A Conversation With Bryan Hitch
By Alexander Ness
09.12.03
If you're a comic book reader (and we assume you are), and you haven't heard of Bryan Hitch or noticed his many works with awe, let's just say you've been missing out on a highly talented creator. From Stormwatch to The Authority and JLA, Hitch has been thrilling readers from series to series. Marvel Comics certainly recognizes that. The publisher recently announced it had renewed Hitch's exclusive contract through 2006, where it will keep him busy on such books as The Ultimates with Mark Millar.
AN: Hello Bryan. Please tell my readers a little something about yourself. How old are you, are you married, where are from, where do you live, kids, cats, dogs, muppets...?
BH: Hello Alex, nice to talk to you. I am somewhat over 21, slightly overweight, terribly overwrought and often overwhelmed. I am not married but live with my girlfriend Joanne and three children, though we plan to marry as soon as we feel up to it. I was born in the far northern reaches of England and am currently about 7950634th in line to the British throne.
AN: How might you say that you were trained in art? Did you attend university or trade school, or are you self taught?
BH: If I was trained then I have probably escaped and gone back into the wild. I had intended to go to art school but received my first commission from Marvel UK at the sweet age of sixteen and haven't looked back. Well, that's not strictly true: I have received treatment for many neck injuries sustained in looking over my shoulder, but the point is I have never been out of work, which is something
AN: What comic artists are your favorites and which are the greatest influences upon your own style?
BH: This would be a lengthy list indeed were I to mention all the artists and illustrators who have had some influences on my work: there is certainly something to be learned from anybody good, so I will just talk about a few. There are the obvious ones like Alan Davis and Kevin Nowlan, but there are others like Steve Parkhouse (of The Bojeffries Saga, which should be on everybody's shelves) who was the first professional comic artist I met and was living in my home town. To meet somebody who did such good work and knew all the pros whose work I thought amazing had such a profound effect on me that even now the memories are magical and help remind me of the youthful enthusiasm that fueled my single-minded approach to entering the comics field.
The work of Davis also led me into the likes of Adams and Kane, through them to Wally Wood, back through to Nowlan. Garcia-Lopez was the best kept secret in comics and one of the greatest draughtsmen the industry has ever had. I hadn't realised the influence his work had on me until recently, but I believe him to be arguably the best artist ever to have worked in comics. Throw in Kirby, Buscema, Perez, Byrne, Golden, Simonson, Mignola, Gillon, Charest and numerous others who have had a variety of effects and influences at various times and you have something approaching a list!
Paul Neary in his role as something of a mentor in his days as my editor at Marvel UK and later as a partner and colleague had a large influence in that he was an invaluable source of advice having had experience in just about every area of the field (so to speak) and was able to point me towards some of the industry's greatest talents throughout decades of comic book production. Some rubbish too, but he liked it...
AN: What life experiences would you count as being the most influential upon your work?
BH: Well, I would have to count being born as the single greatest experience without which I doubt I would be drawing comics at all.
Actually, a fundamental turning point was the appalling events of Sept. 11. There seemed to be a blithe innocence to the way we approached the apparently<
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