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David Bowie- Ground Control to Major Tom
Interview with: John DaCosta Job: Pencils Comic book: Tom Corbett: Space Cadet Company: Bluewater Productions Interviewed by: Allen Klingelhoets www.jazmaonline.com
Allen: Give me a little history about yourself John DaCosta. How old are you. Where do you live? What’s your current family life like?
John: Whelp, I’m knocking on 30’s doorstep and currently living in Charlotte, North Carolina. I’ve been married for 7 years and have 2 boys. I've been working as a freelance illustrator for about 4 years now.
Allen: How did you get your start as artist? What are some of your earliest memories of creating art? What sort of things did you start drawing?
John: I think the first thing I drew was Snoopy back around 3rd grade. Of course GI Joe was pretty popular too, so I always drew army Snoopy’s blowing stuff up. After 3rd grade, I moved onto Ninja Turtles. I would get in trouble in classes because I’d draw my notes instead of writing, and my parents got a few notes about me.
Allen: What influences in school from your youth encouraged you to become artist?
John: I had some friends that read and collected comics, and drew like crazy.
Allen: What sort of comic books did you read in your youth? What sort do you read now?
John: Mostly Spiderman and early Image books- when I started reading them, Image was a few months old, and I bought them up- that west coast style sucked me in at the time. I still read some Image books, but I don’t have a whole lot of reading time anymore. I mainly read Kirkman books- that guy is uber talented, and I love anything by Mike Allred, too.
Allen: Did you do any internship or have any professional training? How did you break into comic book industry?
John: I majored in visual art and design in college. I kinda fell out of the comics world in my late teens- mid 20’s. Shortly around the birth of my first son, I got bit by the comics bug, no pun intended, and start reading them again. I got discouraged by mainstream titles just because I had no clue of what was happening in them, so I found a lot of indy publishers and made friends with the creators and other fans online. I also made a good friend online who was a writer and we started working up a few samples with mixed levels of success.
Allen: How did you manage to become associated with Bluewater Productions?
John: I’ve done a few things in and out of the industry for a few years now so I have a pretty robust portfolio of samples. One day I was perusing the Digital Webbing forums and saw a posting by Darren Davis looking for a cartoony art style. I think he was looking for a different story than what I was hired to draw, but he thought my art would be a better match on Tom Corbett.
Allen: Tell me about you work on Tom Corbett: Space Cadet comic.
John: I try to push the envelope on story telling while keeping the storytelling in check. To me, clear storytelling is the most important piece to remember when laying out a page- the Design, style and everything else associated are a close 2nd.
Allen: Where did idea for Tom Corbett comic generate? What was inspiration for comic?
John: Tom Corbett was one of the early Sci Fi stories of the 50’s. He originated long before Star Trek, and up until Star Trek was considered the most “accurate” Sci Fi story of its generation. He’s been in and out of comics in various incarnations ever since.
Allen: Who came up with idea to make 4 issue series?
John: That would be the creative folks over at BlueWater.
Allen: Did you ever hear about Tom Corbett before working on this project?
John: I had vague knowledge of the character before, but nothing extensive. I certainly wouldn’t consider myself knowledgeable
Allen: Tell me a little more about story in Tom Corbett: Space Cadet comic. Please also talk about setting for story and time period. Also, please tell me about characters and conflict.
John: The story in Tom Corbett picks up and moves from the get go. Fans of the titular hero will be impressed- but this story isn’t written solely for fans, new readers will be able to pick up the book and catch right on, too. This story takes place a few hundred years into the future, taking place on and near Jupiter, Mars and Florida.. Tom and his crew of cadets, Roger Manning and Astro Deaver are working on a supply station when they’re attacked by a mysterious but ultimately familiar foe. Also joining forces with Tom and crew are Captain Strong, Dr Hoban and Dr. Joan Dale.
Allen: What do you like most about doing art for Tom Corbett: Space Cadet comic?
John: The creative freedom of drawing stuff that blows up in Space.
Allen: How has it been for you working with writer Bill Spangler?
John: Bill’s great to work with, I primarily work through Darren, but Bill shoots me emails and facebook messages all the time talking about page this and page that. It’s wonderful having his support.
Allen: Take me through an average day working on Tom Corbett: Space Cadet comic. Also, what are some of tools that you use in art process?
John: The average day starts out around 8 PM- This is, after all, a part time job for me- and goes on to around 12 or 1. By this point, I’ve already gone through the scripts, and broken down the panels so I start with loose digital pencils, then on 3 new layers I work out the finished inks, flats, renders and backgrounds. I work 100% digitally on this title, and I use Illustrator CS3 on a modified Macbook with a 20” Cinema Display. I draw using a “widescreen” Wacom Intuos 3, it’s the mid sized version 6 x 11. I have a comics template that I modified, but I’d be shamed not to mention Brian Denham is the creator of it. I’ve added my own custom brushes and commonly used symbols, but the foundation was his.
Allen: Are you a fan of science fiction novels? What authors’ works do you really enjoy reading?
John: I love sci fi in general, but haven’t read any sci fi books in years.
Allen: What sort of fantasy movies do you like to watch?
John: I really like the newer fantasy stories like Narnia and Lord of the Rings, but I still love the Dark Crystal, and The NeverEnding Story (part one, not those silly sequels).
Allen: Do you work in any other professional fields outside of doing comic book pencils for stories?
John: Lots- I have a day job but I also dabble in freelance design, comics, and of course DIY projects galore.
Allen: Do you do many comic book covers? I noticed Chris Cohlbert created cover art for Tom Corbett: Space Cadet comic.
John: I’ve actually done the variant covers for Tom Corbett, and I’ve done 4 other in the past that unfortunately never saw the light of day.
Allen: I noticed third issue of Tom Corbett: Space Cadet comic arrives in stores in November. Do you know best way to get issue? Do you know if 4 issue series will be collected into graphic novel form?
John: The first issue comes out 9/30, too. The best way to get them- order them from your LCS, that will guarantee a you receive the issue. Other than that, there are online services that sell the book too, and Darren usually has them up on ebay. The 4 issues will be collected early next year, too.
Allen: What do you like to do with your spare time?
John: I play guitar and bass and love working with power tools- I actually think my next guitar will be a DIY les paul style body with a custom finish and PRS Electronics.
Allen: Do you do many comic book convention appearances?
John: I usually hit up the Heroes Con every summer in Charlotte, but that about does it. Occassionally I'll go to the one day shows that are within travelling distance, but that about does it.
Allen: If you had chance to work on any comic book series; which ones would you like to work on?
John: I'd enjoy drawing a fun Madman story or something with ninjas.
Allen: What is best way to contact you? Do you have website?
John: All the time! Although there aren't any Tom Corbett pages available as I'm doing this series all digital. But I work on commissions quite frequently.
Allen: Do you feel there will be another Tom Corbett series in future?
John: I hope so, he's a fun character to draw and I'm really digging blowing stuff up.
Allen: What are some future projects you are working on?
John: Nothing I can comment on at the moment due to NDA's, but I have a few side projects going on after I wrap up this series.
Allen: What inspires your curiosity?
John: I wish I had something inspiring to say here, but my imagination just goes wild when I'm drawing. Especially with music cranking in the background.
Allen: Thank you John DaCosta. It was fun working on interview with you. Would you like to leave us with any final thoughts about Tom Corbett: Space Cadet comic?
John: I had a blast, thanks for interviewing me. Tom Corbett: Space Cadet has been an absolute blast drawing and I think it, visually, has a lot to offer because it's not drawn in any specific style that has been done before. Aside from the art, it's been written by the mega talented Bill Spangler, a Tom Corbett expert, and a sci fi guru. Lastly, it's being released by BlueWater Prod- a company known for quality work. Darren's a wonderful person and a great guy to work with.