One on One With Mathew Reynolds

Last week, I reviewed the inaugural issue of the new release from Image Comics, the Mercenary Sea which, by the way, sold out in the first week and is currently undergoing a second printing. As it turns out, my review caught the attention of the book's artist Mathew Reynolds (probably because I'm pretty sure I tagged him in it on Facebook, but let's not split hairs). With me being honored by him reading my little dog and pony show here....and him being a humble guy who felt honored by the review, it was inevitable that we'd sit down for a interview.

Me: Let's start off simple. Do you remember the first comics you read growing up?

Reynolds : I remember a giant sized comic of King Kong. I took that to kindergarten and quickly had it taken away by the teacher. Never got it back. I found it on eBay a couple years ago and grabbed it. I remember the Black Panther. My cousin David introduced me to T'Challa and I thought he looked AMAZING. All black. He stood out, a walking shadow among the colorful avengers uniforms. I remember Dave telling me he was a world class athlete and acrobat. He could bounce of the walls, run like 40 miles an hour, the king of Wakanda. I loved him. I remember Tarzan comics, the Kubert stuff, Buscema's Conan.

Above all, I remember G.I. Combat and Sgt. Rock. That turned into a great love for Larry Hama's G.I. Joe. I remember, I used to go to a public swimming pool in Tulsa as a kid. My mom would give me a dollar for run-around money. One Saturday, I took the money from the pool across the street to a U-Totem (7-11 equivalent) and picked up an issue of All-Star-Squadron and an issue of Captain America with Baron Blood on the cover.They cost 50 cents apiece and I got to the register and was told I didn't have the tax. I didn't understand that. I had my dollar...what is this "Invisible tax crap?!" An old Indian cowboy behind me gave me a nickel for the tax and asked me "What's ol' Cap up to? Fightin' a monster?" I think Baron Blood was at Cap's throat on the cover. "A vampire", I said. "Thanks for the nickle." "You keep readin," he said.

Those two books flipped me out, the colors, all the uniforms. I lost those two and a stack of comics at an airport. Excited about boarding a plane, I left them behind. I really think the loss drove me to draw those guys. The only way to be around them was to draw them. I really wanted to be around them. I wanted to BE them.

Me: How did you first break into the industry?

Reynolds: I had some Batman pages that I was showing off at a show in Tulsa. R.A. Jones saw them and suggest I show them to his editor at Malibu.That landed me a job on one of The Protectors characters' solo books. Not sayin' which one...It burns my eyes to look at the work now. It will burn your eyes too.

Me: Who did you want to work with the most when you first started?

Reynolds: Larry Hama...hands down. I thought G.I. Joe issue 21 was amazing! Still in my top ten favorite comics of all time along with G.I. Joe Annual 2. Michael Golden flipped me all the way over in that issue.

Me: What current titles are you reading these days?

Reynolds: Parker. Darwyn Cooke strips it all down to basics...I love that work.

Me: Obviously, you've always been deeply inspired by pulp titles and stories that would (nowadays) be considered "fringe." Are there any current superheroes that you like to see take more of a pulp turn?

Reynolds: I like stories about humans with no "Powers" but I'm also fascinated with the supernatural. It may sound like I'm not crazy about superheroes but I've loved them since I was a kid. Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier...what a love letter to superheroes. I know it sounds like I'm jockin' Cooke...well, I am jockin' Cooke. His work is a blast. Brad Bird's Incredibles was another love letter to comic book heroes.

I love period pieces. The chance to tell a story of one of our heroes set in decades past is always fun for me. To tell a Punisher story set during and right after his return from Vietnam would be a blast. I know Castle's story is so tragic and heavy, I have a lot of love for him because of his loss and subsequent madness. Poor crazy ass Frank. I've always been drawn to tragic heroes that take horrible beatings and find a way to push on. Men like Mad Max, "In the roar of an engine, he lost everything, and became a shell of a man. A burnt-out, desolate man. A man haunted by the demons of his past. A man who wandered out into the wasteland. And it was here, in this blighted place, that he learned to live again."

Those guys always make me feel thankful that I have clean water and a roof over my head. Max didn't even have that. Snake Eyes, another tragic figure that pushes on. I'd like to take a shot at a Shadow story. The origin of the Shadow. Tragic stories always draw me in and focus my empathy and compassion. King Kong...we know he's not getting out of this deal alive but we sure do love him. In the film Malcolm X, the scene with Denzel's Malcolm floating down the street while Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" plays. That scene always kills me because we know what is about to happen to Malcolm. After all the beatings he's taken, been lead astray by people he trusted and just when he grows into his own man, we lose him. Powerful stuff. Can't help but think he'd have kept on evolving and brought many of us with him.

Me: Are there any superhero titles that you would love to work with in the future?

Reynolds: Conan, Tarzan, The Black Panther, Doc Savage, Zorro, The Punisher, Wolverine, The Batman, Nick Fury...I can do this all day. Sgt. Rock, G.I. Joe, G.I. Combat, Han Solo...We'll be here all night, man.

It's no secret that we're in the era of comic based films. Any favorite books you'd like to see on the silver screen?

I'd like to see them give Mamoa another shot at Conan, ruff him up a little more though, put some scars on his face and hands and arms, give him some strange Slavic accent. I'd like to see a Black Panther movie with a proper budget. A G.I. Joe movie set in 1980 with Hama's Joes, the Vietnam vets. It's a pipe dream but, man, that would be cool. I'd love to see Don Bluth animate The Mercenary Sea.

Me: I understand you took a break from comics at one point to produce hip hop tracks. Tell me a little about that experience. What brought you to music? What are some of your influences?

Reynolds: I had been involved in that since 86. Involved in trying to create beats, looping beats on a head to head cassette recorder on my ghetto blaster (boom-box for you new jacks). Soon after that my father, Ken Riley, got me a Casio drum machine, the old one that Prince Paul used on De La's first record. It had four sample pads. It was old at the time. I loved it. I really love old soul music. That was my moms doing, she loved old soul records. She also bought me Conan comics and G.I. Combat...double win. I love golden age hip hop, dearly. I really do love all kinds of music. If it came out before 1975, I'll give it a listen. There was a warmth to music back then. The early producers and beat makers in hip-hop understood that and they sampled a LOT of that stuff, bringing it to us kids that weren't buying records between 64-74. That was an amazing time for music. Again the best way to be around that music was to make it. I still drive my wife crazy drumming on everything, counters, washing machines, coffee cans, you name it. I was a soul drummer in a past life, before I died in Vietnam. Who knows...could be true.

Me: What are you listening to right now?

Reynolds: As we speak? Jimi Hendrix. The Skull Snaps. I was listening to Public Enemy, Rakim, Main Source, and Stetsasonic earlier. Jerry Reed, before that. 13th Floor Elevators, Stelvio Cipriani earlier this evening (italian soundtrack composer) Don't get me started, I'll make you listen to a ton of records. Trust me, I'll rewind it if you start talking and MAKE you listen. You don't want to do it. I'll start going off on Rakim lyrics or how Run from Run DMC was one of the most solid mc's of all time, a world class champion. So was D. I'll start going off on rhythm sections of the 60's and 70's...I'm doing it now...see?

Me: Now, let's talk about The Mercenary Sea. How did you come to hook up with Kel Symons?

Reynolds: Kel found my Jones work online. He asked what I was working on. At the time, I was working on a Vietnam story. Very different than The Mercenary Sea, it was all traditional illustration. BUT, we started talking about old adventure movies, The African Queen, The Dirty Dozen, To Have and Have Not, King Kong and a story I had about 4 WWI vets that build an armored boat at the height of the great depression and go off looking for an uncharted island. Kel comes back at me with his story, The Mercenary Sea. I was HOOKED instantly. I just wanted to spend time with the characters. Kel also let's me come up with an action beat or two. The whole thing fell into place when we got Pat Brosseau to letter the thing, a 20 year veteran and a hell of a guy. Pat has helped me with straightening out some of the covers and helping me to loosen up. He's very patient with my mistakes. Kel brings an even handed humanity to The Mercenary Sea. The whole thing is a big fat love letter to the adventure stories of our childhood.

Me: The Mercenary Sea's first issue has critics drawing comparisons to Archer and Johnny Quest as far as art style. How early on in the process did you and Kel agree on the overall look of the book?

Reynolds: Well, it was a struggle, all of it but it starts to come together by the time we get inside the sub. If you liked the first issue, wait 'til you see issue 2 and 3. Jonny Quest WAS a huge influence. So was American Pop, the Filmation adventure cartoons of the late 70's, Mignola's Hellboy, Blazing Combat...a LOT of things really. I wanted it to look like an animated film that was too rough to be made. One guy said it reminded him of Dragon's Lair. High compliments in my book.

Me: How much research went into recreating the look of the 40s?

Reynolds: I'm always neck deep in research...to a fault maybe. So is Kel. I'm often surprised at his knowledge of military matters, especially the small stuff. There is a lot of Harper and the crew in Kel, Pat and me. If we grew up in the same neighborhood, we'd have been hip deep in the nearest creek with our bb guns and canteens, hunting for dinosaurs and that feeling drives this whole thing. Play, escape, imagination, the freedom of childhood. We all secretly WISH we were Harper, or Stack, or Kev (the warrior from the pacific islands)...we look up to them. One of them is a master of the open sea, one of them is a smooth talking outlaw and one of them is a world class fighter. Dontcha' kinda' wish they were your three dads or uncles or brothers or cousins? I do, straight up and down.

Me: There are a lot of artists who derive their character designs from well known actors and movies? What was your inspiration for Jack Harper?

Reynolds: There is a LOT of Marlon Brando in all my lead character work. I remember reading that Frazetta could draw Buster Crabbe at the drop of a hat. Someone said that very early on, he couldn't afford models but he could afford magazines with a current matinee idol of the time, Buster. I took that and ran with it. Who would be the actor that I'd use for reference and study of expression? Brando. Great features, could look tough when he wanted and I could find pictures of him EVERYWHERE! I was actually going to make the members of the Venture a lot more "ugly" with time and mileage. I remember Kel saying "they all look like they are losing at cards..." He really pushed me to exploring emotion and facial expression on that first book. Shook me out of the formula of giving everyone the John Buscema Conan face...I slip it in every chance I get.

Me: Often times, it becomes clear when artists have a "crush" on particular characters in their book. Do you have a favorite character you look forward to throwing into the thick of things later on?

Reynolds: That's tough. I love them all. The Chinese kid, Do (pronounced DOE) Has a ton of heart. You guys haven't spent any time with him yet. He's a cool customer with a mighty heart. He's a mechanic on the Venture. I love Stack, he's an anvil of a man. World class fighter. I'd imagine that there isn't much you could hand to Stack that he could not handle (and...don;t you wanna be THAT GUY!). Kev, the Pacific islander is an ace in the hole, the best fisherman you ever saw. Few men can beat him with a blade. He's an enigma, a mystery man. I always love that. He's like Quint from Jaws, if Quint could keep his mouth shut. If you get captured by some modern day pirates, you want Kev to come get you. He could do it. ALL by himself.

Me: It seems premature to ask, but is there an endgame in mind for the book overall or do you and Symons envision ongoing story arcs?

Reynolds: Right now we have a LOT of trouble to put them through. I know how it ends. Kel would skin me alive if I gave it away. We'll all get there together with any luck.

Me: For those who haven't already picked up the first issue, why should they? Sell them on The Mercenary Sea in two sentences.

Reynolds: PURE ESCAPIST ADVENTURE. Buy the ticket and take the ride.