STEVE LIEBER
by David O'Leary
Welcome back to this the twenty-first edition of 5 Minutes With... I know that there hasn't been a new one in a month but I wasn't going to bother creators while they were prepping for San Diego. But now that the con is over we can get back to business and my first post SDCC guest is the highly acclaimed artist Steve Lieber. Best known perhaps for his work on Greg Rucka's debut comic Whiteout, which was adapted last year to a film starring Kate Beckinsale; a film that borrowed heavily from his work on the book. More recently he has just completed a labor of love with Jeff Parker with Image's Underground. Steve is currently busy working on an as yet unannounced graphic novel out of Vertigo and was very gracious of giving me a few minutes of his time. So read on...
David O'Leary: Hi Steve, many thanks for joining us here on CR.
Steve Lieber: It's great to be here.
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"I knew the book was a winner from Page one, panel one"
On initial expectations for Whiteout
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DO'L: Firstly, congratulations on the success on Underground. It was a title that I enjoyed immensely.
SL: Thanks! The book was a real labor of love for Jeff, Ron and me. The enormously positive response from critics and bloggers means a lot to all of us.
DO'L: The first exposure to your work I had was your work with Whiteout from Oni Press which was an early big success for the publisher. Was it obvious that you were on a winner with it or did blindside you a bit?
SL: I knew the book was a winner from Page one, panel one. I just didn't know if the readers would catch on, or if we'd be critical darlings without an audience.
DO'L: It was also Greg's first script I think, how did you two meet?
SL: Bob Schreck sent Greg over to my table to see if he thought my work might be appropriate for the story. Then he did the same for me, giving me a copy of the script and Greg's first novel KEEPER. Later, after we'd both signed off on the possibility of working with the other, he arranged an introduction.
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"(It )means a lot to all of us"
On the response to Underground
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DO'L: As a graduate of the Joe Kubert School you have been active in being a mentor to younger creators with your book The Complete Idiots Guide To Creating A Graphic Novel and you've also being called a mentor by the younger guys in the studio you share. Now that you could be considered a veteran somewhat entering your third decade in the industry how high do you rate the importance of teaching the younger crowd any lessons you've learned?
SL: It's tremendously satisfying to pass along some of what I've learned over the years to the up-and-comers I work with. I find it almost as enjoyable as drawing.
DO'L: Prior to Whiteout of course you had a good run on Hawkman in the mid nineties which must have been good for you at such an early stage in your career. How do you look back on that run and what lessons did you learn while honing yourself?
SL: I mainly see those pages as hurt by a lot of rookie mistakes, mitigated by a lot of youthful enthusiasm. Mainly I just learned how to draw a whole lot better than I could when I started.
DO'L: You had the good fortune to work with some outstanding writers as well in the first few years, John Ostrander, Larry Hama, John Wagner, Chuck Dixon et al. That must have been advantageous to work with someone whose experience may have made things a little easier on you?
SL: At the time, I couldn't have clarified the difference they made, because I hadn't ever worked on a poorly written script. I had good collaborators from the get-go. In the years since then, I've illustrated a few jobs that required a lot of editorial work on my part just to get the script to a place where it was draw-able, and that's really made me appreciate the writers who know what they're doing.
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"I mainly see those pages as hurt by a lot of rookie mistakes"
On his run on Hawkman
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DO'L: Of course you have just finished Underground with Jeff Parker which was an amazing real world book. I really loved the whole scenario set up and its execution. It looked great also. How long were you planning this book and what is your reaction to it now that it's behind you?
SL: I started thinking about doing a cave story in 2003 and drew the short "pilot episode" in 2004. It took us a long time to find room in our schedules to make this happen. Now that it's behind me I just want to do another self-directed project again. I loved telling the story and it feels great to have it all wrapped up in a trade paperback.
DO'L: Are you a fan of underground comix considering your two published interview books with the late Harvey Pekar and the great Frank Stack?
SL: Depends on the work. As a reader today, I find the drug stuff and taboo-busting aspect to be boring. Those battles have been fought and won. But there were a ton of great cartoonists in the undergrounds who did spectacular, inspirational work that holds up beautifully. Stack, Shelton, Crumb, Spain, Dori Seda, Jaxon, Corben, Fleener... the list goes on.
DO'L: What else are you working right now that Underground is done?
SL: I'm illustrating a GN at Vertigo that I can't talk about until it's been announced.
DO'L: Where will we see you on the con circuit for the remainder of this year?
SL: Baltimore Comicon in August and Jet City in Seattle in September.
DO'L: Steve, many thanks for joining us, take care.
Steve Lieber
It was great to get to speak with a favorite artist of mine and now that we are back on track, please join me again soon for another edition of 5 Minutes With... I have been working away behind the scenes and promise that there are some great conversations coming up. Thanks for reading.
Interviewer Bio
Name: David O' Leary
Email: idwfan@yahoo.co.uk
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.
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