A CONVERSATION WITH MIKE DEODATO JR
  
       
 

Mike Deodato broke into the U.S. market with projects like Malibu's Santa Claws and Innovation's Beauty and the Beast. Deodato then made a name for himself with a popular run on DC Comics' Wonder Woman. Deodato became one of the decade's most prolific and in-demand artists, including Marvel credits such as Avengers, Elektra, Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man and Thor. Deodato went on to land one of his favorite assignments to date, collaborating with writer Bruce Jones on Incredible Hulk. Subsequent assignments for the currently Marvel-exclusive artist have included Witches, New Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, Thunderbolts and his latest ongoing series, Wolverine: Origins.

  
             
 

INTERVIEW
 
On Comics Into Film 
 
1. Is it a suitable argument that there would not be films without a comic strip?

Not exactly.  Both started at the beginning of the 20th Century.  Comics strips, in other words visual, sequential storytelling as a form, began as far back as painting on the walls of caves, through the dentures, and finally became a commercial medium around 1900 or so.  Lots of people credit The Yellow Kid as the first American comic strip. The 1930s and 40s, of course, were the prime time ofthe comics strips in newspapers -- given that newspapers often gave a full page to the top illustrative strips.

Films developed on a parallel course, but it only made sense that, with both media dealing with storytelling, that storyboards - -essentially comic book layouts - -would help the directors envision the scripts better.

2. Is the storyboarding process more important than the actual filming?

Of course not.  Thousands of movies and TV shows have been created without extensive storyboarding.  Storyboards are simply one more tool in the arsenal of creating movies.

On the flip side, wasn't it Alfred Hitchcock, after a year of developing a script with a writer, and extensively storyboarding every shot, who said, "I've finished the movie.  Now all I have to do is film it"?
 
On National Identity
 

3. Would you say that hero comic books (such as Superman and Batman) played a more important role in shaping American youth culture opposed to British culture?

No.  British culture -- everything from the Beatles' music and haircuts and Twiggy to Monty Python's Flying Circus and Princess Diana -- have affected music, attitudes, fashion, and much, much more.  While comic book heroes meant a lot to SOME children growing up, the comic books themselves have always been a niche market, a specialty thing catering primarily to boys.

4. It is said that British films tend to be less exaggerated than American films, and mirror real life. Would you agree that British comics and American comics have definitive styles?

I haven't seen that many British comics aside from a few 2000 AD's and JUDGE DREDD books.  Since those artists have migrated to American publisher, and so have their writers, American comics have further bubbled into a melting pot of styles from all over the world.
 
On Graphic Novels 
 
5. Do you believe that graphic novels are a lot less risky than film due to their lower costs?

Of course!  Anything can be done in a comic book with just a page rate and a lot of imagination from a select handful of people.  Movies costs tens of millions - -sometimes hundreds of millions- - to make.  Just ask James Cameron.

6. Does a graphic novel provoke more personal interpretation than a film? How?

Of course, again.  Because only a handful of people create a graphic novel, where it akes hundreds to make the typical feature film.
 
On Imagery 
 
7. The still imagery in a comic book/ graphic novel is the snapshot of a single moment. This leaves the moments immediatelybeforehand and afterward open to interpretation. Is this a good point or a bad point?

Is it a point at all?  Comics simply work by showcasing the most dramatic visual point of every scene, much like the sports photographer capturing the most compelling, powerful moment.

8. In comic books the visuals are extremely important. Would you say that the media used to illustrate the comic is vital to the mood of the storyline?

The media:  Pencil, pen, and paper?  Or ink and paper for the printed book.  Comics can deal with huge budget-type event stories and small, personal stories alike.  Comics also can handle introspection better than a movie, can do voice-overs as captions better than a movie, in general.  Those are chief differences.
 
On Readership
 
9. It has come apparent to me that the comic world has always been dominated by the male sex. Do you believe that this is because of the"adolescent male" stigma attached?

I think that's an American bias more than anything else.  You don't see that attitude in Japan.  The #1 problem with comics today isn't even limited genres -- such as super-heroes -- because there are comics out there on practically every subject.  What's lacking is broad DISTRIBUTION of comics so everyone can get them as an impulse buy rather than travelling sometimes great distances to get to comics shops.  But that's a whole other subject, and a long one at that.

10. Do you believe that comic books are still mostly targeted at teenage boys?

No, they're targeted at an ever-shrinking market of men who used to be teenage boys.
 
11. Do you personally think that comic books are just as important as literature and film?

Yes.  Because comics are literature in their own way and are more tactile than film. 

12. Do you think that they should be rewarded a status as an educational tool for children who refuse to read novels etc, as they are still feeding the childs mind and imagination through imagery?

They are already an educational tool.  I know a lot of older comic fans who learned a lot of language skills by reading Stan Lee's comics.

Beyond that, there ARE plenty of educational comics being produced.  My agent Dave Campiti at Glass House Graphics told me they did 970 pages of comics for one educational publisher fairly recently, and are in the middle of producing several hundred pages of educational comics for another publisher right now.

13. Do you believe that reading comic books/graphic novels has influenced and helped to shape the person that you are now? Please elaborate...

Yes, it has.  Most obviously, they've become a good career to me, and I'm known all over the world as a top artist in the business.  Thanks to an industry I love and that treats me well, I couldn't be happier.
 
 
Check Mike Deodato out at his Glass House Graphics page, his webpage, or his twitter.
 
 

 
 
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