Some of the most beautiful comics of the twenty-first century have been written and illustrated by Paul Pope. Examples include “Batman: Year 100,” where Batman fights a dystopian surveillance state, and “Battling Boy,” where the teenage deity proves his mettle by battling enormous creatures.
Pope acknowledged in a Zoom interview with TechCrunch that the years since his last significant comics production, which was more than ten years ago, had been frustrating. He once claimed, “The public has not seen any of it yet,” while holding up a sizable stack of sketches.
Pope asserted that creating graphic novels differs from creating comics. It can take years, because you are essentially creating a novel while adhering to a contract. It can be really annoying because no one can see the work.
Fortunately, the drought is coming to an end. Pope’s career-spanning exhibition at the Philippe Labaune Gallery in New York has officially opened. In March, a larger version of his art book—now called “PulpHope2: The Art of Paul Pope”—was released. And the first volume in a collection of Pope’s self-published science fiction epic “THB” is due in the fall.
Pope reluctantly acknowledged that it was all part of “a number of chess moves” that were intended to “reintroduce” and “rebrand” him.
With publishers and authors suing AI businesses and generative AI tools going viral by imitating well-known artists, Pope’s comeback comes at a sensitive moment for the comics industry and creativity in general. He went so far as to say that it is “very feasible” that AI may soon replace comic book artists.
Given that Pope is renowned for mostly using brushes and ink rather than digital tools, the contrast is especially striking in his case. However, he stated that he is not ruling out using AI, which he currently employs for his study.
“I am more worried about killer robots, spying, and drones than I am about some random individual sketching anything based on one of my designs,” he stated.
In late 2023, I believe, Boom Studios reached out to me and expressed interest in working with me on a project [under their boutique imprint Archaia]. After some back and forth, I was able to recruit my own designer, Steve Alexander, commonly known as Rinzen, and we proceeded to work on the book for almost nine months [in] 2024.
Coincidentally, Philippe Labaune offered to present pieces from not only the book but also a sort of career retrospective. I know him from just visiting the gallery; we have acquaintances in common. It has grown into something quite lovely.
A mix of both, in my opinion, as an artist eventually needs to become their own curator. I have mentioned this before. As Jack Kirby once stated, “The 10% of your best work is all that matters.” You reach the 10% with the remaining portion.
However, I do a lot of different covers in my case. I have worked on a lot of difficult-to-get items outside of comics, such screen prints and items from the fashion business. And I actually thought it would be awesome if we did a chronological look at an artist’s life — [something that] mostly concentrates on comics, [with] a lot of stuff that people have not seen or can not locate.
This is the opening move in a set of chess moves I have been practicing for a long. The gallery is a second chess move, in my opinion. Another announcement about a new project will come later this summer.
Creating comics is not the same as creating graphic novels. It can take years, you are essentially writing a novel, and you have a contract. It can be really annoying because no one can see the work. I am working on this stack right now, and everything on it is essentially unpublished. I therefore believed that this was a fantastic method to either reintroduce my work or, as much as I detest the word, rebrand myself.
You discuss the various instruments you use, such as brushes, pencils, and Sumi ink, in your essay “Weapons of Choice.” Have you had a very analog, consistent working style throughout your career?
Mostly, I would say. Although I was somewhat late to the game, I did begin using Photoshop for coloring and textures in 2003 or so.
I still use digital devices, but I have tried to avoid them as much as possible since I suffered carpal tunnel syndrome in 2010. After all, I use Photoshop on a daily basis. Simply said, the majority of my work is the comic book equivalent of ink on paper.
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