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BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO What happens when you take some of the worst villains in comic book history, and put them all on some distant planet to fend for themselves? Chaos, mayhem, murder and anything else that's both terrifying and disturbing! In the seven-part miniseries, Salvation Run, DC is reminding comic readers why we love those evil doers, by showing what happens when they have to get over their differences and work together to survive. Inker Walden Wong is getting the chance to lend his shades of black to some of the biggest and littlest villains of the DCU. He said it was after talking to editor Joey Cavalieri that he got the chance to ink this pivotal series.
THE PULSE: Just what is Salvation Run? I'm guessing it doesn't have anything to do with marathons or track meets ....
WALDEN WONG: It's a bunch of villains from the DC Universe that gets exiled to another planet. Where they then for alliances and eliminate one another. And for the duration of the series, these villains just won't appear in their regular DC universes. We have them here in Salvation Run
THE PULSE: How did you become involved with this seven issue limited series?
WONG: My editor, Joey Cavalieri, contacted me about the project and offered it to me. We then meet up at a convention for lunch and he gave me the whole scoop about Salvation Run.
THE PULSE: It seems just about every major criminal in the DCU is involved in this tale. Which villain was your most fun to ink? Why?
WONG: It's gotta be all the villians that I've never inked before. I've inked Joker and Lex Luthor in the past. Catwoman's in there, Bane, Mr. Freeze, and so much more! Countless. Some of which the penciller, Sean Chen, and I wasn't familiar with. For me, those are the fun ones. To be able to work on characters I've never inked before.
THE PULSE: Out of this group of rogues, which one has been your favorite to see involved in this story? Without spoiling things, can you tell a little about what it is that's made this villain rise to the top of your favorites list?
WONG: Joker and Lex Luthor has major roles in Salvation Run. You get to see them duke it out. But that's not to say there nothing else going on. There's many plot lines in the story and so much going on. Just to pick which one is the favorite of them all isn't enough. With so many back stabbing characters, there's just too much going on.
Without giving too much away, there's a episode with a couple of gorillas fighting in the series. At the end of the fight, you see one of them reaching out to a loved one. The couple of panels that follows that was priceless. I remember looking at the pencilled page and thinking what an amazing job Sean Chen did. Absolutely emotionally beautiful!
THE PULSE: How is inking a project like this, which puts the villains in the spotlight, different from some of your other recent works that showcased the typical heroic type figures?
WONG: I've worked on JLA (Justice League of America) and JLU (Justice League Unlimited) in the past where each issue spotlights heroes and how they take care of business with the villains involved. Not with Salvation Run, they're all villains. They form alliances. From then on, you just have to decide for yourself who you WANT to be the good guy. Which characters to care for. It give more humanity to these villainous characters which you normally don't think about.
THE PULSE: What's it like working with Sean Chen? Have you inked his pages before?
WONG: It's my first time working with Sean Chen on Salvation Run. We've known each other from the past, but never got to work together until this project. Sean's got a great style and it's such fun to ink his pencils. I love the camera angles he uses for certain scenes. They're perfect! Sean also give me the okay when it comes to textures. Which is an Inkers dream to render.
THE PULSE: How much collaboration is there between yourself and Chen? Do you offer any feedback? Are the dialogue lines open or are you each just doing your part and that's that?
WONG: We communicate with each other. One time, there was a change in Cheetah's look in the first issue. I got references from editorial and redrew he costume. When I was done, I communicated to Sean on what I've done. So there's back and forth communications on things like that. But for the most part, we just do what we do best.
THE PULSE: What are your essential tools for inking this story?
WONG: I have many tools. Heck, I have a better idea. Instead of just telling you what tools I have, I can give you visuals along with it. Goto my website http://www.waldenwong.com and when you're in my website, click on "Tools of the Trade". There, you'll see every tool I have along with descriptions of how I use them. I use all of those to ink this story as well as any other project I work on. I've recently won a Gold Addy Award for my website which I'm excited about. Which also helped esposed to thousands of people what an Inker does
THE PULSE: With the vast cast here, are there any specific tools you're using for specific characters or is it all one general group of implements?
WONG: My choice of tools applies more to the penciller's style than the character itself. certain penciller calls for brushes, others need quills, and some a combination of both. Each penciller I work with, the choice of tools and how I use them differs. When I ink, I like to gear towards the pencillers style and use my tools accordingly.
THE PULSE: Who or what is influencing your inking style the most in these pages? I mean, you've got characters here from all corners of the DCU, so how did you even decide the style?
WONG: When I take on a project with a penciller whom I've never inked, I like to do some research on what they've done in the past. That way, I can look at their previous work and feed on that. Then, I like to communicate with the pencilers to see what they like. What they prefer with the inks. Then go from there and build on it.
THE PULSE: With a large ensemble cast like this, it must be a challenge making each look distinctive, so we're not just differentiating them based on the coloring ... how do you balance that with your portion of the work?
WONG: Yes, some character are more technical, some smooth, bulky, harry, and so forth. So each one is also approached differently based on how they look. Each costume is approached differently as well.
THE PULSE: What have you loved about working on Salvation Run?
WONG: Being able to work with Sean Chen, working with all these characters, and how Salvation Run is the beginning of something big in the in the DC Universe.
THE PULSE: Flip side, what hasn't been so great about inking this series?
WONG: Working on some characters that I'm not familiar with. While at the same time it's exciting, there are more research involved to make sure characters are done right and if it's the current look.
THE PULSE: Why shouldn't PULSE readers miss any of this tale?
WONG: I've heard that Salvation Run is an essential story line to upcoming Final Crisis.
THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on?
WONG: Just finished COUNTDOWN TO MYSTERY with penciller Justiniano. Working on THE SPIRIT over Paul Smith's pencils. And did some inking over Arthur Adams on KING SIZE HULK.
Also, I like to plug the Inkwell awards. http://www.inkwellawards.com go there and vote for your favorite inkers!
The final issue of Salvation Run from Matthew Sturges, Sean Chen and Walden Wong should be in stores this month.
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Walden is a really good inker and I'm always amazed at his versatility over different pencillers. Glad to see him getting some nice gigs. Being able to ink Art Adams on the Hulk project should speak volumes!
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