AARON LOPRESTI: I drew a 22 page Spiderman sample story and showed it to Terry Kavanagh at the San Diego Con of '89. Terry was at the time editing Marvel's new anthology title, MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS and he was looking for inventory stories. Six months, numerous phone calls, and one trip to New York later, I got my first assignment. I Spiderman back-up story that I did a horrible job on. After that debacle, I made about three trips a year to New York to show new samples and eventually hooked up with Renee Witterstaetter who kept my busy doing "What The..?! " stories for a couple of years.
THE PODIUM: What kind of formal training did you have that prepared you for this?
AARON LOPRESTI: None. I am self-taught. Although, I did attend film school at USC which I think really helped my writing skills.
THE PODIUM: Did any particular comic or writer inspire you to get into this business?
AARON LOPRESTI: Not personally. But I was and am a huge fan of Frazetta, Neal Adams, and Berni Wrightson. I did get to know Michael Golden while I was working on What The..?! and his art advice is directly responsible for helping me break into superhero comics.
THE PODIUM: Tell us a little about some of your comic work. I know you have worked for a variety of projects for a variety of companies, including the late lamented Malibu.
AARON LOPRESTI: Just when I was about to start doing regular superhero work for Marvel, Malibu came along and offered Sludge and a lot of creative freedom. At Malibu I worked on Sludge, Lord Pumpkin, Elven, Godwheel, and a ton of promotional work. From there I concurrently jumped to Valiant and DC which was a mistake because I was doing two jobs at once which hurt both projects, Robin and Solar.
From there I did a regular series for DC called Takion which lasted seven issues. That was the end of any continuity in my projects. I jumped all over the place. I started doing pin-ups for Wildstorm, fill-ins for DC and Marvel and Dark Horse.
Probably the stuff I am most proud of to date is my Gen 13 Bootleg story (#11,12) Most of my Xena stuff and my Deadpool -1 Steranko tribute cover. I also did a Dr. Doom/X-men annual that turned out pretty good.
I also just completed a Plastic Man story and National Comics #1(JSA returns) for DC that I am really happy with.
There's more but I'm boring myself.
THE PODIUM: Where do you find you get most of your ideas from?
AARON LOPRESTI: I don't know that there is any one source, other than my own imagination,that I draw from. I do think the older you get the more you have to say and the more stories you have to tell. Certainly everything I have seen artistically or filmically contributes to my creative process.
THE PODIUM: What do you read in your spare time? What comics are you into?
AARON LOPRESTI: I have no spare time. But if I did, I would spend it either reading movie mags, Edgar Rice Burroughs Paperbacks (with Frazetta covers), books on painting, or comics. The comics I read are usually based on who's working on them rather than who the character is.
THE PODIUM: Your newest work is ATOMIC TOYBOX. Tell us a little about the comic and your being published by Image.
AARON LOPRESTI: I will be writing, penciling, and inking(most of the time) the book. It is about an 18 year old kid who gets the Atomic Toybox as a birthday present from his inventor dad. Essentially, the Atomic Toybox is a device that can turn the kid's thoughts into physical reality. If he wishes he had a robot, bang, he's got one. The Toybox was created using stolen alien technology which comes back to haunt the characters. Also, the evil Dr. Cruel wants the Toybox to create a body to house a brain he has had on ice for decades. There are a lot of twist and turns and hopefully will keep people guessing.
Those of us who wanted to do books at Studiosaurus got together and contacted Larry Marder at Image. He liked our ideas and here we are. Image is absolutely great to work with and they really help novices like ourselves understand the whole publishing process.
THE PODIUM: What is your average work day like? How long, on average, does it take you to create an issue?
AARON LOPRESTI: I am comfortable drawing a page a day. I can work faster but my work usually suffers. Often times I will work a full day, take a few hours off, then work three to four hours at night.
THE PODIUM: How do you go, specifically, about creating an issue?
AARON LOPRESTI: I will go over the script/plot once and then approach it a page at a time. I will do thumbnail roughs until I get a page breakdown I like then do the finished page. If I am writing as well, I will write a loose plot and then draw the pages. I will write a lot of the dialogue while I am drawing a particular page.
THE PODIUM: Did you find it difficult breaking into the business of comics?
AARON LOPRESTI: Yes. You can see my earlier answer for that.
THE PODIUM: What was you first comic work published?
AARON LOPRESTI: Solomon Kane 3-D for Blackthorne publishing. 1988, I think. It's horrible.
THE PODIUM: What peers in this industry do you look at and find yourself being VERY IMPRESSED with? (i.e., "gee, I wish I'D done that?")
AARON LOPRESTI: Alex Ross, Kevin Nowlan, Michael Golden, Brian Bolland, Alan Davis(sometimes),Travis Charest(sometimes), and Frazetta never ceases to amaze me.
THE PODIUM: How long do you think it will be before a politician stands up and declares "Guns don't kill people...comics do?"
AARON LOPRESTI: I am more concerned with the psuedo porn direction comics are taking rather than the violence. I think that aspect is already getting creators and retailers in trouble.
THE PODIUM: Doing shows. Do you do many comic shows? If so, how do you like them? Has your work been well received?
AARON LOPRESTI: Yes. I love doing shows and seeing the fans. Plus I am a huge fan myself and I love to shop for old comics and weird stuff. I don't like being away from my wife and son, though.
THE PODIUM: If you were stuck on a desert island, with plenty of food and water, what two things would you need to survive and why?
AARON LOPRESTI: If I am there alone I would take my wife and son. If they are with me, I would take art supplies and a drafting table. I just love to draw and paint.
THE PODIUM: Future plans: what are you working on now, besides ATOMIC TOYBOX?
AARON LOPRESTI: A Wetworks one-shot with Mark Waid.
THE PODIUM: How do you feel about the comics industry in general?
AARON LOPRESTI: I am guardedly optimistic. I can't tell you why. Everybody else seems to think it is just about over.
THE PODIUM: Do you see a continued rise in self-publishing and a decrease in the mainstream? Or has the self publishing boom died out?
AARON LOPRESTI: Not self-publishing as it was defined in the eighties. Major publishers, especially Image, have made it fairly easy to do a creator owned or self-produced comic. I think that encourages professionals to step out and try to do their own books. But I think we will be seeing less and less self-published non- professionals producing books. The audience and sales are just not there to support it.
THE PODIUM: In regard to your life and your craft, where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
AARON LOPRESTI: Hopefully doing painting and illustration outside of comics. I have a children's book I really want to do. Of course, there's a business worse off then comics. Maybe I will find my way back into film at some point.
THE PODIUM: Tell us a little about the "studio." Who is in it and how did the whole thing come together?
AARON LOPRESTI: Essentially, my wife told me to get out of the house once in awhile. I called every artist I knew in the area and suprisingly most of them wanted to join a studio. That was almost four years ago. The current members are: Me, Tom Simmons, Matthew Clark, Ron Randall, Matt Haley, Anne Timmons, Terry and Rachel Dodson, Randy Emberlin, Karl Kesel, and Gary Martin. THE PODIUM: What do your friends and family think of you "making a living" in comics? AARON LOPRESTI: My mom has always been very supportive of everything I have ever tried. My dad didn't appreciate it until he found out I was making more money then he was. My brother and all my friends think it is either unusual or "cool".
THE PODIUM: And how supportive have they been?
AARON LOPRESTI: My wife is very supportive considering what she has to put up with.
THE PODIUM: What words of advice would you give to someone who wants to make a living out of this business?
AARON LOPRESTI: Look elsewhere at least until the industry recovers. Also realize there are more outlets for fantasy art than just comics. But most of all be ambitious, set goals and follow your dreams.
THE PODIUM: Any last words of wisdom...or anything I might have left out?
AARON LOPRESTI: This is the most complete interview I have ever given. I am worn out. Thanks..