Interview: Comics Superstar Simon Bisley

Simon Bisley busted down the door of the comics world back in 1988 when he blew people’s minds with his rendition of The ABC Warriors in the British weekly anthology 2000 AD. He then changed the world of artwork in comics with his work on Slaine, which was nothing short of modern mastery and influenced all that followed.

Since then Bisley has been kicking ass and pissing people off all over town with work on titles like Judge Dredd/Batman: Judgement on Gotham, Hellblazer, Melting Pot, Fistful of Blood and a plethora of bare-knuckled brilliance for Verotik. He is also acknowledged as the artist who turned Lobo from a bit character into the main man. If you haven’t got any work by Bisley in your comic collection, then you seriously need to take a long hard look at yourself. His latest work can be found in the Space Bastards Volume 1 anthology from the Intergalactic Postal Service. Make sure you check that out, if you know what’s good for you.

Bisley was recently in Perth for Supanova and we caught up with him to ask a few questions. So, without further ado, here’s our fraggin’ interview with the main man himself.

At what age did you think you could make a living doing what you’re doing?

At what age? Let me think. Well, not ’til quite a lot later in my life, probably when I was… well probably when I first got my job, my first job. I mean I didn’t realise that you could actually get a job doing it until I’d actually got the job, believe it or not. I went to 2000 AD, I think I was about 18 years old. 18,19, 20 maybe and I had an interview with them and they gave me a job, I couldn’t believe it. I’d always thought through my teenage years that I’d never be a comic book artist, I just didn’t know that’s how easy it was really to get into the industry.

What was your big break into the industry?

2000 AD. I got an interview with them and my first job was doing the ABC Warriors. So that was like in 1988, so my first work was published with them. (that was with Pat Mills?) Yeah with Pat Mills and then pretty quickly after that DC Comics contacted me and then it was like all downhill from there really. (It all went down hill at DC?) No, not at DC, I went downhill from there. The whole thing, it was all self-deprivation or deprecation. You know what? I can’t get the words out, it’s been a long weekend. Self-Deprivation, that’s it… whatever that means.

Who were the main influence on your artwork?

Frank Frazetta, Barry Windsor-Smith, more or less anybody you can think of. Jim Starlin, I like Jim Starlin. Bill Sienkiewicz, Richard Corben, all the obvious ones.

Did you ever meet any of those artists?

I met Frank Frazetta and I know Bill Sienkiewicz well. Well, not well but we get on very well. He’s a fucking superstar he is. Who else? I haven’t met Barry Windsor-Smith but I have met Jim Starlin before.

Did you do any formal studies in your field?

No, not in comic book art but I did go to art college for a year. I did fine art and graphic design. Just rudimentary stuff really, but nothing that was really going to help me do comics. I mean I learnt to draw comics on the day I started work. I mean literally I hadn’t drawn a comic before… and it shows. (What are you talking about?) No really, it shows. I wasn’t a very good story teller, I just wanted to do great drawings.

Do you have any other creative pursuits?

Yes: longbowmanship, medieval re-enactments, building Harley Davidson choppers, playing bass with my band. What else do I do? Oh yeah, gardening. I like nurturing and turning the soil. I also enjoy painting, I like to do my own personal work. I mean although it’s my job I like to paint as a hobby as such. I like to do landscapes, you know go outside and paint the fucking hills and mountains and trees. Even when it’s raining, I don’t stop in the rain, I just paint you know, I find that great fun.

Do you find that more enjoyable because you don’t have the pressure of deadlines?

Ah no, I don’t have problems with deadlines, I don’t feel the pressure of deadlines because I’m that fast, I can get myself out of any tight corner. If I put myself in a situation, I make sure I’m way ahead of things, so no I don’t get into trouble with that.

What’s the thing that you’ve done in your work that you’re most proud of?

Most proud of… I think just the whole body of work, the whole back list. I mean most proud of? I don’t think or consider being proud of it, I mean it just is what it is. I think there are things to be proud of in the future, I’m looking forward to doing, I’m imagining things it my head and I’m proud of that. I’m just proud that I’ve raised a family and I’ve had the opportunity to look after my family and my kids and I can look after them and feed them and house them. That’s what’s important to me. That’s what I’m proud of. It puts me in a position where I can be proud… well I’m more proud of them than I am of myself. I mean how can you say you’re proud it’s so self fucking… you know? I can’t do it, I can’t do that, you know it’s impossible… it’s impossible! (said in a bad French accent).

You’ve probably answered this with your family but what else outside of your work are you proud of?

That I’m proud of? Oh, my Harley, my Harley Davidson, my proper chopper. I’m very proud of that.

How long have you had that for?

Oh years. Years and years. It’s been stripped down and repaired back up again. I’m always proud of that. I actually have it sat there in my studio. It’s a long, low, long-forked chopper. It’s evil.

Have you done any airbrushing on it?

I’ve painted it a few times, actually it used to be covered in tiger stripes, it was orange with tiger stripes all over it. It used to go GRRRR, really growl you know. This fucking tiger going around the place you know, fucking ridiculous. I might go for flames or I might go for tiger stripes again. It goes fucking mad because it’s quite long and that low to the ground you know.

(The interview digressed into an enjoyable chat about Mad Max and muscle cars for a while before getting back on track)

If you weren’t doing this for a living what do you think you would’ve been doing?

I would probably be… what would I be doing? I’d be racing around on my motorbike being a tearaway. Yeah, I’d probably be a menace to society. No, I tell you what I’d be doing, I know what I’d definitely be, 100% I’d be a musician. I used to play drums years ago, double bass drums with a metal band. So, I stopped playing the drums, well I played them for quite a while with quite a few bands and did some session drumming and that, but I decided that I wanted to transfer to bass because I wanted to be on the stage. So, I’d definitely be a heavy metal musician. Without a doubt I’d do that, yeah. Something more freespirited. I’d never be in an office job, that’s not for me, I’d never do any of that corporate crap. So definitely a musician.

What’s your favourite music style or favourite bands?

My favourite bands are Type O Negative and the obvious ones like Judas Priest, Sabbath, all the old stuff. Any metal, it’s all good to me, you know. I like Black Metal in particular. I really like Black Metal. Norwegian Black Metal bands. Not the pretend ones, I mean the real Black Metal bands. They have to be Scandinavian, I don’t think there’s such a thing as a non-Scandinavian Black Metal band.

What are your favourite movies or genres and why?

I like a lot of the old black and white movies actually, the old classics, you know. I don’t like, well there’s so much I don’t like these days, I don’t really bother with it. I like the Bogart movies, the Cagney movies and I like Lee Marvin, I like his movies. I like old war movies and the Spaghetti Westerns.