Broken Frontier

Broken Frontier recently got a chance to talk to Adam Kubert while he was working on the redesign of one of Marvel's villains for Ultimate Fantastic Four in his studio at the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning & Graphic Art. 

We talked about Ultimate Fantastic Four, working in the comic book industry, and how he feels he can never compete with his father's legacy.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Did you ever attend your father's school? Or were you, for a lack of better words, 'home schooled'?

ADAM KUBERT: Nope, I did go through, in fact I have a bachelor's degree in medical administration from Rochester institute or technology. And then I went to my dad's school.

BF: Do you have set hours that you have to work? Or is it pretty much just a self-imposed schedule?

AK: Well, I usually I work regular business hours. I get here, as early as I can usually I'm at my table by 7-7:30am and I'm done by 6pm or so. But there's times when I have a table set up at my house for the weekend and for working at night so I can put in some extra time.

BF: With that kind of freedom, it could be hard to ever get any work done.

AK: [laughs] Well, I have bills, I have kids, I have a family and that stuff kind of forces you to do it.

BF: Yeah, that would do it. It must be pretty crazy to have two immediate family members in the industry along with you. Do you ever feel any sort of competition with Andy?

AK: Every day, especially in basketball because he's really good and he kicks my ass all the time and I don't practice enough to beat him. 
As for comics, the competition is like a friendly competition. I mean, I see what he's doing, he's seeing what I'm doing and it moves up along. I strive to do better and he strives to do better. So it's a good form of competition.

BF: And how about your father? Do you ever strive to do anything more than he did?

AK: No. Because I know I can't. I'm not fooling myself.

BF: Really?

AK: [laughs] Well, I mean, if you've never seen him draw it's just magical. He's really, honest to goodness a genius. I've seen his figure drawings, years ago we used to take figure drawing together with a nude model and all that. And his stuff is just; it's like Michelangelo. I swear to god, it's on a level that's just unattainable. There is no competition.

BF: You've been working with Marvel for a long time, and you've also switched over to the Ultimate universe which is obviously still Marvel. But which would you say you're having more fun with? Did you have more fun with the regular Marvel Universe or the Ultimate version?

AK: You know it's a funny thing; I usually have fun with whatever's on my table. And if it's not fun I find something that's fun about it. And that's what I exploit. I have a hard time doing it any other way. So I wouldn't say that I prefer one over the other.

       

BF: Do you approach Ultimate Fantastic Four any differently than you did Ultimate X-Men as far as penciling?

AK: As far as penciling? Not really, they're different characters as far as the stories have a different cadence. One is more talking and the other is more action. One has more characters and the other is like a family. So, you know it's a different type of book. I probably approached it differently although I couldn't tell you what I did differently. I mean, the story dictates how I approach the characters, and the story and the characters dictate how I approach the book. But it's difficult to tell you that approach, you know? It's not really something you can put into words.

       

BF: And in terms of appeal? Are you finding that Ultimate Fantastic Four appeals to you more that Ultimate X-Men did?

AK: Well, like I said, whatever project I have in front of me is what I'm into at the time. I love drawing this book. I mean, I really really love doing Ultimate FF. It feels like there's nothing like all the science fiction and the character interaction. On top of that, I think Warren [Ellis] is an excellent writer and I just genuinely love drawing these characters. 
If you asked me two years ago when I was on Ultimate X-Men if that was like the best book, I'd probably give you the same answer. Not that it's a stock answer, but it's the way I feel.

       

BF: No, that's cool. They're both incredible books.

AK: Yeah they are, I mean the whole production process is very solid and the editor is fantastic about it and - knock on wood - I want it to keep up. 

BF: Anyone who's seen your art, even if they've only seen your work on the Ultimate titles, can see your style has changed a bit. When BF interviewed Andy last year, he agreed, saying that your style has evolved "with a simplicity in line, maybe a bit more cartoony". Would you say that this is true?

AK: I would say that that's true, but it's not a conscious decision. You know, people have said that to me and that's probably why I say it's true, because Andy's not the first person that's mentioned that. But it's not a conscious effort. Maybe I think the only conscious effort would probably be that the coloring is at such a high level I want to give Jay Stuart enough opportunity to play too; he's someone I know I can totally trust. So you know, maybe in that respect I'm leaving or making things a little simpler. 

BF: That's interesting, because that's something people rarely mention, leaving room for the inker or colorist.

AK: Yeah. And the inker I'm working with, John Dell, I mean, it sounds like a love-fest you know, and to some extent it is, but these guys are the tops of the tops and there's nothing like working with guys that you know you're totally at ease drawing and working with. Knowing that what you do is just going to be taken up a level is a great feeling.

       

BF: It must be a very rewarding experience.

AK: It is. I mean, I've had a lot of experiences early on in my career where you don't know what's going to happen after it leaves your table.
Today though, I just feel really comfortable knowing what is going to happen to my art. I don't have to worry about making a color proof or think about how the inker is going to approach my work and whether or not he's going to get exactly what I want.

       

BF: Well that's cool, that must relieve you of quite a bit of stress than.  

AK: Yeah, but there are other forms of stress. 

BF: Well, sure, deadlines and stuff.

AK: [laughing] Yeah, deadlines and stuff. 

       

BF: When people look at what you've worked on, people see that you've done a lot of X-Men. Where you eager to step away from that with Fantastic Four? Or are you happy with being known for an X-Men guy, even though that's not at all the only thing you've done?

AK: No, I know that's not the only thing I've done and I don't think of myself as being known for something. If somebody else thinks that though, that's fine, but I don't think of myself as being known for something. I'm just working from job to job. 

BF: Something that was kind of weird was that when Ultimate Fantastic Four was first coming about, Marvel handed the characters designs to Bryan Hitch to do, even though you were going to be drawing the book.

AK: Yep.

BF: Did you have any hand in the design process after all? Do you find yourself trying to shake things up a little bit as far as drawing these characters?

AK: No, I think Bryan Hitch is an excellent designer. It left the onus of the huge designs off of me. That's fine; I have no problem with it at all. I mean, it would have been nice to design some of it if they asked me, especially had the designs come back poor. But they came back great, and Bryan's a great and excellent artist. So, no, I didn't have a problem with him handling the designs at all.

BF: That's cool, because some people might be a bit irked by that. It's probably something you have to look past when you're working in the industry.  

AK: Well if you're a professional, I mean, it's not my choice. It's Marvel's characters, they're the boss and you have to realize who cuts your paycheck.

BF: That's very true.

AK: Yeah, and like I said, if the design came back poor, maybe I would have felt a little differently. But they didn't. When I draw the characters, even though the designs weren't mine, they're my characters in the sense that they're my take on them. So, I have to adhere to what the costumes and the characters look like, but these are the way I interpret and draw them, which is how I approach all of the characters that I've drawn.
It's not that I ignore what was done before me, but Marvel's not hiring me to copy someone else, so hopefully they're hiring me for me. For me that's what fun: just sitting and doing what I like to do.

BF: You just have to give it your own voice or spin. Since you've been around for a while and you've been doing a lot of comics, what have you done that you were most proud of in your career at this point? If you think you could even say it, of course.  

AK: Um, what I've done that I'm most proud of… I'm just thinking of producing three lovely children I am most proud of. 

BF: Okay. That's certainly a good answer.  

AK: Work wise, I would say I personally like Wolverine #90, which was a triple, quadruple gatefold issue of Wolverine versus Sabertooth. It was a truly fun issue to draw. Really, that issue in particular was something that I really enjoyed doing.

BF: That's cool. Is there a character or book in particular that you'd just love to get a shot at?

AK: I'd love to draw Spider-Man some day.

BF: And any particular one of the titles?

AK: No, no particular one. Any one of them, it doesn't matter.

BF: Are you a big Spider-Man fan?

AK: Yes and no. It's just a character I've never draw before and I would just love to do it (actually, Adam HAS drawn Spidey before, for example way back in Uncanny X-Men #339, when he filled in for Joe Madureira - ed.).

BF: That'd be pretty cool. Have you ever thought about writing before?

AK: Yeah, I have. I haven't done it, but I think I could do it. I mean, I feel as if I've worked with enough writers that maybe some of that stuff has rubbed off on me a little bit. I'm not sure I could do dialogue, but I think I could come up with a story. 

BF: Okay, well hopefully we can look forward to that. Do you have any future projects other that Fantastic four that you might be able to talk about?

AK: Not at the present time no, though I can tell you that my final issue on Ultimate Fantastic Four will be issue #18.

BF: On behalf of Broken Frontier, we offer you the best of luck in the future. Not that you're going to need it though…

AK: Well I can use it! I'll take anything I can get!

- JP Dorigo and Frederik Hautain