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BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO Artist Chris Samnee has gotten the chance to draw a variety of projects at both DC and Marvel Comics this past year. Marvel's Man Without Fear is one of Samnee's favorites, so he wasn't afraid to take on the world of Daredevil in the Blood of the Tarantula Annual.
Samnee joins Ed Brubaker and Ande Parks for this tale that sees Carlos LaMuerto, a.k.a. the Black Tarantula, trying to atone for his past sins as a gang lord by helping the same neighborhood he tried to rule with an iron fist, as a modern day Robin Hood type. However, it's tough to turn over a new leaf when just about everyone has certain expectations of what you should be doing. LaMuerto turns to Matt Murdock a.k.a. Daredevil for some help, and we turn to Samnee for some answers about this annual.
THE PULSE: When we last spoke about Checkmate, you said it gave you a chance to "scratch that superhero itch." How does working on a superhero like Daredevil compare?
CHRIS SAMNEE: It's pretty similar actually. My style is fairly rooted in the real world, with as much of the fantastic as I can manage. With Daredevil it was great to get a chance to work on, not just a superhero book, but a character I had grown up reading.
THE PULSE: How did you become the artist on the Daredevil: Blood of the Tarantula annual?
SAMNEE: Ed Brubaker had sent along a few nice words to Ande Parks and I after Capote in Kansas came out, we traded a few emails during my run on Queen & Countrry and have tried to get together on a few projects. When a hole opened up in my schedule Ed was kind enough to recommend me to his editor Warren Simons for the annual. I couldn't think of a better pair of guys to get a chance to work with.
THE PULSE: A lot of people have drawn Daredevil through the years. Who are the ones who have played the biggest part in how you view the hero?
SAMNEE: Mazzucchelli is probably one of my biggest influences, not just in how I interpret Daredevil but how I view storytelling and mood. There's quite a bit of Michael Lark in there too since he's done such an amazing job, along with Stefano Gaudiano, on their run on the book with Brubaker. Honestly though, almost every artist who's worked on the book over the years from Wally Wood to Gene Colan have helped inform how I see the character, and hopefully their influence shows through a bit in how I draw him on the page.
THE PULSE: When you were just getting ready to work on this series, how else did you get to know the hero? What are some of the things you did to feel comfortable working in Hell's Kitchen?
SAMNEE: I reread the latest trades, and single issues that have yet to be collected, well as the DD annual Ed, Ande and Leandro Fernandez put out last year, and set to work filling up a sketchbook with character designs and costumes while trying to get just the right look for each member of the cast that shows up in the issue.
THE PULSE: Who is the Black Tarantula that is joining Daredevil in this gang fight?
SAMNEE: Black Tarantula aka Carlos LaMuerta was created by Tom DeFalco and Steve Skroce as a villain in Amazing Spider-Man back in the '90s and recently he showed up in prison on Ryker's Island in Daredevil during the Devil Inside and Out storyline. Since being released from prison Carlos has been trying get on a more straight and narrow path as almost a Robin Hood of sorts in Hell's Kitchen.
THE PULSE: What were some of the challenges of working on a newer character like that, who isn't as widely known
SAMNEE: Less of a challenge that a relief actually, with a character that isn't as well known I feel less pressure to live up to previous incarnations. With Black Tarantula I even had the opportunity to tweak his costume design a bit to suit my strengths, which isn't really an option with more widely known characters.
THE PULSE: How do you make a hero like that appear natural standing toe-to-toe with someone like Daredevil?
SAMNEE: I try to make every character live and breath between the panels . No matter if it's Matt Murdock, Black Tarantula or some street thug, it's all about making their actions believable to the reader and doing my best to match what you see in the art to the dialogue on the page.
THE PULSE: How did you approach the pencils to this project?
SAMNEE: Since I inked this myself I pretty much stuck to my regular routine of thumbnails, full-size roughs, and then lightbox the roughs tightening up any necessary details as I go while still leaving them loose enough to have fun when I start laying down ink on the page. I've been published mostly in black and white over the years so I definitely tried to curb the number of open lines and floating black shapes that I'd use in a B&W book. Matt Hollingsworth has really outdone himself turning in a beautiful job coloring this issue. Every page is better than the last. I couldn't be happier with the way the book has turned out.
THE PULSE: Was this something that you really had to spend a lot of time laying out or was it something that you really had a clear picture of in your mind
SAMNEE: There was a pretty quick turnaround on the issue. From script to thumbnails to penciled pages so there wasn't really a lot of time for me to fuss over things. For the most part I went with my gut reaction to the panel descriptions and what ended up on the page, nine times out of ten, is pretty close to what I had scribbled in the margins of the script on my first read through.
THE PULSE: What were some of the biggest challenges to drawing this story?
SAMNEE: Following all the great artists who've tackled DD over the years was a bit daunting to say the least. It's one thing to feel like you have somebody's shoes to fill when doing a fill-in on a title, but Daredevil has had some of the best and brightest stars of comics working on it in the prime of their careers, so there is quite a bit to live up to.
THE PULSE: What appealed to you the most about this story as a comic book reader?
SAMNEE: I really liked reading, in the previous annual as well as this one, what felt like a Daredevil comic, but with the POV actually being that of a one time villain. It's a really cool way to view the world that you don't see often in comics. Oh, and Daredevil kicks ass:)
THE PULSE: How was working on this different from some of your other Vertigo, DC and Oni work?
SAMNEE: Having worked with Ande a couple times before it kind of felt like getting the band back together. The first thing Ande and I had done together was Capote in Kansas, which I started in 2004. After that we did a short story in '05 for Put the Book Back on the Shelf, the Belle and Sebastian anthology book. and haven't had a chance to work together again until now but I feel like we fell right back into the old routine as if we hadn't lost a step.
THE PULSE: What's next for you after this Daredevil tale?
SAMNEE: Nothing I can talk about yet, but a lot of things I'm really excited about.
Daredevil: Blood of the Tarantula is in stores now from Ed Brubaker, Ande Parks and Chris Samnee.
Posts: 20859 | From: PA | Registered: Aug 2002
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Samnee's a great guy and a great artist. If you ever get a chance to see him at a con, I'd highly recommend stopping by his table and getting something. Very friendly and very talented.
Posts: 144 | Registered: Mar 2003
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