Dead Already In-Depth
With Artist Michael Shelfer
by Janet Houck
Crime doesn't pay; not for voodoo serial-killers and their mothers, nor for cursed NYC cop John Lyon. Crime does pay, however, for psychiatrists with a penchant for short skirts and "crazy" clients in the police force. We sit down with the artist of Dead Already, Michael Shelfer, for a look into this upcoming title and the man behind the lines.
Thank you for taking the time to talk with Gomanga! Not much is known yet about Dead Already. How did you come to work on this title?
MS: Thank you for this opportunity to talk about Dead Already! After seeing some Seven Seas titles in the store, I went to gomanga.com and discovered that they were wanting artists to send in samples of their work, so that's pretty much how it started. Jason DeAngelis contacted me a couple of weeks later and we talked for about a month on what kind of book would be best for my style. All of a sudden, he said he had this great script for me, so I sat down and read through the whole thing in just a couple of hours and loved it. The rest, as they say, is history.
From the sketches we've seen, the art style of Dead Already is very bold, with solid lines and contrasts, and you've been compared to Kia Asamiya (Dark Angel) in the past. How would you describe your style? Did you need to adjust it for the action/supernatural horror tone of the script?
MS: "Very bold, with solid lines and contrasts" pretty much sums it up actually. I've never really thought about it much. I like everything on the page to be defined. I don't want someone to have to ask what something is supposed to be. I want the reader to know what they are looking at. When I draw, I like it to come out looking like a movie storyboard. I don't feel like I've had to adjust my style too much at all, but I did run into some problems when I was working on Star Trek for TOKYOPOP at the same time. My style started to go a bit too "western" for Jason's taste, so I had to watch it and bring myself back to "manga," as it were.
In one of the inked sketches, we see John Lyon with a '69 Charger in the background. Was the car a part of the script or did you add it in as a character detail?
MS: The script called for a 1963 Dodge Charger, but Dodge didn't start producing the Charger until '66. I'm sure this was just a slight oversight, so I decided to go with the most popular of the Charger styles. I love the '69 Charger. If I had one, I'd run from the police all the time.
Did you need to do any research for sketching out specific items in the manga?
MS: I think a comic artist has to do a lot of research before starting any major project, and Dead Already was no different. I love that it's set in New York. I've put NYC in a lot of my previous personal work, so that came pretty easy, but I've had to study old factories on the Hudson and lots of different guns. It's convenient that I live with a military guy, so he's got plenty of guns for me to study.
How much input has writer Dwayne Alexander Smith had on your artwork and you on the story?
MS: Well unfortunately, I haven't spoke to Dwayne yet, but I'm following his script as close as possible, and Jason is always there to tell me what Dwayne thinks of the new pages. Dwayne's got a gift for describing things and settings in as few words as possible. I think that's one of the main reasons I wanted to do Dead Already in the first place. I take a few liberties with the art when it contrasts with the story though.
Do you have a favorite character to draw, or does each character have its own set of perks and problems?
MS: I really have to say that Lyon is my favorite to draw, but they have all been fun so far. The main bad dude is a challenge because he's pretty huge compared to everyone else.
Where else can we see your work?
MS: I have a story in the upcoming Star Trek manga from TOKYOPOP, due out in September. The name of the story is "Oban," and it's written by Jim Alexander. You can also check out my deviantArt gallery at http://the-bluephoenix.deviantart.com, and I'm also in Rising Stars of Manga volume 5 from TOKYOPOP.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you were drawn into the world of manga?
MS: I'm 25 and I live in North Florida, where everyone looks at me funny when I tell them I draw comics. I got introduced to anime and manga a long time ago when my dad brought home a copy of Warriors of the Wind, which was originally Nausicaa, but highly edited. Years after that, I discovered Ghost in the Shell and Armitage III, and then it was on to Cowboy Bebop and the like. I had just started to get into wanting to draw comics then, so my style just sort of migrated over to "manga."
What are your hobbies and interests, besides drawing?
MS: I really like to read books - anything from Heinlein to Herbert, to Tolkien, Phillip K. Dick and Lovecraft. I love going to the movies, and my DVD collection is becoming a little too extensive. I play too many video games. I forget about deadlines during Dragon Quest VIII. I play a lot with my cat, Houdini. I hang with my girlfriend as much as I can. She's really, really understanding about the amount of time it takes me to draw. I don't really have any other hobbies besides drawing comics. I'm blessed that I get to do what I love for a living.
How long have you been drawing for?
MS: I can't really remember when I wasn't drawing. My dad says I was drawing things at 3 or 4, but who the hell remembers that kind of stuff?
What are some of your favorite manga titles, and what are you currently reading? Which titles, if any, influenced Dead Already?
MS: I read Blame!, No Man's Land, Trigun, Pastel, Serephic Feather and Full Metal Alchemist, among others. Blame! is a great influence for me, especially the backgrounds. I want to kick myself every time I look through a new volume.
You won the public vote in the fifth Rising Stars of Manga contest with Blue Phoenix: No Quarter. Do you have any advice for manga artists looking to break into the market, or at least looking to win the next RSoM contest?
MS: It was a HUGE thrill to win the People's Choice award. Forget about the top prize; people voted on me! I was so floored and I'm still very humbled over the whole thing. RSoM is a great way for aspiring artists to get a foot in the door. Don't try to write a story that you think the editors will pick though. Just write and draw what you want. All I wanted to do in that story was blow sh*t up, and it actually worked. When you're starting out, don't try to impress anyone. Just do your best and NEVER give up. I tried to get hired in comics for over 5 years. It will be an uphill battle, but if you keep at it, then you will get it. One way or the other.
Finally, do you think John Lyon has a chance to shoot down No Man as Seven Seas' fan-favorite gunslinger?
MS: Hmmm.......probably the toughest question in the whole interview. Both may be cool gunslingers, but I think Lyon is a bit more like everybody else. He's not as brooding as No Man, and he's certainly a lot more charismatic. This is tough. I love No Man's Land, but I have to be biased and go with Lyon. Can you blame me?
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