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Interview Part 3
Moving back
to your work as an artist, you've created strips with some of the best and most
prolific writers at 2000AD: John Wagner, Pat Mills, Alan Grant, John Smith, Gordon
Rennie, Robbie Morrison, Paul Cornell, Steve Moore and Michael Fleischer [Siku
laughs] Who out of these did you find the best to work with?
[Long pause]
It's very, very difficult to say someone's the best. The guy I enjoyed working
with the most was John Smith. I hardly ever spoke to him - he's hardly ever awake
in the daytime, in fact he's only ever awake at like 3 o'clock in the morning
when I'm asleep [Laughter]. In fact, to be honest, I spoke to him only once. But
his scripts are the most vivid things I've ever read. Absolutely enjoyable, beautiful
writing. He writes like an artist.
Don't get me wrong
- I'm not saying that Pat Mills and John Wagner aren't artists. Wagner is the
most imaginative writer you can ever imagine. The guy must have a human sacrifice
hidden away locked up in a cupboard in his bedroom, and every once in a while
when he needs inspiration he opens that door and does… well, I don't know,
but unspeakable things. Because I just can't understand anyone having this perpetual
fountain of ideas for over thirty years! He's got to be on something! Michael
Jackson hasn't managed it, Prince even hasn't managed it, Stevie Wonder eventually
lost it, so I don't see how John Wagner managed to sustain this fountain of ideas.
He's got some magic, some juju, some amulet… I don't know. Pat Mills's script
writing is absolute and beautiful too.
But what I like
about John Smith is this visceral description of every… single… detail…
I mean, I still have the script for Fetish. It's about 8 inches thick! It is a
challenge to the artist. Another artist, Ashley Wood, actually tried to do it
and gave up. Other artists had tried and they also gave up. But because I'm also
a writer, I could really appreciate what he was doing. It is unbelievable, the
amount of detail. He describes every single thing in a room, as though he were
writing for a film. He describes the camera angle, the grain of the wood, the
design of the table, the carpet, the flooring, the furnishings, what the characters
are wearing, how large they are, if they're sweaty or not…every single thing.
But not only does he describe it: like a visual artist, he juxtaposes things.
Like red blood and deep green vegetation. Deliberately choosing the two colours
that are an absolute contrast in the colour spectrum. When you see that, you realise
that this guy is a visual artist. But it's more than that. He describes the heat
of the day, the effect on people, the smells, the human smells, the animal odours…
it's just a pure pleasure to read.
If you ever talk
to David Bishop about Fetish, he'll tell you I was producing my work, on time,
time after time, despite how challenging the script was. Because it was that enjoyable
to work on. He gave me everything I needed. I was being inspired all the time!
I just couldn't help it! He described all the tastes and the smells of Africa
perfectly. I mean, I've lived in Africa for 19 years of my life, half my life
basically, and here's this guy describing the villages like he was there! I mean,
I've been to see my grandmother in the village a few times, I know what villages
look like. He even talks about the smell of bad juju. I know what the smell of
bad juju is, but I don't know how this guy even knows that jujus smell! Even when
you can't paint a smell, this guy describes the smell, and it's your job to in
some way depict it. I had to try to use colours get that feeling in Fetish, like
you can actually smell it.
That's why I enjoy
John Smith scripts. He's my favourite writer and I would love to work with him
again.
There was the
recent Meatmonger strip…
Yes, and I did
enjoy Meatmonger, but it wasn't on the same level as Fetish. But then I've never
had a script like Fetish. It was amazing - every time I read it, I just had to
draw, draw, draw, draw, draw, without stopping. Just a joy. I ended up putting
so much extra time into it, so many hours, just to try to convey the essence of
that script.
The book's
coming out soon isn't it?
Yes, and I am
very much looking forward to that!
Now, I want
to move to a slightly more awkward part of the interview…
[Grinning]
No problem!
…which
is the fan reaction to your work. Now, before we move to the main topic, I want
you to confirm or deny an internet rumour. Is it true you stayed away from the
last Dreddcon because you were getting threatening messages from a crazed Judge
Dredd fan?
Oh my God where
did you get that from?!? I've never heard anything about that at all.
Well, more
generally there has been this theory that you're avoiding the readers because
of some of the somewhat mean things that have been said about you.
What were they
saying?
In preparation
for this part, I've actually brought along a sampling of negative fan opinion
from the 2000adonline message forum. Because you are after all an artist who splits
public opinion -
[Chuckling]
Oh, I know!
[I hand Siku
the sample. I won't repeat it here, partly because it would be unfair to single
out any particular fans, partly because it's obscene, and partly because it is
really, really nasty. Siku reads the entire thing out loud, causing several heads
in the café to turn as he reaches the juicy parts. He is laughing throughout.]
Oh, I LOVE THAT!
I tell you about my reaction to that stuff. Believe it or not, there's actually
an anti-fan page on the Web specifically for comic-book fans who hate Siku's work,
dedicated to that alone. I came across this website about two years ago. And when
I read it…I was really excited! I told all my friends "Guess what? There's
an entire website dedicated to people who hate my work! I've arrived!" [Laughs
uproariously]
Because when people
hate your stuff that much, when they dedicate that time and energy to hating your
work, that means you've really hit the spot!
Doesn't it affect
your art at all?
Absolutely not!
I'd rather split opinion to the point where you'd rather love me or you'd hate
me. The worst would be to have most people say "Hmmm, I'm not sure"
to the point of ignoring you. I'd far rather be despised than ignored. I think
as long as you've hit the spot, then you're noticed, whereas if you're ignored
then your work is merely average. And I hope that just like I've split opinion
in comic books, I'll get to split opinion in games. There's a game coming out
soon from my company [Elixir Studios] called Evil Genius, which is drastic,
in-your-face, making an artistic statement without making any apologies whatsoever.
I've always sought
to do that. I couldn't do that in advertising. It was one of the reasons I was
really frustrated. But in comic books, especially 2000AD, they give you the freedom.
One example. My
first design for Judge Dredd, the chin was actually larger. David Bishop, who's
a very brave man, he wanted to take the risk and publish them. But after I'd done
a few episodes, he came back to me and said, "Siku, I think I want that chin
reduced" and I thought fair enough. I really did appreciate the fact that
he let me take that risk, and it did end up out quite a little bit anyway. And
it's funny, because I've noticed some artists are actually copying it. One of
the most recent 2000AD's actually has that chin, and the helmet that I designed.
So I'd like to say, some artists actually understand what I'm doing with it, and
are copying it.
Is the chin
your marker, then?
Yes. It's me saying
"To hell with twenty years of history. I'm going to give Judge Dredd my interpretation".
And just think if it hadn't been David Bishop, if it had been some other editor,
I might have been censored. "This is not Judge Dredd. Take it back!"
But David Bishop took the risk. And it worked. Just think, if it hadn't worked
then it would have been his head on the line, potentially. It's easy for me as
a freelance, but it's less easy for someone like him to take that risk.
But that's me,
it's my character, and I can't really change. I tend to go all out for something.
If I don't, I'm unhappy. And I'd rather be happy and go for it. As long as I'm
making a good number of people happy, I feel I'm successful. If someone says "Wow,
that's really nice", I know I'm not toeing the line. Toeing the line is something
I despise. If I'm making a swarm of people really upset, then I feel I'm successful
too!
So, yes, I love the split in reaction. Love me, hate me, just bring it on!
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