Janson Speaks!

Comic Foundry is in the middle of a two-part interview with Klaus Janson. You know, the guy who inked Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil, and a lot of other good stuff. So far Janson has made some interesting comments.

On storytelling:

. . . The point of a comic book, the point of inker, penciler and colorist is to be able to communicate information. Sometimes it's in a general way and sometimes it's in a very specific way that is unique to the problems of a particular story or scene. Whether it's to communicate a point about the story or character or it's the ability to communicate to the reader that the scene takes place on a cold day, try convincing the reader it's cold through your art, for example. The goal of storytelling is to pass information from the writer/artist to the reader. And then on top of it you fucking have to be entertaining, too.

On photorealism in comics:

. . . Don't get me wrong, there have always been artists and comics that rely on photorealism including myself, I might add, but it's going too far. The problem is that the attempt to mimic realism in comics results in work that is very limited and constrained. By definition, you can only draw what you photograph or swipe from movies. The result is often panels that are very static and motionless. There's no movement. . .

On teaching:

. . . I shudder to think where I would be without teaching. I think I often learn much more than the students do. I find it extremely invaluable. I don't think I could give it up.

Checkout the rest of the interview.