Declan Shalvey
by David O'Leary
Welcome back to the twenty eighth edition of 5 Minutes With... Today I am joined by someone who used to be a regular contributor to CR himself on my old column 28 Words Later, Declan Shalvey. Dec moved onto Marvel last year with his debut on Thunderbolts and has made himself a firm favorite with fans with his exciting take on the characters. With his next project hitting the shelves tomorrow (Wednesday) in a Captain America & Crossbones one shot in celebration of Captain America's 70th Anniversary celebrations, I caught up with Dec to see how things have been in the last year or so.
DO'L: Hey Dec, great to chat again and thanks for joining us. It's been a while.
DS: Yeah, I guess it has!
DO'L: It's been a whirlwind last few months for you hasn't it?
DS: It really has been. I'm always concentrating on the project at hand, or the ones coming up, so I often forget to take stock of how well the last few months have been to me.
DO'L: Captain America & Crossbones comes out this week in which you will be working with William Harms. Harms previous works suggest this project could be right up his alley in thematic terms if you've read his Impaler book. What were your thoughts when you received the script?
DS: I thought I'd get to draw some really fun stuff! I'd heard of William's previous work, but had never read any of it, so I really had to judge his work on the Crossbones script. Safe to say; I really liked it! He managed to give me a lot of moody shots, build tension, have some cameos of well-known Marvel characters and provided some great set-pieces in which Crossbones could go nuts. He gave me so many things that both entertained me and challenged me.
Cover to Captain America & Crossbones
DO'L: You are working with the very talented Matt Wilson on colors in the one shot. Are you happy with how the books look turned out?
DS: Deliriously happy! I'm very picky when it comes to colors, and have been a fan of Matt's work for a while now. When I was offered this Crossbones book I made the most of the opportunity and requested Matt for colors. I was delighted when I found out he was free to do it. He was very open to my suggestions and incorporated everything I was looking for, but on top of that, he complimented my work with a specific technique I really like. I thought it would have been too much to ask him to do, but then I got the pages and he had done it anyway; it's like he was reading my mind. I have been lucky with colorists on a lot of my projects, but I honestly think this book is the best my art has ever looked and it's totally thanks to the efforts of Matt Wilson.
DO'L: These series of one shots which you are a part of are celebrating Captain America's 70th Anniversary which is a fairly big deal. When offered a chance to contribute to this project I'm sure you didn't have to think too much about it right?
DS: Absolutely not! Although, at first I didn't know it was part of a Captain America project; it was just pitched as a Crossbones one-shot. I was in the middle of my Shadowland story on Thunderbolts and Crossbones had fast become my favorite T-Bolt to draw, so I was chuffed to be offered it. As more details arose I got more and more happy. I'm a big fan of what Ed Brubaker and his artist's have done on Captain America in the last few years so have really grown to like the character. Working on something that contributes to his anniversary was a wonderful opportunity. Plus; all the one-shots have that fantastic Greg Tocchini multi-part cover!
DO'L: The response to your work recently has been largely positive. But what are your own thoughts on your work?
DS: Well, I don't want to publicly poke holes in my own work, but I do harshly critique myself when I see the printed comic. I try to do so as I work on it but I find when I see it in print I can be much more brutal. Maybe because of the gap in time since I've worked on it, or maybe because I'm seeing it as an actual comic book, but I'm able to honestly critic it, and hopefully apply those criticisms to the pages I'm currently working on. I do think that the work I've done for Marvel is the best of my career. All the pressure really made me 'up my game' and each project seems to be turning out better than the last. At least, I hope so.
DO'L: How challenging have you found working in a much more public arena these last few months versus working for smaller houses like BOOM!?
DS: My work on 28 Days Later was quite challenging. Various locations, characters, keeping a consistent level of quality on a monthly basis, etc, but the Marvel work has been much more intense. In my first book I had to draw a swarm of ninja attacking superheroes. In the next issue the amounts of issues multiplied enormously! It was definitely a trial by fire. There are also a lot of different characters, with established histories and I try to make sure I have my own take on them. Also, most characters have a devoted fan-base and they will make it very clear if they don't like what you are doing. The work for Marvel has been more challenging because of the pressure, the amount of characters and the amount of work it takes to realize these worlds but I feel it has ultimately made me a much better artist.
DO'L: On T-Bolts you have had to draw a large list of characters, any favorites?
DS: Yeah, I've had to draw a lot of characters on T-Bolts. Crossbones was definitely my favorite and I got to do a one-shot of him. I love drawing Man-Thing too, and just did a spotlight on him in the recent #154. They are all very visually interesting I have to say, so there's something nice about drawing them all but at a push; it'd probably be Crossbones/Man-Thing/Ghost.
Thunderbolts #154 cover
DO'L: Equally, how difficult was it drawing a team book, has it made laying out an issue more challenging for you?
DS: Definitely, as I mentioned above, not only is it drawing different types of characters, but they are all well-established, and it takes time to get into a groove with drawing a character. The more characters, the longer it takes to get comfortable with them.
________________________________________________________________________
Ale Aragon has been wowing me with the dramatic improvement in his work is every month.
On his successor on 28 Days Later
_____________________________________________________________
DO'L: With T-Bolts #154 out last week and Crossbones wrapped, what's next?
DS: Not sure I can say exactly which issues but I am working on more issues of T-Bolts. I'm working on issues that will feature the Thunderbolts Beta-team that have been teased in the solicitations. Also, I have a short story coming out soon but again, I can't talk about that yet. Sorry! Everything I have been able to talk about for the last few months is all coming out this month (Laughs).
DO'L: You have long had an idea for a creator owned book but now that you are working at Marvel, has that idea been pushed onto the back burner for the moment?
DS: Yeah, I have a personal project I want to do some day but that's years away. I have been talking with a writer about a creator-owned series and we're starting work on it, but it's on the back-burner. For the moment I'm really concentrating on the opportunities I've been given at Marvel and hope to make a name for myself there.
DO'L: 28 DL of course got you noticed stateside, have you been following the story these last few months?
DS: Yeah, I've bought every issue since (except I missed one!). As ever, Michael has been doing a great job on the book. I really like the new colorist and Ale Aragon has been wowing me with the dramatic improvement in his work is every month. I think you can see a gradual improvement as my 28DL issues went by, but Ale's improvement is kinda intimidatingly swift.
Declan Shalvey
DO'L: Dec, many thanks for your time today. Best of luck for the future and hopefully we can talk again soon.
Captain America & Crossbones hits this week so make sure you show your love this St. Patrick's week for the Irish by picking this up. Also, as Dec teased check back in the coming months for more Thunderbolts and his yet to be announced short story. As for myself, 5 Minutes With... should be back with you again very soon. I am working on more guest as we speak and thanks for reading.
Interviewer Bio
David has been with CR since June 2008 and started out as a reviewer and has expanded to do a couple of columns for the site also; starting with 28 Words Later with artist Declan Shalvey and later 5 Minutes With... where he talks with the industries best and brightest from Kubert to Moore.
blog comments powered by Disqus