Frazer Irving is a busy man these days. Last week, we reviewed the release of Archaia’s Days Missing (read our Days Missing Hardcover review), of which Irving illustrated two of the five issues. He’s also recently been named as the next artist on DC Comics’ Batman and Robin and Return of Bruce Wayne #2 (Batman and Robin & Return of Bruce Wayne Artists Revealed).
Mr. Irving was nice enough to give us his time for your enjoyment.
CraveOnline: Frazer, thanks for talking with us! Let’s get right into it. In a project like Days Missing, with a robust team of writers and aritsts, what is the process for staying on the same page, ensuring that the series winds up with a focused vision?
Frazer Irving: The process is get someone like editor Rob Levin to sit at his computer 24/7 constantly mediating/nagging us! If ever I had any queries (and there were quite a few I must say), then he was the go-to man. In many comics gigs in the past (including those of a similar nature as Days Missing), the point man has been woefully underinformed or is just lame at actually organizing the creatives involved, so it was nice to have an organized and extremely resilient dude like Rob in charge of all of us.
CraveOnline: You were the artist on the first and last issue of Days Missing, were you the one that set the precedent of the character design of The Steward?
Frazer Irving: No, that was Dale Keown. All I did was animate him in the first sequential pages, but Dale’s design was was pretty thorough.
CraveOnline: How did you get involved in Days Missing?
FI: Rob Levin asked me and I said yes!
CraveOnline: The end of the mini-series strongly hinted at a continuing story featuring The Steward. Is there anything you might be able to shed some light on?
FI: Well I certainly have my own ideas as to where the story could go, but it’s not my property and thus pondering upon possible future storylines and developments is a bit like dreaming about dating some other dude’s girlfriend. Which is why I won’t spill any of my ideas here. Other than that, the folks in charge have told me nothing of their plans for The Steward.
CraveOnline: It was recently announced that you’ll be doing a stint on Batman and Robin with Grant Morrison starting with issue #13, as well as issue #2 of the high profile Return of Bruce Wayne. Do you approach a job like this any differently? Is it intimidating being brought on board one of the top selling monthly comics?
FI: It is a little, yes. The expectations of Bat-fandom can be quite extreme, which can make an artist quite wary so I have decided to avoid the internet on that one till the job is done. That’s quite the reverse of Days Missing. I try to approach each gig the same, though the details may change a little. Like, for instance, on Days Missing, I did each page one at a time, yet with the Bat-stuff I’m doing like several pages at once to see if I can improve consistency and continuity in the scenes. I’m also having to invent my own “actors” to play Batman and the others because those figures are so heavily weighted with iconic shapes and symbols that the faces tend to get swamped unless they are very strong. I think that’s because of the masks, actually.
CraveOnline: You’ve worked with many of the top writers in comics today, including Grant Morrison, Mike Carey, Phil Hester, and Fabien Nicieza. Is there anyone you are really eager to work with?
FI: Me.
CraveOnline: Fair enough. Is there anything else coming up for you that you can discuss?
FI: After Batman and Robin there will be the last three issues of Gutsville! I promise!! *punches sky and swears a bloody vow*
CraveOnline: Well, we’ll certainly be on the lookout for that. Thanks for your time, Frazer!
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