BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO Artist Jamal Igle has worked on a variety of projects at DC Comics since singing his exclusive. He said it "was the challenge" of Tangent: Superman's Reign that made him want to take a trip to this alternative universe. Find out what's in store for Earth 9, as Igle details a few of the things that set these heroes apart from the rest.
THE PULSE: What is Tangent: Superman's Reign? It sounds quite foreboding ....
JAMAL IGLE: It is should be. The basic story is this, over the last 10 years, The Tangent Universe (or Earth 9 for you multiverse completist) has been slowly taken over and is under the totalitarian rule of Superman a.k.a. Harvey Dent. A psionic powerhouse who was forcefully evolved to the peak of human evolution, Superman has all but extinguished the heroes of that world. However Lia Nelson a.k.a. the faster than light superheroine, the Flash, has made it over to New Earth.
THE PULSE: Matt Clark was first listed as the artist on Tangent Superman's Reign, then it was announced you'd be handling the rest of the series. How influenced is your art by what Clark did in the first issue of the series?
IGLE: Not really, other than for the sake of continuity with what Matt did in issue 1. Issue 1 is more set up for the new status quo once we get to my issue, we jump right into the fight. So, in terms of backgrounds and some costume changes, yes, but I'm designing everything else.
THE PULSE: What else is influencing your artwork the most in these pages?
IGLE: I'm actually focusing more on the source material, the original series for my formulation of Earth 9. In some cases like the Fist Troopers I updated their looks to fit my design sense, but keeping them as close to Jan Duresema's initial designs from Nightwing. One of the things that will also be important for me will be to keep up the changes and differences between Earth 9 and New Earth technology etc.
THE PULSE: What was fun about Tangent when it originally came out in '97 was the fact that the names are familiar, but the characters are anything but. What kind of confines do you have on your art and rendition of these characters? Do you have any kind of free reign in your interpretation?
IGLE: Well so far it's been interesting. Other characters like Hex and Lori Lemaris are older, so, as we all do, we change. I had to dump Hex's Flock of Seagulls do just because it doesn't fly anymore. As we get into the series we'll see even more changes. Superman is visibly older in certain scenes, however Lia Nelson hasn't changed at all. It will be explained why that is. The only other confines artwise is with dealing with the JLA, because I'm trying to keep them as "On Model" possible. I want to put my stamp on certain characters, yet, at the same time, I don't want to make them unrecognizable. So there's a little less overall freedom. But with the Earth 9 heroes I'll have a little more latitude because we're playing with real time.
THE PULSE: How, if at all, is what you're illustrating in this story tying into the larger picture of a Final Crisis which looms throughout the DCU?
IGLE: It's doesn't as far as I know. It's a self contained story.
THE PULSE: If you had a choice of what you could do next at DC, what interested you the most in signing on for a project like Tangent: Superman's Reign?
IGLE: Honestly? It was the challenge. When I was approached about doing this series, I could barely remember the series. I don't think I even read the books when they came out 10 years ago. SO here I am doing a series where half the players haven't been seen in 10 years, and I get to draw the JLA for a year? Sign me up!
THE PULSE: What are some of the things you can do in this series that you haven't really had the chance to do in some of your other works?
IGLE: So far it's the pace and the freedom. I'm working from Dan [Jurgen]'s plots and he's dialoging the finished art. Since there's a barebones skeleton as far as the dialog, I'm able to give it more space and freedom. It's a high action story, the pace doesn't stop at any point.
THE PULSE: How is working on a project like this different than a Nightwing or Green Lantern gig, where everyone and his brother/mother seems to know what those heroes are about?
IGLE: There are no preconceived notions with what these characters are going to look like now in a lot of cases. So there's more room to play for me. When you're on Nightwing, Dick can't change, you can make his hair longer or shorter, but ultimately he has to look like Dick. With a lot of these guys like the Specter or Manhunter, they've been updated and there will be other changes ....
THE PULSE: Who else is working on the art with you?
IGLE: We've got Robin Riggs, who's doing an amazing job so far and neck and neck with Keith Champagne as far as my favorite inkers who've worked with me. Robin is also the inker of Suicide Squad, and is probably best known for his run on Supergirl. I'm also working with a colorist named Dom Regan, who also works on Infinity Inc.
THE PULSE: How much of this series is done already? When the first issue hits, what issue's interiors will you be completing?
IGLE: I just turned in issue 3 and Robin's inking right behind me. If we keep the pace we've kept by now, I should be turning in the pencils for issue 5 when issue 1 ships. We're pretty far ahead. I'm trying to get as much done as possible, because my daughter is due to be born at the end of April.
THE PULSE: What have you enjoyed the most about illustrating this project?
IGLE: So far, everything. It's actually been a lot of fun to draw so far. There are a lot of great scenes with Wally West and John Stewart in the early issues.
THE PULSE: I know you're getting ready to be a Dad, how, if at all, has that changed your thought process and ideas about work schedule?
IGLE: It will slow things down a bit, I'll probably only be able to draw four pages a week as opposed to my usual five to six pages. But that still fast enough for a monthly schedule. It's very important for me to spend time with my family, and we're making plans for childcare during the day, so that we can get everything done. You can't fully prepare to raise a child and everything could just fall to hell, but we're hoping for the best. I've got the Nightshift though for feedings and changings, LOL.
THE PULSE: What comic conventions will you be attending this year?
IGLE: A lot ... March 29th I'll be at the Kids Comicscon at the Bronx Community College, April18th- 20th, I will be at the New York Comiccon, May 10th and 11th, I will be at the Emerald City Comicon, June 13th-15th I will be at Adventurecon in Knoxville, TN and at the MoCCA Arts Festival on June 8th , July 24th-27th I will be at the San Diego Comiccon with Jim Califiore (Gotham Underground) and Mike McKone (Green Lantern). As usual appearances are subject to change, but these are the shows I've committed to this year. I think one convention a month should be fine.
The second part of Tangent Superman Reign should be in stores this April.
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