Comic Book Resources

Idol Thoughts 11/12

Here’s a Q & A with Final Four contestant, Dan McDaid!

Enjoy!

1. How crazy was it last week? Did you find yourself checking the polls constantly, or did you just wait until the end? How do you prepare yourself before the voting? Do you do the ol’ “prepare yourself for the worst” routine or what?

Yeah, last week was insane! I hadn’t canvassed too much in the previous weeks, due to having the - maybe slightly misguided - notion that the work should stand on its own, but my partner was adamant that I wasn’t going out like a sucka (her words… you wouldn’t think she was Scottish) so we hit Facebook, texted friends, PMed family, you name it. One awesome thing that fell out of that was that I got a vote from this very sweet old lady (I’m told - I’ve never met her) who resides at my (deep breath) partner’s mum’s nursing home. So HUGE thanks to biglizzie for that. I like to think it was her vote that made the difference. And yeah, I was refreshing the page pretty much constantly, particularly towards the end there. I was mentally ready to go out that week, had planned a weekend of television, drinking and being asleep, and
then… well I found myself drawing the Legion.

Crumbs, eh?

2. Obviously, it is not that people didn’t like your work, as this is not a “vote out the people you DON’T like”, but if you had to guess, what do you think about your pages didn’t click with the
audience this week?

I don’t think it came down to that so much as the other contestants having more friends and family to keep them in. Ha ha, I kid! I’ve got LOADS of friends.

I think my style is like Marmite (filthy brown yeast paste that you put on toast - not sure what the American version of that is…). It’s either loved or hated and there isn’t a lot in between. I put a lot of work into the roughs, so I knew the flow of the story was sound, but when it came to doing the pages I hadn’t really left myself enough time for polish and all that sexy stuff (backgrounds, flashy details) that the kids love. I’d love to have done these in colour as well, cos I think my style really flies in colour.

There were things I liked about my entry this week, but I knew it wasn’t perfect so I wasn’t massively surprised that I went out. I still think I did the best robot though! And I think at least twenty percent of the votes I got were for the inclusion of Matter-Eater Lad. God bless Matter-Eater Lad.

3. You’ve read the judges comments as well as the public comment thread — did any comments strike you as unfair? Which comments were right on the mark?

Vince Hernandez comment about my cityscape leaving something to be desired really cut to the quick… but that’s always the way when there’s an aspect of your work you feel could do with some tightening. So he totally called me on that I think. No the judges have been brilliant. Marc Silvestri has been particularly good: great eye for detail, straight up and honest, and always a perfect gentleman. That means a lot where I come from.

4. What was the hardest part about the Legion assignment for you?

Actually, I think my problem with this assignment was that I thought it was going to be easy. Well, easy-ish. I’ve done stuff for kids before so I knew I could draw a cute alien child, and I’ve designed alien city backdrops for my work in Doctor Who illustration, so I was pretty sure my city would be good. And, despite what some of the punters on the forum thought, superheroes are my bread and butter. Couldn’t be easier, right? Well… I think this meant that I fell back on some old tricks rather than pushing into new territory and stretching myself. It was t’riffic fun,
though.

5. Which style of script do you prefer working with - detailed or loose?

I like both. Dull answer, but there it is. Each offers different challenges: with the detailed script you’re trying to hit some invisible marker inside the writer’s head, and when you get that right it’s terrific. With the loose style there’s more room for personal expression, silly background detail, mucking about with layouts… I write a bit myself, so it’s nice to bring some more of my voice into the storytelling.

6. While you can feel free to be diplomatic and not answer - who do you think takes it - Charles or Jon?

Caio Oliveira!!! Damn, force of habit. Charles, probably. None of the artists in the competition are perfect (except for Caio and Jose, in my book), but almost all of them are “ready”, and C3P0 and Jon Reed both fit into that category. But of them both, Charles has the clearest, most accessible style. I think he needs to loosen up a little - for all the detail and atmosphere in his work, there’s some stiffness there. Jon’s work has plenty of action, but his style is a tougher sell. I like ‘em both though - every week they’ve astonished and humbled me with what they’ve
accomplished.

7. Are you planning on stopping by and participating in the final play-at-home thread?

God, no. My hands are worn down to nubs. NUBS! Actually, it’s going to prove very hard to resist as Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends was THE show for me when I was a kid. Remember when those two cops pulled their guns on Iceman and shouted “Freeze!” and Iceman… well, you get the idea. Loved it. So I might do something. I have an idea for a cover, an old school Gil Kane kind of thing: ATTACK OF THE GARGANTUAN GOBLIN! If I’ve got time I’ll do it.

8. Has this encouraged or discouraged you from continuing to pursue a career as s full-time comic artist?

Oh, encouraged, absolutely. For all that the world of comics is depicted as venal and awkward, being this involved with comics fans and having my work out there has shown me that the comics world is also warm, inclusive and thrilling, not to mention full of great characters. I should at this point say hello to JimmyDee, Shwa96, TheRonin, Mark Cardwell and Gwor -
among many, many others - who supported me to the end with messages, ludicrous exhortations of my abilities (I can’t actually eat hammers) and in one case a gorgeous sketch of my alien boy. Not a euphemism.

9. Finally, take this space to promote the heck out of whatever you would like to promote!

Well, I’m about to start writing and drawing a Doctor Who strip for Panini which is out sometime next year, so look out for that… And everyone should come visit my blog (http://danmcdaid.blogspot.com) to say hi, and
my website (http://danmcdaid.com) to look at my other work. I’d also like to promote myself as a helluva guy with a great sense of humour and impeccable dress sense (ladies, form a queue on the right for make-outs…).

I also cook.

Other than that, I want to say a big thanks to J Torres, Brandon Hanvey, Jonah Weiland, your good self and to everyone at CBR. Also, to all the judges who took time out from their hectic schedules and who were awesome above and beyond the call of duty. I had a REALLY cool time.

Thanks a lot, Dan!