Mayday - An Interview with Artist Tony Parker

Interview Conducted by Paul Fiander

It's the very early 70's that means Drugs, Hippies, Camper Vans and of course Russian Spies. In this intense opening to the first of three mini series, creators Alex de Campi, Tony Parker and Blond take us on the opening salvo of a road trip that promises intrigue violence and a whole lot more.

We had a chance to talk to both Tony and Alex as you would expect they both make for great answerers (I know its not a real word but it sounds right).

Story By: Alex de Campi
Art By: Tony Parker
Art By: Blond
Cover By: Tony Parker
Published: November 2, 2016
Diamond ID: SEP160631

Tony's responses are in Bold

Hi Tony
Many thanks for taking some time out to answer our array of questions.

1. How did Mayday come into being?

I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

2. How does your collaboration with Alex & Blond work in terms of the comics production?

Surprisingly well. Alex does a great job of giving me an open script, and is open to minor shifts to add to the story, while keeping me reigned in from going crazy. Blond is wonderful about taking my line art and doing better than I had imagined. Again, very lucky.

3. The setting for the series is the 70’s a period which you seem to nail in this issue, what prep did you do to get the tone right?

Thanks for the compliment! I was already there. I had just wrapped up This Damned Band with Paul Cornell when Alex approached me about it. TDB took place in 1974, so it was an easy transition. I still had to make sure that everything was period accurate, but a three year change isn't too much of an issue. I avoided movies and tv of the era for actual reference, and relied on news and stock photographs. News and stock photos are a more accurate reflection of the era, where as entertainment is an idealized version. I didn't want a saturated version, but as authentic as I could research.

4. How do you go about creating the distinctive characters that appear in the issue?

I start with the descriptions in the script, and then try to visualize what they would actually look like under their own choices. By that, I mean what would they choose for their clothes/look/hair/accessories? Some of it may be independent of others, while other choices would be because they saw someone they idolized in the media wear it as well.

A Preview Pages 4 to 7 of Issue #1 Warning a small spoiler

5. What is your drawing process for this project in terms of pencils and inks?

It starts with thumbing out the script on the script panel by panel. I then do a second pass, but coalescing the panels in to pages. I take those small thumbs, and do moderately loose to tight layouts. I then send these off to Alex and Brendan Wright, our editor. I'll then fix the layouts from their notes, and then enlarge and light board those layouts to the full size board. Those pencils are then approved by Alex and Brendan, then it's off to inks, and once those are approved, off to Blond for his amazing colors.

6. The psychedelic period of the 70’s allows you to go a little crazy, was this a fun sequence to create?

Absolutely. I hadn't done something like this sequence before, and I love a challenge.

7. And on that subject are there any hidden meanings or symbolism within the art with these pages or is more just your imagination running rampant?

I tried to keep it to a minimum with this story, as I didn't want to create unnecessary distractions or red herrings. There are a few homages in there, but I tried to keep it as focussed on the story as possible.

8. You portray an array of body types through the issue, is this a conscious move?

Very conscious move. It helps to ground it more in reality, especially since this is a very grounded story. The same goes for the faces. If everyone is young, thin, and beautiful, it's not as acceptable on a subconscious level to the reader.

9. We noted that Alex created a playlist to go along with the issue, do you have a soundtrack in mind when creating the art? Or do you listen to anything in particular while creating?

I'll try to find a soundtrack that fits the page. There was some great music from that era, so it made it more fun to draw. A lot of Rolling Stones, Parliament, CCR, Three Dog Night, with some singles from other artists thrown in.

10. Will the pages from Mayday go on sale in the future? And if so where can people find out more?

I'll keep the covers, and a few pages, but all the other ones will be available when the book comes out. They'll be up on my horribly out of date website www.tonyparkerart.com ,and I'll be posting them on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram, where my handle is tonyparkerart (except IG, where it's tonyparkerart1 ).

Many thanks for your time and good luck for the series and the future.
Thank you for asking and your time, and I greatly appreciate it! Have a great week!