Few comic book creators have had the worldwide impact that Carlos Ezquerras work has. This is the man who changed the face of comic books back when he and John Wagner created Judge Dredd. Since then Ezquerra has worked more than steadily, there must be something in the water over in Spain for people like Sergio Aragons and Ezquerra to be so prolific. Most recently Ezquerra has worked with Garth Ennis on Preacher, War Story, Bloody Mary and their latest project is A Man Called Kev for DCs Wildstorm line.
Check out the official website for Carlos Ezquerra
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you working on?
Carlos Ezquerra: Now I am working on another story of Kevin for DC Comics with Garth Ennis writing. It is called A Man Called Kev. We did another miniseries last year with the character.
DRE: Right, hes the guy who always messes up.
CE: Yes, exactly. Also I am doing another Judge Dredd series in England. John Wagner is writing and it is a long epic. Its the origin of Judge Dredd. It will be 35 episodes long and will be released weekly.
DRE: I didnt know you and John were still doing stuff together.
CE: Yes. I always have been working all the time with England. I still do Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog.
DRE: What are Dredds parents like?
CE: He was a clone from his father so he doesnt have proper parents. But we do get to see his face.
DRE: What keeps you and Garth Ennis coming back to each other?
CE: Weve been working together for 15 years or something like that. Its a little bit of chemistry. He likes the way I draw and the characters I draw and hes a wonderful writer. We like the same kinds of characters, the same kinds of stories. The same happens with John Wagner, weve been working together for like 30 years. Its like a marriage.
DRE: How easy is it to turn Garths scripts into beautiful violence?
CE: For me its very easy. Its as if I were looking at a film. Hes very graphic. I suppose that the two of us have more or less the same way of looking at things. For me I just pick up on the script and read it and envision it as if it were film and the comic just comes by itself. Its very easy with him.
DRE: Have you ever done work that doesnt have a lot of violence in it?
CE: I actually dont really like the violence [laughs]. I dont mind the violence if its a little bit comic or ironic. But I hate the violence just for the violence. For me drawing violence is a way to criticize it and show how bad it can be. But if it was a serious comic with a lot of gratuitous violence, I would hate that.
DRE: I just read both Bloody Mary miniseries.
CE: [laughs] Thats a very tasteful comic.
DRE: [laughs] Whatd you like about doing Bloody Mary?
CE: First because it was a very strong woman that and she is the kind of character that would normally be a man in a comic. Usually a woman is a little bit sexy and softer. The book was showing a woman exactly as if she can be a man; ruthless and violent so it was a bit ironic. Even where she dressed like a man showed a little black humor that Garth Ennis is so good at.
DRE: It seems like you and Garth can do anything together. Youve done apocalyptic stories, youve done heaven and hell, youve done war. Are there genres that you want to do that you havent gotten the chance to do?
CE: No, up to now weve been doing almost everything. Even the last War Story we did was based on the Spanish Civil War. That was very close to me. The only thing I dont like is to do superhero stuff. They are too clean cut. Too goody-goody and the only kind of character I like to know is the anti-hero. Maybe because I was raised in the 60s with all these anti-hero characters like Clint Eastwood and James Coburn. They never were totally good and they were never totally bad.
DRE: What did you like about doing Kev because The Authority is usually in his book and they are superheroes?
CE: The Authority a bit like superheroes but it is just a sideline. In the first miniseries we did with Kev, The Magnificent Kevin, The Authority appeared very little. Now in the new one they do not appear at all. It is just Kevin. I said I didnt want to draw superheroes again [laughs].
DRE: Do you write at all?
CE: No, I dont have time. I always wanted to but I am always very busy and also while you are working with people like Garth, they are too good so I cant overpass them. So I prefer to stay with my artwork. I like to put a lot of ideas into the comic. I always consider that a comic is something that is made by the two people, the writer and the artist. If its going to be a good comic, there has to be quite a good collaboration.
DRE: A couple years ago I heard that they might be doing more Judge Dredd movies.
CE: Yes they were going to do two films of Judge Dredd but in the end I dont think it has come out to anything because even when it was done by Stallone, originally they were going to do the three films. But because the first one didnt do well, it was finished.
DRE: What inspired the look of the Pilgrim in Just the Pilgrim?
CE: The Pilgrim is just another of those typical characters of Garths and mine. It can be Man with no name. The thing that made the Pilgrim different is that he considered himself like a prophet, like a man with a destiny. Then he realized that he was a fuck up. When he just threw away the Bible, it was a very good ending.
DRE: Do you work on TV or movies at all?
CE: No, never. I just do comics. Normally the people in the movie industry tend to treat the comic creators like second rate creators. They are talented but not very good to work with.
DRE: Have you ever seen a Judge Dredd tattoo on anybody?
CE: Yes. In India I knew some people that loved Judge Dredd and I met a guy who had his whole body covered in Strontium Dog. I never saw down his belly but he was all covered.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official website for Carlos Ezquerra
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you working on?
Carlos Ezquerra: Now I am working on another story of Kevin for DC Comics with Garth Ennis writing. It is called A Man Called Kev. We did another miniseries last year with the character.
DRE: Right, hes the guy who always messes up.
CE: Yes, exactly. Also I am doing another Judge Dredd series in England. John Wagner is writing and it is a long epic. Its the origin of Judge Dredd. It will be 35 episodes long and will be released weekly.
DRE: I didnt know you and John were still doing stuff together.
CE: Yes. I always have been working all the time with England. I still do Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog.
DRE: What are Dredds parents like?
CE: He was a clone from his father so he doesnt have proper parents. But we do get to see his face.
DRE: What keeps you and Garth Ennis coming back to each other?
CE: Weve been working together for 15 years or something like that. Its a little bit of chemistry. He likes the way I draw and the characters I draw and hes a wonderful writer. We like the same kinds of characters, the same kinds of stories. The same happens with John Wagner, weve been working together for like 30 years. Its like a marriage.
DRE: How easy is it to turn Garths scripts into beautiful violence?
CE: For me its very easy. Its as if I were looking at a film. Hes very graphic. I suppose that the two of us have more or less the same way of looking at things. For me I just pick up on the script and read it and envision it as if it were film and the comic just comes by itself. Its very easy with him.
DRE: Have you ever done work that doesnt have a lot of violence in it?
CE: I actually dont really like the violence [laughs]. I dont mind the violence if its a little bit comic or ironic. But I hate the violence just for the violence. For me drawing violence is a way to criticize it and show how bad it can be. But if it was a serious comic with a lot of gratuitous violence, I would hate that.
DRE: I just read both Bloody Mary miniseries.
CE: [laughs] Thats a very tasteful comic.
DRE: [laughs] Whatd you like about doing Bloody Mary?
CE: First because it was a very strong woman that and she is the kind of character that would normally be a man in a comic. Usually a woman is a little bit sexy and softer. The book was showing a woman exactly as if she can be a man; ruthless and violent so it was a bit ironic. Even where she dressed like a man showed a little black humor that Garth Ennis is so good at.
DRE: It seems like you and Garth can do anything together. Youve done apocalyptic stories, youve done heaven and hell, youve done war. Are there genres that you want to do that you havent gotten the chance to do?
CE: No, up to now weve been doing almost everything. Even the last War Story we did was based on the Spanish Civil War. That was very close to me. The only thing I dont like is to do superhero stuff. They are too clean cut. Too goody-goody and the only kind of character I like to know is the anti-hero. Maybe because I was raised in the 60s with all these anti-hero characters like Clint Eastwood and James Coburn. They never were totally good and they were never totally bad.
DRE: What did you like about doing Kev because The Authority is usually in his book and they are superheroes?
CE: The Authority a bit like superheroes but it is just a sideline. In the first miniseries we did with Kev, The Magnificent Kevin, The Authority appeared very little. Now in the new one they do not appear at all. It is just Kevin. I said I didnt want to draw superheroes again [laughs].
DRE: Do you write at all?
CE: No, I dont have time. I always wanted to but I am always very busy and also while you are working with people like Garth, they are too good so I cant overpass them. So I prefer to stay with my artwork. I like to put a lot of ideas into the comic. I always consider that a comic is something that is made by the two people, the writer and the artist. If its going to be a good comic, there has to be quite a good collaboration.
DRE: A couple years ago I heard that they might be doing more Judge Dredd movies.
CE: Yes they were going to do two films of Judge Dredd but in the end I dont think it has come out to anything because even when it was done by Stallone, originally they were going to do the three films. But because the first one didnt do well, it was finished.
DRE: What inspired the look of the Pilgrim in Just the Pilgrim?
CE: The Pilgrim is just another of those typical characters of Garths and mine. It can be Man with no name. The thing that made the Pilgrim different is that he considered himself like a prophet, like a man with a destiny. Then he realized that he was a fuck up. When he just threw away the Bible, it was a very good ending.
DRE: Do you work on TV or movies at all?
CE: No, never. I just do comics. Normally the people in the movie industry tend to treat the comic creators like second rate creators. They are talented but not very good to work with.
DRE: Have you ever seen a Judge Dredd tattoo on anybody?
CE: Yes. In India I knew some people that loved Judge Dredd and I met a guy who had his whole body covered in Strontium Dog. I never saw down his belly but he was all covered.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
"story by me, art by the mighty carlos ezquerra" which, for me, sums him up perfectly.