Comic books have had a variety of amazing creative teams that are known for working together on different books and characters. Whether it’s material that is heroic or more nitty-gritty and dark, writers, artists, inkers and other members of the industry have created fantastic works and series for fans to enjoy.
Alan Davis and Mark Farmer are two names that made a splash with The British Invasion of the 1980s and have continued to make a splash in the years since then. Whether together or separate, these men are well-known and their work beloved.
PopCultHQ had a chance to chat with Alan and Mark about some of their favorite books, the challenges that have come with working as tastes have changed, fond memories from partnering up in the business, and dream projects.
Alan Davis
PopCultHQ: You’ve been a writer and artist for a long time now and you’ve worked on a variety of books. From Excalibur and Captain Britain, to Marvel and DC. Are there any particular favorites you’ve had over the course of your career?
Alan Davis: I’ve been very lucky and I enjoy most of what I do or else I wouldn’t do it.
PopCultHQ: In an age when so many superheros are being turned into big budget Hollywood productions, DC, Marvel, and everything in between, if a studio was to come to you and say they wanted to take a comic that you had a direct hand in and turn it into a movie, is there any particular comic you’ve looked at and thought “this would make a great movie”?
Alan Davis: I see films as being something separate from what I do.
PopCultHQ: A follow-up to that. As the Marvel Universe moves forward cinematically, they’re definitely expanding outward with other properties. If they were to ever make a Captain Britain movie, what do you think about the odds of that succeeding?
Alan Davis: I really don’t know. I think if anyone’s able to predict the success of Hollywood, it’d never have a failure.
PopCultHQ: Who’s been more fun to work with over the years, Mark Farmer or Alan Moore?
Alan Davis: Well, Mark’s a friend. But I’ve also worked with collaborators like Mike Barr and Chris Claremont who both taught me a tremendous amount. So I’ve been very lucky in my relationships in comics.
Mark Farmer
PopCultHQ: You’ve been working in the industry for a very long time. What has been the biggest challenge as comics and the tastes of comics have changed and evolved into what they are today?
Mark Farmer: As an inker, it’s probably the digital coloring that’s seem to be more important. I love black and white artwork and always draw for black and white, but quite often the coloring, once it’s added to the pages, doesn’t enhance the work.
PopCultHQ: You and Alan Davis have worked on a lot of projects over the years. Are there any standout moments from your collaboration?
Mark Farmer: For me, personally, I think our best work was probably Fantastic Four: The End or The Nail. But now Alan’s personal favorite was the Killraven 6-issue series we did because he’s always been a fan of John Carter of Mars and science-fiction like that. So, of course, Killraven was an offshoot of that almost. I think that’s his personal favorite.
PopCultHQ: You mentioned Fantastic Four: The End and Justice League: The Nail. What was it about working on those two projects for two completely different companies that made them so appealing aside from working with Alan on them?
Mark Farmer: Uh, get to play with all the toys, the best characters from Fantastic Four which was always my favorite Marvel comic. And the characters from the DC Universe, put a slant on them, get a chance to design them and draw them. Plus I think its some of the best inking I’ve done on Alan’s pencils over the years, so that was like a double success for me.
PopCultHQ: Is there any dream project you’d like to work on, any box you haven’t checked in your career?
Mark Farmer: It’s more or less artists to work with rather than characters cause it’s always the penciler’s interpretation of the characters that I have to handle. You know there’s lots of people I’d still like to work with but I can’t mention any names cause there’s forthcoming projects so I’m not allowed to mention. But I’ve been lucky to work with some great artists, Adam Hughes, Adam Kubert, people of that ilk. Some of the best artists in the country and the world. So I’ve been very blessed and very, very lucky.
Convention – Motor City Comic Con
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