What Josh Would Do

I met my friend Josh Adams... I dunno anymore... I suppose when I was looking for artists, as I am wont to do... His dad is comic book artist and creator Neal Adams (yes, that Neal Adams), and Josh is in college now and already developing his own craft (he welds together 20-foot high steel girders to make these amazing High Modernist-- just kidding, he makes comics). So that I could be the one who officially discovered him, I used his new website, http://www.whatwouldjoshdo.com , as an excuse to interview him, and learned that he's making his own comic, as well as one with WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam. Come, learn of Josh's ways...

PC: Got time to talk a little?

JA: Sure, taking a break from an obscenely large portrait.

PC: So. How's school?

JA: School is great, holding up a good average. Classes aren't quite geared toward what I need just yet, but I am using the time to improve.

PC: Let's tackle this right up front. How's your Dad?

JA: Dad's doing great. He's actually getting into a number of comic book projects lately. Most are in the early stages and at points where we aren't really supposed to talk about them but if you ask around everyone knows what big title he is gonna be working on…

PC: Do you feel like, "I'm gonna be seen as following in the footsteps of this legend forever," or is it more like the vibe I get off of Alan Moore's daughter, of "What the heck, it's no big deal and it can't hurt…" or both, neither, in between?

JA: I have a number of goals in my life, challenges really; they do fall into the path that my father took… Partially because I want to prove something to myself and partially because I have a natural love for certain characters. How I do with those goals will really be the measuring stick for what my career will be. Regardless of that, people will have opinions, positive or negative. I will just work hard, and what happens, happens.

PC: Tell me about your new website change.

JA: I had created www.antiunderground.com as a place for people starting in comics to show their work. It turned out to be a hard goal to actualize, as the artists I found had a terribly hard time getting work to me for portfolios and the maintenance of the site was too demanding since I had my own work to do. I started the new site, http://www.whatwouldjoshdo.com , because I realized I should be focusing on me right now. Start small, build up.

PC: I agree, frankly. As someone who sometimes asks artists who aren't you to do things, well, I know it's a challenge... So. Comics. Are you reading anything these days?

JA: I read a lot of comics; it's hard to not be a fan. I am very good at suspending the proper amount of reality enough to buy into any comic theme but I naturally look for good art when I read comics. Bryan Hitch, Stuart Immonen, Paolo Rivera, Alan Davis, Steve Dillon, Steve Rude, Adam Hughes, Travis Chrest etc. There are just so many. I usually hit the register at about sixty bucks a week.

PC: My, my! Writers?

JA: Writers… I'd go with Paul Jenkins, Mark Millar, and Brian K. Vaughan.

PC: I have a few in that artist list I'm fond of, but I've only actually met Steve Dillon. He's just like you'd expect, in a good way...

JA: Steve Dillon is a great artist for the type of work he does

PC: Type?

JA: A type that's straightforward and brutally honest in its adaptation of the script. When you need to see a man get shot and really feel that bullet, you go to Steve Dillon. It's not always pretty, but that's what I like about him.

PC: Yeah, I suppose if you need to see someone shot in the head, Steve Dillon's up for it…

JA: His Punisher work was amazing…

PC: We started getting fond of him on Hellblazer. …Now then. New Topic: Speakeasy. Your thoughts?

JA: Speakeasy? I think everyone understands that people have idealistic goals. What was rough for Speakeasy was that most mid-card companies are usually just stepping stones for the big-leagues and unless you could get a creative team to commit their book to a long run, you couldn't keep a company above water with minis and constantly-changing titles in a "universe" that had no continuity. Of course it's easier to say that in hindsight, 'cause honestly, I wouldn't have minded doing a mini with them…

PC: "Mid-card?" I understand the mid part, but the card?

JA: Sorry, it's a sports reference, like boxing or wrestling; I mean a mid-level company, below Marvel or DC but still decent distribution.

PC: I was picturing an indie creator with a "dance card" of publishers...

JA: No one ever said comics were going to be easy; I understand that and I respect it, but I also remember something my Dad said to me and Rob Van Dam, the writer of my current project… he said "Comicbooks are a great way to lose money."

PC: Can you tell me more about your current project?

JA: The project is a book called "Twisted Perception" and it is written by WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam. It was originally meant to be a five part series but in the interest of getting the whole story out there to a consistent level of readers it is going to be one preview issue and then a graphic novel. I am the artist for the preview issue and the final chapter of the graphic novel.

PC: Can you say any more about it? Genre, perhaps? Publisher?

JA: Adventure, non-superhero. I was actually quite impressed with the concept because it really makes the reader the hero. I don't want to give away the whole story but I will pose this question which is the underlying question throughout the book: "If you could see all the wrong and unjust things people did, be it as small as stealing or as big as murder, at what point do you take things into your own hands and at what point must you accept that balance of good and evil in the world?"

JA: As far as I know it is going to be self-published.

PC: Any other projects currently that I don't know about?

JA: I am doing a book on my own called "Lucky," about a young bright-eyed boxer in a very grey reality. It's being done completely in washes and watercolor so it's a time-consuming project, but I am only doing it when I don't have other goals looming overhead… meaning it's gonna take a while.

PC: Big on boxing, are ya? Goes along with the world of wrestling, perhaps?

JA: Yeah, I guess. I did the original story of Lucky as a 24 hour comic and it really just stuck with me. I love competitive sports like wrestling and boxing.

PC: Done any sports yourself? I took one martial arts course in college... did a lot of fencing.

JA: I wrestled in high school and I used to train to box before that just for fun. You go with what you know, and I know those things. I loved wrestling. I lift weights a lot now. I can bench-press 305lbs.

PC: You sound in shape! So you're not the archetypal rotund fanboy…

JA: I used to be overweight. I actually was pretty overweight in high school. Recently I dropped from an even 250lbs to 186lbs in about 9 months.

PC: My, my. You'll inspire a lot of fanboys out there. I'll ask this for my wife-- boxing movie fan? John Garfield was in a good one or two… Body and Soul, for instance, she says. Raging Bull... not with John Garfield, obviously…

JA: I like the Rocky movies; I kind of have to. Never saw Cinderella Man, but I should be getting a wider variety of it all. I love watching the real matches. Old Ali matches are my favorite. He controlled the ring and knew how to win it before he even got in.

PC: What's your stand on Manga? (Which, if anyone cares, offers the boxing story One-Pound Gospel, about a boxer who has difficulty staying in the weight class he needs to be in… a lesser-known work of Rumiko Takahashi [Ranma, Inu-Yasha]).

JA: I'm not a fan of the style but my god...I love its effect on bringing in a younger generation of readers. God bless Manga and I hope they keep it coming. (And I will check out that manga.)

PC: Watch any anime? Hm, what am I saying, you may well not have time for even Cartoon Network…

JA: When I was younger I watched Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z, how could I not, I'm a consumer whore. I'm a fan of Akira, and there are one of two episodes of Cowboy Bebop which have impressive animation. Beyond that, it's really not part of my life. I wish I had time for Cartoon Network, I loved Aqua Teen Hunger Force…

PC: That's cool. You should come on the http://www.panel2panel.com forum; Wicker Man Studios Art Director Ryan Howe has his own thread I started for him... I'm really not into the show, but your mutual love of ATHF truly belongs in that thread...

JA: Haha, I'll look into it.

PC: We're cool with Harvey Birdman, though... that seems to be the next best thing for people who aren't into ATHF or Sealab.

JA: My impression of the character of Meatwad... some believe that it cannot be rivaled. Harvey Birdman is actually pretty funny, though I rarely get to see it. I also have an Affinity for Brak from Space Ghost.

PC: Okay, time for the lightning round of our interview. Next topic... the superhero genre. Worn out? Or just not used/explored right for a while? Or am I insane and the superhero genre is doing better and cooler than ever?

JA: There is a war in superhero comics. It is being fought by traditionalists and sellouts. I'm a sellout. I believe comics really need to take a step towards reality because our market is so limited and cut off from the rest of the world that when someone walks into a comic shop and picks up a superhero comic they just find it silly and cliche. That's why I appreciate writers like Jenkins, Vaughan and Millar who constantly take it closer to reality.

PC: New topic: What is your dream project?

JA: My dream project...my own Batman title...a maxi-series of Batman, 100 issues long...the story exists. It's just top-secret.

PC: New topic: Cons. What's the last con you went to? Are you going to San Diego this year?

JA: My last con was the New York Con at the Javits Center, which I feel will soon rival San Diego . I am going to the next San Diego but mainly in support of my father. I might go to some of the Wizard Worlds leading up to San Diego but those would just be for fun.

PC: New Topic: Tell me about your main local comics shop you go to.

JA: JIM HANLEY'S UNIVERSE! That place is awesome. I worked there on and off for a year. They're a great store because they're big, and they sell practically everything in Previews as well as a lot of underground and mini-book stuff. It's a hard store to beat.

PC: Where do you live again?

JA: Manhattan, New York.

PC: What college?

JA: School of Visual Arts.

PC: New Question: Do you feel that the GN will ever replace the magazine format?

JA: Nope. A lot would have to change for that to happen and it wouldn't be anytime soon in my estimation, if ever.

PC: New Question: What's the first comic you can clearly remember reading?

JA: Ren&Stimpy: Space Madness

PC: New topic: Indies. Non-DC/Marvel, especially if they aren't Image, either. What do you read? What from the past sticks out in your mind?

JA: I try to stay mainstream...I respect indie books for being more a labor of love but it's not a love I share. Old-school stuff that I read: Sgt. Rock mainly, and The Losers

PC: New question: Is the comics industry 'in trouble'? If so, what does that mean? If not, why not?

JA: Nah, they're fine, good even. Better than when my father was in his heyday. Artists and writers are making enough money to own big houses and have a family. Movies and Comics have become a dual symbiotic being that thrive off each other. The only place where the comic book industry is weak is the comic stores and that is really back to the issue of adapting to the real-world consumer.

PC: New question: There was a time when comics was what one could call a "collectors' market," meaning that sales increased or at least didn't drop so much because people felt these things were like baseball cards, that they could be worth something someday. Is comics still a collector's market? If not, what would you call it?

JA: I don't buy into the concept of collecting comics. Especially CGC, it's silly and it almost ruined comics. How much can a comic be worth if everyone who collects them has them? The market has become oversaturated in terms of collecting. It can only truly be entertainment or collecting; it can't be both.

PC: New question: Kids and comics. There was a time when everyone knew that comics weren't just for kids, then there was a time when everyone knew comics were ONLY for kids. Then adult readers started increasing in comics again. Where do you think we stand now? Should we have more kids in comics? Or should we give up on them?

JA: Comic books are a relatively young concept. About 100 years old, give or take. Like all forms of entertainment, it's social politics. "Think of the children" or "This content is too graphic for kids…" but honestly, for professionals and publishers, it isn't an issue that can be dealt with in isolation. The big picture must be analyzed. I think there are enough comics for kids and I think that you can't just make more kid comics to get kids to read them. You need to expand your distribution, promote in other kid-friendly forms of entertainment. There is no easy answer, only tough choices and no matter what there will always be someone to say that we're doing the wrong thing.

JA: Hey, let's talk about people who shoot their mouth off in comic book forums… It's quite a dangerous thing...

PC: Er... why? Have you caught someone doing it? I mean, not that that's hard... it just sounded like you brought it up because you had one right in front of you suddenly… Okay, I'll bite, I'll play straight man... "Dangerous, you say. How so?"

JA: I won't name names but considering who I am the son of, there are some popular stories out there of professionals in the forums along with just fans who shoot their mouths off about things they don't know.

PC: Ah.

JA: But the funny thing is, it's amazing how nice people are in person

PC: Good to consider. New question: Crossovers in comics: Neat or evil? And why?

JA: I'm indifferent towards crossovers. Though I will say that they tend to cause characters to die... and I think writers and artists are talented enough to do a good story without having to tangle up the whole of a company's characters. I mean there are a lot of writers and artists out there and a lot of them are smart and talented. Give them a chance instead of handing the whole company over to one writer.

PC: Mmmm. Say, what's your big portrait of?

JA: ...Me. Not by choice. I'm doing it Tim Bradstreet style.

PC: Heh it doesn't imply vanity… it just makes sense... get a mirror and you can double-check your subject all you want... convenient.

JA: Yeah, heh, I joke about being self-centered and vain a lot...which is kind of being egotistical but considering that, I should be enjoying this portrait more…

Afterword: Boxing and Manga

Hey, Kids! Just like Josh Adams, Manga knows Boxing!

…But One Pound Gospel is hardly the definitive work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-Pound_Gospel

In fact I feel a little dumb for it being the first work I thought of… It's one of Ms. Takahashi's weaker works, but it does show a love on her part of the genre of the traditional boxing genre. There's also her short story from Rumic World, "Excuse Me For Being A Dog!" which features a boxer under a family curse to turn into a dog when he gets a nosebleed (so he has to be a really good boxer [plus, in manga, there's this idea that somehow extreme lust can give you a nosebleed])… Not the most fantastic story in the world, but the title certainly sticks with you… http://www.furinkan.com/rumictheater/stories/dog.html

An even less orthodox story of a boxer is Tuxedo Gin, a "Heaven Can Wait" story about a boxer who spends time reincarnated as a penguin… http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591160715/103-3899917-9648634?v=glance&n=283155

Then there's Hajime No Ippo… http://www.kodanclub.com/cgi-local/comic.cgi?id=001-00142-01-060

But the one that started it all in Japan was Tomorrow's Joe, which is probably the reason why Ms. Takahashi and everyone else has such interest in boxing in the first place… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashita_No_Joe

I'd also like to point out that this is just ONE SPORT. From Whistle (soccer) to the I-can-hardly-believe-they-named-it-that The Prince of Tennis to many, many more, Manga truly is your one-stop sports stories shop if that's what you like. Josh Adams invites you to READ MORE ABOUT IT!

Seriously, he does. It's good for the economy.

More on sports manga and other manga:

http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/pb/113596277642698.htm
HARLEM BEAT/REBOUND (basketball)
HIKARU NO GO (Go)

http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/pb/113717056222066.htm
TUXEDO GEN
WHISTLE (Soccer)

"I'M JOSH ADAMS, AND I APPROVED THIS MESSAGE."

http://www.whatwouldjoshdo.com

Josh Adams may be contacted via josh@whatwouldjoshdo.com