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Scott Kolins: Artist of Thunder

As the artist of DC's The Flash between 2001 and 2003, Scott Kolins established himself as one of the most dynamic, distinctive artists in the comic book industry. Since signing an exclusive contract with Marvel in 2003, Scott has been the interior and cover artist for two story arcs of the "pre-Disassembled" Avengers, the 8 issue "Avengers: Year One" series Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and most recently, Marvel Team-Up. He has also provided covers for Hawkeye and The Invaders. In this interview Scott discusses his work over the past year, why he's chosen to leave Marvel Team-Up and what we can expect from him in the near future (HINT: it involves a Kirby-created Marvel icon with long flowing blond locks and the most powerful hammer in all comicdom.)

Keith Dallas: Before we look ahead to your upcoming work on the six issue mini-series Thor: Blood Oath, let's briefly examine your work over the past 12 months. At this time last year, we talked about the then-upcoming Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Marvel Team-Up. You were just about finished with the former series, and you were just starting to work on the latter on-going monthly. Let's start with EMH. What are your final impressions of that series? Evaluate your own work. Any favorite panels or pages? Anything you'd change if given the opportunity? Did you accomplish your goals?

Scott Kolins: Artistically I am very happy with EMH. Of course I see things here and there I wish I'd have had more time with or would've looked harder at, but overall I'm very satisfied with the whole package, and I'm ecstatic with the EMH hard cover. Favorite pages or panels? Beyond having extra fun with Hawkeye, Thor, Cap or all of the characters, most of my final happiness with the pages and panels relates to the coloring. Morry Hollowell and then Wil Quintana really helped to bring a whole new feel to my art. The final splash of issue #1 with Cap floating in the ice is cold and beautiful, the Lava Men spread in issue #2 is awesome, the splashy intros of Iron Man, Thor and the masters of Evil were really strong and cool in issue #3, all the Kang versus Avengers pages in #4 were powerful - I could name stuff from every issue. The point is Morry - then Wil for the rest of EMH really did some serious work and became integral with the storytelling. I didn't have any goals with EMH beyond helping to create a great comic, but from reactions I've heard, EMH apparently cemented me more as an Avengers artist and as a Marvel Artist.

KD: Before we go any further, did you have a great November 2004 or what? In that month not only did the first two issues of EMH get released, but so did the debut issue of Marvel Team-Up. Describe your emotions during that month. Proud? Nervous? Exhilarated?

SK: It was very nice to finally have some work out on the stands after a few months "away." I'm more comfortable being out there every month. That's part of how I've built myself as an artist. I was raised on John Byrne, George Perez and Sal Buscema, guys who'd draw 3 or more years on a book without even thinking of a fill-in. It's funny about the publishing schedule, people thought I was drawing 2 or more books a month when EMH and Marvel Team-Up came out, I guess they thought I was on vacation for the previous 6 months! But yes, I was proud, nervous and excited about EMH and Marvel Team-Up getting out there and read, though I am about nearly all my books.

KD: So let's discuss Marvel Team-Up, written by rising star Robert Kirkman. You provided interior art for 9 of the first 10 issues which featured Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Doctor Strange, The Fantastic Four, Captain America, Black Widow, X-23, Moon Knight, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Black Cat, Sleepwalker, and the Punisher with cameos by Nova, Lockjaw, Iron Man, Cyclops, among others. Which issue of MTU was your favorite to draw and why?

SK: The HULK and DOCTOR STRANGE stuff was my favorite, though I really had fun with all of them, from SPIDER-MAN to WEN-DI-GO to X-23. I love all sorts of characters. I threw in a big ol' LOCKJAW on the cover of MTU #1 and made the NOVA appearance in #2 a splash for me as well as I thought it meant something for the feel of the book. Those things weren't asked for by Marvel or the writer. I think that was the best angle Robert and I went for in MTU - a whole MARVEL UNIVERSE type of book where you didn't know who would show up next, SLEEPWALKER or CAPTAIN AMERICA. You could segue from a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier to DOCTOR STRANGE's Sanctum sanctorum to the X-mansion! How cool is that?!

KD: Cool indeed! What was the reason why you didn't draw the Punisher/Blade issue?

SK: Deadlines were pretty tight with the end of EMH being bi-weekly and MTU starting bi-weekly. I initially didn't take the Marvel Team-Up book because the deadlines didn't seem possible without a fill-in within the first 6 issues, and I told Marvel I didn't want that. We were able to push things a bit and Marvel accepted some really late books from me so we could have 7 issues of one creative team. As it was, I was getting some layout help from my pal Jeff Johnson to meet those late dates and Studio F was really under the gun with very little time to pull off the good coloring they were turning in. The PUNISHER/BLADE issue was planned as the smallest fill-in by Robert as we started the book, which Jeff Johnson kindly stepped in for.

KD: MTU #10 is the last issue where you provided interior art (you're still providing cover art until at least issue #13, right?). Why did you decide to leave the series?

SK: I did the MTU covers through #13 finishing the Tittanus arc, but yes, #10 finishing the Ringmaster arc is my last interior art of MTU. I decided to leave MTU for a couple reasons: The main reason was that MTU really wasn't selling well, and could possibly be cancelled at any time. I thought Robert, Studio F and I had given MTU a good shot and we had a good time making it, but I don't like working and planning on a book that might go away next month. I hope it doesn't, I love that book, maybe it just needs a big creative adjustment to help get some attention again. This was also around the time when the EMH hardcover came out, and Marvel made it clear how much they enjoyed me on that kind of book; Which was also around the time of my negotiations for renewing my exclusive contract with Marvel. All this was pointing at moving on from MTU and thankfully it was a happy transition for me as the next project they had lined up for me, was Thor: Blood Oath.

KD: From what I've read in the news releases Thor: Blood Oath is a 6 issue bi-weekly mini-series debuting in September that takes place in the early years of Thor before Ragnarok. It is written by Michael Avon Oeming (Red Sonja) who in late May described the mini-series as "a big old classic Thor story of Thunderhead [and] the Warriors Three in an Asgardian adventure that spans most of the Marvels Pantheon. [Thor and the Warriors Three: Hogun the Grimm, Fandral, and Volstagg] are on a mission to recover several magical items to make up for the accidental killing of a giant - hence the title, Blood Oath." Oeming's description doesn't disclose who Thor and his companions confront on their "Blood Oath." Can you reveal who opposes Thor in these issues?

SK: All sorts of creatures and baddies. There will be surprises along the way, but most of the confrontations are spelled out in the first issue - which include: A Giant Eagle, Hercules, a Celtic Warrior/spirit, an undead host of Samurai's, and the sons of the Egyptian god Thoth. The story travels all around the world, and the friendship of the four guys is really tested. I'm really having a great time with this as Thor has always been one of my favorites. I'm working on the THOR/HERCULES fight in issue #3 and really trying to make it loud and proud.

KD: What attracted you to this project? In other words, what's in it for you?

SK: It's THOR for cryin' out loud. Anyone who doesn't like THOR is a pansy! C'mon, he's got the freakin' awesome hammer. He fights dragons and trolls! He controls storms and lightning and he's the prince of ASGARD! Beyond all that, this is a really fun THOR story that Mike came up with that I'd want to read as a fan.

KD: "Anyone who doesn't like THOR is a pansy!" Now that's a line Marvel HAS to use in their promotional advertisements! Did your approach to drawing Thor change in any way from EMH to Thor: Blood Oath?

SK: No, but you really start to get a feel for character after a few issues drawing him or her, so EMH was a THOR warm-up, in a way. So here I'm just hopefully expanding on how I drew him before. The same goes for teaming up with Wil Quintana again. Working with Wil again is great, because we can build on top of what we did before in EMH. Some of the pages on Thor: Blood Oath #1 are already way better than anything we did on EMH. Wil's incredible and essential to this book.

KD: When did you start drawing Thor: Blood Oath?

SK: I started about 2 1/2 months ago and I'm working on the last 1/2 of issue #3 now, so I'll be drawing #5 when #1 comes out.

KD: You've just signed on with Marvel for another two year exclusive contract. This renewal to your 2003 contract indicates not only Marvel's admiration of your talent but also your satisfaction with the assignments Marvel has provided you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have agreed to be an exclusively Marvel artist for another two years. Do you have any specific goals for the next two years? Any specific title you're "bugging" Joe Quesada about? Do you perhaps want to try your hand at writing for Marvel?

SK: Yes, I've been very happy at Marvel these last 2 years, especially since we've really started to nail down the coloring over my drawings. Coloring that works for Marvel and for me. There isn't an exact plan of projects for the next 2 years, but the general theory is to continue with projects like EMH and Thor: Blood Oath. And I am hopeful to start writing projects at Marvel. I have some proposals in and have my fingers crossed.

KD: I won't ask you to divulge plots details, but can you at least tell us what characters are involved in the writing projects you proposed to Marvel?

SK: I've got all sorts of ideas I'm putting together, but the main proposal I have in now is for a HULK story. I really love the HULK and would like to take a different approach at Bruce Banner mixed with his emerald alter ego. This story might be more dark than recent material I've worked on - though nothing too violent or depressing. Something with real emotional attachment to it while still having fun battling tanks and jet fighters. I did turn in an Alpha Flight story with a friend of mine that would be really cool and an absolute dream project, but that seems like it might be too soon after the last monthly version. I'm also brewing a SPIDER-MAN story I thought of, a fun costume story that I don't think has been done before. We'll see what (if anything) clicks with editorial.

KD: So, the general plan is to keep you drawing mini-series projects. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're suggesting that you won't be tackling an on-going monthly title in the near future. Is this your choosing? Marvel's choosing?

SK: Mostly Marvel's choosing - though I'm being paid very well and the projects that have happened are great, so I'm not complaining by any means. Marvel has been really wonderful and very receptive to my choices as well, and it's a matter of going with what works. If MTU would've sold better, I'd probably still be there. Who knows, everything changes so fast - I could be on a new monthly tomorrow and never would have guessed it.

KD: Are there any particular writers in Marvel's "stable" that you would be excited to collaborate with?

SK: Most of them would be thrilling to work with. Whedon is really doing some outstanding stuff. I keep hearing good things about Dan Slott and good things about Ultimate Iron Man - sorry I don't remember the writer's name. I really need to catch up on my reading. I'm missing a lot recently.

KD: Orson Scott Card writes Ultimate Iron Man. Just to make sure I understand it correctly, your next project after Thor: Blood Oath has not yet been decided?

SK: Not yet, though there's already been talk. Lots of possibilities. We should know in the next month or so.

KD: Last year we discussed the fact that unlike your time at DC, your work for Marvel doesn't involve an inker; you scan your pencils for the letterer and colorist. You obviously still favor this technique since you're still using it. What's your assessment of this technique now? Are you more comfortable with it? Were you forced to make adjustments to your style as a result of the scanning?

SK: My style hasn't changed all that much since my Flash days, but I have taken out line-weights as well. This all goes back to why I changed my style for Flash. My career wasn't going all that well. I was basically barely floating along as a freelance artist, barely making paying the bills. At that same time, I would get lots of really positive feedback on my sketch book, and DC was encouraging me to try something different. Somehow without shadow and line-weights, my sketches carried more power or emotion or whatever. So I took a leap and tried whole pages without shadows and prayed that it would work. And it did - very well. I now have a career I would've killed for years ago. So when I moved over to MARVEL I decided to try my pages without line-weights, which I think is a smaller adjustment after taking out all the shadows and hopefully even closer to whatever stripped down version of my drawing that gets the best reaction. I love drawing shadows and line-weights too, but I'm still having a lot of fun with style, so it's all good. When the time comes when I need to change my art - for myself or for my job - I will. The only other change during this time is that I now scan the pages and send them in to MARVEL from my computer. Early on, we had problems on some pages that didn't scan well, so now I do it and get to check the pages one more time and make sure they are the best I can do - within the deadline.

KD: You were coloring your covers on Earth's Mightiest Heroes. When I asked you last year to evaluate your coloring abilities, you claimed, "I think I'm good enough to be paid but still a long way to go to be really good." One year later, what do you think of your coloring abilities now?

SK: I think I get a little better all the time. I think my Avengers covers or Hawkeye covers were better than my Flash covers, same for my first EMH cover to my last, and I think my Thor: Blood Oath covers are better still. I hope so anyway. My color thought process is stronger and my skills at the computer are a bit better as well. I don't think I'm the best in the biz or anything like that, but I'm damn proud of the work I do. Doing these mini-series is a trade off. I'm not on the stands every month, but it also gives me time to color the covers or if set it up right, maybe the interiors too. I do like working with others, but changing things around (writing or coloring as well) helps keep the excitement after working in the industry for some 13 years.

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