We here at TFW2005 had a chance recently to sit down and talk with E.J. Su, the artist for IDW Publishing’s upcoming and on-going Transformers Generation One comic book. Check it out!
Transformer World 2005: Hey there E.J.! Thanks for sitting down with us for this interview. Now, for starters, who exactly is E.J. Su? What is your background, specifically in the world of comics? Where did you get your start, and when did you get involved with IDW Publishing?
E.J. Su: I was born in Taiwan, moved to the United States when I was about 14 years old. Pretty much taught myself to draw until college, where I studied Industrial Design. I was briefly published back in the early 90’s, at the time it was pretty difficult to get a publisher to take on someone like me who was heavily influenced by Japanese comics. I never did anything with comics until around the year 2000 when I met a group of friends from Wizard Boards. Together we published a short-lived anthology called “Inpunks Quarterly” through Robert Kirkman’s Funk-O-Tron, after that, Robert and I pitched “Tech Jacket” to Image as part of their Superheroes line. I twas probably my biggest break in my comic book career.
Castlevania writer Marc Andreyko introduced me to IDW Publishing, they were looking for an artist on Castlevania at the time. Immediately after I was done with Castlevania, Chris Ryall saw some Transformers samples from me and contacted me about the new Transformers series, to which I gladly accepted.
TFW: Who has been your inspiration, artistically, over the years?
E.J.: There are so many, the list could go on forever. The ones that stood out to me over the years includes Tezuka Osamu, Akira Toriyama, Adachi Mitsuru, Shiro Masamune, Inoue Takehiko, and Katsuhiro Otomo. After exposing myself more to Western comics, my inspiration has expanded. Artists like Adam Hughes, Travis Charest, and Josh Middleton makes my heart skip a beat everytime I see something new from them.
TFW: Were you a Transformers fan before you did any work on the Transformers?
E.J.: Yes I was, actually I was a Transformers fan before Transformers. A lot of Transformers toys were designed to be part of the Japanese Microman line, and I was absolutely crazy over Microman. I remember as a kid I used to ride my bike across cities to stare at Microman toys through display windows (because being from a middle class family, my parents would never allow me to buy luxurious toys like those). When I saw Transformers for the first time, I was hooked.
TFW: This isn’t your first time working with the Transformers, as you did work on the G.I. Joe vs. Transformers Volume 2 by Devil’s Due. What was it like doing that mini-series, and what is the feeling you have working now on the on-going Generation One series?
E.J.: The experience on G.I. Joe vs. Transformers Volume 2 was totally different from the new series. For starters, I wasn’t supposed to draw any human from G.I. Joe. To be totally honest, it made me a little uncomfortable. There’s a huge pressure on working on the new G1 series, mainly because I think the fans are very attached to the artwork from the Dreamwave era, and my approach to robots are very different from theirs.
TFW: Wait — you weren’t supposed to draw any humans? So are the humans drawn in the Joe v. Transformers series drawn by someone else? And why didn’t they allow you to draw them?
E.J.: The humans were drawn by G.I. Joe guru Tim Seeley, one of the most creative guys that I have ever met. I was really impressed with the ideas that he came up for the crossover. From what I was told, Hasbro has a thing for NOT wanting G.I. Joe characters drawn in certain styles, and apparently, my artwork falls in to that category.
TFW: And, in regards to doing the G1 series and the pressure from taking over from Dreamwave, do you feel that more as inspiration and motivation to prove the naysayers and the people on the fence about your artwork wrong, and that you’re more than capable of drawing a good and successful Transformers comic book?
E.J.: I realize everything I do on Transformers will be looked at with a magnifying glass, and fans have every right to question my ability to draw good Transformers comics. People are not used to things that have changed, especially after the popular run from Dreamwave, but all that is only going to make me want to do better. It’s a huge challenge and the pressure is high, the odds are against me — but I like my odds.
TFW: We’ve seen a distinct style with the Transformers over the last three years (with Pat Lee, Don Figueroa, Guido Guidi, Joe Ng, Alex Milne, etc.). How will your versions of the characters vary from previous artists in terms of detail, perspective, and design?
E.J.: My main focus of the new series is, first and foremost, tell the story. I don’t really know enough about Dreamwave’s robot to comment on how I am different from them. I know that I am not trying to draw like them, my focus when it comes to robots is that I want to make sure they look like they are transformed from vehicles into robots instead of the other way around, to me transformations and functionality has to look right and make sense.
TFW: Are you going for the anime, the realistic, or a blend of the two, style wise?
E.J.: First of all, I don’t believe “anime” is a style, the usage of “anime” or “manga” in term of style is sort of a pet peeve of mine, but I do understand what people are referring to whent hey use those terms. To answer the question, I think it would be a bit of a blend. There’s no question that I have been heavily influenced by Japanese, but I think I’ve evolved quite a bit in the past few years.
TFW: What’s harder to draw — a human showing emotion, or a robot showing emotion?
E.J.: I would say a robot showing emotion is harder. Even though you could do something with the robotic eyes to a certain extent, you still can’t give the full range of emotions that human eyes can provide. They said that eyes are windows to your soul, and it’s very much so when you are trying to show emotions.
TFW: With the revelation that some of the characters will be receiving new alternate modes, how much of that is going to change their robot mode? Realistically speaking, if Starscream and the others aren’t F-14 jets any longer and become, say, F-19, they won’t look the same in their robot mode as they did back when they were F-14s. Basically, we know some of the characters from G1 are receiving “new looks” … but exactly how much is changing for those characters with WAY outdated vehicle modes?
E.J.: The classic elements that define their characters will be kept in tact as much as possible. Their faces and helment design will most definitely stay the same. We do have some restrictions when it comes to design of G1 characters.
TFW: What kind of restrictions do you have when it comes to redesigining some of the characters?
E.J.: G1 characters have to stay true to their established lore. Things like their particular color scheme and the type of vehicle, for example.
TFW: With some of the G1 cast showing up as Alternators (Smokescreen, Silverstreak, Prowl, Jazz, Sideswipe, Tracks, etc.) … is there any involvement of having those figures as their Alternator alternate modes in the comic, maybe a bit of a “nod” to them, or are we going to see some characters clearly resemble the Alternators vehicle modes or robot modes?
E.J.: I personally do take the Alternators into design considerations, if not for their particular vehicle, I would like to pay some homage to some of the design elements. So far, no actual Alternators have made it in to the comics yet.
TFW: And, other than Megatron, which character has received the most noticable change looks-wise in terms to their alternate mode/robot mode?
E.J.: So far, I would have to say Starscream. I am trying my best to keep as much classic design with the character as possibly allowed by their new alternate mode.
TFW: In a preview of the first covers, we see Astrotrain towering over the other Decepticons. Assumably this is due to his “shuttle” mode being large enough to carry the other Decepticons. Will we see other characters have a bit of “size change” so to speak to match their alternate mode?
E.J.: That’s just my own interpretation for the size of Astrotrain, since I haven’t seen the actual first mini-series script, I don’t know if the actual story would have Astrotrain appear in larger size. I would like to keep the sizes realistic, but that’s up to the whole creative team to decide.
TFW: Do you have a favorite Transformers character? How about a favorite Autobot or Decepticon? And is it/are they your favorite to draw?
E.J.: Dinobots are my favorite Transformers. I am crazy about dinosaurs. Especially Swoop, the flying one, even though Pteranodon is technically not a dinosaur. Decepticons I like Scourge and Cyclonus, those two are just creepy undead Transformers, like zombies. My favorite Transformers to draw would have to be Grimlock in T-Rex mode. The design of Cheetor from Beast Machines is also one of those that I am most fond of.
TFW: Are there any plans to update the Dinobots? The T-Rex Grimlock is based off is no longer considered realistic, and the Brontosaurus for Sludge has been shown not to even exist.
E.J.: Currently, I am not aware of any new plans for the Dinobots. If it was up to me, I would’ve had a whole line of dinosaur Transformers. Having humans building an amusement park full of dinosaur Transformers, then on the first tour, some accident caused the evil Dinocons to break loose. It was up to the Dinobots to save the day. I call it the “Cyberassic Park.”
TFW: Other than the Generation One series, is there any other Transformers universe you’d like to draw? Beast Wars, Robots in Disguise, Cybertron, etc.?
E.J.: If I have a chance, I would love to tackle one of the Beast series, probably Beast Wars. I mean giant gorilla and dinosaurs, it doesn’t get any better than that!!
TFW: Considering the issue #0 isn’t due out until October, have you had a chance yet to sit down and sketch things out to Simon Furman’s writing style? If so, what’s it like working with him? Do you feel his writing and your drawing have a chemistry together?
E.J.: Issue #0 script was pretty much finished when I came on board. My impression with Simon’s script is that it’s pacing very well, there’s no doubt he knows his stuff, it’s such a thrill to be working with someone of such a legendary status with the Transformers. I am just trying my best to keep up with the high standard, I hope my work meshes will with the story.
TFW: Without getting yourself in trouble here :), who has been your favorite writer to work with in the comic world?
E.J.: Simon has been great so far, very informative when it comes to Transformers. I haven’t had any bad experiences with any comic book writers yet, unless they are not telling me. 😉
TFW: Do you have any particular favorite past Transformers comic story or moment?
E.J.: I really liked the War Within series. It gave us a glimpse into the life on Cybertron before everything.
TFW: Last question! Dan Taylor hinted his favorite Autobot being in the first few issues. We’re curious. Who is Dan Taylor’s favorite Autobot? 🙂
E.J.: I really don’t know the answer to that one 🙂
Curses! We will find out the answer to that question before Issue #0 hits store shelves this October for $0.99, as well as showing up with an exclusive cover at this year’s BotCon in some place down in Texas. That town north of Dallas! There we go.
We would like to send a huge thank you to E.J. Su for taking the time to answer all of our bazillion questions, as well as supplying the artwork you see attached to this interview. The Armada Megatron/Optimus Prime battle is also creditted to MV Creations