Review Fix Exclusive: Michael Hague Talks ‘The Eye of Newt’

Review Fix chats with legendary artist Michael Hague about the inspiration and creative process behind his new Dark Horse Comics series, “Eye of Newt.” A fantasy tale with an intriguing new character, fans of his work on “The Hobbit” will quickly see Hague’s versatility in a new medium.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this series?

Michael Hague: Leo Durocher once said, “Nice guys finish last.” I wanted to write a story where the nice guy finishes first. Newt is young and inexperienced and is thrust into a trial that he is seemingly unprepared for. He would prefer to daydream and make friends with the creatures in his world than fulfill the demands of his quest as explained by his dark wizard teacher and mentor. He has to learn how to muster the courage to face the challenges while being true to his nature.

Review Fix: What inspires you as a writer?

Hague: The story of Newt began to develop in my head as I was illustrating and writing other stories. I can’t identify what sparked the initial idea but as I embraced the character, Newt, the story seemed to take on a life of its own. The story developed into a 134-page outline and I imagined it as an illustrated novel.

But, Dark Horse Comics, was really interested in it and asked if I would be able to condense it into eighty-eight pages for four comics, which will be then combined into one volume in a later publication. I had to edit and combine key characters and events which was a challenge. I am grateful to Mike Richardson and David Scroogy as well as Daniel Chabon, for their help and encouragement.

Review Fix: As an artist?

Hague: Inspiration is elusive. I cannot tell you what inspires me since it never is clear where an idea comes from. Being an artist is just what I am and that said, I guess it and the resulting art and stories sprout from my soul.

Review Fix: What is your creative process like?

Hague: My creative process is the same whether I am illustrating a children’s book or comics. I imagine the whole story as a movie and then start making small thumbnail sketches of the scenes. These evolve into larger sketches and then larger and more detailed drawings until the whole thing emerges as a book. I don’t know how this compares to the process used by other artists but this is how it has developed for me all those years ago.

Review Fix: How do you think illustrating “The Hobbit” helped the visual look of this series?

Hague: To be honest, I never once thought about The Hobbit while working on Eye of Newt. If it had an influence, it would have to have been in my sub conscience like anything you read or see that remains deep in your mind.

Review Fix: Away from the fantasy genre, what are some other things you enjoy drawing and writing about?

Hague: I don’t draw or write anything that doesn’t have a strong element of fantasy. Even while in school I couldn’t resist putting some fantastic quality in my drawings. Art Center College of Design was not big on fantasy in the late 1960s. Never-the-less, nudes always seemed to sprout wings in life drawing classes.

Review Fix: Are there any Dark Horse characters you have a fondness for? Ones that you’d like to write about or draw one day?

Hague: In the Dark Horse world there are many amazing characters. I don’t know that I would have the chance to illustrate them since the creators have already presented their interpretations.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this series the most?

Hague: I am hoping that fans of traditional comics will enjoy the books as well as those readers looking for something different.

Review Fix: What are your hopes for the book?

Hague: My hope is that the series is well received and opens the door for me to continue to create more comics.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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