Tuesday Q&A: Carlos Pacheco

The superstar artist celebrates his return to Marvel by delving into his new work and sharing his all-time favorites

Posted Jan 20, 2009 12:00 am

Updated Jan 23, 2009 11:34 am

By Kiel Phegley Marvel.com brought first word of acclaimed artist Carlos Pacheco's return to Marvel by unveiling his stunning "parent variant" cover for Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman and Stefano Casselli's SECRET WARRIORS #1. This week, we go straight to the source for the full story on the cover's creation, the artist's thoughts on the strength of the Marvel Universe and his wish list for future work with the company.

Marvel.com: Once you had the assignment for the SECRET WARRIORS #1 variant cover, what was your goal in laying out the image? Carlos Pacheco: Last time I worked with [Marvel Executive Editor] Tom [Brevoort] was more than 10 years ago. This is quite a long time, but working again with him was like being back just a day

SECRET
WARRIORS #1
variant cover by
Carlos Pacheco

after. "Hey, Carlos, a piece with Mr. Hyde, Phantom Rider, The Griffin and some other characters but use just a few." No references, no guidelines—Tom knows I love to play with the obscure corners of the Marvel Universe. The only information I had was they were to be introduced [as] the parents of the brand new characters in SECRET INVASION. This meant that I didn't want to [portray them as they've usually been seen, [as] raging villains. I thought they deserved to be treated in a more reflexive way—not sure how reflexive the Griffin can be. I gave Mr. Hyde a stick. I gave the Griffin an animal attitude, not aggressive, but cautious, and gave the Phantom Rider a duster instead this famous glowing cape and the skeleton horse. Marvel.com: Were you familiar with all three characters before getting this gig? Carlos Pacheco: Sure! I was there when Mr. Hyde and Cobra fought Thor for the first time! Hey man, I did AVENGERS FOREVER! Oh, Marvel has forgotten me! [Laughs] How sad. Don't let my youthful looks confuse you. And I was also there when our always lovely and never forgotten grey/blue Beast met the Griffin. I also read the original GHOST RIDER eons ago. Marvel Comics started to be published in Spain 10 years after they sprang in the USA. Marvel.com: Do you typically do a color test for a cover gig before something like this? Once you move on, do you use a lightbox in pencils? I guess what I'm asking is what your general process is like for a cover and how similar or different this piece was from past assignments.
AVENGERS
FOREVER
Carlos Pacheco: That's it! The sketches used to have a strength that is lost if I try to redo the piece in a separate piece. Using the lightbox helps me to preserve the spontaneity of the original sketch. I cannot do this in all the comic pages I do, but it is something that I try to do often. And I do love to do the colors. To play with the illumination, volumes, and to intensify the feeling you want to transmit according with the coloring. Just keep in mind that the first impact you receive when opening a comic book comes from the color. Marvel.com: In a more general sense, it's been a while since fans have seen your work at Marvel. What's the attraction to the Marvel characters for you? And how much do you adapt your style to fit with characters like the Fantastic Four or the X-Men? Carlos Pacheco: I think the Marvel Characters have a lifeline very well-defined, and like human beings, there is a definitive moment in the biography of each one. Moments where every character found his place under the sun. You can carry them as far as you want from these moments, experiment with them as much as you want, but there's always a place to return. These moments of the past work as a guideline that preserves them from being lost in the need of experimentation. Even if you play in a new courtyard like the Ultimate Universe you know these roots still exists, and even forgetting them you should know they are there. To me this is the main difference between the Marvel Universe and the others. So, I don't adapt the style—the characters themselves demand to be drawn in a specific way. Marvel.com: Between your runs with the
FANTASTIC
FOUR: FLESH
AND STONE
FF, X-Men, the Avengers, you've drawn nearly every major Marvel character. Are there any characters you've never had the chance to work on that you really would like to dig into? Carlos Pacheco: Spider-Man and Daredevil. Marvel.com: A lot of your previous Marvel work has used alternate worlds and other situations that allow you to play with the designs of the classic characters. These days Marvel has changed so much of its core line in so many dramatic ways do you think you'll get a chance to do similar redesign work in any upcoming gigs, or do you want to focus on the classics? Carlos Pacheco: Well, the fact of playing with alternate worlds was something that came because the plot demanded. What is important to me is to be able to show the nature of the character no matter the way he should be dressed. As I told you it is quite fun to play with them, but as a comic reader I always like to see that who's behind the mask is the character I love. Marvel.com: To wrap up, you've been lucky enough in the past to team with some of Marvel's biggest writers from Kurt Busiek to Jeph Loeb. Is there anyone in the current Marvel writing pool that you'd like a crack at working with? Carlos Pacheco: Ed Brubaker, [Matt] Fraction, [Dan] Slott and [Mark] Millar...and a new guy you've probably heard about—Stan Lee! SECRET WARRIORS #1 goes on sale February 4. To see more work by Carlos Pacheco, check out Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited. Check out the official Marvel Shop for the best mighty Marvel merchandise!

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