Broken Frontier

Some comic fans hardly realize what goes into producing a seemingly simple 22-page comic book. Often dismissed by the broad public as mere ‘floppies’, the production process behind the monthlies we all hold dear is a stressful one. So stressful, it’s even difficult for creators to focus on much beyond honing their craft. One may be the next Brian Bendis or Jim Lee, but being able to write or draw someone’s socks off, doesn’t mean you know how to sell your game.

That’s where Shon C. Bury comes in. As the man behind talent agency Space Goat Productions, he’s all about putting his creators in the best situation possible, allowing them to focus on what they do best: be creative.

Shon let us have some insights to his way of working here and here and now it is up to his artists to speak! Next up is Javier Tartaglia, colorist on Spider-Man: The Clone Saga.

BROKEN FRONTIER: When did you first get interested in comics?

JAVIER TARTAGLIA: I think it’s since I was a kid, when my father used to buy me comics from our country. And you know we, as kids, watched the superhero TV shows like SuperFriends by Hanna-Barbera, Transformers, Robotech, Maziger Z, G.I. Joe and lots of other cartoons. However I became a more interested comic reader as an adult. I found out lots of other stuff like manga, French comics and Italian comics.

BF: How did you know you wanted to become an artist?

JT: Actually it wasn’t in my plans. Although I always liked to paint, something I did since I was 7 years old, I studied to be a graphic designer. But there were so many things I didn’t like in that subject that I always suspected I wasn’t finally going to work in that business. And it was to come true the day a friend of mine (Gabriel Guzman) came looking for me to work in an artistic project for our country. If there was something that the design career gave me, that was the possibility to learn about Photoshop, which I have handled for a long time. The guy who contracted me let me experiment with colors and stuff. He loved the shocking images; you know, the ones that have impact, lots of special FX, and stuff... This is how I felt I wanted to become an artist. To work with it, to live of it. Those were my early days as a professional.

BF: Who are your artistic influences?

JT: Mainly the guys who colored Battlechasers by Madureira. It was a studio called Liquid. They have done lots of work but the only one I like it’s definitely Battlechasers. After that I acquired tips from other artists, and I took the things that seemed cool. I couldn’t mention the mountains of differents comics I studied to get my own style. I can mention the way this guy, Marte Gracia, colors. I love his work. His style - it’s very personal. When I look at a page colored by him, it seems so complete, so full of life; and at first sight so complex, but it’s not. And that’s what I love from this guy. He makes the page look shocking with the right amount of stuff. That’s something that inspired me.

BF: Is there a specific piece, issue or run you’re most proud of? Like, if you want fans to go check out your work, what should they pick up?

JT: Hum, I actually have several comics I’m proud of, here are some of them: David & Goliath by L. Castellani (published by Image), Alius Rex by G. Guzmán and my current gig "Spiderman Clone Saga"!

BF: How has having Shon Bury as your talent agent helped your career?

JT: He gave me the chance to show my work at Marvel, which is one of the companies I was most interested to work for. I know he was after that for a long time. I did several tests that he got to Chris Allo again and again until I had a chance to show how I had grown as an artist. I appreciate a lot all the effort he does.

BF: How do you feel you’ve grown as an artist since you first started working in comics?

JT: Well. I feel that at first I did my work only for fun as I'm sure most people do. I know now that difference between those days and now it's that besides doing what I love, which doing comics, it's that I am paid for it. hahaha.

BF: What are you working on now, and where can people see your work next?

JT: Right now I’m working in a six issue series of Spider-Man: The Clone Saga.

Space Goat Productions is currently searching for more pencilers to represent. If you think you have what it takes to work for Marvel and DC and are willing to work under exclusive representation, please contact Space Goat Productions.