Review Fix chats with “War in Heaven†artist Adrian Smith who discusses the new Madefire book and the effect it’ll have on readers.
The first six-part issues to be released simultaneously for the company, Pinto, one of the most intriguing artists in the industry today talks about how it feels to set a new standard for the company, as well as his working relationship with fellow “War in Heaven†artist Adrian Smith.
For more information on the series, click here.
Review Fix: Can you talk about how “Paradise Lost” played a part in the creation of the series?
Adrian Smith: (I’m sure Ricardo will have a lot to say here) well its a classic even I’m familiar with. Great story, epic in scale and nature and such great imagery, it seemed a no brainer to try and do our own ‘version’ of the story ourselves.
Review Fix: What’s your favorite part/element of the series?
Smith: Well speaking as the artist its always the next panel you’re about to do thats the favourite part of the job. I don’t think theres anything in our story that I’m not looking forward to tackling. So far though, I’d say the misfortune that befalls our antihero in the middle of book one is my favourite parts so far.
Review Fix: What was the writer/artist working relationship like?
Smith: Haha. I’m looking forward to seeing what Ricardo has to say. Luckily we have known each other for a long time now and have worked together in the past. We are good friends so despite the odd tantrum it went well I think. He left me all the space I needed to do what I wanted to do, so you cant really ask for more than that….well I could, but I don’t.
Review Fix: What do you think you’ve learned during the creation process for this series? How will it benefit you moving forward?
Smith: We’ve learnt to work together. This is not as easy at it sounds. We can anticipate each other now a lot of the time and indeed are now working together on a number of other projects too. We’ve set a rhythm now for the rest of the story which will make things a lot easier next time round I’m sure.
Review Fix: For comic book creators interested in Madefire, how can you describe your experience working there?
Smith: The comic was finished before we approached Madefire. This meant that the Madefire builders had to do the magic on the story without any separate layers on the images or anything like that. It must have been hard work for them because of that but they really did do a great job. It looks like it was made for motion books now. Communication was great throughout and they did the job with sensitivity and respect to the story for which we are very grateful. Who wouldn’t want to work alongside that formidable list of artists and writers? I count myself very lucky.
Review Fix: For those that aren’t into the epic story, how else do you think they’d connect with the content?
Smith: Well Ricardo has done a great job of bringing the old classic story into a modern setting and I’m confident the audience will connect with at least one of the characters in the story. My aim was to make the whole imagery work on a level most people could connect with. The monotone work stops any distractions I find colour work can sometimes have. This makes it easier for me to ‘direct’ the viewers eye through the story. The monotone also lends itself to the dreamlike quality I wanted to achieve.
Review Fix: Madefire books are known for their cool visuals, panoramic panels, killer sound, what surprises do you guys have in store for readers?
Smith: I think the sound is superb. I’ve been looking at this artwork for a long time and so quite naturally was starting to doubt i’d achieved what I intended with the art. once I saw it with the Madefire magic though it really did come alive again for me. genuine chills up the spine sometimes, the builders and sound techs did a fantastic job.
Review Fix: How does it feel to be the first Madefire series to release six episodes at once?
Smith: Well there will be another two books to come. So three books, three sets of six….seems to make sense.
Review Fix: How do you want this series to be remembered?
Smith: As a good comic.
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