Broken Frontier

Monday morning, Marvel editor Nate Cosby called me to say that Stéphane Peru, the colorist of "Incredible Hercules," passed away over the weekend.  Stéphane's work always dazzled me with its brilliant combination of aching aesthetic sensibility and lotsa boffo laffs -- he made every panel and page of "Incredible Hercules" simultaneously funnier and more heroic.  I've invited my "Hercules" co-writer Fred Van Lente, editor Mark Paniccia, assistant editor Nate Cosby, and penciller Khoi Pham to join me today to pay tribute to Stéphane and show some of his gorgeous work from "Incredible Hercules" #114, the last book he colored for us, which hits comic book stores next week.

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Greg Pak: Some colorists aren't fans of textures, believing they obscure the line art.  But Stéphane always found the perfect textures to complement and enhance Khoi's pencils and bring out the depth and emotional resonance of a given scene.  Here, I particularly love the stone textures on the wall behind the Black Widow in panel 1 and the gorgeous, subtle sky in panel 3. 

Khoi Pham: Yeah, the sky in panels 3 and 4 really stand out for me, especially in 3.  There's no background there, and yet Steph once again finds the perfect complementary elements to flesh out the panels.  I tell you, it was such a pleasure knowing that he'd always make the right choices.

Fred Van Lente: And the different coloring for the myth flashbacks, such an integral and well-regarded aspect of this book, were all Stéphane's conception as well. The more golden hues he used throughout are perfect to give the effect of a simpler, more legendary age.

Mark Paniccia: When we were looking for the right guy for the book, Talent Manager Chris Allo showed me samples of Stéphane's stuff. I couldn't believe he was available for the gig and it turned out he was a huge fan of Hercules.

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GP: That first panel absolutely blows. My. Mind.  That is all.

FVL: And the flames Steph added in "post," as they say in film -- am I remembering that right, Khoi?

KP: Yeah, the embers and ash were all Steph.  I draw some generic smoke lines, but he replaced them with those beautiful effects.  He turned a pretty simple drawing into a standout panel.

MP: As Greg mentioned, he was amazing with textures as you can see from the whole book. From concrete to plastic to liquid, he knew how to make things look tangible with that extra burst of detail.

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GP: The pink car is all Stéphane.  He sent us an email crowing about it, and we agreed he was indeed a coloring genius to put Ares in a pink convertible.  Also, you may not be able to make it out in this compressed image, but Stéphane added tongue-in-cheek street signs in panel 2 for "Khoi Farm" and "Van Lente Hospital."  Innocent lad that I am, I thought that "Greg Park" might make for a clever future sign. Fred, on the other hand, recommended the "Pak Brothel and Crackhouse."  Thanks, Fred.

FVL: I just felt it important you should have a road sign reflective of your true inner personality, Greg. For the fans' sake.  And I will second the "Genius!" about Steph making the car pink... He really got how we were using Ares in this series. As did the equally brilliant Mr. Pham, for that matter -- this is a terrific case of the whole creative team working in tandem.

KP: Genius indeed.  Makes me smile every time I look at that pink car.

MP: That's the thing, he was thinking of ways to enhance the story with color, whether it was embers or reflections to get across the sheer heat of a flame or the color of a car to add to the joke.  

Nate Cosby: After that, he wanted to make EVERYthing pink. Pink shoes, pink hats, pink leash for the coyote puppy. Then he wanted the flashbacks to be in pink…

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GP: I love that sand in panel 1.  And check out the insane detailing of Herc's bloodshot eyes and the mottling on his fingers and the bridge of his nose in the last panel.  That's the kind of above-and-beyond attention to subtle detail that makes characters come to life, and Stéphane delivered that every day as a matter of course.

NC: This reminds me: In Issue #113, there was a word balloon that was covering up a piece of spit coming out of Herc’s mouth. But Steph had put so much effort into rendering that spit, it was so 3-D, that I had production figure out how to put the spit OVER the balloon, and still read the words clearly.

KP: He was very detailed, and he wasn't afraid to ask what certain things were.  A true professional.

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GP: Stéphane had a great time evoking 1970s comics printing with the Champions flashback on this page.  And here's a great, subtle detail that I'm just now noticing:  Stéphane kept Hercules's silhouette in the first panel a full black -- that's an almost subliminal tip off that that's the real Herc while the slightly washed out characters in the rest of the image are fantasies.  A colorist who delivers beautiful images?  Fantastic.  A colorist who deeply understands the emotional context and storytelling imperatives of every scene?  One of the greats.

KP: Good call, Greg.  The reader can tell that Herc is in a different reality than his imagined Champions just by Stéphane's treatment of that panel alone, without any other context.  I knew he'd rock these throwback panels, just like he rocked the flashback panels.

Man, what a great talent, but an even better person.  It just seems like yesterday that I was telling him he was destined for greatness.  And he was.  Life's just not fair sometimes.  You'll be missed, Steph.

NC: He did such a great job on this page, I talked to the letterers about trying to replicate the antiquated look of the page. We were going to ask Steph to work some magic over the finalized balloons, but we ran out of time. Man, I want the guy back. Love ya, Steph.

FVL: Even though it's last issue, I should also point out Steph helped me out with my crappy French in the opening to Herc #113 (didn't want you to share blame with whatever level your French skill might be, there, Greg), and he was totally cool about it. I will miss his work, but most of all, I'll miss trading joshing emails with him. He was a great artist and a great joy to work with -- and that's why I feel so cheated, and so sad, we were robbed of him this young.  Repose en paix, mon frère.

MP: Stressing the importance of storytelling with color, you can see just how many levels Stéphane was working on. All of this came to him with ease. It was like he was in a constant state of inspiration.

The man had two great gifts, his talent and his infectious ability to inspire others. Thanks, Stéphane.

Thanks for reading -- we’ll be back soon with another thrilling installment of “Pak Talks Comics.”  Please  click here  to submit your questions for our Reader Q&A section and see you next time!

© 2008 Greg Pak.  All rights reserved.  For more about Greg Pak’s comics and films, visit www.pakbuzz.com.