Post by Kingoji on Dec 16, 2011 18:56:30 GMT
When most TransFormers fans hear the name John-Paul Bove, they might be forgiven for asking, "Who is this person? How do I get away from him? Is that a hunting knife strapped to his thigh?"
But in less than a year from now, those same people will be more likely to know him better. Like me, they'll be saying, "Hey, there's JP! He's a hip young guy! He rides a moped and listens to The Stereophonics!"
For John-Paul Bove is now confirmed as being attached as colourist to IDW's new title Regeneration One, which will potentially be the highest profile TransFormers book in a good number of years. This book will be picking up the story of the original Marvel run of comics from the 1980's, written and illustrated by the same gentlemen who made it so great in the first place. This is a title which, unlike the rhetoric for the last few years of TransFormers publicity, was literally demanded by YOU, the fans!
I happen to be in the unique position of knowing where John-Paul lives, and also the most opportune time to abduct those he loves. With that in mind, he agreed to do an informal interview with your's truly, and I'm going to share that interview with you now. FEEL BLESSED!
First of all, thanks for breaking yourself away from work long enough for a natter.
Well, you did break into my house so I did feel like I should probably stop what I was doing and pay attention to you…
There are people in this world who may not know the name John-Paul Bove. So… Who do you think you are?
At last count there were up to seven billion people who didn't know who I was! Well, I'm a confusing mix of Italian and Irish raised in England, so I tend to tell funny stories while waving my arms around… all with my bowler hat on, of course. I'm a colourist and writer, and as such am always in desperate need of sleep.
At Auto Assembly 2011 it seemed like we were going to have to place all of the colourists in attendance in a pitched battle to the death to see who was going to get the gig for TransFormers: Regeneration One. Many of them still live, yet you were the one to get the job. You must be feeling rather pleased with yourself.
Well, it was suggested that we have the battle music from Star Trek queued up, but a particular colourist whom I shall not name (Liam) wanted it to take place nude and the idea sort of fizzled out.
In truth, I wasn't sure I had a chance, because these are all guys who I have huge respect for and whose work I love. And it wasn't just in the UK that guys were hoping to get their nibs on this book, so it seemed even more unlikely.
All I can tell you is how much this book means to me. The original run was pretty much the defining run of any book for me, and I can still remember reading the issue where Primus has called back his children to Cybertron and it opens with nothing but a coiled up Unicron in a sea of white and being totally blown away [The Void!, US #74/UK #317]. The idea of a mythology for them rather than the obvious "they were built" origin just seemed genius to me.
And I would pore over every page, every panel, every line, every rendered dent and rivet, and be endlessly fascinated by it. I'd try to copy the images, but I realized fairly quickly that I was a bit crap with pencils and inks… but I was inspired to want to tell my own stories, to want to have that effect on other people. That book was the founding stone in my wanting to tell stories and ultimately work in comics.
So would it be fair to say that the comics were more present in your youth than the cartoons?
Well, I had very little access to the cartoon for many years. I had maybe a dozen episodes on tape and of course the movie, which is also a defining, iconic moment of TF-dom for me. Plus as a kid the cartoons were very stand-alone in nature, and the comic story would build and build and you were rewarded for following it.
The dashing Jason Cardy, with his dreamy flowing locks and, let's face it, far superior skills, is only colourist for some covers of the book, yet you got the sequencials. What makes you so special?
I knew it was pointless trying to fight for your affections when you love Jason so badly!
Well, Jason's schedule didn't allow him to do the interiors, so that left the covers… which are magnificent. So I'm not that special, really!
As far as the interiors go, the book requires an unusual style of colouring for which I auditioned in a half-dozen different ways. I think they were looking for something that would work with the traditional style inks and yet still have a bit of new-school to it. It's a difficult juggling act, but we found something everyone could agree on and be happy with. It's a million miles from my usual style. That's a bit of a dull story, maybe I should make something else up? Um, I challenged Simon [Furman] to a life or death game of Connect 4, and rather than accept death I got the colouring gig.
I hear that Simon carries a battered, war-torn old Connect 4 coin around with him at all times, which he named The Executioner.
Simon does, he really does (he doesn't, he really doesn't).
I get the impression that Mr. Wildman had a lot of sway in the decision to take you on… how would you describe that process in general?
Ultimately the decision as to who to choose to go with goes with the creative team and the editor, and they have all had a say and input and a hand in the end result. But I will say that knowing that Andy liked my work and was rooting for me on this is as big as landing the book, to be honest!
The process was a long one, and in truth a very necessary one. These guys love this book, they love this world, and they know how much everyone is waiting for it, how high expectations are. My own expectations were sky high even before I knew I was involved. I don't know if I'd have even had a chance if Andy hadn't liked my work on his pencils and Stephen's [Baskerville] inks, and of course if John [Barber] hadn't seen something there, too.
So there was quite a bit of passing back and forth of the colour samples trying to get the feel right, and rightly so! Can you give us any examples of the kinds of changes you were asked to make?
I think we settled on the way the characters would be rendered pretty quick, but mostly it was changes until things just "felt" right. The deep heavy inks don't suit a more modern colouring style, and the totally old-school looks a bit peculiar on modern paper stock so it was really a lot of back and forth trying to figure out what was the best place somewhere in the middle. You know, would their optics glow? Would the colour palette be as restricted as back in the day? Would there be colour holds and haze and stuff like that. I ended up doing a lot of versions of the same page with some small and some large changes until something that worked for everybody was reached. There's still a bit of figuring this out on each page to be done! Fan expectation is very divided as far as I can see on the boards as to which direction to go, but my aim is to make it feel "right" as subjective a judgement as that is.
How many issues ahead would you say you, as a team, are working at the moment?
The book is waaaay ahead of schedule, which is good because I get a chance to take a bit longer than usual on the pages to get that balancing act right between the old and the new and spend as long as possible referencing the old stuff to keep it feeling right.
Without naming names, have any characters appeared which have caught you by surprise?
I really, really can't say. This is totally one for the other guys to really comment on.
What I will say is how satisfying it is to see these characters again drawn how you remember them. It really is like the book took a wee break after the last issue.
Though I will say how surprised I was to see Huffer as the new Prime and that Grimlock's new alt-mode is Teddy Ruxpin.
Why-- the HELL-- TransFormers?
To me they are the best toys ever made. I love cars. I love robots. AND THEY ARE BOTH!
Okay, I'm calm now. I love the toys and I love the mythology the comics built up. Marvel and IDW in particular, though The War Within stands out from the Dreamwave run. They could have been just another toy tie-in, but so much care has been taken with them that it still endures somehow.
Any characters you're particularly fond of?
Optimus Prime, because he's a hero. He has his doubts, but he always knows what to do and he always has the balls to do it. Wheeljack, because I loved that toy. Skywarp, because he was my first toy.
Any maybe not so much?
Most of Armada was a bit duff for me, and the one toy line I absolutely don't get is Animated. I really don't like the aesthetic, although the way they're coloured looks lovely.
Would that go for the respective shows and comics as well?
I never really got the chance to connect to the Animated comics or show, partly because of the look. People keep telling me that it's awesome, but I just haven't had the chance to catch either. I will remedy that one day.
Thoughts on the Beast Era?
I thought I would hate Beast Wars. Again, the idea of them being animals just seemed weird. And then by accident one morning I caught the end of season two and found BW Megs blowing Optimus Prime's face off on board The Ark [The Agenda, part 3] and nearly fell over with excitement!
After that I picked up the show on trusty ol' VHS and fell in love with it. Well written, smart, good characterisation (yeeees) and lovingly crafted to tie in and out of continuities past. I've quite enjoyed the toys too, for the most part. I'd love to write some Beast Wars stuff one day…
For the past few years, you've been like a convention parasite; invading any and every sci-fi/fantasy convention that you could burrow yourself into with a table and a laptop. How has that been for you?
Yes, and I've been known to bring along the odd (very odd) waif and stray with me!
I've really enjoyed the con experience and I've made some incredible friends as a result. The first con I ever went to just to visit, I met Andy and Simon for the first time and was so completely overwhelmed, but I (think I) managed to get across that I was a huge fan without looking like a total berk.
I first started being on the other side of the table when my stories started being published a few years back, but my first stint as a colourist at a con was the London Film and Comic Con when Casey [Coller] came to town, and that was an absolute blast! I haven't really looked back since. I probably should, I hear an awful lot of screaming from back there…
Until this year I hadn't ever been to a dedicated TF con, mainly through other commitments but attended Roll Out, Roll Call (which covers GI Joe too) in Bornemouth (Southampton for 2012), BotCon and AutoAssembly, each of which were amazing in very different ways. I don't think my schedule will stretch to BotCon this year but both Roll Out/Roll Call and Auto Assembly are even bigger and better in 2012 so I can't wait!
Most of the time you drag your poor life-partner Jessica Bradley around with you, where she no doubt spends all her time apologising for you. Why do you do it to her, the poor thing?
It's totally the other way 'round! She's been making her own comics and is a successful illustrator in her own right, and I first ended up going to cons because of her! Nowadays, sometimes she is the con widow and sometimes I am depending on the type of show. I have a lot more fun when I'm helping her out because I get a lot less stress, and I think she feels the same.
Your most frequent 'Net-handle is Wordmongerer, and as you have said you have also written quite a bit, including some incredibly well-received turns for TransFormers: Mosaic and creating War Journal. Would you ever turn your hand to writing now that you're working on the franchise for realz?
I've been writing for a lot longer than I've been colouring, but I've been focussing on the colouring for the last few years… but I love to write. I love the craft of it, I love to work on it and hone it. I love the feeling of all these ideas percolating in my head and distilling it into something special. I'm still very surprised every time I get a bit of good feedback on my work, but the reaction just makes me even more eager to get something written in the TransFormers universe. I always feel like that with the stories I have written I'm always looking for a new angle on things, in seeing angles that haven't been explored, and I'd love to play in the worlds that Simon, John, Nick, and James have built. I'd love to one day work on something with them when the timing is right, but for the foreseeable future the stage is set and I'm very excited to see where it's heading. In no way should anyone bombard IDW in support of me writing a one-shot or something. Please don't. Honestly.
[Bombard IDW with support of John-Paul writing a one-shot or something by contacting lettersATidwpublishingDOTcom] If it's okay with you, JP, I'm gonna quick fire you with a few questions from forum members from around the web.
First of all, DR.WHEN wants to know, "What is your working environment usually like? Do you have music or the TV on in the back?"
Usually chaotic! Right now I've got the TransFormers Universe guide from 1987, the More Than Meets The Eye guides, and a toy guide for colour referencing as well as half a dozen trade paper backs of the original Marvel run as I'm constantly having to check things to keep it consistent. I need background noise to work properly, so I tend to shove on something I've seen a hundred times before and just let it roll on in the background. Because most of my hours are spent colouring I tend to just listen to films and TV.
BLOT wonders, "Will Blot be in new book?"
I haven't seen him yet. And if I had I couldn't tell you. But I didn't. He might be, though. Or not.
DRIFT'S_SOGGY_DREAM asks, "Do you know any dirty jokes?"
Yes. That is all I will say on the subject.
MIRAGEFANBOI(AGE9) queries, "My favourite goody robot is Mirage. What is your favourite colour to use when you're colouring the bits on Mirage?"
I always colour him in his invisible mode.
~MYRUMNERDWARGOESTHERE2000~ ponders, "When you write, do you hear the voices of the characters from the TV shows and films in your head?"
Totally. Although the comic stands out to me for the writing, it's the cartoon actor's portrayal that I would hear when I read the dialogue. I've definitely got their voices in my head when I write, but I'm always trying to get what they're thinking first.
SUCKMYTYRANNY ends us sensibly with, "Any books aside from TransFormers that you'd love to work on?"
Well, this is my absolute dream book, but there are others I'd love to be involved with: Spider-Man, Iron Man (a lot of The Avengers folk), Star Trek, the Buffy/Angel books. I really want to get some creator-owned stuff done too on the writing side, and I'm hoping to have an anthology of short stories out in 2012. I've also worked on Dr. Who and Godzilla, and I'd love to do some more there again at some point.
John-Paul, it has been a challenge to face you once again, but now that I have… don't ever leave me.
I'll never leave you. *leaves*
…Bitch.
You can keep up with John-Paul at his deviantArt gallery and/or blog.
wordmongerer.deviantart.com/
wordmongerer.blogspot.com/
But in less than a year from now, those same people will be more likely to know him better. Like me, they'll be saying, "Hey, there's JP! He's a hip young guy! He rides a moped and listens to The Stereophonics!"
For John-Paul Bove is now confirmed as being attached as colourist to IDW's new title Regeneration One, which will potentially be the highest profile TransFormers book in a good number of years. This book will be picking up the story of the original Marvel run of comics from the 1980's, written and illustrated by the same gentlemen who made it so great in the first place. This is a title which, unlike the rhetoric for the last few years of TransFormers publicity, was literally demanded by YOU, the fans!
I happen to be in the unique position of knowing where John-Paul lives, and also the most opportune time to abduct those he loves. With that in mind, he agreed to do an informal interview with your's truly, and I'm going to share that interview with you now. FEEL BLESSED!
First of all, thanks for breaking yourself away from work long enough for a natter.
Well, you did break into my house so I did feel like I should probably stop what I was doing and pay attention to you…
There are people in this world who may not know the name John-Paul Bove. So… Who do you think you are?
At last count there were up to seven billion people who didn't know who I was! Well, I'm a confusing mix of Italian and Irish raised in England, so I tend to tell funny stories while waving my arms around… all with my bowler hat on, of course. I'm a colourist and writer, and as such am always in desperate need of sleep.
At Auto Assembly 2011 it seemed like we were going to have to place all of the colourists in attendance in a pitched battle to the death to see who was going to get the gig for TransFormers: Regeneration One. Many of them still live, yet you were the one to get the job. You must be feeling rather pleased with yourself.
Well, it was suggested that we have the battle music from Star Trek queued up, but a particular colourist whom I shall not name (Liam) wanted it to take place nude and the idea sort of fizzled out.
In truth, I wasn't sure I had a chance, because these are all guys who I have huge respect for and whose work I love. And it wasn't just in the UK that guys were hoping to get their nibs on this book, so it seemed even more unlikely.
All I can tell you is how much this book means to me. The original run was pretty much the defining run of any book for me, and I can still remember reading the issue where Primus has called back his children to Cybertron and it opens with nothing but a coiled up Unicron in a sea of white and being totally blown away [The Void!, US #74/UK #317]. The idea of a mythology for them rather than the obvious "they were built" origin just seemed genius to me.
And I would pore over every page, every panel, every line, every rendered dent and rivet, and be endlessly fascinated by it. I'd try to copy the images, but I realized fairly quickly that I was a bit crap with pencils and inks… but I was inspired to want to tell my own stories, to want to have that effect on other people. That book was the founding stone in my wanting to tell stories and ultimately work in comics.
So would it be fair to say that the comics were more present in your youth than the cartoons?
Well, I had very little access to the cartoon for many years. I had maybe a dozen episodes on tape and of course the movie, which is also a defining, iconic moment of TF-dom for me. Plus as a kid the cartoons were very stand-alone in nature, and the comic story would build and build and you were rewarded for following it.
The dashing Jason Cardy, with his dreamy flowing locks and, let's face it, far superior skills, is only colourist for some covers of the book, yet you got the sequencials. What makes you so special?
I knew it was pointless trying to fight for your affections when you love Jason so badly!
Well, Jason's schedule didn't allow him to do the interiors, so that left the covers… which are magnificent. So I'm not that special, really!
As far as the interiors go, the book requires an unusual style of colouring for which I auditioned in a half-dozen different ways. I think they were looking for something that would work with the traditional style inks and yet still have a bit of new-school to it. It's a difficult juggling act, but we found something everyone could agree on and be happy with. It's a million miles from my usual style. That's a bit of a dull story, maybe I should make something else up? Um, I challenged Simon [Furman] to a life or death game of Connect 4, and rather than accept death I got the colouring gig.
I hear that Simon carries a battered, war-torn old Connect 4 coin around with him at all times, which he named The Executioner.
Simon does, he really does (he doesn't, he really doesn't).
I get the impression that Mr. Wildman had a lot of sway in the decision to take you on… how would you describe that process in general?
Ultimately the decision as to who to choose to go with goes with the creative team and the editor, and they have all had a say and input and a hand in the end result. But I will say that knowing that Andy liked my work and was rooting for me on this is as big as landing the book, to be honest!
The process was a long one, and in truth a very necessary one. These guys love this book, they love this world, and they know how much everyone is waiting for it, how high expectations are. My own expectations were sky high even before I knew I was involved. I don't know if I'd have even had a chance if Andy hadn't liked my work on his pencils and Stephen's [Baskerville] inks, and of course if John [Barber] hadn't seen something there, too.
So there was quite a bit of passing back and forth of the colour samples trying to get the feel right, and rightly so! Can you give us any examples of the kinds of changes you were asked to make?
I think we settled on the way the characters would be rendered pretty quick, but mostly it was changes until things just "felt" right. The deep heavy inks don't suit a more modern colouring style, and the totally old-school looks a bit peculiar on modern paper stock so it was really a lot of back and forth trying to figure out what was the best place somewhere in the middle. You know, would their optics glow? Would the colour palette be as restricted as back in the day? Would there be colour holds and haze and stuff like that. I ended up doing a lot of versions of the same page with some small and some large changes until something that worked for everybody was reached. There's still a bit of figuring this out on each page to be done! Fan expectation is very divided as far as I can see on the boards as to which direction to go, but my aim is to make it feel "right" as subjective a judgement as that is.
How many issues ahead would you say you, as a team, are working at the moment?
The book is waaaay ahead of schedule, which is good because I get a chance to take a bit longer than usual on the pages to get that balancing act right between the old and the new and spend as long as possible referencing the old stuff to keep it feeling right.
Without naming names, have any characters appeared which have caught you by surprise?
I really, really can't say. This is totally one for the other guys to really comment on.
What I will say is how satisfying it is to see these characters again drawn how you remember them. It really is like the book took a wee break after the last issue.
Though I will say how surprised I was to see Huffer as the new Prime and that Grimlock's new alt-mode is Teddy Ruxpin.
Why-- the HELL-- TransFormers?
To me they are the best toys ever made. I love cars. I love robots. AND THEY ARE BOTH!
Okay, I'm calm now. I love the toys and I love the mythology the comics built up. Marvel and IDW in particular, though The War Within stands out from the Dreamwave run. They could have been just another toy tie-in, but so much care has been taken with them that it still endures somehow.
Any characters you're particularly fond of?
Optimus Prime, because he's a hero. He has his doubts, but he always knows what to do and he always has the balls to do it. Wheeljack, because I loved that toy. Skywarp, because he was my first toy.
Any maybe not so much?
Most of Armada was a bit duff for me, and the one toy line I absolutely don't get is Animated. I really don't like the aesthetic, although the way they're coloured looks lovely.
Would that go for the respective shows and comics as well?
I never really got the chance to connect to the Animated comics or show, partly because of the look. People keep telling me that it's awesome, but I just haven't had the chance to catch either. I will remedy that one day.
Thoughts on the Beast Era?
I thought I would hate Beast Wars. Again, the idea of them being animals just seemed weird. And then by accident one morning I caught the end of season two and found BW Megs blowing Optimus Prime's face off on board The Ark [The Agenda, part 3] and nearly fell over with excitement!
After that I picked up the show on trusty ol' VHS and fell in love with it. Well written, smart, good characterisation (yeeees) and lovingly crafted to tie in and out of continuities past. I've quite enjoyed the toys too, for the most part. I'd love to write some Beast Wars stuff one day…
For the past few years, you've been like a convention parasite; invading any and every sci-fi/fantasy convention that you could burrow yourself into with a table and a laptop. How has that been for you?
Yes, and I've been known to bring along the odd (very odd) waif and stray with me!
I've really enjoyed the con experience and I've made some incredible friends as a result. The first con I ever went to just to visit, I met Andy and Simon for the first time and was so completely overwhelmed, but I (think I) managed to get across that I was a huge fan without looking like a total berk.
I first started being on the other side of the table when my stories started being published a few years back, but my first stint as a colourist at a con was the London Film and Comic Con when Casey [Coller] came to town, and that was an absolute blast! I haven't really looked back since. I probably should, I hear an awful lot of screaming from back there…
Until this year I hadn't ever been to a dedicated TF con, mainly through other commitments but attended Roll Out, Roll Call (which covers GI Joe too) in Bornemouth (Southampton for 2012), BotCon and AutoAssembly, each of which were amazing in very different ways. I don't think my schedule will stretch to BotCon this year but both Roll Out/Roll Call and Auto Assembly are even bigger and better in 2012 so I can't wait!
Most of the time you drag your poor life-partner Jessica Bradley around with you, where she no doubt spends all her time apologising for you. Why do you do it to her, the poor thing?
It's totally the other way 'round! She's been making her own comics and is a successful illustrator in her own right, and I first ended up going to cons because of her! Nowadays, sometimes she is the con widow and sometimes I am depending on the type of show. I have a lot more fun when I'm helping her out because I get a lot less stress, and I think she feels the same.
Your most frequent 'Net-handle is Wordmongerer, and as you have said you have also written quite a bit, including some incredibly well-received turns for TransFormers: Mosaic and creating War Journal. Would you ever turn your hand to writing now that you're working on the franchise for realz?
I've been writing for a lot longer than I've been colouring, but I've been focussing on the colouring for the last few years… but I love to write. I love the craft of it, I love to work on it and hone it. I love the feeling of all these ideas percolating in my head and distilling it into something special. I'm still very surprised every time I get a bit of good feedback on my work, but the reaction just makes me even more eager to get something written in the TransFormers universe. I always feel like that with the stories I have written I'm always looking for a new angle on things, in seeing angles that haven't been explored, and I'd love to play in the worlds that Simon, John, Nick, and James have built. I'd love to one day work on something with them when the timing is right, but for the foreseeable future the stage is set and I'm very excited to see where it's heading. In no way should anyone bombard IDW in support of me writing a one-shot or something. Please don't. Honestly.
[Bombard IDW with support of John-Paul writing a one-shot or something by contacting lettersATidwpublishingDOTcom] If it's okay with you, JP, I'm gonna quick fire you with a few questions from forum members from around the web.
First of all, DR.WHEN wants to know, "What is your working environment usually like? Do you have music or the TV on in the back?"
Usually chaotic! Right now I've got the TransFormers Universe guide from 1987, the More Than Meets The Eye guides, and a toy guide for colour referencing as well as half a dozen trade paper backs of the original Marvel run as I'm constantly having to check things to keep it consistent. I need background noise to work properly, so I tend to shove on something I've seen a hundred times before and just let it roll on in the background. Because most of my hours are spent colouring I tend to just listen to films and TV.
BLOT wonders, "Will Blot be in new book?"
I haven't seen him yet. And if I had I couldn't tell you. But I didn't. He might be, though. Or not.
DRIFT'S_SOGGY_DREAM asks, "Do you know any dirty jokes?"
Yes. That is all I will say on the subject.
MIRAGEFANBOI(AGE9) queries, "My favourite goody robot is Mirage. What is your favourite colour to use when you're colouring the bits on Mirage?"
I always colour him in his invisible mode.
~MYRUMNERDWARGOESTHERE2000~ ponders, "When you write, do you hear the voices of the characters from the TV shows and films in your head?"
Totally. Although the comic stands out to me for the writing, it's the cartoon actor's portrayal that I would hear when I read the dialogue. I've definitely got their voices in my head when I write, but I'm always trying to get what they're thinking first.
SUCKMYTYRANNY ends us sensibly with, "Any books aside from TransFormers that you'd love to work on?"
Well, this is my absolute dream book, but there are others I'd love to be involved with: Spider-Man, Iron Man (a lot of The Avengers folk), Star Trek, the Buffy/Angel books. I really want to get some creator-owned stuff done too on the writing side, and I'm hoping to have an anthology of short stories out in 2012. I've also worked on Dr. Who and Godzilla, and I'd love to do some more there again at some point.
John-Paul, it has been a challenge to face you once again, but now that I have… don't ever leave me.
I'll never leave you. *leaves*
…Bitch.
You can keep up with John-Paul at his deviantArt gallery and/or blog.
wordmongerer.deviantart.com/
wordmongerer.blogspot.com/
