BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO Artist Rebekah Isaacs has been Drafted into Mark Powers' war at Devil's Due and she couldn't be more thrilled. Drafted is different from other alien invasion type tales. Isaacs explained, "Drafted shows the invasion through the eyes of dozens of people just like you and me -- they're scared, they're confused, and they've got flaws a-plenty." Isaacs' a big sci-fi fan, so Drafted is a perfect fit.
THE PULSE: You've worked on a few genre projects before with Twilight Zone and Hack/Slash, but what interested you in joining Mark Powers for his sci-fi epic, Drafted?
REBEKAH ISAACS: You pretty much said it in one phrase: sci-fi. My parents didn't quite know what to do with me when I turned into a Trekkie at age eight and had "converted" to devout Star Wars fanaticism at ten. These days I'm obsessed with Firefly. But I've always found it a shame that there are so few sci-fi comics out there, so when [editor] Mike O'Sullivan asked if I'd be interested in taking over Drafted, my thoughts were "Do you even need to ask?"
THE PULSE: When you jump on a series that already has an established look and feel, how influenced are you by what has come before on your artwork for the "now"? How big of an affect has Chris Lie's art had on the way you see this series?
ISAACS: Mark and Mike really encouraged me to use my own style, even if that meant changing certain design aspects that had already been established. I was really lucky that Chris did such an amazing job at designing the aliens and their technology, because since this is my first job that's required me to do concept work, extrapolating from his designs kept me from getting too overwhelmed. And even though I'm becoming more comfortable with introducing my own unique concepts here and there, I definitely want to keep Chris's general look in the alien world; he did fantastic stuff.
THE PULSE: What did you know of this story before getting the chance to illustrate some of it? Was this one of the ones you'd been following regularly?
ISAACS: I hate to admit I'd never picked it up! Since I didn't get into reading comics until late high school, I'd been focusing on catching up on everything I'd missed from the Big Two mostly, and unfortunately I'd been ignoring a lot of smaller publisher's titles. I think Drafted and Hack/Slash are two of the best titles to pass on to that friend of yours who insists on ONLY reading Marvel or DC ... we've all got one!
THE PULSE: What do you think it is about the world that Mark Powers has created that really sets Drafted apart from an alien invasion type tale that fans of the genre might be familiar with?
ISAACS: It seems that most alien-invasion stories focus on just few protagonists, and they're always the instant-hero type that rise to the challenge of saving the world without blinking. Drafted shows the invasion through the eyes of dozens of people just like you and me -- they're scared, they're confused, and they've got flaws a-plenty.
And I love that Mark acknowledges that all the animosity and intolerance in the world today couldn't just be solved with a simple handshake if such an invasion actually happened. It creates a fascination but frightening dilemma: could the human race really pull together in time to defend ourselves against a worldwide threat? And there are countless other unique aspects to this story.
THE PULSE: How tough is it to humanize characters in your artwork? How do you make a two-dimensional object feel like it has depth and emotion and so much more?
ISAACS: That's actually the easiest and most fun part of my work. I might toil over a particular face for hours to make the expression perfect but it's worth it if I look at the finished product and feel that a real, breathing person is looking back at me. And I get to make funny faces for my reference shots. As far as actually making it work, I think constantly observing people, almost in a creepy way, is essential for any comic book artist. Even if you don't have the materials to sketch the people around you, watch them like hawks. That's the only way to start picking up the nuances in expression that really breathe life into a drawing.
THE PULSE: What is it about this series that you find the most engaging as a reader?
ISAACS: Several of the characters are designed for the reader to hate them initially. But they're not villainous, and the personality flaws that create that knee-jerk reaction are traits that every person has somewhere inside them. So eventually we come to realize that they're no worse than the "heroic" characters that more effectively hide their skeletons. No one's allowed to be one-dimensional in this book. And I can't tell you too much, but Mark has some KILLER tricks up his sleeve.
THE PULSE: What I like about Drafted is it has elements of so many different things combined into one story. You have thrills, chills, moments where your heart is in your throat .... It just has so much going on ... How tough is it to capture everything Mark wants on the page?
ISAACS: I'll answer that one when I get back from my carpal tunnel therapy ... kidding, kidding! There is a high level of detail and tons of characters in the story, but it's just plain fun to draw!
THE PULSE: What were some of the challenges of getting into the grind to draw a project like this? I know you've done a few stories before, but what's the production schedule for this like?
ISAACS: Everyone involved has been refreshingly laid-back. I feel very lucky to have yet to experience the infamous crunch-time-on-steroids that you hear about so much in comics. And coming from SCAD helped a lot, since I was used to producing work nearly every day before I got my start professionally.
THE PULSE: What kind of feedback have you gotten from Devil's Due and Mark Powers about your artowrk so far? How helpful have their comments been?
ISAACS: I can't even explain how fantastic it's been working with Mark and Mike O. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, but they both have a great eye for detail and they don't let me get away with being lazy! Even though Mark has a great visual sense to his writing, he's always encouraged me to branch out from what he's described and think of something that might work better, which is difficult since he pretty much nails it every time.
THE PULSE: Which member of the cast is the easiest for you to relate to? Why?
ISAACS: I love Raisa. She's fierce and she doesn't take any crap. I think it's fantastic that the gritty, bad-a** action hero is a middle-aged woman!
THE PULSE: Which member of the cast has taken a while to grow on you?
ISAACS: I don't exactly consider myself "spunky," so Audrey was a little difficult to relate to at first. But any reader of the series knows that much more lurks beneath her exterior.
THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on?
ISAACS: Project Sleep.
PULSE readers can learn more about Rebekah here: http://rebekahann.deviantart.com/ . Her first issue of Drafted is # 7, which should be in stores this summer.
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