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INTERVIEW: DANIEL BRERETON: UPDATED
Multi-award nominee Daniel Brereton has been working within the industry for over a decade as a writer, illustrator and one of the most popular painters in the biz. Right now you can catch Dan's work covering the scene with two, count 'em TWO new NOCTURNALS series from ONI Press currently on stands. Dan lives in watercolour and bleeds Halloween. PopImage: What's it like achieving your life goal of working in comics? Daniel: It's a relief. I have no idea what I'd be doing if I wasn't doing comics. Probably something creative, but this is the job that suits me perfectly and I love it. Today most people will have to work their way through advertising or graphic design before seeing the sequential page. You on the other hand followed through on a goal you were set with since childhood. Did you ever have any desire to take some time off from comics and work a different field? Sure. I have aspirations to work in other fields - film, editorial, children books, etc... but because I'm so busy and enmeshed in comics, those jobs come here and there, but not as much if I was actively pursuing them. When they happen, they are a nice change of pace. I have really been enjoying writing and could see myself taking off a year from painting comics to write them. But that's more up to an editor than me. I go where the work is. You've mentioned plans to work on the upcoming BEOWOLF film, would that not control a good portion of your time? No, because it's character design stuff, not production design. But if I were offered something like that I'd take it and give comics a break for a while. The Beowulf thing is on hold last I heard, but if and when it gets going again, I'm all over it. Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman wrote a killer script. What is it about the shadows that is so powerful to continuously inspire you to this day? Darkness is powerful. It hides everything and nothing. It's the slate of the imagination. You've often expressed how you feel people should recognize that painting and Computer painting are separate art styles and should be regarded as such. Have you tried utilizing computers in your own work as of yet? Only a little. Like if I want to play with the palette or contrast a little or clean up something that's awkward, but nothing like what some artists are doing. Plus most of the digital work is done with more than one artist working on the computer and I work alone. If I worked with one or more artists I wouldn't take the credit alone.
"Many of Doc's crew have left Pacific City to pursue personal quests and destinies- leaving Doc, Polychrome and the Gunwitch to handle things at home. Even Eve has left town, as she now attends private school with other special youngsters, hours away. Now, on the eve of Thanksgiving, Doc Horror's family of night creatures have returned, just in time to find the city in the grip of a new plague of Evil. Citizens of the town are showing up as the Undead, leaving the police helpless and baffled. Without much help from Doc, who is wrapped up in his own personal quest- unearthing what he believes to be the remains of ancient ruins deep beneath the town- Polychrome and the Raccoon uncover more of the undead. So far the only thing they know what to do is out them out of their misery, Raccoon-style. Firelion and Starfish return soon after, and all discover that Doc has disappeared into the depths, following a cave-in at the mouth of his dig-site. What follows then is a labyrinthine mystery that will be unraveled above and below the cursed city. One of Doc's crew will discover a destiny none of them could ever have expected- while Doc stumbled onto the legacy of a bygone Age- and the ghosts who still haunt its ruins." In addition to THE DARK FOREVER is also the mini-series GUNWITCH: OUTSKIRTS OF DOOM. Written by Daniel and featuring art by Ted [GLOOMCOOKIE, NOCTURNALS: TROLLBRIDGE] Naifeh. "THE GUNWITCH and Eve stumble onto a small town in the grip of evil- the sleepy hamlet of Helipolis was once a thriving community nestled away in the hills, a sanctuary from the rat race and the cares of larger cities. A place seldom visited by trouble. Until two rival vampire clans moved into town and went to war. Goodnight and Fang have turned Heliopolis into a crimson-stained war zone, battling over a travelling exhibit- an Egyptian mummy and it's accompanying horde of treasure. Stolen years before, the two clans now battle for possession of the riches and wonders the relics may bestow on its possessors. Until Eve and her faithful, silent bodyguard, the Guwitch, stop in Heliopolis on their way to Eve's new school. A chance meeting with one of the occupying vampires leads to Eve allowing the Gunwitch to stay behind and rid the town of the vermin infesting it. Eve rides on ahead, with a word of advice to the gunslinging revenant: "I want you to help these people, but I want you back in one piece too. So play it cool- no showdowns, no sticking your neck out too far. Use your head, not just your guns." With that, Eve goes on ahead, leaving the Gunwitch to handle the bloodthirsty clans with a cool head, a deadly aim and absolutely no power of speech..." As far as NOCTURNALS is concerned, what sparked the thought for you to create a set of characters that were equal parts horror and equal parts crime noir? Just that I wanted to do monsters, crime and horror with a taste of Halloween in one book. It wasn't til later that I realized what I was doing was a pulp novel in the most pulpiest sense - those stories crossed genres quite a bit and they were fun. Another of Dan's more famous works was GIANTKILLER: a creator-owned miniseries published by DC Comics starring Jack the Giantkiller fighting an entire alphabet full of giant monsters. I have the rights, but DC/Warner can come in and make an offer if a deal is on the table with another studio. So far there have been lots of nibbles and interest, but nothing that jazzes me or that's right for the property. One studio was talking about getting the Rock to do the voice of Jack for an animated series, etc... As for ONI, it depends entirely on whether or not DC decides to collect the series at some point. I'm talking with them but nothing concrete so far. And what of NOCTURNALS, did you ever complete the film script you were working on? No, but it's still in progress and I think it will be great once it's done. It's a total rework of the story and structure but the characters are the same. Doc is a sort of reluctant occult investigator whose daughter is gifted and supposed to one day take control of the secret society they belong to. Doc is against this, and wants to destroy every crawling thing in the dark so his little girl won't have to deal with it when she's older. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way and Doc finds he needs help... I think it's a strong story for the screen. What was the inspiration for Pacific City's design/look? It's an amalgam of small towns in California, places that aren't too big, that are off the beaten track. Coastal towns like Carmel, Eureka, Bodega Bay, etc... One of the main characters in NOCTURNALS, Eve has always been based after your daughter. Now that they've both grown up has the personality changed in effect to the character? Or has the character had any effect on your daughter? Do any other characters reflect people in your life? No, Eve doesn't have any effect on my daughter's personality. They began as very similar personality types, but have evolved into two different people. I think it's cool, though, that my daughter likes Eve's character and recognizes that she is a heroic figure. Eve is like a third daughter to me - I really have an affinity for her and enjoy watching her grow up, albeit slower than my own kids are growing up.
I haven't done that yet, but it would take a larger push that that to get things in motion. I feel it's the responsibility of everyone in the biz, but it would be great if DC and Marvel and other publishers got involved on a larger scale. My problem is I'm a night owl so appearing in a classroom is a whole thing for me. My working schedule on a daily basis is wholly Nocturnal. Last time we spoke about your style you described it as "personality meets limitation, fall in love, and have a child called style. Then about 18 months later, personality gets pregnant again but this time, it's a little girl." Has your opinion of your style changed at all within the last two years? I think it changes incrementally all the time. I'm learning stuff, and I'm evolving slowly. My main concern is simplifying my work as much as I can. I admire artists like Alex Toth and Bruce Timm for the simplicity of their work. I want that in mine. You recently mentioned that you have some possible Marvel work headed your way. A stint on the now cancelled BROTHERHOOD series was up in the air. But also ahead is a cover for an upcoming TYPHOID MARY book. Are you more tempted to work for Marvel since the new atmosphere surrounding the company since Joe's appointment to EIC? Basically, I go where the work is. My friend Steven Grant introduced me to a Marvel editor who likes my work and she wanted to hire me. I don't know if it has anything to do with Joe [Quesada] being there or not, but if it weren't for my friendship with Bendis, I'm sure I wouldn't be doing a Team-Up project. I don't know. I'm kind of interested in seeing where this leads. I still enjoy my relationship with DC and do more work with them as well. Speaking of covers, you're often commissioned to do cover art for various projects. How do you decide which ones to take on? Has there ever been a project you didn't feel right to take on? Freelancers, or at least the ones I know, have a simple rule: don't turn down work if you can help it. Unless I find something really offensive or completely a waste of time, if the job pays good, I'll take it. I'm a freelancer and this is how I make my living. Yes, I have taken jobs I regretted a few times, but mostly I try to do what's offered to me. I'm a hired gun, you know? When I can't fight my own battles with books like NOCTURNALS or GIANTKILLER, it's different. But you gotta take the jobs to get paid. It's part of being a professional for me. Also coming up is your MARVEL TEAM UP stint featuring Blade and a number of classic monsters. Will this revolve around more of the horror genre characters, such as Werewolf by night or the large atomic age monsters? Horror characters for sure! Morbius, for sure. Despite the darkness incorporated in your works you've always done well with colours. Bold blue waters, strong green skin, fiery red and yellow flames licking the page they embrace. How do you plan for a piece when compiling bright colours into a dark atmosphere? Especially since you're able to pull it off so well. I have a rough idea of colour when I start, but sometimes I have to find the colour because the palette doesn't always present itself to me right away. There's a harmonizing thing that happens when the colours are right and until the colours begin to 'sing' for me, I know its not there yet. It's a lot of feel combined with some knowledge, but it's largely intuitive. What preferred art tools do you continuously keep by your side? A sketch book or notebook when I'm not working with a ballpoint pen or a pencil. At the desk, there's always watercolours, brushes, some acrylics, gesso, coloured pencils and watercolour dyes. What artists, past and present do you find currently have an influence on your work? Do you have a preferred art movement? I am
fond of American illustrators of the first half of the 20th century:
Wyeth, Cornwell, Elgren. Also upcoming you have AUTUMN with Mike Manley, will you be primarily handling the writing chores or will you have your hand in on the art chores as well? Mostly writing and character design stuff a little and Mike and I would be doing the covers together. Mike is pretty busy with other stuff right now and so am I. But when it happens it's gonna be cool. Has a publisher been decided at this time? We just heard recently that we have an interested publisher. I don't want to discuss it too much as it's all very new and tenuous, but it looks good. I just hope Mike can fit it into his schedule soon! This publisher will be doing a couple of other monster type books, so it may bloom into an entire line of monster comics which would be perfect. What can you tell us about NOCTURNALS: THE HIDEOUS LEAGUE? Any confirmation on the artist? We are casting about for someone who can handle the job. I have some artists in mind, but no one I can discuss. The Hideous League will be a fun book. Just basically spooky humour with a super-hero feel. The perfect artist would be Jack Davis back in the fifties. You've also mentioned plans for a JLA piece. Would this be a project you'd be painting? I have an idea in mind for another one, but right now the editor and I have spoken about an Aquaman: Mysteries of the deep story that would be cool. Nothing concrete, though, as yet. Would this be a continuation of some of the mysterious old powers introduced in the 7 caskets story? A continuation of the idea that the Earth is old and full of weird stuff we don't know about, like the Empress and her age in 7 Caskets, yeah. Of course, Aquaman knows about these things and that's part of what would be exciting about this kind of story. He finally gets to be an expert and have something cool going on with his character. Now that you've had another artist work on NOCTURNALS, your 'baby' so to speak, and have made plans for another artist to work on your Hideous League one-shot. Are there any other specific artists out there you'd like to see jump on board one of your series? An artists whose work I admire, Phil Noto, is someone I'd like to see draw a Nocturnals mini series. You can see his work at Notoart.com. He's really good and he loves the Nocs. I've also talked to Ted about doing another GUNWITCH, and there are a few other artists I'd like to see handle these characters. I really enjoy seeing the right artists do the characters. I feel Ted Naifeh has really nailed the characters and that's all the incentive I need to let him handle the art while I take care of the story. A lot of your work will carry a beauty and the beast angle. What is it so appealing about love trapped inside a monster to you? Perhaps that everyone has the potential to be a hero? Has the desire to love and be loved? It has to do maybe with how the monster is always the underdog, the outsider, and its interesting to me to make the outsider the hero. I'm sure it has something to do with my tumultuous childhood. Now this isn't the first time you've referred to your childhood as tumultuous. Care to elaborate on what went on in your childhood that would continue to effect you to this day? Just that I had an overactive imagination and was afraid of the dark. Also, I wasn't that coordinated in sports so I was this klutz who liked comic books and drew all the time. I grew up in the suburbs, a dull as hell place where basically, if you didn't fit in with the cub scouts (got thrown out of that), or weren't good in sports, etc. You were an oddball. All I wanted to do as a kid was go exploring, draw, read comics and catch snakes. I was shy on top of everything else and I actually had a good singing voice then too, so that was another strike against me. It didn't matter how many kids I fought, how many noses I bloodied or how many times I had my butt handed to me, I wasn't going to be easily accepted. This made me an angry kid so I was pretty well screwed. My imagination was a curse and it was also the thing I escaped into. On the other hand, it's not like my childhood was all bad. By the time I was in the 7th grade, I had settled down a lot, had a circle of best friends and didn't feel like such a geek. My ability to draw began to captivate people more as I got better at it and it was a good icebreaker. Also my voice broke so the singing career was dashed (Thank God). High school was fun for me. Probably the best years of my primary education, actually. And of course, art school was just a blast. I suppose Halloween was/is a big event around the household for you - any favourite memories from all hallows eve you'd care to share? I just recently recounted my first Halloween for the upcoming SIMPSONS: TREEHOUSE OF HORROR SPECIAL for this year (I provided the back cover). I was two and my Mom dressed me as a devil and made up my face. I cried when I saw my reflection in the mirror. Later I cried again when she took me to my grandmothers house. She and my aunts were all disguised as hags crouched over a cauldron full of dry ice. They were so damn convincing I bawled like, well, a two year old. I'll never forget that. The funny thing is, about fours years ago my mom made me a tail and cloak and I went out with my kids as the devil. Horns, red make-up, the whole deal. While we were out trick or treating, three boys stopped in front of me. One of them said "It's the master!" in this reverent voice. Then they all bowed, and ran off. It was hilarious. I guess I've come full circle with Halloween. Now my kids and I wouldn't be seen dead in some tame, friendly costume on Halloween night. And as a kid, that's all I ever was, Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Scarecrow, Luke Skywalker, a Cowboy, etc... Not anymore. 
Now that the structure of what constitutes a hero has changed morally and aesthetically over the years, do you feel the renegade or rebel can still carry the weight it once had? If he's done right, always. The anti-hero is kind of a tired thing, but mostly because they seemed to be done the same, over and over again. I think the best protagonists have a little darkness in their make-up. But that doesn't mean they should all be cold-blooded killers. There has been this sort of Rambo, Steven Seagal attitude with some heroic characters that says it's o-kay to kill a guy because he's the evil bad guy, and the hero is the good guy. This is a fascist concept to me. Dehumanizing the opponent so it appears OK to take him down, say what you will about Superman or Batman, but they don't ice people. They draw a line and this is one of the strongest things about their characters. Because as conflicted as Batman gets, he has a code. I think that could be the strength of any character. Does he posses a code? Does he posses character or is he merely a character? Has a date been set yet for your continuing Nocturnals collaboration with Rob Zombie? One of the reasons I'm rather excited about this project is, not only are you both incredibly talented, but this work could serve as a major foray to getting comics more commonly distributed in record stores. Rob's pretty busy with other stuff like his new record and his movie, so the comics stuff is kind of on the back burner for him. I think once a studio hands you several million to make a film, you tend to get distracted. Look how long it took for Kevin Smith to get around to the GREEN ARROW thing. He had movies to make. Only time will tell if Rob and I collaborate on a comic project again. Now as both a movie and comic buff, you must get asked the 'fave title' or 'desert island' questions all the time. Which of course is one of the questions you really need to put thought into, 'cause it's always changing - the list is never the same. For me, I've been asked enough to know my top three movies, to know some of my fave books by heart. Do you have a set of favourites that you always keep in mind when answering this sort of question?
Finish these sentences Special thanks to Dan for the interview and would like to remind all to visit Dan's site at Nocturnals.com. Also be sure to check out the current NOCTURNALS mini's; GUNWITCH with story by Dan and art by Ted Naifeh. As well as the fully painted NOCTURNALS: THE DARK FOREVER.
All characters, titles, images mentioned or shown are copyright
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Daniel Brereton is a unique artist. He has the ability to be energetic and eerily quiet. Colourful and dark. His paint brush glides across the page with the power of a lighting storm. 
