By Kiel Phegley
In David Finch's art, the little things deliver the biggest impact.
From the emotionally-charged faces that littered "
Avengers Disassembled" to the blood-spattered knuckles of MOON KNIGHT, Finch declares himself a details man in every new page.
This week, the release of the Ultimate Universe's biggest story in years in the form of ULTIMATUM heralds a new challenge for the artist who must work in his signature detailed style onto a giant canvass encompassing nearly every character ever introduced in the inventive imprint. Luckily, writer Jeph Loeb rides shotgun, and as Finch explains, the collaboration yields big changes, big images and a more than a few surprises that may or may not upset Ultimate fans.
Marvel.com: To kick off, David, I wanted to take it back a little to your first stint in the Ultimate Universe on ULTIMATE X-MEN. What was your take on the entire idea of re-launching the Marvel heroes to begin with?
David Finch: Honestly, at the time I was a little removed from it so I didn't put a lot of thought into it, but I remember that Marvel had just done a similar sort of book with [SPIDER-MAN: CHAPTER ONE] just before that, and it hadn't done very well. So I didn't think it was a very smart idea to do that. All the way around I didn't think it was going to work at all. It was a surprise for me, and I think it was a surprise for a lot of people. When the books finally came out they really grabbed me. It was all the best writers and artists at the time working on those books. I'm such a huge fan of the Ultimate Universe that finding reference wasn't a huge problem for me [this time]. I had most of it anyway. I did buy a few books, and a lot of things had changed since I was heavily involved.
Marvel.com: ULTIMATE X-MEN made some drastic changes to the way the X-mythos could be interpreted. Did you feel like it was easier to make drastic changes and take "dangerous" story turns like killing Beast because you weren't in the 616 universe proper?
David Finch: I think that's more so for the writers. They had a little more freedom because obviously they weren't constrained by the continuity the same way that they would be in the regular universe. But for my part, I really didn't have to reference as much in the same way that I would have to in a regular
X-Men book where there were so many years of history and everything being visually established. That was kind of
nice. There were a lot of things that were already visually established, but there were a lot of things that weren't so it was a chance to go crazy.
Marvel.com: On the flip side of that, ULTIMATUM promises to shake the Ultimate U in a big way. Is there a feeling out there that people don't want there to be big changes to the Ultimate line from a story point of view?
David Finch: I would have to figure yeah. They're such well-constructed stories and the characters are so alive. The regular universe characters I think have been really dealt with well over the last few years, but like I said, all the best writers were on the Ultimate books for a little while there, so I'm sure fans are very attached to the way things are. And I'm sure some people are going to be upset with us. It's going to be similar for me to the way that it was when I did NEW AVENGERS where we're taking a book that had been around for 40 years and has so much history and so many devoted fans…then we blew it up and killed characters and turned so many things on their heads. It was a little rough that way.
Marvel.com: Do you feel pretty toughened up for whatever fan response is coming thanks to "Avengers Disassembled"?
David Finch: Actually, [NEW AVENGERS] was a little tough for me. It was tough to get over the fan reaction at first. But I think I've gone through that now, so I'm not so worried about it this time. I do feel a big responsibility to do a lot of work that fans like, but to a certain extent, it's beyond our control. It's impossible to please everybody, and I try to keep that in mind. And I have a lot of respect for the people we don't please too. It's not like I put something out there and want to see people upset because these are characters that they care about. I do want as many people as possible to like it, but it's impossible to make everyone happy. I don't worry about it too much.
Marvel.com: Getting into the book itself, we know that a lot of what will happen in the issues have been seeded in the books coming out by Loeb and Brian Bendis over the past year or so—did you talk through what was coming up in the stories with the writers to see where things were going, or did you let the script pages just come in from Loeb and surprise you each month?
David Finch: It was both, I guess. I talked to Jeph Loeb a little bit when he was starting to write the book and had a little bit of input, but for the most part, I got the scripts when I got them, which I like because I get to read it like a fan and take it in all at once—not be so close to it. Because I haven't been involved with it that whole time, it probably comes across a little better in the artwork because it's [fresher] to me.
Marvel.com: Drawing an "event" book like this is different than almost anything else in comics. It's different even from something like NEW AVENGERS, but way different from more recent comics you've worked on like MOON KNIGHT. Have you switched up how you approach drawing pages due to the inclusion of such a huge cast?
David Finch: Yeah. There was definitely a lot more of a challenge in terms of making the scenes work. It was a big thing for me—I'm sure it's not for some artists—that the more broad things get and the more characters get involved, the more planning [it takes] to get things together. There's more reference involved in trying to make things fit to scale when you have an event book like this with the background and making the settings look believable. Especially when you want to create a lot of damage, things have to look believable in the first place otherwise it doesn't really have the impact that it could have.
Marvel.com: And since you've got such a detailed style where you're always focusing in on the little things about a character's look, it must be hard to keep that level up when you've got to pull way back and show a dozen characters in a big landscape.
David Finch: For sure. That's something I think Loeb has been very aware of. He's a great writer to work with because he knows that the less he puts on each page, the more I can bring to each individual character. As characters get very small, it's very hard for me to bring a lot to them, so he's great about showcasing each character and being aware of what I can do on an 11 x 13 piece of paper.
Marvel.com: Did your FALLEN SON issue help you two find what works in a collaborative sense before stepping into a big project like this?
David Finch: I think so, yeah. FALLEN SON didn't have as many scene changes or characters, but it did allow us to get a feel for how working with each other would go. And it was enough for me to know that I wanted to work with him again, and he said it was enough to want to work with me. And that was great. It was like an audition for us both.
Marvel.com: Did working on giant cast covers for things like X-MEN #200 help warm you up to take on ULTIMATUM? Did you say, "I've drawn every X-Man…I can draw anything!"?
David Finch: Not really. [
Laughs] I think there are still things that beat me pretty easily. I think in my career and thinking back to what exposed me…I remember drawing the Avengers fighting the
Kree Armada over Central Park in "Avengers Disassembled," and drawing all those ships and everything? It was just beyond me. Drawing a lot of characters is something I feel much more comfortable with.
Marvel.com: I was also wondering what things you had to adjust in presenting the Ultimate versions of certain characters as opposed to the Marvel Universe versions. Do you switch up how you draw a young Spider-Man or a team of X-Men who haven't been through all sorts of craziness like going into space?
David Finch: A little bit. It was one of the Avengers who caused the most trouble for me because I had drawn so [many Avengers stories] in the regular universe. I drew the regular
Iron Man and had to erase it at one point. With those characters, I had never drawn the Ultimate versions, and it was a bit of an adjustment. Aside from covers—and I'd done a lot of covers—with interior pages I'd only ever drawn the Ultimate X-Men, so that was like going back home. Ultimate Spider-Man was like that too because the first Spider-Man I drew for Marvel was Ultimate Spider-Man. So that was very comfortable.
Marvel.com: Overall, who are the characters that from an art standpoint you've had the most fun pushing to the forefront of this series that you didn't expect to be working with so much on the page?
David Finch: I would have to say Ultimate Hawkeye would be that character for me. I really like him a lot. He's got a bit role in the book, and I really like what Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch did with him originally and what Jeph Loeb and Joe [Madureira] did with him in [ULTIMATES 3]. I think I knew going in that I would like drawing him a lot.
Marvel.com: Since people will be seeing this before issue #1, is there anything you're excited for people to see when it hits stands?
David Finch: Yeah. What I'm actually most excited about is Steve Frichow being my colorist now. He was my old colorist back in the day, and he's the greatest. It was a lot of work to get him to do the book, and now that he is, I'm so glad. It's looks beautiful and brought my art to a whole new level which it couldn't have been at otherwise. And I've got Danny Miki inking who I've been working with for years, but it never changes, what he brings to a book. And I think he's doing the best work he's done over me on this stuff. He's gone over and above. The team I have now is stronger than I've ever had before, and I think it's going to make for a much stronger comic.
ULTIMATUM #1 erupts into stores tomorrow, November 5. For more info, visit Marvel.com's ULTIMATUM hub page. And to see where it all began, check out Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited!
Check out the official Marvel Shop for the best mighty Marvel merchandise!
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