Rob Williams & Laurence Campbell Get A little Breathing Space
Rob Williams and Laurence Campbell, sit down with our own Craig Johnson to talk about Breathing Space.
Craig Johnson: Rob - Tell us a little about Breathing Space, when does it start, how long does it last, are there possible plans for a sequel down the line?
Rob Williams: It starts this week in 2000AD Prog 1451 (we call them Progs in 2000AD, not issues) and no, there are absolutely NO plans for any kind of sequel. Part of the point of Breathing Space was to do something a little different for 2000AD where the vast majority of stories are potentially ongoing, with central characters who can keep coming back in further stories. I thought it’d be cool to do one that was entirely enclosed, so you get a story in nine episodes and when it ends, that’s your lot… There’s no intent to try and sell this on as a computer game or a movie down the line, it’s purely a story.
It’s set in the Dredd Universe on the Luna-1 moon colony and in episode one, we meet a new Judge Marshal arriving to start his new job. Luna-1’s a real frontier town now, with crime levels way up, corruption everywhere (including from the Judges) and the air companies scrambling to try and set up some kind of monopoly. Our central character, Judge Marshal King, has left Mega City 1 to try and make a new start as he’s got a central flaw that’s a serious no-no for a Judge, he likes the ladies (Judges are supposed to be married to the law and no-one else). King’s a good man, he just can’t let this part of his life go, and he’s recently had an affair with another Judge. So, this time, with this job, he’s intent on doing things right, and then someone starts killing off the air tycoons one by one and his new start begins to fall apart.
It’s kind of a nervous breakdown in space. It’s got an oppressive, claustrophobic feel. We’ve talked about it being a Nick Cave album in comic form.
Johnson: For both of you - What will make this THE strip to read in 2000AD this summer?
Laurence Campbell: Well, hopefully people will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed drawing it. When I got the scripts and went through them I found myself getting involved with story. It's the type of strip I enjoy reading. It's pretty dark and moody which is a good thing, think more Bladerunner then Star Wars, a 'Michael Mann' film in space.
2000AD is on a roll at the moment, there are a number of strong strips in there. Because it is an anthology it normally means there's something in there for everyone.
Williams: Like Laurence says, the anthology nature of 2000AD means that it can cater for a number of genres at any one time, but hopefully we’re offering something a little different with Breathing Space. It’s a bleak, nasty old ride at times, and it’s got an emotional punch about it. And the art is gorgeous. Pete Doherty and Laurence Campbell have really knocked the ball out of the park with this one. Sometimes an artist and a writer will be teamed up on a strip and will work together without any kind of thought towards a style that will suit the overall feel of the story – that is absolutely not the case here. Both artists have really tried to mould their work to suit the mood of the script and then Pete’s coloured it like a top class cinematographer, giving it all cold blues and greys. You know the way Gordon Willis gave The Godfather a tangible feel with certain colours pervading? That’s what Pete’s done here, and it looks great. It’s a beautiful looking comic book. I couldn’t be happier with how it looks.
Johnson: Rob - Did you know Laurence was on the art before starting - when he came onboard did you make any changes for his particular artistic preferences?
Campbell: Peter Doherty has drawn the first 2 parts. When I got these they blew me away. I was well aware I didn't want to be seen as the 'shite fill in artist'. Pete designed the look of the strip and I continued this on, making the layouts and moody feel an important part of the strip. I was lucky enough get the scripts that Pete worked with. It was a great insight for me, to see how another artist had approached the pages. I learnt a lot from that, I'm always looking to push my work. Pete's coloured the whole strip, so the look is uniformed throughout. Lee Townsend has inked the strip and I think this is the best inking he's done on me.
Williams: Breathing Space has had a looong gestation period. I wrote it something like three years back and Pete started drawing it, then we suffered the trademark comic delays that you just can’t legislate for and by the time we were up and running again Pete couldn’t draw it. Laurence and I had been talking about doing something together as I really like his work and I felt he’d suit the type of feel I wanted Breathing Space to have, so I suggested him to Matt Smith (2000AD editor). Matt agreed and then, thankfully, Pete agreed to colour Laurence’s pages, giving it a uniform feel throughout, even though we switch artists with episode three. It wasn’t a perfect situation but, all concerned have done amazing work here and hey, we ended up with two top-class artists instead of one, so…
Johnson: Laurence - Tell us a little about interpreting Rob's script: did you have much input to change things or was he a vicious Warren Ellis-esque taskmaster? Which part did you enjoy drawing the most?
Campbell: Rob's scripts are pretty tight, but this is something I enjoy. He gives you all the information you need without asking for the impossible. The good thing with Rob is he's willing to listen if I see a different approach, just a quick phone call or email just to check and everything's fine.
I was first introduced to Rob's writing with Cla$$war. I was reading it, thinking this was exactly the type of story I would like to draw. There's a sense of depth and scale I like with Rob's writing.
We eventually met at a con and over a beer or two were talking about the type of comics and storytelling we like, we had a fair bit in common. Breathing Space is our first strip together; hopefully it won't be the last.
Johnson: Both - What else you have coming up from 2000AD or elsewhere?
Campbell: Rob and I are talking and knocking back a few ideas together. I'm doing a few character sketches at the moment. Hopefully Breathing Space will go down well.
Williams: I’ve just finished a one-off Christmas Low Life story for 2000AD, which I really enjoyed doing. I’m a sucker for Christmas stories, and I always loved getting the 2000AD`Annual on Christmas morning when I was a kid, so for me to do one of these Christmas tales was a thrill. After Breathing Space I have another ongoing series starting in 2000AD – The Ten Seconders – Mark Harrison’s the artist on that and it’s a very different approach. It’s a big action thing with plenty of very large guns, explosions galore and the post apocalyptic landscape that every comic writer has to do at some time, right?
I’ve got a new character running in the Judge Dredd Megazine soon, with John Higgins on art. That’s another Dreddworld thing and features an undead illusionist. Kind of like David Blaine with rotting skin. Which is a lovely image.
Elsewhere, I’m in the middle of writing a new five-part Star Wars series for Dark Horse – Rebellion. I’m playing around with the classic trilogy characters there, Luke, Leia, Vader etc, and I’m enjoying it a lot. Brandon Badeaux’s the artist there and he’s going to be a major star in years to come. A real up-and-coming talent.
Laurence and I are working on something together, too, but it’s way too early to talk about that yet.
Johnson: Both - From your own perspectives, how do you think the comics industry is going for UK writers and artists - healthy market? Shrinking? Too many creative's chasing too little work?
Campbell: The UK market is tough and as far as I remember it always has been. 2000ad is pretty much the only original material weekly comic, so you're going to get a lot of creators wanting a limited amount of work. I would love to see something like Warrior come back. I think because the market is so tough you're starting to see the re-emergence of some really strong small press comics, which is a good thing.
I got my first breaks with Caliber comics and Image, both American companies, before working for 2000ad.
Williams: Well, the UK market is really just 2000AD and the Megazine again, so that can’t be healthy. It’s an eggs all in one basket deal. We’ve seen Games Workshop go in recent times, which was a shame. The likes of AP Comics are making a dent in the States, which is cool to see, and Mam Tor have just done a very nice little example of writers and artists doing it themselves, but we could really do with more UK publishers. The talent’s there in droves, it always has been, you just have to look at the amount of Brits doing top quality work in the States, but yeah, there’s far more creatives than there is work, which always makes it something of a struggle. And if you’re a new writer or artists trying to break in the avenues are limited. But if you’re good enough, you’ll make it.
Johnson: Rob - Cla$$war. Discuss.
Williams: Oy vey… there’s nothing to discuss, really. No movement. The strip was recently reprinted in France by Editions Delcourt and seems to have gone down well, which is cool. I know Com.X are trying to push it in other avenues, and there’s still talk of a trade paperback collecting the first six issues, but apart from that, all quiet on the western front. Maybe one day it’ll get finished. Perhaps…
Johnson: Laurence - How do you find working on a weekly five-page strip differs from a monthly, does it affect how you work?
Campbell: I learnt a lot going from a 22 page comic to 5 pages. The storytelling is more dense and this can be tough, for the writer and the artist. With a 22 page comic you can indulge with splash pages and build up tension a little more. Reading an issue of Planetary and then reading Dredd are very different experiences.
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