This time we have Declan Shalvey in the hot seat, artist of the Award Winning Hero Killers, and frequent collaborator of Andy Winter. He most recently provided the artwork for Classical Comics new Frankenstein book. Also a great guy, and a fantastic artist and creator in his own right. This interview was done over two days, and I'd like to take another chance to thank Declan for taking part!

Declan: Well, I had finished art college and was set on a career in comics. I had heard the best way to do so was to attend the Bristol Expo so I thought I'd check it out. I shopped around my portfolio and met many helpful people who pointed out what I should work on. Next year I returned with a much better portfolio and showed it to some small press/indie folk and a lot of them seemed to like my work. I was told the best way to start a career was to get work published through small press and that year I managed to make some contacts that enabled me to do so.

Declan: You are indeed correct! From networking at Bristol I had met some folk and done the odd page here and there that never went anywhere (which can happen a lot in the small press world), but it was Bristol where I first met Andy, and he seemed to genuinely like my work. He already had a body of published work (his DevilChild graphic novels) so I took him seriously. We had a chat about what kind of story I'd like to draw and I was itching to do a superhero story (My portfolio was filled with superhero work). Andy said he had something of the sort in mind and soon sent me details about a little story called Hero Killers...

Declan: Yeah, it did! I'm incredibly proud of the Eagle win, as it really was a complete surprise to even be nominated! By the time we won though, I had been drawing comics for a few years. I drew Hero Killers in the summer of 2004 if I remember correctly, and we won the award in May of 2007, so even though I had drawn it a long time beforehand, once it won the award, that's really when my 'career' started I think. As regards comics after art college? Well, I always wanted to draw comics. Always. Back in school, I was 'the guy who drew comics.' When I finished school however, I was 17, lived in a small town in Ireland and pretty much didn't know how to use the internet, so I had no idea how to actually start a career in comics. I went to art college in an effort to improve my drawing skills (which is not going to happen in a Fine Art course). After earning my Degree, I decided to turn my back on the over-conceptual art-world, where technical skill is ignored, and concentrate on what I always wanted to do; draw comics.

Declan: Well, I imagine the award was part of it. I have a studio underneath a comic shop in Aberdeen and the artist Jon Haward was doing a signing there. We got along quite well and he seemed to like the work I was doing on an indie book called Freak Show that I draw. Little did I know he was working with Classical Comics at the time and showed my work to its publisher, Clive Bryant. I met Clive at Bristol the morning after Hero Killers won the Eagle Award, so I guess that didn't hurt my chances. Not too long afterwards I was offered Frankenstein. I'd like to think I got the job as my artwork was at a professional level and that it suited the project but he Eagle Award helped too, I'm sure.

Declan: Yes, Classical have been getting a lot of notice, and rightly so. All over the internet people are whining about how to get kids into comics, and here is a publisher doing everything they can to get kids to read through comics. I'm delighted that I got to do a serious, moody, horror book like Frankenstein that can still appeal to kids. (Hero Killers wasn't a kids book by any means). Hopefully, it will appeal to kids and adults alike. With Frankenstein, before I got started on the book I did many different character drawings however I tried to look at as little reference as possible when it came to the monster. I managed to get my hands on good DVDs for period reference and the like, but when it came to the monster I deliberately tried to ignore other interpretations as to not be subconsciously influenced by them. Sometimes I wish I'd gathered more monster reference before I came up with my own interpretations, but at least I can say that this version is mine, derived only from the script and as true to Mary Shelly's version of the character.

Declan: Yeah, Andy asked me if I could do the Septic Isle cover a while back. I think he was pretty happy with the Blood Psi cover I did for him (despite the 'controversy'). Andy is great to work with as he gives you the freedom to come up with more interesting page layouts and cover designs. I asked if I could make the Septic Isle cover a wraparound making both sides very graphic that worked as a wraparound and yet worked as separate images. The badge is basically a reworking of the wraparound cover. I'd happily do covers to all of Andy's books if he asked me, as I'll always be grateful for offering me Hero Killers and I attribute any success I've had since to him. I really wanted to work with Andy again after the success of Hero Killers so I’m really excited about this next book we're working on called Tim Skinner; Total Scumbag. I haven't had much time to work on it with Frankenstein and Freak Show on the go (as well as my own self published book You Round; Tequila) but I hope to make some serious headway with it very soon. It is without a doubt, one of the best (and funniest) scripts I've read and I can't wait to get it finished.

Declan: Oh it was more 'controversy' more than actual controversy. Apparently some website objected to showing the cover as they thought it was too lewd or inappropriate. Admittedly, the aim was to make it 'sexy' but there was nothing x-rated about it, just a cute punk girl licking blood off her finger. It was suggestive at the very worst. Hardly offensive.

Declan: Sure, Tequila is an anthology book of pub stories, basically. Your Round is my plan for a whole series of short stories based on drinking and drinkers. Tequila is the first in that series with stories by myself, Bob Byrne (creator of Mr. Amperduke and Bob Byrne's Twisted Tales for 2000AD) and James Hodgkins (creator of Lass Vegas and inker on Lucifer, Batman, Daredevil, etc). I have plans for more, but the main thing is to get the first issue out there.

Freak Show is a long-running Irish comic series that was previously nominated for an Eagle Award. It follows a group of supernatural private detectives in 1950s America. Written by Rob Curley, it's currently in its second volume with myself on art duties.

Declan: Yep. That has always been the dream; to draw something like X-Men, or something of that ilk. Ah man, how cool would it be to draw Batman, or Daredevil?! The strange thing is though, once you kind of become a 'professional' the goal-line changes. While I would love to do various US mainstream books, I still know that I would want to be doing my own material in the end. I'm under no illusions; in the 'world of comics', I'm a nobody that's lucky to be doing as well as I am, but I'm also aware that if I was to be lucky and talented enough to work on a mainstream book, it would be helpful in justifying a market for work of my own someday. Working for Marvel or DC, etc, is no longer the point at which I would like to end my career, but it is certainly where I would love to spend a lot of time. I've recently gotten the itch to write something of my own, but I know that won't happen for a while yet. Plus, working for Marvel /DC /etc, would depend a lot on them wanting to hire me first!

Declan: It's still very much in the idea phase. I fact, I don't really like talking about it as I hate it when people rant on about their 'big' idea and they never go anywhere with it. Let's just say I have an idea for something in the future. The distant future most likely. Expect it in 2040.

Declan: Good question. A tough one too. Well, there's three main problems the way I see it. The distributors, the fans and the creators! The distributors (who've monopolized all distribution, aside from the great Smallzone) take so much of a cut it makes it tough on the creators. The fans seem to buy mainly mainstream books, and very little indies, so that's also tough on the creators. On the other hand, there's great indies out there yet there's some really bad stuff too, so that'll put off fans. Fans won't order indies therefore, so the distributors are less likely to take them. Then the fans suffer because the next great Indie book can't get distributed. Lots of knock on effects and no simple solutions. The way I see it (and I may be wrong) is just to make the best possible comics you can. If they're good, people will read them and they'll eventually find a market. The best thing about small press is also the worst thing about it I find. It's great that you can just photocopy your comic and sell it to folk. On the other hand, when everyone can do it, the quality varies, it's the same with webcomics too. What I find interesting is the divide between small press and indie. If you've stapled your photocopies comic, well fair play to you; you're small press. if you've paid for a print run of a few hundred, and you've got it professionally done, advertised it, got in into Diamond, etc, then you've put your money where your mouth is; and you're indie. As someone who did an indie comic myself (Your Round) I found that the tough process of making a book was only the beginning. How to get people to find out about it and read it is a whole other job, which I'm not the expert at, by any means. If I was, you would have heard of Your Round; Tequila.

Declan: I'm not sure I follow, do you mean that people complain that indie comics should only appeal to comic book fans? In the case of comic shops, well when I was a kid, there were no comic shops anywhere near me. As a treat my mum would take me to the nearest city and I'd buy as much as my pocket money would allow, so I'm quite sentimental about comic shops. The shop above my studio, Asylum Books and Games in Aberdeen is great as they suggest books to their customers all the time, and it has the largest indie section I've ever seen in a comic shop. I'm not trying to advertise the shop, just mention it as an exception, as I've been in many shops where I overhear a mother come into a shop looking for a Spiderman book for her little boy, because he loves the movies. The guy behind the counter would sneer that she didn't know which title she should get be it Amazing, Spectacular, etc. How do we get kids reading comics? We stop sneering at mums who are trying to get their kinds into them, that's how! You will find shops that cater to new readers, you'll find some who treat their customers badly, it's the same with lots of shops in general I imagine. Customer service is not what I used to be. One thing I'm happy about with Frankenstein is that it's not going just through comic shops, it's also going through major book shops like Waterstones. That's a much healthier approach than just limiting you book to comic shops.

PART 2

Declan: Pretty much. Back home I was able to infrequently get a US X-Men book and a US Spidey book. Both were incomprehensible at the time, with 'Age of Apocalypse' and 'Clone Saga' crossovers happening respectively. So, whenever I managed to get to a 'proper' comic shop I'd pick up whatever titles I never got to read like Batman, etc. Thankfully, not too long afterwards Panini started reprinting US material which was easy to get in newsagents. Around then I started reading Preacher, which changed everything. That was the first comic that got me looking outside of superhero comics.

Declan: Preacher was a fantastic piece of work. When I was younger, work like 2000AD never appealed to me; I was an innocent child I guess. When Preacher came around though, I was in my mid to late teens, so it came around at the right time for me. I think I started reading it because Garth Ennis was Irish, and I couldn't believe an Irishman was working for a big American company. Dillon's work was a huge departure from the work I was into too, as it wasn't flashy or stylized. What he did was tell the story perfectly, which is much more engrossing than flashy drawings.

Heh, oh god, I did do strips alright, yeah, but they were superhero knock-offs of the X-Men and Spidey. I started a book where my team actually fought them! I was working on a three-part X-Men story of my own in secondary school. Got as far as 10 pages into the second part actually. I also doodled constantly. I recently found old school copies of mine where one half is Maths or English and the back half was filled with doodles or copies of Alan Davis figures. Shameful!

Declan: It's not really that I didn't like Fine Art per se, but the way it's taught these days there's way too much emphasis on 'concept' and not enough on technical ability in my opinion. It's very true that a hell of a lot of Fine Art graduates cannot draw, which is frankly embarrassing. I'm not putting down all conceptual work, there's some great stuff out there, there's just too many artists doing conceptual work because they can't draw. I studied Printmaking, which concentrated more on process and technical skill, but did end up becoming quite digital for a lot of students. I was determined to stick with the drawing my 'comic style' was very much frowned upon. In fairness though, it was good for me to break out of my drawing habits and try a different approach. One tutor mentioned to me that every piece I ever did always had a strong sense of narrative to it, which I think is very much influenced by comics, but that's more a storytelling influence than a stylistic one. Funnily enough though, at my first Bristol convention, I showed work I had done when I was 17 (pre college) and work I had done since graduating and everyone preferred the work I did when I was 17! I had started using solid blacks a lot more before college, and the work I had done since looked like bad Jim Lee of Bryan Hitch knock offs. It was frustrating to know I had started developing a style of my own before college, then completely un-learned it!

'Un-learned' isn't a word but there, I said it.

Declan: Yeah, I managed to filter it back in alright. Do I recommend studying Fine Art? No. There's nothing wrong with Fine Art, but if you want to draw comics, it's not for you. Study the great artists in your own time, but Fine Art isn't really what people think it is anymore. I would recommend illustration courses, or maybe even graphic design courses. I ignored graphic design in college thinking it had nothing to do with what I wanted to do, but little did I realize at the time how much graphic design affects things like cover design and sequential layout. Plus, it would have introduced me to computers; something else that I didn't realize would be so important to a comic book career. An illustration course will really test your drawing ability though, so you can't go wrong there. Keep in mind though, that a college degree won't necessarily get you a job drawing comics; very few artists have asked if I have had any formal training. You need to be able to draw anything in comics as well as be able to tell a story, so the best advice I can really give is to draw. Keep drawing. Then keep drawing. It's the only way to improve.

Declan: Well the main thing I like about the UK indie scene is the people. Everyone who I've met had been absolutely lovely and supportive. Folk like Andy Winter, David Baillie, etc, are not only people I've worked with, but have such affection for I'd have no problem calling them good friends. The scene is so encouraging. I feel like a bit of a fraud at times, as I've aspirations leaning towards the mainstream, but most folk in the indie scene are in it just for the love of making comics, and telling the stories they want to tell, I really admire that. I would absolutely recommend it. It you're an aspiring writer/ artist, it's a great place to hone your craft. It's also a place where you meet like-minded creative people who aren't in it for the money; they're in it for the love (but would really appreciate some money too...)

Declan: Well, to be honest I haven't read much indie work in the last few months, but most recently I've read Paul Scott's 'Omnivistascope' and was really impressed. Mallory Smith's 'Left of Centre' is one of the most off-the-wall stories I've ever read! Al Nolan and Ian Whelan's twice Eagle nominated 'Sancho' is a great read and has recently collected all the issues as a trade. Despite the fact that I did the cover for it, I have to say Andy Winter and Mick Trimble's new book 'Septic Isle' is brilliant. I must also mention my mate Bob Byrne's 'Mr. Amperduke' too. It's the best book I've read this year and one of the most original piece of work I've read, period. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's tough to recommend indie books as I'm friends with a lot of the creators, but hands down, these are the best indie books I’ve read in recent months. Buy them all.

Declan: Without a doubt. Whether you like it or not, you can't deny its originality. Plus, it's very good. 5 years in the making, too. I actually un-knowingly drew one of the panels in it! I was doing something else as a favour for Bob, and he ended up using one of the panels as a panel in Amperduke. I had no idea 'til I saw the printed book!

Declan: Oh, I can't remember off the top of my head which page, but it's the page where the monster yoke throws the Lego robot into the sea (this'll all make sense when ye read the book, kids). After he sinks, there's a panel of a wave of water. That's mine. You might notice a bit of drybrush in the rendering of the water, that's a good way to spot it. That panel will always be my claim to fame. Depressing, ain't it?

Declan: I was really looking forward to The Dark Knight until I was a six minute bank heist scene from it online. Now I cannot wait! It looks absolutely fantastic! It'll be brilliant, it's just a matter of how brilliant it's gonna be. (Since I’ve mentioned Batman about 5 times in this interview, it might be obvious that I’m a fan.). Plug wise? *Buy Frankenstein*. Some girl called Mary Shelly wrote it, so the book is supposedly very good, but the graphic novel can only be better.... ahem. If you're at all interested in it, or the sound of Your Round; Tequila or Freak Show, check out my blog at http://dshalv.blogspot.com or my website at www.declanshalvey.com or the Classical Comics website at www.classicalcomic.com. Sound.

Declan: No worries, thanks for having me.