Tony Moore has had a prolific career in the comic book business.  From Walking Dead (a favorite over here at SJ) to Fear Agent to The Exterminators, he’s honed his craft and absolutely made his mark on the industry.

Our very own Jesse had a chance to talk with Mr. Moore about everything from Robert Kirkman to hot dogs to what we can expect in the future from this truly gifted artisan.

SJ: How long have you been drawing comics and how did you get started in the business?

TM: I’ve been at it officially for about 10 years. Robert Kirkman and I made our first stab at glory with Battle Pope back in 2000. We started it in ‘99 and hit the shelves and conventions that following year. We did that for a few years and learned a lot before we started pitching to Image and did Brit and The Walking Dead. The rest is history.

SJ: What’s it like working with Robert Kirkman?

TM: Well, it was a lot of fun at first, but our fundamental differences of opinion eventually sent us on our own paths. We worked like hell to claw out our footholds and produce books we were proud of, and unfortunately we didn’t always see eye to eye. That’s the best and worst of working with friends. Emotions, good and bad, can run pretty high. I’m still proud of what we did together, regardless.

SJ: As an artist is there a certain script format you prefer? Do you like scripts that lay out everything, or do you like having freedom?

TM: I’m game for whatever. I like playing with the layouts and stuff myself, and usually I get that. Occasionally, a writer will lock down the whole page in their minds before I see it. When it works, I’m more than happy to go with the flow, because it’s less I have to think about, but if I don’t think it works, I’ll re-jigger even the tightest script for the sake of clear storytelling. I do like having a good idea of what the dialogue is while I’m penciling, though, because a lot of the nuance in storytelling can come from the acting in body language and facial expressions.

SJ: When you are working on multiple projects at once, how do you balance them all and keep deadlines?

TM: Do I? I’m actually pretty notoriously bad at juggling multiple projects and keeping them all running with any smoothness. I’ve learned my lesson, though. No more over-commitment, for my own sanity’s sake. That’s the plan anyway!

SJ: How long does it take you to complete an issue?

TM: About 6 weeks, generally. I tried the monthly grind and just couldn’t swing it. 6 weeks is long enough to let me do what I need to do and not kill myself in the process.

SJ: Who are some of your biggest influences as an artist?

TM: Well, that list is about as long as my arm, but off the top of my head, some of my artistic idols include the guys from EC Comics, specifically Jack Davis, Will Elder, Wally Wood, John Severin, and Basil Wolverton. They’re pretty much my gold standard for cartooning. I also really get into Geof Darrow, Robert Crumb, and Doug Mahnke.

SJ: What writers would you like to work with?

TM: I’d love to work with Jason Aaron and Simon Oliver again. Other writers I want to team up with are Matt Fraction and B Clay Moore. Warren Ellis or Garth Ennis would be a blast to get crazy with. And of course, the obligatory Grant Morrison and Alan Moore. Anyone in their right mind would love to work with any of those guys.

SJ: When deciding to work on a project, what are the factors you look for in taking on a job?

TM: Is it going to be fun? Can I actually pull it off? Does it pay enough to support my family? I mostly just have to feel like it’s a project that I’m a fit for. What I do is a pretty specific kinda thing, and I might not work on everything. But when it’s something that’s up my alley, I can really get into it and the work is better all around.

SJ: What’s a typical day in the life of Tony Moore?

TM: I wake up when my wife’s tired of me sleeping all day and I eat some cereal and have some coffee. Depending on how I slept, it could be literally a half an hour before my brain is running at all. Then I head out to the studio and read my email to see if I have any fires to put out, and read the news. Then I’ll put on a DVD or some music and settle into the job at hand, either drawing or coloring. I take breaks every few hours to get the blood back in my legs and to refocus my eyes. One thing I enjoy is to go squeeze off a few rounds on the target range I’ve set up on the hillside behind my studio. Some days I’ll work for 12-16 hours, with a dinner break of course, but some days it’s like squeezing blood from a turnip. The good days, I ride the wave. The bad days, I force myself to stay at it for 8 hours and then I clock out. A couple hours of Tivoed sitcoms before bed and I conk out to start it over again.

SJ: What are you reading now?

TM: Not much, actually. Scalped is my favorite, Jonah Hex, and a few things here and there I’ve picked out of my DC comps. Looking forward to Morrison and Quitely’s Batman. I’m a bad fanboy…I barely even know what’s out anymore. I haven’t been to the store in months. My friends ask me if I’ve read their books, and pretty much always, my answer is a guilty, “no.”

SJ: What advice do you have for people trying to break into the industry?

TM: You’d better love it. You’d better love it like you’re eaten up with a sickness. Comics is hard on a soul and if there’s anything else in the world you can think of doing with your life, you should do that thing, because comics will tear you down and you’ve got to love it enough to stick through it in the lean and mean times. It’s not easy, but when you love it like you’ve never loved anything else, holding that finished book in your hands and knowing that some kid out there might be picking your book up and getting excited the way you did as a reader… that’s what makes it all worthwhile.

SJ: What’s the best thing about drawing comics?

TM: Well, aside from what I just said, it’s pretty sweet to work in your p.j.’s and get paid an honest wage to draw pictures of cowboys shooting robots. I mean, that’s like a crazy dream.

SJ: I believe you live close to Jason Aaron. Would you guys ever do anything together?

TM: We just finished three gonzo issues of Ghost Rider together, and it was a blast. That guy could write a VCR manual and I’d bite and claw my way over fifty guys to get the chance to draw it.

SJ: How do you feel about independent presses, and do you see a trend with them one way or another?

TM:  Well, the publishing landscape isn’t too friendly for creator-owned work in general out there these days, and being an indy press only compounds it. It’s hard to get retailers to pay notice and invest in preorders on new titles, and fans tend to only read what they know. Those two make a pretty lethal combo for indies, and it’s hard to soldier through and show retailers that you’re in it for the long haul, especially if you’ve got bills to pay and any financial responsibilities at all. I do think that digital comics can potentially even the playing field as far as production and visibility are concerned, but finding a way to make that profitable still isn’t easy. But there are already guys doing it, and I think that’ll prove to be the way of the future. The paper artifact of collecting is proving to appeal to a very niche market. Publishing in general today is finding that readers are more concerned with content. They’re much less concerned with the vessel. They just want the goods.

SJ: What do you have lined up in the future, as far as projects go?  Will you be writing and illustrating anything, as opposed to just illustrating?

TM: I’m currently working with Rick Remender again, only this time we’re tackling Punisher over at Marvel. I can’t say much, other than that it’s going to be completely nuts. I think people will either think we’ve done one of the coolest things ever, or that we’ve just ruined the book. Either way, feelings are likely to be strong. I’ve got a pile of ideas for personal projects that I’m fleshing out, some to be written myself. Batting around ideas with writers on these recent projects has made me much more confident in my potential ability to actually do this, I just need to find the time to execute it. Who knows? That kind of thing might be just around the corner. The beauty of coming up from creator-owned work is that if the next opportunity doesn’t present itself, you just make your own, and I’m already tinkering with some ideas for exactly such an occasion.

Saint James Rapid Fire Bonus Round

Star Wars or Star Trek: Trek.
Favorite Movie: The Big Lebowski
Band to listen to when drawing: Ooof. That’s tough. I’m going with Southern Culture on the Skids, because they’re playing right now.
Hamburgers or Hot Dogs: Hmmm. The hardest one yet. I’m gonna say dogs. Metts…with mustard.

Check out Tony’s website here, and if you haven’t already, go pick up Walking Dead trades or the three-issue Ghost Rider arc he mentioned - excellent, excellent reads.

Ciao.

1. B. Clay Moore Says:
   July 14th, 2009 at 11:39 am

   Hmm. I guess I’d be willing to work with this Moore kid. I like the cut of his jib.

   Have him send some samples to my assistant and I’ll see if I can work up a backup story for him.

   -BCM

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