and you can tell he is one of those up and comers that you will be seeing much more from in the future. Jason is currently working on the art for Blood & Silver, six issue mini-series due to come out at Angel Gate Press in 2007. It is with great honor that we present this Q&Q session with the talented Mr. Reeves.
Comics Fairplay: How did you get into the industry?
Jason Reeves: Basically, Comicon. I cobbled together my monetary resources and made the trip from New Orleans to San Diego, where I spent most of my time in the portfolio reviews- one of which happened to be for Mr. Quenton Shaw and QEW Publishing. After five days of portfolio critiques, the sights and sounds of Comicon and an all- around great time I departed San Diego feeling pretty good about the experience. I was only home for a few days when Quenton called me about the “Blood & Silver” project, which I am still working on to this day.
CF: Tell me about your influences?
JR: I’m influenced by any form of art that speaks to me on a kinetic or spiritual level.
I’m really influenced by action-oriented, gritty and realistic movies ~ Films by Quentin Tarantino, Ridley Scott, the Wachoski Bros., Spike Lee, or Martin Scorsese ~ I love these guys!
I have great respect for writers as diverse as Grant Morrison, Robert Kirkman, Chinua Ashby, and Chuck Palahniuk.
Illustrators who I admire include Alphonse Mucha, Jim Lee, Bryan Hitch, Eduardo Risso ~ those are the biggest names.
There are several less well-known illustrators ~ John-Ruben Milton, Rashad Doucet, Adam Gillespie and Lee Moyer ~ these are the artists who influence me every day!
CF: What audience are you hoping to reach with your work?
JR: Everyone. The more people, the better. Hopefully, the messages I choose to convey with my work (through writing or drawing) are things that will provoke thought and dialogue For me its not so much about a specific audience, I believe that think everyone should make it a point to read and thoroughly digest all types of art and genres. I believe in being well-rounded and open to new ideas. Also I’m very interested in others thoughts on my work, I feel that the more feedback I receive, the better my work becomes. Other peoples' thoughts are fuel to me.
CF: What unique qualities do you possess that make you stand out from your peers?
JR: I'm still early enough in my career that it any answer I gave you would be unsatisfactory. I'd much rather hear your thoughts on that and hope to learn from your observation.
CF: What project are you currently working on?
JR: “Blood & Silver” for QEW Publishing,
Design work for Wizards of the Coast.
Designing work Illustration and design for a superhero role-playing game called “Gestalt”. Ideally, a nine page short comic story for Image Comics “Negative Burn”.
And my website continues to evolve at:
CF: How many issues is your project and when do you foresee it being solicited? Anything special you can mention right now?
JR: “Blood&Silver” is a six issue mini-series do out in ’07. As far as any thing special I can only say it’s gonna rock! And I should know, I’ve seen the pages.
CF: What do you think about the industry today? Where do you see the industry five years from now?
JR: It’s so diverse now from the content it has assimilated ~ all forms of art from cinematography to expressionism. Finally people are starting to realize the potential this medium has. Manga sales are booming right now, the movies are doing very well, there are several hit TV. shows, and comics are showing up in major publications ~ we’re all over the place! I believe that these advances will continue to make our industry thrive. It’s an exciting time.I hope that five years from now, greater attention, a larger readership, and more companies looking to diversify and create bold new content will continue to reinvigorate the medium. Today I see some of the most creative sequential artists waiting to take comics to the next level on sites like Deviantart. Five years hence it will be wonderful to see many of them at their professional peak.
CF: Tell me something about yourself that has nothing to do with comic books but that people might find interesting or surprising?
JR: I’m a native of New Orleans, LA who stayed through the duration of Hurricane Katrina. I was stranded in a hotel for six days before being rescued via airboat. I stood in the hurricane winds, saw the flood waters rise, witnessed people loot a nearby gas station convenience store ~ basically I saw everything that you all saw on the news (and many things that were ignored) in person.
CF: Where would you like to see yourself five years from now?
JR: Working on some of my creator-owned properties as well as some mainstream stuff. I’d also like to test the waters of the film industry. I really want to make one of my stories into an anime, like “Ninja Scroll”. A live action movie of one of my stories would be cool too. I'd love to see what Hollywood has to offer.
CF: Any closing comments?
JR: I guess I’d just like to express my love for this field. I’ve been reading comics since I was ten years old. I’m so excited to be in the club I’ve revered for years which includes the likes of Jack Kirby, Grant Morrison, Alan Moore, and Alex Ross!I just hope I can add something to that rich tapestry.
Go check out Jason's website, and remember the name. I am sure it is one we will be hearing much more from.
2 comments:
His work is very good. I'll have to keep my eye open for his comics in '07. Great interview!
Lisa- I am really looking forward to seeing Jason's work published as well. These up and coming creators have got me reinvigorated about the industry and it's future to be sure.
Take care!
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