Returns" on Chaos Comics.
E – Did I?
J – That’s what the internet says…if you want to believe that.
E – I don’t think so? Or maybe I did? I think I might have done a fill in page. If I did, it was like only a few pages.
J – Brian Pulido directed our music video so I was hoping you had some Brian Pulido stories.
E – Actually I didn’t have any contact with Pulido. When I did that I think the editor called asking if I could ink a few pages. Brian Pulido stories…I don’t think I have any. I can make something up if you want?
J – [Laughs] No no, that’s ok we make up enough stories already. We don’t need any more out there.
J - In 2005 you did a spread for “Mad Magazine” where you did a parody video game… is that true?
E – Yeah it was a parody of a pro-wresting video game where the wrestlers are all corporate mascots so you had the Hawaiian Punch guy, the Pep Boys and The Jolly Green Giant. It was a lot of fun.
J – How did you get that? Did they contact you?
E – Yeah one of the guys contacted me to see if I was interested in doing the illustration for them. I jumped at it cause its “Mad Magazine”, if nothing else you can put on your resume you’ve worked for “Mad Magazine.”
J – Your cool points rose in my book when I saw you did that work. So now that you’re living the dream what’s next?
E – Right now making the movie happen is my next goal.
J – I can just imagine how “The Goon” will explode when that movie comes out.
E – Then I can be really obnoxious.
If you want to learn more about Eric Powell and “The Goon” check out http://www.thegoon.com/
J – The Mezco toys of “The Goon” turned out really cool.
E – Yeah I was really happy with them. I wish they sold better so they would do a second series. [Laughs]
J – When the movie comes out I hope they produce more action figures.
E – Yeah, once we have a release date for the movie I’m sure there be all kinds of merchandise happening.
J - Do your boys play with “The Goon” action figures?
E – Yeah, I gave them some of the action figures and they played with it for a little and then they moved on to their robots and stuff.
J – [Laughs]
E - Again, they are just not impressed. They are a like “yeah it’s just this thing my dad does, whatever.”
J - Do you do any exercises to keep from getting carpal tunnel? Is that even an issue?
E – I haven’t had any problems with it yet. I’ve had a few times where I’ve had to pull some crazy weeks and my hand and wrists start giving me trouble so I put on a workout bandage. [Laughs] I don’t know if that’s good or bad for it but it makes my wrists stop hurting.
J – I assume you are open to a Goon video game especially if the movie explodes.
E – I already talked to Blur about that. Blur does a lot of animatics for video games so we are definatly talking about it.
J – Have you thought about the Wii? You can make it so when you punch your the Goon.
E – That would be awesome. I’m going to suggest that – “Wii Goon.” So you can punch zombies and stuff.
J – So when you listen to music while you’re working have you ever listened to Calabrese?
E – Hell yeah. That CD I picked up at DragonCon, I listen to it all the time. J – That warms the cockles of my heart. E – [Laughs] I wouldn’t have asked you guys to take part in the party if I didn’t listen to your music.
J – They say art imitates life. After viewing your drunken debauchery on myspace I'm starting to think Nortons Pub is a real place in your world somewhere.
E – [Laughs] I wish there was, I need a Nortons Pub. I need some place I can roll out of bed and go hang out in but unfortunately I don’t live anywhere close to a Nortons Pub.
J – I have few last questions about some projects you worked on. I see you were one of the inkers on Brian Pulido’s 1st issue of "Evil Ernie: Returns" on Chaos Comics.
E – Did I?
J – That’s what the internet says…if you want to believe that.
E – I don’t think so? Or maybe I did? I think I might have done a fill in page. If I did, it was like only a few pages.
J – Brian Pulido directed our music video so I was hoping you had some Brian Pulido stories.
E – Actually I didn’t have any contact with Pulido. When I did that I think the editor called asking if I could ink a few pages. Brian Pulido stories…I don’t think I have any. I can make something up if you want?
J – [Laughs] No no, that’s ok we make up enough stories already. We don’t need any more out there.
J - In 2005 you did a spread for “Mad Magazine” where you did a parody video game… is that true?
E – Yeah it was a parody of a pro-wresting video game where the wrestlers are all corporate mascots so you had the Hawaiian Punch guy, the Pep Boys and The Jolly Green Giant. It was a lot of fun.
J – How did you get that? Did they contact you?
E – Yeah one of the guys contacted me to see if I was interested in doing the illustration for them. I jumped at it cause its “Mad Magazine”, if nothing else you can put on your resume you’ve worked for “Mad Magazine.”
J – Your cool points rose in my book when I saw you did that work. So now that you’re living the dream what’s next?
E – Right now making the movie happen is my next goal.
J – I can just imagine how “The Goon” will explode when that movie comes out.
E – Then I can be really obnoxious.
If you want to learn more about Eric Powell and “The Goon” check out http://www.thegoon.com/
