Mark Chiarello, WEDNESDAY COMICS DC Comics art editor: Mr. Media Radio Interview

When I was a teenager growing up in North Brunswick, New Jersey, I was one of three guys who organized a loose-knit band of like-minded comic book lovers into a club called the Fans of Central Jersey. We had monthly meetings, published a monthly newsletter, and even sponsored a couple comic book conventions.

Through that group, I met a number of people who have remained friends and acquaintances more than 30 years later.

One of them is Mark Chiarello, who I remember as an ambitious young guy from nearby Jamesburg, New Jersey. Mark was one of the most reliable contributors of original artwork to the FCJ Newsletter. He had a distinctive style even then and there was no doubt he was motivated to do something special with his talent.

Today, Chiarello is the art director for the entire DC Comics Universe. He has had a guiding hand over the years in titles such as Batman: Black and White, DC: The New Frontier, The Spirit, and Solo.

He broke new ground in July 2009 with the launch of a 12-issue series called Wednesday Comics, a 16-page weekly that unfolds to a 28-inch by 20-inch tabloid featuring the individual adventures of Batman, Adam Strange, Metamorpho, The Demon and Catwoman, Kamandi, Superman and many more.

I always take great pride in hosting old friends on Mr. Media, and today is definitely one of those days.


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You can LISTEN to this interview with WEDNESDAY COMICS editor MARK CHIARELLO by clicking the BlogTalkRadio.com audio player above!

Copyright 2009 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Dave Gibbons, WATCHING THE WATCHMEN author, WATCHMEN artist: Mr. Media Interview

Image by Seeker65 via FlickrFrank Miller must have a guardian angel. How else to explain that, in the days before his latest movie, The Spirit, would premiere to horrendous reviews, it was announced that his next project would be a remake of Buck Rogers?

Or, even wilder, that Dave Gibbons, co-creator of the greatest graphic novel ever, Watchmen, wanted to re-team with Miller to bring their comics creation, Martha Washington, to the silver screen.

It was just the kind of distracting good news Miller’s career may need with The Spirit likely headed for an armload of Razzies come award time.

Dave Gibbons is my guest today, and Frank Miller and Martha Washington are just the latest developments in a career that is set to go into warp drive this spring with the release of the film version of Watchmen likely to hit your local cinema.

The coming attractions for Watchmen are causing the kind of buzz that the original Superman movie did. It looks that good.

And then there’s Dave’s new coffee table size book, Watching the Watchmen, a collection of notes, sketches and scribblings he accumulated during the creation of Watchmen. They include contributions from Watchmen co-creator and writer Alan Moore, editors and others.

If you loved Watchmen, you have to own this book.

You can LISTEN to this interview with DAVE GIBBONS, author of WATCHING THE WATCHMEN and co-creator of the graphic novel WATCHMEN, by clicking the BlogTalkRadio.com audio player above!