As a writer and artist, Phil Hester is one of North America’s most notable cartoonists. He has worked his way from being an art student drawing small black-and-white comics for dubious publishers to being one of the most respected writers and artists in the business. He has written industry icons such as Wonder Woman and his art helped to reinvigorate the once obscure Green Arrow to the point where that character can now support his own popular television series. He has worked with talents as varied as Robert Kirkman (creator of The Walking Dead) and Kevin Smith (writer/director of Clerks, Dogma and Red State) and always held his own.
This year Phil Hester was hired by IDW Publishing to charge an old industry standard, long loved by creators but always struggling in the charts, with new life. That series is called T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents and along with artist Andrea Di Vito, Hester has created an antidote to the self-destructive, violent and desperately unaware tone that has come to define superhero comics. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is a comic that acknowledges and even revels in its silliness without ever disrespecting its characters or shortcutting its story. It’s a comic that mixes retired hockey enforcers, pissed off robot men, super science and espionage into one genuinely seamless and consistently engaging whole. In short, Hester has created a comic for people who love the language of superheroes and are looking for a place to hear that language spoken fluently with wit, humour and intelligence. Phil Hester agreed to answer a few questions in the present tense.
T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents is…
- Phil Hester: …a team of street-level super heroes employed by the United Nations to handle all of the stuff deemed too weird for the member nations to handle on their own. The core group includes Dynamo, a former NHL enforcer turned invulnerable superman thanks to his Thunderbelt; NoMan, a brilliant, but aged scientist who uploaded his consciousness into an indestructible, often invisible android body; Lightning, a runner capable of blinding speed who is unfortunately aging at the same astonishing rate; Lug, an agent fused into an experimental armor; and Kat Kane, a brash cadet who has worked her way up to become the director of T.H.U.N.D.E.R (The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves).
Drawing comics is…
- Phil Hester: …second nature to me. It seems like such a true and unfiltered way to communicate, in some ways more direct than simple prose. I’ve been doing it for around 25 years, so I must love it, right? That said, it eats up much more time than writing.
Writing comics is…
- Phil Hester: …somewhere on the same continuum as drawing comics. It’s all about visual communication. I like to say that when I make comics I write with pictures and draw with words.
The first comic that somebody paid me to draw was…
- Phil Hester: …You don’t really want to know this, do you? It was the immortal ‘PORT #1 from Silverwolf Comics. I was a sophomore in college when I landed the gig, so it’s pretty terrible. My art professor was like, “Oh, comics! Comics are wonderful. Do you mean something like this?” as she handed me a copy of the early RAW magazine.
“Not quite, ma’am.”
The first comic that somebody paid me to write was…
- Phil Hester: …probably a short story for Vertigo’s great but short lived anthology Flinch.
Canada is…
- Phil Hester: …pretty much like the part of America I live in. I’m from the upper midwest (Iowa), so I’ve suffered exactly zero culture shock on my visits to Canada. It’s cold and polite here, too.
America is…
- Phil Hester: …Don’t ask me, I’m Canadian.
Wonder Woman is…
- Phil Hester: …For me it was a great opportunity to work on an iconic character. She has a huge presence in our culture but deserves an even bigger one. Someday someone will make the definitive Wonder Woman comic. I’m sad it didn’t wind up being me. Still, I had a blast on my run.
Green Arrow is…
- Phil Hester: …the guy who bought my house. Seriously, I was at a low point in my comics career, one foot out of comics and looking for a day job, when [major comics publisher] DC Comics offered me the book. I’m just glad [comics superstar and frequent Kevin Smith collaborator] Joe Quesada turned it down so Kevin Smith had to move a few lines down on his list of comic book artists he knew.
It was a great run and I got to meet and work with so many cool people. I’m glad we dragged Ollie back into the spotlight and I’ll be eternally grateful for the fans who have such fond memories of my time on the book.
The most fun I’ve ever had drawing a comic is…
- Phil Hester: …probably the Batman one-shot I did with Josh Fialkov for Legends of the Dark Knight.
The hardest superhero to draw is…
- Phil Hester: …hard to say. Maybe The Punisher because of all the guns. And Punisher fans will tell you if you screw up the guns.
My favourite album is…
- Phil Hester: …Big Science by Laurie Anderson.
My favourite movie is…
- Phil Hester: …Lawrence of Arabia or The Good The Bad and The Ugly.
The most underrated comic of all time is…
- Phil Hester: …Arno Drake & Bruno Premiani’s Doom Patrol.
The difference between working on original characters and characters created by another artist is…
- Phil Hester: …freedom.
The best work of my career is…
- Phil Hester: …as a writer, Deep Sleeper with Mike Huddleston. We made The Coffin together too, which more people like, but we prefer Deep Sleeper. As an artist, the aforementioned Batman one shot. As writer and artist, The Wretch.
The secret to my success as an artist has been…
- Phil Hester: …my ability to forge ahead through crushing waves of deep dissatisfaction with my work. Also, I have this weird hybrid style that lands somewhere between dark and comedic, jaunty and morose, ornate and concise that seems to resonate with a small but viable group of comic book readers.
The writer whose work has taught me the most is…
- Phil Hester: …Alan Moore & Stan Lee.
The artists whose work has taught me the most is…
- Phil Hester: …Jack Kirby & Frank Miller.
The success of comic movies has changed the industry by…
- Phil Hester: …freeing talent to take chances on original properties a bit more. Winning the Hollywood lottery is still a long shot but it’s worth pursuing rather than limiting yourself to a career solely at [mainstream publishers such as] Marvel or DC.
The comics industry is great because…
- Phil Hester: …there’s very little between your vision and publication. If you want to make a comic, you can get it out. Making a living at it is another matter, but the opportunity is there. Also, by and large, it’s populated with warm-hearted nerds who share a passion for storytelling. How can you go wrong?
The comics industry needs to change by…
- Phil Hester: …taking more chances on talent, subject matter, distribution, and format. Marvel and DC in particular have more or less passed on creating new franchise characters and feel comfortable mining their existing catalogue. With just a tiny investment in creators they could easily coax a whole new wave of iconic characters from their talent and the talent to come.
People should read T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents because…
- Phil Hester: …You always wanted to see what it was like to have a JOB being a super hero, right? It’s a book that throws very down to earth characters against very out of this world threats. That contrast is a rich source of humor, pathos, and action. Plus, everyone looks really cool.
The one thing that every person should do before going to be tonight is…
- Phil Hester: …daydream.
I love making comics because…
- Phil Hester: …I get to daydream for a living.
The first three issues of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents are currently available for Apple and Android devices on the Comixology app. New issues are released monthly from IDW Publishing. You can follow Phil Hester (@philhester) and IDW (@IDWpublishing) on Twitter.
——-
Theodore Wiebe is a writer living in Calgary. You can follow more of his important nonsense on Twitter (@TheodoreWiebe) or Tumblr (writingafterdark.tumblr.com).
Follow us on Twitter @SpectatorTrib