BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO
From Brath #1 |
Rob Schwager wasn't one of the first people to sign on with
CrossGen Comics, although he did initially help the company find some of its first colorists. He joined the company later in the game after watching and seeing if the House of Sigil had the staying power that people were boasting it did. He's worked on a few different
CGE series' but currently is spending his time adding hues and tones to one of
CrossGen's newest titles,
Brath.
THE PULSE: You've colored for a lot of different companies over the course of your career. Looking back, what are some of your proudest coloring moments? What books do you look at and really think, "Wow that was so cool how I did that!"?
ROB SCHWAGER: Wow, tough question. I guess I'd have to say that some of my proudest moments were when I first started with the various companies I've worked for. You know, when your first issue comes out after just joining up with somebody...?
When I started with
Image, because they were an unstoppable powerhouse, it was awesome working for them. Jim Valentino was super supportive with my work. My first book for
DC, because guys like Rick Taylor, and Mark Chiarello were also really great to work with. Then, when I got to do special projects or hand picked to do certain books, like
Relative Heroes with Devin Grayson or
Noble Causes with Jay Faerber, etc...
For me, the best moments ended up being more about the people I got a chance to work with as opposed to the books. I've met a lot of really awesome people being able to do this for a living, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
THE PULSE: What brought you to CrossGen? What made you want to move away and join up with that company?
SCHWAGER: Ron Marz and I had worked together on
Green Lantern for a few years. After he moved to
CrossGen, he would call me periodically asking if I knew of any colorists who might be interested in working for
CrossGen. He knew I had a lot of friends in the business, so I'd throw him a few names every once in a while.
Finally, one of the last times he called, my wife and I were wondering, well, instead of hooking somebody else up with a job, let's see what they have to offer. They had the best looking books on the stands, and they hadn't missed a deadline yet.
I'm a big deadline nut. I consider it a personal challenge to make mine, no matter how ridiculous it might seem. So far, I've got a spotless record.
From Brath #1 |
When we got down here for our tour of the place, we liked what Mark [Alessi] and the others had to say about working here and some of the future plans that
CrossGen had. I liked the fact that my wife was also invited down for the tour. It showed me that they cared about us as a family, and not just a cog in the machine.
Also, it was about the opportunity to work with some incredible artists to make a difference in the medium that I care about, comics. Since the boom died down, I've heard a lot of lip service in the industry about how we need to "find new avenues to get new readers to discover comics" and how we "need to get the word out to help bring what we do back into the mainstream," etc.
CrossGen is leading the way in innovative thinking when it comes to trying to reach a new audience.
THE PULSE: Now, after working on a few series and being involved with Brath, do you have any regrets about your choice to become exclusive to CrossGen?
SCHWAGER: You know, it was really tough leaving
DC. I made a lot of good friends there, and have a nice body of work to show from my time working there. I'll always cherish that in my career. They were very good to me.
Working for
CrossGen has a sort of stigma attached to it. The whole "cult" thing, us being chained to our desks to make deadline, etc... Everybody here just wants to do the best job that we can and also put out the best written and best looking books that we can. I like people who work hard, and this place is packed full of em, so going exclusive wasn't that hard of a choice.
Superheroes are cool and all, and I will ALWAYS be a hardcore Spider-Man and Superman fan, but I just needed a change of pace.
Only regret I have is there are times I would really NOT like to have to get up and go into an office and work. There are a lot of distractions here, plus I'm more of a night owl. I'd rather work at night with nobody else around than have to deal with 70 plus people on any given day.
THE PULSE: What have been some of the advantages to working at a place that has so many other gifted colorists and skilled artists around? How has that helped you improve your craft?
SCHWAGER: Absolutely it's helped. Major advantage is being pushed to try new things. I had become locked into my superhero palette of colors because that's all I've ever done. Working with the artists here, I learn new stuff on a daily basis. I'm exposed to art and artists I would never have known about had I stayed being freelance working in my spare bedroom at home. I love learning new things and trying to stretch myself creatively.
THE PULSE: What's you favorite color?
SCHWAGER: Black.
THE PULSE: What have been some of your favorite special effects you've created since joining CrossGen? What makes those so outstanding in your mind?
SCHWAGER: Favorite special effects...? Hmmmm...
The First was packed full of special effects and I got kinda tired of it. I'm trying to stay away from doing any special effects while working on BRATH, so I'd have to say the new rain technique that Bam Bam (Jason Keith) taught me. My new special effect trick for this year will be learning how to color better. LOL!
THE PULSE: What made Brath more appealing to you than The First? Why did you join up with this series instead of sticking with The First? How was it better suited to your style?
From Brath #1
SCHWAGER: I could never get into the storyline on
The First. Plus everybody looked too perfect. Gravity defying boobs, perfect physiques, etc... That and it was too much like a superhero book for me.
The way Andrea Di Vito draws the characters in BRATH, it's more like real life. None of these guys has been to a gym, because they didn't HAVE gyms back then. They had real life. So what if the guy has a big gut? He can swing a giant war hammer well enough to crush your puny little skull. Kill or be killed. Survival of the fittest. It was a welcome change and I accepted it eagerly.
I have read up to issue #7 so far on BRATH and I've never been more pumped to be working on this book. I have never felt that way about any other series in my career. Chuck Dixon has got some AMAZING stuff planned for this series.
THE PULSE: What's up with this contest concerning Brath that THE PULSE saw on your message boards and reported upon in The Beat? Why did you guys want to do something like that?
SCHWAGER: Well, I LOVE interacting with fans. We have the best fans. Period. You can pretty much always find me posting on the
CrossGen message boards, and hanging out daily with our fans in our chat room. Our fans are very special to me. They are the reason we are blessed to be able to do this for a living. Everyone on team BRATH feels the same way.
We have a small group of fans who were showing support for BRATH many months before the book was actually out. They call themselves BRATH'S BARBARIANS. They had heard about the concept of the book and were really stoked about it. BRATH is unlike anything that's being done at
CrossGen, not to mention any other American publisher.
The contest or challenge idea came about because Andrea and I were talking about one of the countless ideas that I have regarding promotion on a grass-roots level. I'm always having ideas about all kinds of promotional stuff. I come from a background of DIY promotion for the bands I used to hang and work with back in the 80s. Concert posters, contests, free stuff, etc...
We decided that we wanted to reward those fans and retailers who help us with spreading the word about BRATH. Just a small thing. No huge contest or anything like that. Just FUN for all involved.
Our first challenge, or "trial" centers around woad. Woad is the face paint that Celts as well as other barbarians would wear into battle. That along with other aspects of their dress or undress in battle would scare the crap out of their enemies.
If the fans successfully participate in the trials, they win some cool, free exclusive stuff that we've prepared JUST for them. Nothing grand or over the top. We ain't giving away a Cadillac or a Harley or anything like that. Just small unique stuff that we think fans of BRATH will appreciate.
You can't buy this stuff and even the folks at the studio aren't getting it for free .... You want it, you gotta take the challenge .... We plan on doing stuff like this a few times a year. Fun challenges, all of a different nature. You just have to do a little leg work to claim your prize. If readers don't want to participate, that's cool. It won't affect their enjoyment of reading BRATH in any way at all.
We aren't making the challenges too difficult either. We hope fans learn a little bit about the history of the time period that BRATH appears to take place in,
CrossGen twist aside.
THE PULSE: What is Brath? How's it different than the norm?
SCHWAGER: BRATH is about a man. BRATH is a Celtic warrior chieftain and the challenges that he has to overcome. BRATH is the closest to a true historical heroic adventure that
CrossGen has ever produced. We are trying to do something that's entirely unique to American comics; an ongoing series told in serial form. This thing is an epic in the making.
One thing BRATH isn't, it's NOT
CrossGen's version of Conan. It also isn't Braveheart either. I think fans are really going to be surprised with this book. I think it will crush and surpass any preconceived notions anybody might have about it.
From Brath #1
SCHWAGER: I ditched my color palette that I had been using for years, and started from the ground up. BRATH screams earthier tones, and it's been really hard to let go of some of the stuff I have been doing for years. I had a comfort zone there, and this book is making me reach out to try to learn new things.
THE PULSE: Besides adding color to the page, what is your job as colorist? What are you trying to do with each and every scene?
SCHWAGER: I collaborate with Andrea and the rest of the team to try to get across the mood and tone of the story the best way that we can as a team and also the best way that I can as a colorist. I'm trying to make this book as visually appealing as I can from the color side of things. My job isn't to overwhelm the pencils and inks, but enhance them.
THE PULSE: What are some of the toughest parts of Brath to color?
SCHWAGER: Nothing is clean! Dirt and mud everywhere! It's sooo different from my superhero days. I've really been rethinking the way I've been doing clouds too. It's cloudy and rainy all the time, so I want to make that come across in what I do on the page.
THE PULSE: What do you do when you come across a really tough special effect to help achieve the perfect look? How long does it take to create difficult panels and pages?
SCHWAGER: What do I do? Well in the immortal words of Paul Pelletier, I suck it up and deal with it! Kidding aside, each panel and page has its own story to tell, and I just hope I can add to what the rest of the team was trying to convey when they were doing their part.
THE PULSE: What do you think of your fellow colorists at CG? Is it true you all have a secret code and use different colors to mean other things? 
SCHWAGER: Code..? What Code...? I don't know of any Code. Who told you about the Code....?
I think we have some of the best colorists in the business, period. I still wonder what I'm doing here sometimes. How did I get in with this bunch? They are all sooo good. Justin Ponsor is a friggin' genius. Plus we learn so much from each other. It's awesome!
THE PULSE: When you're not making comics, what do you spend your free time doing?
SCHWAGER: Free time... wow. What's that?
Actually, when I'm not working here, I work at home doing freelance design and illustration work for record labels, magazines, concert posters, packaging design, etc. Anything graphic. I'm a work-a-holic.
And if I don't have stuff to do at home, I spend time with my lovely wife and our soon to be born baby.
THE PULSE: What's coming up in Brath? Why should people check this comic out?
SCHWAGER: Murder, mystery, betrayal, war.... more betrayal and lots of surprises. People should check out BRATH because it's not the standard fare from CrossGen. It's totally unique. I think this book will really make people stand up and take notice.
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