DAVE GIBBONS: I've loved them since before I could read and always wanted to do my own. The practicalities were rather complex, but being in the right place at the right time had a little to do with it!
THE PODIUM:What kind of formal training did you have that prepared you for this?
DAVE GIBBONS: I have no formal training. I just copied and drew and kept reading and thinking! Later, I looked over a few shoulders and studied original artwork I was sent to letter in my early professional days.
THE PODIUM:Did any particular comic(s) or cfreators inspire you to get into this business?
DAVE GIBBONS: A partial list would include: Jack Kirby, Wally Wood, Will Elder, Frank Mampson, Frank Bellamy, Carmine Infantino, Will Eisner. The English comic EAGLE, the Ballantine MAD comic reprints and DC comics edited by Julie Schwartz were a great influence.
THE PODIUM:What was your first comic work?
DAVE GIBBONS: The very first thing I got paid for was a page of lettering in an English comic called COR!!, which I did one lunch-hour!
THE PODIUM: WATCHMEN. This is viewed by many in the comics community as a breakthrough work for you and for Alan Moore. What are your feelings about the project and what it was like to work on it.
DAVE GIBBONS: Mainly, I'm amazed that we ever pulled it off! It was two years of intense work under considerable pressure, but I guess the gods were with us. It was also great fun and I'll admit to feeling a certain amount of pride when I consider the wide audience it reached and its place in comics history. The checks have been nice, too!
THE PODIUM: SUPER SOLDIER. How did you get involved with the Amalgam project? Would you do a third SUPER SOLDIER book, if the opportunity arose?
DAVE GIBBONS: The Amalgam thing was just too fannish a piece of fun to resist! I think the joke was best the first time around...
THE PODIUM: What do you read in your spare time? What comics, if any, are you into?
DAVE GIBBONS: I read a lot of non-fiction, mainly art & science. I read some science fiction and crime novels, too. As for comics, I like the work of Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Garcia Lopez, Mike Mignola, Bruce Timm, James Robinson, Steve Rude and all my friends I haven't mentioned!
THE PODIUM: Currently your work on JUDGEMENT DAY is being seen and applauded. How did that project come about? How was it working on a prject like this with Rob Liefeld?
DAVE GIBBONS: Er, Alan Moore talked me into doing some covers... and that's it. My only contact with Rob Liefeld is that we said "Hi." in San Diego about five years ago!
THE PODIUM: What is your average work day like? How long, on average, does it take you to write an issue?
DAVE GIBBONS: I work from about 9 am to about 6 pm, five days a week. I can draw 4-5 pages a week (pencils, inks, letters) or write maybe 12-15 pages, although that's less predictable. Writing I can only do for about 4-5 hours a day...!
THE PODIUM: Did you find it difficult breaking into the business of comics?
DAVE GIBBONS: I spent a lot of time doing fanzine work, lettering and art that nobody ever saw (!) but I'd consider that my apprenticeship. I'd been working for about 4 years when 2000AD came along, which was, I guess, the big break.
THE PODIUM: What artistic peers in this industry do you look at and find yourself being VERY IMPRESSED with? (i.e. "gee, I wish I'D done that?")
DAVE GIBBONS: See the list above!
THE PODIUM: Of all the writers you've worked with, who is the one you enjoyed working with the most and why?
DAVE GIBBONS: I've been lucky enough to work with some of the very best. Frank Miller and Alan Moore are very different in approach, and I couldn't really choose between them...
THE PODIUM: How long do you think it will be before a polictican stands up and declares "Guns don't kill people...comics do?"
DAVE GIBBONS: That one's over my head, I'm afraid!
THE PODIUM: Doing shows? How do you like that? Has your work been well received?
DAVE GIBBONS: I generally enjoy conventions; I've never been the shy retiring type, I guess! I don't mind what people say about my work, really, although I prefer flattery to abuse...
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?
DAVE GIBBONS: Nothing really, but pencil and paper would be a nice luxury.
THE PODIUM: Future plans: what are you working on now?
DAVE GIBBONS: More MARTHA WASHINGTON, a short for Vertigo, a long-term project of my own and a CD-ROM with Alan Moore.
THE PODIUM: How do you feel about the comics industry in general?
DAVE GIBBONS: Well, the market has settled to a more rrealistic and sustainable level and there seems to be a lot more well-crafted and compelling, rather than superficial, work around; so I'm pretty optimistic.
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?
DAVE GIBBONS: I hope there'll be a space for everyone, particularly now the sales numbers for mainstream and self-published seem to be converging.
THE PODIUM: Do you see yourself at some point self publishing a character of your own creation?
DAVE GIBBONS: Probably not self-publishing (I find the business end too distracting) but otherwise, yes!
THE PODIUM: In regards to your life and your craft, where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
DAVE GIBBONS: Doesn't pay to make predictions! I'd just like to keep having fun...
THE PODIUM: What do your friends and family think of you "making a living" in comics? And how supportive have they been?
DAVE GIBBONS: Well, my parents were initially sceptical but, as a parent myself, I don't blame 'em! It's no longer remarkable to my family and friends, although on the "party chat" level it still causes some interest.
THE PODIUM: What words of advice would you give to someone who wants to make a living out of this business?
DAVE GIBBONS: Prove you do!
THE PODIUM: Any last words of wisdom...or anything I might have left out?
DAVE GIBBONS: This is the comic shop, not the wisdom shop!