By
LJ Douresseau
March 11, 2004 - 10:56
The first time I opened I opened a copy of TEEN TITANS GO! #1 and saw Todd Nauck's art (with inker Lary Stucker), I felt less cynical about super hero comics from the Big Two. Todd is a fan favorite and his pencils for Teen Titans Go!, a comic book adaptation of the Cartoon Network series "Teen Titans,"(itself an adaptation of comics) should earn him more praise.
Nauck began his career in the Rob Liefeld pap factory drawing such titles as BADROCK & COMPANY, TEAM YOUNGBLOOD, and NEWMEN, as well as some work on comics based upon licenses Liefeld had obtained. Nauck did a little fill in work for Marvel, but his biggest career break was drawing pretty much all of the Peter David written DC comic, YOUNG JUSTICE.
Last year, Image began publishing Todd's creator-owned comic, WILDGUARD: CASTING CALL. WildGuard is a made-for-TV superteam, and readers got to vote on what costumed heroes joined, making the series a kind of reality TV comic similar to such television programming stables as "American Idol" and "Making the Band II."
Nauck is a certifiable fan boy artist, and I mean that in a good way. He is a fan who made good on his artistic ambitions to draw comics. His art and sketches bleed a joy for super hero comics, and that is heartening to people like me who want to see comics creators grab the reins and produce their own super hero comics. So far this year, I'm seeing some work by young artists who are worthy of being called "the next big thing." Todd Nauck is one of them because he makes me care about something in which I've lost interest, current mainstream comics. So here he is for Charlie #19:
How did you get the assignment to draw Teen Titans Go!? Was it an assignment for which you'd campaigned?
TODD: Last July (2003), I got a call from Tom Palmer, Jr. He was my associate editor on YOUNG JUSTICE. He told me he was the editor (along with Lysa Hawkins) on the new Teen Titans animated comic and wanted to know if I was interested in drawing it. I guess I was first on their list. They sent me the Cartoon Network style guides of the characters and a synopsis of Season One and Two. I was intrigued but wasn't sold on the comic until I saw the first 5 episodes on a tape DC sent me before the cartoon premiered. It was so fun and cool looking I had to do it!
Did DC want you to strictly interpret the visual style of the Teen Titans show, or were you allowed some leeway?
TODD: DC and I both wanted to create a comic that truly reflected the fun of the show. So it was important to make it look like the show's style. But I wouldn't say DC was strict about it. Even though I do my best to draw the characters to look like the cartoon, my flavor seems to mix in there as well. People seem to really like it.
Did you get to pick Lary Stucker as the inker, or did DC think he'd be a good choice to blend with your work? I've liked pretty much all of his work that I've seen.
TODD: I told Lary that I was doing Teen Titans Go and he threw his hat in the ring as inker to the editor. Lary and I work well and efficiently as a team and Tom knew this from our work with him on Young Justice. So it was a natural choice.
When did you first make up your mind to be a comic book artist, and what did you do to make up an education of a comic book artist?
TODD: I first decided to be a comic book artist at age 15 (one year after I started collecting comics). I read any article or interview I could find. There weren't any pros that I knew of in East Texas back in the mid-80's. One and a half years after high school, I decided to move to Dallas and studied commercial art and graphic design at the Art Institute there. They didn't have an animation or cartooning program at the time, so I had to apply what I learned towards comics. I was very determined to become a comic book artist.
Apparently you were one of the early Image artists (after the founders), though I don't remember too much about that period. First, how did you land with them, and was working on New Men (I think) your first pro gig?
TODD: I learned how to make mini-comics on a copy machine while I was wrapping up my education at the Art Institute of Dallas. I made comics of my WildGuard concept and spin-off characters. A total of six mini-comics over the course of a year. One year after graduating art school and sending out a bunch of samples, my college buddies showed my mini-comics to Dan Fraga who took them and showed them to Rob Liefeld and I was hired just a few days later. My first pro gig was BADROCK AND COMPANY (inked by Lary Stucker). I also was doing fill-in work on SUPREME, YOUNGBLOOD, and TEAM YOUNGBLOOD as well.
What did you learn from that particular experience of drawing comics? Were there a lot of hands on your work, or were you free to stumble and learn on your own?
TODD: Aside form a few critiques from Rob Liefeld himself, I was mostly learning as I went. There's no education quite the same as "baptism by fire"! :D
It seems like for 5 years you pretty much drew everything Young Justice or Young Justice related. What did the intensity of that labor do for both your drawing skills and skills as a storyteller?
TODD: I had a great time at DC. I owe Eddie Berganza and Mike Carlin quite a bit for their guidance in my craft. Eddie and I worked really tightly on YJ. He was very supportive and continues to be a great friend! There's definite growth from YJ#1 to YJ#55. It's just the evolution of an artist trying to find a better way of drawing things.
I've seen in other interviews that you've mentioned 1992 as sort of the birth date of your idea for WildGuard. During that time between then and now, were you using your work for hire gigs as on the job training for WildGuard?
TODD: No. Oddly enough I wasn't. I've just been enjoying each project as they have come for what they were. My whole comics experience has been an education. I learned about writing working off of Peter David's YJ plots as well as working with other writers. When YJ was done I just felt my next step as a creator was to do my own comic. This past year creating WildGuard has been an awesome time of growth for me.
You've done this countless times, I know. But can you once again shortly describe WildGuard?
TODD: It's a reality TV show in a comic book. The first mini-series, CASTING CALL, is American Idol meet superheroes. Hundreds of heroes are auditioning for a made-for-TV superteam. Over the course of the six issues heroes are cut from the competition and superhero adventures keep breaking out. It's a fun comic that's not too goofy and not too serious.
Then in issue #6 we reveal which characters are chosen for the Final Five. I picked four of them and the readers got to vote last summer-fall for the fifth member. The actual vote stats will also be revealed.
Did you want to tackle WildGuard years ago and were forced to wait? Or was it a case of last year being the right time to start?
TODD: It's always been in the back of my mind. I just wasn't ready to do it. When YJ came to an end and my schedule was freed up, I decided to take the chance. The fact that reality TV had become so popular over the past 4-5 years really helped the momentum for WildGuard. When I first created WildGuard back in 1992, the only two reality TV shows on were "COPS" and MTV's "The Real World." Now, reality TV is everywhere and giving me lots to play off of.
What is it about reality shows that you like, and what about the genre did you think you could apply to a super hero comic?
TODD: I find it interesting seeing these "real" people interacting in situations producers have put them in. People on those shows are often looking for some kind of fame or recognition. In comics, superheroes are often in the media/public eye due to their exploits. So, it wasn't too difficult to connect the dots and put superheroes into reality TV fame mongering.
You don't have to give me the actual numbers, but what have the sales of WildGuard been like? Have you seen significant drop off from issue to issue, especially after number one?
TODD: WildGuard sales have been favorable. There was a natural decline in numbers from issue #1 to #2, but overall, not drastic. There was a rise in online orders once word of mouth started. Issues #1-6 are selling on wildguard.com pretty consistently.
What has fan and reader reaction to the series been like? Have other pros spoken to you about the series and what have they had to say?
TODD: Fans have really been eating WildGuard up! They are having fun and telling others. They've been enjoying my writing and all the different characters I've created. There have been many great reviews online for each issue. It's great to see it so well received. Pros I've spoken with are enjoying it as well. I've had a few of them tell me they wish they had thought of some of the character names I had come up with first. My peers have been very supportive.
Do you see yourself expanding WildGuard to the point that other creators could come into what would be "Nauck-verse?" I'm not making fun of your work. I do think that talented and ambitious creators can create sustainable super hero lines outside of Marvel and DC if they hold both themselves and any creators who join their lines to exactingly high standards. I felt and still feel that the original Image guys threw too much crap at the wall, and much of it too crappy to match even the most mediocre stuff Marvel and DC cranked out.
TODD: Not right now. It would be fun if that could happen. But I have to keep my universe's tales in the one WildGuard title for the time being. If things change down the line to allow for a spin-off book or two, I'm all for it, but only for fun and quality. I'm not looking to cash in on any character I've created just because I have them in my universe.
Who are your artistic influences (I'm thinking Art Adams or maybe an Adams devotee), and do you still find yourself looking to other artists for inspiration?
TODD: Art Adams is my biggest influence. Other early influences include: Walt Simonson, Rick Leonardi, Mike Zeck, and Alan Davis. I have been inspired by many other artists since then. I enjoy my favorite artists work and the way they approach their art. So, after checking out someone's work I admire, I'm totally on fire to hit the drawing table and do my thing!
What comics inspired you? Besides comics and TV, do you find inspiration in film, books, fine art and painting, etc - not just for ideas for comics, but just stuff that might want to make you fill up a sketch book?
TODD: What comics didn't inspire me?! :D
I do find inspiration in other things, sure. My wife is very inspirational. I could fill a sketchbook just on her. She's my muse. She and Jennifer Garner! :P
This topic has come up a lot lately, but do you personally see comics as only a vehicle for super heroes? Are you interested in comics as an art form, rather than as simply a means to create escapist entertainment? Are you still interested in mini-comics, and do you follow what many folks call art comics - Love and Rockets, Louis Riel, Palooka-ville, Eightball, etc.?
TODD: I don't necessarily see comics as solely a vehicle for superheroes. But superheroes are my favorite genre in the art form. I check out other genres if they catch my attention. J. Torres' DAY LIKE THIS is a great example. My favorite mini-comics are the homemades from the newbies out there. Young creators are often passing on their mini-comics to me at conventions. I love getting them and reading them. Some are interestingly or well written and/or drawn. Some are not. But I love the passion and rawness of those mini-comics. I've been there. So, thanks to all of you who provided me a copy of your work. It's fun stuff!
Do you see yourself drawing non super hero comics?
TODD: Maybe in the future. I don't know. I'm really enjoying the superhero stuff I'm working on right now.
Are young going to stick with doing your own comics, or do you see yourself doing lots of work for hire in the foreseeable future?
TODD: Right now it's both. I will do my own comics when time and resources allow. I will do work-for-hire books as they come my way and I find them to be something I want to do. I'm enjoying both.
Back to the Titans: I have to admit to being very impressed and totally in love with the art you and Stucker are doing on TTG. It's true to the cartoon, but visually, the art is also its own thing. It has a very happy vibe. I don't know if this is the case, but it seems as if you're having fun. Are you having fun on this book, and what has to happen or not happen to keep you interested in doing TTG?
TODD: I'm having a blast drawing TTG. Switching gears to draw in the animated style really gets me thinking in new ways art wise. It enlivens me when I switch back to traditional comic work and then back to animated style. I love that vibe.
What are you trying to give your readers? I'm asking this because sometimes creators are so narrowly focused on their own goals, they forget that readers need to care and because sometimes creators think buyers are an easy mark for any crap they churn out. So how do you balance what you want to do and what readers may want?
TODD: I'm trying to give the readers fun comics. If I'm having fun creating comics, I think that will translate into readers having fun as well. WildGuard, Teen Titans Go, and Young Justice have been exactly the case.
Last one: I offer the interview subject a chance to give a shout out or plug something. Have at it!
TODD: "Scrubs." Have you seen this show? It's hilarious! It's well written and well acted. They pipe in great music. People speculated it would take "Friends" place on Thursday nights. If it does or doesn't, I don't care. It's just a cool show. Check it out Tuesdays on NBC at 9:30 Eastern/Pacific (8:30 Central). Give it a look. You'll be glad you did. "...I'm no Superman..." (quote from opening theme)
THANK YOU, Todd! I've seen "Scrubs" a few times and enjoyed it. As usual there's someone else who contributed to getting this article before you, so I'd like to give a shout out to DC PR guy, Adam Philips, who finds email addresses and sends out images to the gonzo geeks of comics news. And as always, site owner Hervé.
You can visit Todd at www.wildguard.com and find links to the many interviews he's done to promote WildGuard in the last year or so. I recommend that you visit www.wildguard.com/store to get those issues of WildGuard you missed. Some of Todd's Young Justice work exists in trade form, and you must absolutely read Teen Titans Go!
And if you are a comics creator or publisher and you want to send me material for review consideration or you just want to talk about your book in a Charlie column, punch the click-able name link to send me an email. Holla!
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