Buckingham The Trend

By Craig Lemon

Mark Buckingham didn’t take the conventional ‘brit-creator” route into comics via the esteemed 2000AD. He bucked the trend somewhat and leaped straight into the cross Atlantic bastion of brits, DC’s Vertigo line of comics. Thirteen years on Buckingham looks back with Craig Lemon on some of the material that inspired him, his early work, and his more recent efforts. This very special interview includes never seen before art from the unpublished Miracleman #25 by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham.

Craig Lemon: How did you become interested in comics?

Mark Buckingham: They were always around me, from about 4 or 5 years of age, TV tie-ins and stuff like Pippin. I used to read the Beano, Victor, British comics like that. My first superhero inspirations came from the Marvel UK reprints of US material – Hulk, FF, Spidey – these took ahold of my mind – made me go “WOW!” The Ditko and Kirby art, the fantastic nature of the stores, always back-dropped by a real-world setting; I really could believe that these events were happening somewhere.

And then 2000AD came along and BANG – UK only, non-reprints, all original SF stories. Truly excellent and inspiration stories.

As I was growing up, say 15 or 16, the Marvel imports were becoming weaker, 2000AD hit a slump, DC wasn’t of any interest and there were music, A-Levels, politics and girls to be interested in, but then … Warrior appeared. The first really grown-up comic (mainly down to Alan Moore’s stories), Marvelman (as it was then) was incredibly important to me, and I dreamed of drawing it.

CL: How did you manage to break into comics after this?

MB: When I was at college, in Staffordshire, I was doing a degree in design, which meant I got involved in graphics illustration and animated films. While in Stoke-on-Trent I joined a local crowd of people, producing fanzines. It was a wonderful time, surrounded by enthusiastic young comic creators, including D’israeli, Shane Oakley, Gary Crutchley, Andrew Elliott and Andy Yoxall. I took up pencilling at this stage and did a few bits here and there, just persevering and stuck at it. My first gig was an AIDS charity comic, Strip-Aid, which led to offers of work elsewhere. Some of my early work was published in the satire magazine called "Truth" – I drew a lot of strips there, I basically just kept on pumping in as much as possible, making as much of it as I could. This helped me develop relationships and contacts. I joined the SSI [Society Strip Illustration]; Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean joined at the same time.

CL: You managed to avoid the typical Brit route of 2000AD followed by US comics work...

MB: Yes, I'd done three years of work for US comics before anything in 2000AD, the Tyranny Rex stories. Neil held the door open for me with Miracleman to break in initially, and Neil & Dave together called Karen Berger to get me the work on Hellblazer – she called me back and said: “You have some influential friends”.

CL: Tell us more about how they helped you onto Hellblazer.

MB: Neil showed examples of my work to Karen and also setup a meeting for me with Richard Piers Rayner. I produced some samples based on Richard’s previous work, by inking over photocopies, but this received a poor reception. Neil encouraged me to try again. So I called Richard and asked for more samples; he kindly sent some from issue 10, which I inked and sent into the Karen Berger again. At the next SSI meeting I also showed these to Dave McKean, he liked them, felt good about them, and between them Neil and Dave persuaded Karen to give me the job on a trial basis. Neil had advised me to take my time over the new samples and “razzle dazzle” her. His advice, as always, paid off.

At the time, I was still doing the final year of my design degree, so I’d typically do half-a-day at college, then work solid until 4am doing a day’s inking work – I put a lot of heart and soul into this work, getting just three or four hours sleep a night; it almost killed me, to be frank.

Finally I graduated – and from that point on, the art seemed much easier, I had more time and enjoyed it a lot more.

CL: How did the jump to pencilling Hellblazer happen?

MB: All the time I was inking Richard, I was making it clear that I really wanted to be an artist too. Neil helped out again by getting me a pencilling job on Secret Origins of Poison Ivy, so when Richard left for personal reasons I had a successful piece of work under my belt – they decided to give me a chance.

CL: Did you notice any change in Delano’s scripts when you took over the pencilling, to tailor them to your skills/preferences?

MB: Not really. Since that time, writers have seen my art and worked to my strengths and weaknesses; I like to talk a lot with my writers and provide input into the stories. My Hellblazer work was the start, though, so although I got on well with Jamie I didn’t want to interfere; I had a lot to learn, and didn’t want to presume to know better than the established writer. Jamie provided good solid “idiot-proof” scripts anyway!

CL: Presumably you prefer drawing to inking?

MB: I have no problem with either skill - they are both different, the penciller composes the page and the story layout, the inker adds texture, line weight, definition and substance to the characters. When a penciller and inker gel, it should be better than one person could do. As an inker I tried, and continue to try, to respect the penciller's work as much as possible. As a penciller, I like an inker who knows what I am trying to achieve with my pencils.

CL: Who is your favorite inker at the moment?

MB: That would have to be Wayne Faucher, he's based in Pennsylvannia, he really takes his time over inking, so doesn't do too much. It is too easy in this industry to take on too much work, so you don't do as much thinking, just use your craft to get things done quickly. The danger, of course, that it is too tempting to coast through.

CL: Whose pencils would you love to ink?

MB: Kirby, naturally. I'd really like to do one of the covers for the Jack Kirby Collector magazine. There are a few pencillers I like the work of - Duncan Fegredo, Sean Phillips are two of them. Inking Mike Mignola's Hellboy would be great if the chance arose, as would doing the inks on Tom Strong over Chris Sprouse's pencils. I'd particularly love to work with Alan Davis, I would be able to learn an awful lot from him.

I'm open-minded as regards collaborations, really, I'm happy to work with new people - for example, I like John Stokes' inks on our recent Merv Pumpkinhead book, and I like the fluid inks on Peter Parker at the moment. I try to adapt my art to fit each project, and a new inker can help in that process.

CL: Have you ever tried to bypass the pencilling stage, and go straight to inks, warts and all?

MB: No, never tried it. I like to have at least some pencils for comfort and guidance, I don't think I'd adapt to "straight-to-inks" very quickly. However, I would like to do the finished art, both pencilling and inking, on a piece - that would mean that it's mine, with only the colorist to worry about! Fortunately I'm inking my own covers on Peter Parker, and there are a few pencil & ink pieces underway at the moment. I do like to do my own thing, for example, on Miracleman, I had a lot of input on design and styling.

CL: OK, so back to your early US work then. After Hellblazer, and other Vertigo projects, you ended up at Marvel…

MB: Yeah, I had always been supported and encouraged as an artist by everyone at Vertigo, but the DC Universe weren’t really interested, as I had no real “mainstream” superhero experience. Finally I got to do Ghost Rider and Generation X at Marvel, first of all inking again, then gradually the pencil work came through. With these superhero pencils under my belt, the DC Universe came calling and I ended up on Batman, Shadow Of The Bat. The Marvel work, the famous Marvel Method, was actually quite nice, it was good training for the future and gave the artist more freedom – it’s nice to have the artistic license to complement a plot visually, rather than work to a rigid script.

The Peter Parker: Spider-Man stuff I’m doing now is lovely – it feels like I’m half of a working unit; it’s a collaborative piece, very organically grown, and strongly adheres to the Marvel Method. Paul is such a busy guy that it is not feasible for him to do full scripts; he plots it out, we spend one to two hours talking through it, then I get working. I worked with Neil in a similar fluid way on Miracleman. I suppose the difference is that Neil would provide much of the dialogue without too much plot; which gave me great pleasure in choreographing the issues; but the key point was that we spoke a lot before starting work. Maybe it’s an odd way of working, but it’s great fun working story details out over the telephone with Paul and Neil.

Maybe it gives the editor a headache, maybe we wing it a little, but they trust us to do a good job and I think we deliver.

CL: Speaking of Neil and Miracleman, I can’t avoid it, can you tell us a little about Miracleman and where it's at, at the moment.

MB: From a purely logistical point of view, #25 was totally completed except for the coloring. Issue 26 had eight pages of story written, and loose pencils done. Neil used to write chunks of story at a time: "Here's the latest batch of pages, get back to me when you've drawn them". The rights situation is in a complete pickle. Maybe it will never be resolved. To be honest, I resent the fact it is still in limbo, that it is not in our power to continue. From Neil's point of view, his babies aren't available to him; some of our best work is locked away, maybe never to see the light of day. Neil has continued to try and sort out control of Miracleman; he feels he has to pursue this as Alan Moore entrusted him with the property, and Neil owes Alan a lot - Alan especially encouraged him to step into the medium.

However, even if Neil does win the rights back, he may not care to resume scripting duties - this whole situation has left a very bad taste in our mouths. If it does continue, with Neil at the helm, I would definitely be interested in resuming art duties; we had three issues to go in the Silver Age storyline, then we'd hit the Dark Age...

CL: Miracleman was certainly a labor of love for you, would you say that that is the work you are most proud of?

MB: Well, I used to say that, yes. The excitement of youth, the freshness of being let loose to do my own thing on the art, I felt I was capable of anything on this book. But, in reality, I'm never really proud of any existing piece of work - my best work is always the next thing I do.

CL: The next thing you’re slated to do is a reasonable run on Peter Parker: Spider-Man, which we touched on earlier. You and Paul Jenkins started off in #20, but I understand you’ve a short break coming up?

MB: #26 is not mine, but it’s not a break! Issue #25 is a double-sized issue; so we needed to have someone come in for #26 to give me enough time to do justice to #25. It would’ve been easy to do a rush job on #25 and #26 to get them both done, but I’d much rather do an excellent job on #25 and skip #26, than compromise either book. #25 is the big Green Goblin story, so it’s important that it was very, very strong.

CL: Can you tell us a little about the future of Peter Parker: Spider-Man?

MB: Well, my skip issue, #26, is cops eye-view of the action – I didn’t fancy drawing cops anyway, so #25 being so big is a good excuse to skip it. I’m back for #27 and #28, a two-parter with the Robot Master in…these are a lot of fun. #29 I’m skipping too – Charlie Adlard is stepping in for an issue to tie up all the remaining loose ends from Mackie’s storylines in PP:SM and Amazing Spider-Man, to clear the decks for J. Michael Stracynzski on the latter title. I just didn’t fancy doing a tie-up issue for work I wasn’t involved with. I’m using the free time I get from not doing #29 to get a headstart on #30 onwards, for, I hope, at least a year.

Axel [Alonso, Spider-Editor] has said we should be safe for a year from the JMS relaunch – our book will be the least changed after the relaunch. After all, we’ve already changed it substantially since taking over a few issues ago, so why change again? Having said that, there may be inking and separating changes from issue #30 onwards.

CL: Any more Merv Pumpkinhead on the horizon?

MB: Well, we’re waiting to see if public reaction is favorable enough for a sequel; I wouldn’t want it to interfere with my Spidey work, but would like to fit the work in alongside – don’t want to stretch myself too far. Bill Willingham has a wonderful writing style, so that was enjoyable enough to do again. I am doing a chapter of an upcoming Dreaming story about Merv, as for another book we’ll wait and see.

CL: What character or characters would you love to draw that you haven’t done so already?

MB: The Fantastic Four, no question about it. I want to draw the Thing; I’ve done the Human Torch in a recent PP:SM issue, but would rethink and refine it if I got the chance to draw him again. I would quite like to draw Cerebus, but I think there’s little chance of that! I’d also love to do some of the classic early-years 2000AD characters – DR & Quinch, Robo-Hunter, Ace Trucking Co. Not Dredd as such, as I’ve a slight fear I’d get him horribly wrong. What else? Strontium Dog – oh, I’d love to draw the Gronk. Not Rogue Trooper, however, I’m not really interested in war stories.

CL: What comics are you reading at the moment?

MB: All of Moore's ABC line. Enjoyed DC's Hourman. Absolutely loving Jenkin's Hulk. Preacher was an essential read. Punisher is thoroughly entertaining. And I love the current Sentry mini-series. I've also been spending a lot on the Essential Marvel TPB range of reprints, enjoying the basic 60s style - you can really revel in its simplicity.

2000AD has recently picked itself up, the takeover by Rebellion and new editor Andy Diggle should really engender a positive atmosphere on that comic now. It has recently suffered from having no discernable direction, but I think that Diggle understands what has been missing - it's about Robots, Aliens, strong characters, it's a SF comic. Having said that I think there's a gaping hole in the market (the English market at least) for a new newstand teen title, along the lines of Victor, Action and Eagle, but with a new approach, relevant for today's teenagers.

CL: You have a real soft spot for 2000AD.

MB: I just love monsters and robots. There is so much in 2000AD to like, and the potential is always open there to do lots of different stuff. The range of stories is excellent. Sometimes I feel that US books have to have at least one human in, but 2000AD doesn’t – non-human monsters, jellies, dinosaurs, alien space operas – stuff more in the Farscape style than Star Trek. Why work in comics and just do normal people? So I’m very enthusiastic about going back to 2000AD for some shorts, if I can fit it in. I’d like to be creating characters of my own – ideally I’d write the piece, draw it, finish it, as a self-contained story with a start and a definite finish. I’ve been in the business 13 years, and feel to need to have a bit of it that’s my own.

CL: What about reaching beyond shorts in 2000AD, and self-publishing a "Mark Buckingham" comic?

MB: Well, it's always been on my mind to do the total comic, but I've never really considered anything beyond short stories for anthologies. To be honest, I'd have to be sure that what I write is as good as, or better than, the rest of the market. There is too much stuff out there at the moment that doesn't bring anything new to the readers; I'd need to have a Hellboy-type breakthrough idea to do this properly. Alan Moore has shown with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that fresh stuff is possible, so there is hope.

So, for now, the best thing to consider is doing this for 2000AD, a short piece every now and then with pretty quick publishing and feedback to enable one to move onto the next piece.

CL: Have you sorted out internet access yet?

MB: I’m finally taking the plunge and buying a computer! Eventually I’ll sort out a website too. The computer, I think, I finally need for art reasons and general entertainment. The Web itself is fascinating, I love the idea of tracking down people or music bands; the instant access to information, gossip, news as it happens, all that sort of stuff.

CL: OK, so no email address as yet, is there some way people can contact you, maybe to inquire about buying art, or fan letters?

MB: Well, one could always buy PP:SM – pick it up, concentrate on it, stare hard at the art and think, think! The power of telepathy might do the trick! Or I can be reached at:

P.O. Box 48, Clevedon,
Bristol, BS21 7LQ,
England.

Obviously I’m pretty busy so may not be able to reply to every letter straightaway, but I will read the lot!

CL: Do you have any fictional heroes?

MB: Doctor Who is one – there should be more nice guys in the universe. He’s British, but not the quintessential nice English Gentleman. He’s a nice grandfather type figure, with no intonations of improper behavior, he knows everything, or thinks he does; goes into situations with the best of intentions. He does great things, and also can be 12 different people.

Another? Well, Spider-Man I’d say. I could relate to the angst-ridden hero at school who has powers and abilities that confuse things, his motivations make sense – life isn’t easy! Peter Parker doesn’t want to be Spidey too much, as most people hate Spider-Man; as Peter Parker he can have a normal life, and would go nuts as Spider-Man all the time. Superman, for example, could lose Clark Kent easily and carry on as before, but Spider-Man has that added vulnerability that makes him human.

CL: How about real-life heroes?

MB: Umm…difficult question. From the Comics perspective – KIRBY! Musical heroes include Peter Gabriel and Robert Fripp.

CL: You mention your musical heroes, what sort of music do you like, stuff that our readers may not have heard of before?

MB: I spend an obscene amount on music, and on going to concerts. I’m a big fan of progressive rock – I think only a small group of people actually admit that! Some groups to look out for:- Flower Kings (a Swedish band); Spock’s Beard (from the US); Stackridge (a Bristol/Bath based outfit) – eccentric English folk Rock at its very best; Parallel and 90 Degrees (brilliant British band, influenced by Van Der Graff Generator).

CL: Well, we’ve mentioned music, I guess we should ask what you think of current movies, TV, cartoons?

MB: Was really worried about the X-Men movie before seeing it, but loved it and thought it was very, very good indeed. Chicken Run was great too. As for TV, I take in a lot of SF: Buffy, Angel, Farscape, Andromeda, Roswell High. I do watch “normal” TV with my wife, but keep tapes running of BBC2 and Sky One (the usual channels for SF TV in the UK) and watch these when doing late night catch-up stints, to help concentrate my mind. I also watch a lot of TV comedy and sitcoms: Black Books and Marion and Geoff are my current faves. Cartoons I watch include South Park and The Simpsons.

CL: Books, or other hobbies?

MB: Not many lately, no time. I do read lots of comics and magazines; these are easy to read in bite-sized chunks. I have to put time aside to read books – the most recent ones I’ve read are The Liar, and The Hippotamus (by Stephen Fry) and Anne Rice’s Tale of the Body Thief. I don’t really have the time for hobbies. I love art; it was my hobby turned career. This takes up the time when I’m not doing food, TV, garden, wife…I wish I had the time to do more sculpting; I do the odd clay head for comics reference purposes, but most of my time with art now is just focused on comics. When I do get the time, I enjoy going out to comedy clubs – “The Comedy Box” club in PP:SM #21 is a real club, my favorite actually, in Bristol. Kev F. Sutherland (organizer of Comics 99, 2000 and DreddCon 1) works there as the compeer.

CL: Probably the most well-known comics artist at the moment is Alex Ross – as an artist, how do you feel about his work?

MB: He’s a nice guy, a talented artist. I like his work a lot, and would kill for just 10% of his talent. I don’t like the amount of stick he gets; no one style is totally correct for comics, the medium can accept a wide range of styles, so Alex’s work is perfectly acceptable. Everyone liked him when he first came on the scene, but now he is successful, the backlash has started. Let’s face it, his rough work is as good as other’s finished work. I’ve a lot of admiration for him, maybe his art will extend the audience for comics in general.

CL: What do you think of the industry at the moment?

MB: I’m cautiously optimistic. OK, so it’s shaky to say the least, but it would be a mistake to panic about the future – Previews is still very thick, so something must be making money! People are far too quick to say it’s over, rather than do something to help. Comics should last well into the future, but maybe not as they currently are. Comics are for kids too, and they shouldn’t be disappointed in what they read – you need accessibility, availability, cost and marketing, all relating to that target audience. Stop preaching to ever-shrinking converted, build a new market. I don’t think people should be in the medium unless they believe it can be used as a better way to communicate your ideas than elsewhere. Kids ignoring comics has its genesis in many factors – TV, console games, no bedtime stories, all these contribute. Books are losing out too. Comics should always have a place, but you’ve got to get the kids back.

CL: Where would you like to see yourself in five year’s time, still in comics?

MB: Firstly, alive! Secondly, not poor. Thirdly, still drawing comic books, having diversified elsewhere too. Yeah, I do want to still be in comics; I can see myself being distracted by TV work, book illustrating, writing…as I said before, I’ve love to write and draw my own characters, but this needs the right time and the right place to be worthwhile doing. I hope I will still have regular work in comics then, can’t really imagine life without them; it’s the personal nature of them, it’s so pure – this is why I never went into animation. My next logical step is really writing.

CL: What is in your immediate comics future?

MB: The Merv story, PP:SM for the foreseeable future, a Superman/Green Lantern story, and X-Men book illustrations.

CL: What question have you never been asked, that you’d dearly love to be asked?

MB: Um, “do you find it hard being the most desirable man on the planet? Is it hard to beat off all those fantastically sexy, young, nubile women?”

CL: (laughs) And what would your wife say if you got asked this?

MB: She’d hit me for even thinking it!

CL: Thanks very much for your time, Mark, do you have any final comments you’d like to add?

MB: Just that I’d like to thank everyone who has read and enjoyed my work over the last 13 years. It’s a real pleasure to entertain them – they don’t have to look at my work, but they do. I really appreciate everyone’s continued support. Thank you.

Discuss this interview on the Feature Fiends Forum!