Antony Johnston is a very prolific comic book writer who has released many books through Oni Press. My favorites of his are Julius, which transplants William Shakespeares Julius Caesar to the modern day gangster world in England, and Spooked about a fine artist who is no longer inspired because the demons inside her head were exorcised.
Check out the official website of Antony Johnston
Daniel Robert Epstein: 2004 was a very big year for you. You had Julius, Spooked and Closer come out.
Antony Johnston: Yeah I was supposed to have another book come out called The Long Haul with Eduardo Barreto but we didnt make it. I took a bit more time with the script and then Eduardo took a bit longer with the art.
DRE: Eduardo Barreto is amazing.
AJ: Yes he is and he was pretty much my only choice for that book. Ive actually been pretty lucky with my artists. Brett Weldele was my first choice for Julius, Mike Norton was my first choice for Closer and Spooked was the only one where we had two options. We ended up with Ross Campbell but I actually think Ross was more suitable than the first artist we had in mind.
DRE: How do you approach the artists?
AJ: It depends. In the case of Closer, Mike and I had already agreed to do the book before we took it to Oni Press. Brett Weldele had worked with Oni before so that was me and [Oni Press senior editor] James [Lucas Jones] hassling him. Spooked was all James because I didnt know Ross before so were Mike Hawthorne [for Three Days in Europe] and Eduardo. Eduardos art has a classic comic feel that I thought would be perfect for a western.
DRE: Of the books I read of yours I found Julius the most fascinating. What made you think Shakespeares Julius Caesar would work in a gangster setting?
AJ: I did read Shakespeare at school however like many students I hated Shakespeare because it was too complicated, old and it was forced on me. I dedicated Julius to my high school English teacher, Trevor Rice. He was just a fantastic teacher who taught me that Shakespeare was very relevant and interesting. That sparked my interest and since then Ive been a Shakespeare devotee.
Its a terrible clich but I dont know where the idea for Julius came from. I think I may have been driving back from holiday in Northern Yorkshire when the idea just popped in my head. I didnt think anyone would be interested but it stuck there. James and I chat fairly regularly and I mentioned it to him. He went Wow, send me the pitch. I told him I hadnt written a pitch but three days later I sent it to him and he was the books biggest supporter. It wasnt until the art started to come from Brett that I was convinced that anyone would be interested in the book. I think every writer in comics has this doubt until they see the art.
DRE: What about the idea to make Julius black because its not really commented on in the book?
AJ: Ive had a few non-white characters in my books. I make it a point to almost never mention it because it shouldnt be mentioned. Every time someone meets up with a black friend they dont go Hello my black friend. If you know these people as characters then it shouldnt be brought up. I just thought that it would be cool if Julius was a powerful tall black man just to go against Shakespearean stereotypes. It may be a bit of a clich to have a black character as a gangster but he isnt the only black character in the book. I also thought it would be appropriate because there are a lot of black gangsters. It may not be the most realistic book in the world but I wanted the contrast between this in control powerful black man with the hordes of whiteys who want to kill him. That may sound glib but from a writers point of view it was a good contrast. Comics have generally been whiter than white and I grew up in a very multi-ethnic city.
DRE: Did you have to keep referencing Shakespeares play because of the dialogue you use from it?
AJ: Yeah absolutely. When I was writing Julius I had three windows open at once. One of them was the script I was writing, another was the script of the original play and the last one was my notes on how to translate the play into modern day. I was referring to both of those constantly. Julius is probably one of the longest books Ive ever done in terms of the preparation. Ironically it wasnt research but that I had to go through the original play so many times.
DRE: Did you look at other gangster adaptations of Shakespeares work like Men of Respect [released in 1991] or the Baz Luhrmann Romeo + Juliet?
AJ: In terms of tone this is probably about as far away from the Baz Luhrmann movie as you can get. I actually thought that movie had some nice cinematography and acting. My main problem, which is my problem with a lot of the adaptations, is that they kept the original dialogue. It cant help but throw you out of the movie. My feeling is if you are going to modernize those plays then why not modernize the dialogue otherwise make it a period piece.
DRE: Do you work on all these stories all at the same time or do you do one, finish it and then start another?
AJ: If only I could [laughs]. I work on most of the stories at once out of necessity. I worked on Spooked and Julius at the same time. I would very much like to get into the habit of writing one book from start to finish. But if I did that I would produce only one book every six months because I do so much research.
DRE: Did Spooked and Julius influence one another?
AJ: No I dont think so because I plan each book out so thoroughly. There may be some pollination if I am planning two books at the same time but by the time I get to the point of scripting I know what the mood and plot will be. Also I dont want to examine my own method too much because I just dont have the time.
DRE: Does each genre you write in work different muscles or does it all come from the same place?
AJ: It comes from the same muscle but maybe different parts of it. I always try to make every story different otherwise its boring for me and the readers. Every book is a learning process. I cant remember where I heard this quote but I like to repeat it, You never learn how to write a book but how to write this book. So the next time you write a book you learn it all over again. Ive done more horror than anything else but I would hope that anyone who reads them realizes they are different takes on horror.
DRE: Do you find it difficult to do something new in the horror genre?
AJ: Yes, most definitely. I dont overly concern myself with doing something new as long as I do something good. Thats my maxim for all my writing. I think if you strive too hard to do something new you lose sight of making it good. From a readers point of view I want to read something good but familiar rather than something new and terrible. The Holy Grail is of course to get both which happens sometimes with writers like Grant Morrison, Alan Moore and William Gibson. I will try new things to see if they work but I wont push it.
As for horror, Im not sure if I really like horror more than any other genre. But I feel more comfortable writing it. I think that it may be because Ive read a lot of it and there is something very visceral and fundamental about horror. It doesnt matter who you are or where you come from there is always something to be afraid of. Everyone understands fear.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official website of Antony Johnston
Daniel Robert Epstein: 2004 was a very big year for you. You had Julius, Spooked and Closer come out.
Antony Johnston: Yeah I was supposed to have another book come out called The Long Haul with Eduardo Barreto but we didnt make it. I took a bit more time with the script and then Eduardo took a bit longer with the art.
DRE: Eduardo Barreto is amazing.
AJ: Yes he is and he was pretty much my only choice for that book. Ive actually been pretty lucky with my artists. Brett Weldele was my first choice for Julius, Mike Norton was my first choice for Closer and Spooked was the only one where we had two options. We ended up with Ross Campbell but I actually think Ross was more suitable than the first artist we had in mind.
DRE: How do you approach the artists?
AJ: It depends. In the case of Closer, Mike and I had already agreed to do the book before we took it to Oni Press. Brett Weldele had worked with Oni before so that was me and [Oni Press senior editor] James [Lucas Jones] hassling him. Spooked was all James because I didnt know Ross before so were Mike Hawthorne [for Three Days in Europe] and Eduardo. Eduardos art has a classic comic feel that I thought would be perfect for a western.
DRE: Of the books I read of yours I found Julius the most fascinating. What made you think Shakespeares Julius Caesar would work in a gangster setting?
AJ: I did read Shakespeare at school however like many students I hated Shakespeare because it was too complicated, old and it was forced on me. I dedicated Julius to my high school English teacher, Trevor Rice. He was just a fantastic teacher who taught me that Shakespeare was very relevant and interesting. That sparked my interest and since then Ive been a Shakespeare devotee.
Its a terrible clich but I dont know where the idea for Julius came from. I think I may have been driving back from holiday in Northern Yorkshire when the idea just popped in my head. I didnt think anyone would be interested but it stuck there. James and I chat fairly regularly and I mentioned it to him. He went Wow, send me the pitch. I told him I hadnt written a pitch but three days later I sent it to him and he was the books biggest supporter. It wasnt until the art started to come from Brett that I was convinced that anyone would be interested in the book. I think every writer in comics has this doubt until they see the art.
DRE: What about the idea to make Julius black because its not really commented on in the book?
AJ: Ive had a few non-white characters in my books. I make it a point to almost never mention it because it shouldnt be mentioned. Every time someone meets up with a black friend they dont go Hello my black friend. If you know these people as characters then it shouldnt be brought up. I just thought that it would be cool if Julius was a powerful tall black man just to go against Shakespearean stereotypes. It may be a bit of a clich to have a black character as a gangster but he isnt the only black character in the book. I also thought it would be appropriate because there are a lot of black gangsters. It may not be the most realistic book in the world but I wanted the contrast between this in control powerful black man with the hordes of whiteys who want to kill him. That may sound glib but from a writers point of view it was a good contrast. Comics have generally been whiter than white and I grew up in a very multi-ethnic city.
DRE: Did you have to keep referencing Shakespeares play because of the dialogue you use from it?
AJ: Yeah absolutely. When I was writing Julius I had three windows open at once. One of them was the script I was writing, another was the script of the original play and the last one was my notes on how to translate the play into modern day. I was referring to both of those constantly. Julius is probably one of the longest books Ive ever done in terms of the preparation. Ironically it wasnt research but that I had to go through the original play so many times.
DRE: Did you look at other gangster adaptations of Shakespeares work like Men of Respect [released in 1991] or the Baz Luhrmann Romeo + Juliet?
AJ: In terms of tone this is probably about as far away from the Baz Luhrmann movie as you can get. I actually thought that movie had some nice cinematography and acting. My main problem, which is my problem with a lot of the adaptations, is that they kept the original dialogue. It cant help but throw you out of the movie. My feeling is if you are going to modernize those plays then why not modernize the dialogue otherwise make it a period piece.
DRE: Do you work on all these stories all at the same time or do you do one, finish it and then start another?
AJ: If only I could [laughs]. I work on most of the stories at once out of necessity. I worked on Spooked and Julius at the same time. I would very much like to get into the habit of writing one book from start to finish. But if I did that I would produce only one book every six months because I do so much research.
DRE: Did Spooked and Julius influence one another?
AJ: No I dont think so because I plan each book out so thoroughly. There may be some pollination if I am planning two books at the same time but by the time I get to the point of scripting I know what the mood and plot will be. Also I dont want to examine my own method too much because I just dont have the time.
DRE: Does each genre you write in work different muscles or does it all come from the same place?
AJ: It comes from the same muscle but maybe different parts of it. I always try to make every story different otherwise its boring for me and the readers. Every book is a learning process. I cant remember where I heard this quote but I like to repeat it, You never learn how to write a book but how to write this book. So the next time you write a book you learn it all over again. Ive done more horror than anything else but I would hope that anyone who reads them realizes they are different takes on horror.
DRE: Do you find it difficult to do something new in the horror genre?
AJ: Yes, most definitely. I dont overly concern myself with doing something new as long as I do something good. Thats my maxim for all my writing. I think if you strive too hard to do something new you lose sight of making it good. From a readers point of view I want to read something good but familiar rather than something new and terrible. The Holy Grail is of course to get both which happens sometimes with writers like Grant Morrison, Alan Moore and William Gibson. I will try new things to see if they work but I wont push it.
As for horror, Im not sure if I really like horror more than any other genre. But I feel more comfortable writing it. I think that it may be because Ive read a lot of it and there is something very visceral and fundamental about horror. It doesnt matter who you are or where you come from there is always something to be afraid of. Everyone understands fear.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
missy:
Antony Johnston is a very prolific comic book writer who has released many books through Oni Press. My favorites of his are Julius, which transplants William Shakespeares Julius Caesar to the modern day gangster world in England, and Spooked about a fine artist who is no longer inspired because the...