Preview: SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL #12 From DC Comics
Synopsis, page previews, and even excerpts from an interview with Ande Parks, inker of Superman Confidential !
ON SALE FEBRUARY 20TH:
SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL #12
B. Clay Moore teams with Phil Hester and Ande Parks to shed light on the origins of the Jimmy Olsen/Superman relationship in the first of a three-part story, in which Superman invents a way for Jimmy to signal him, and Metropolis deals with giant murderous...toys?
Ande Parks about his work on Superman Confidential :
"I’m a Kansan, and I love the Smallville element of Superman. The strong, simple values of the heartland...values that have nothing to do with modern, so-called 'family values,' but with the belief that the human spirit is strong and good. Superman embodies those ideals. I also think it’s really special to be able to leave a very small fingerprint on the icon of Superman. I am not too jaded to realize that inking that 'S' symbol is pretty freaking cool.
"As an inker, I try to serve the penciler’s vision, for the most part. I’m working with my pal Phil Hester now, and I think we have very similar ideas about comic art. We are influenced by a lot of the same guys...guys who put a premium on bold design and simple imagery. I like Phil’s Superman a lot, because he couples the simplicity of the Bruce Timm Superman with more complex visions. Phil gives Clark the lantern jaw without making it too extreme or like a bizarre caricature of Jay Leno.
"Doesn’t it completely typify Superman that he puts up with what a pain in the ass Jimmy must be? The kid cannot stay out of trouble! If I had a signal ring, it would probably summon the ghost of Mr. Jack Daniels.
"I like big, bold images. I don’t like pages with tons of little stuff on it, or nothing but talking heads. I like big guys in tights!
"I generally go through the page with a pen first, inking the contours and detail stuff. I wanted [these] books to look a little brushier and more organic than what Phil and I have been doing recently, on Ant-Man, for example. So, I save what I can for the second stage, which is me attacking the page with a brush, being as bold and organic as possible.
"I like every kind of comics, but I especially relate to the innocence that is inherent in an early Superman story. When inking a story like this, you can pretend you’re back there at the beginning of the superhero genre, before it got too twisted by guys who grew up reading nothing but superheroes."
[Interview conducted by JENNIFER M. CONTINO.]