BOB ALMOND

Tell us about your latest work.

I just wrapped up the VAMPIRELLA: REVELATIONS series for Harris with pencil artist Mike Lilly. This last two times I inked Mike the project was aborted and never published. This is our first printed collaboration and for those not used to me inking someone other than Sal Velluto it showcases another side to my work and allowed me to flex different inking muscles. This 3rd and final issue will ship within a month.

How long have you been inking?

Since January of 1992.

How did you break into the biz?

While in college in Massachusetts in the late ‘80s I did a paper on Bernie Wrightson via a phone interview and he subsequently invited me to his annual Halloween party in upstate New York which included his neighbors as well as a nice chunk of the comic book artist community (Jeff Jones, Kaluta, Hembeck, Staton, Trimpe, Vess, Raney, Terry Austin, etc.). This became an annual ritual and he also later contributed as a host for bi-monthly critique parties with his neighbors & friends. Unlike the Halloween event, this venue allowed me to show off my academic work and tryout samples without feeling uncomfortable. When I showed Bernie some recent ink samples on vellum over Dark Horse Comics photocopies he showed them to his pal Jim Starlin who had just returned to Marvel to play with his familiar characters Thanos & Warlock. Jim had me ink over 3 photocopies of WARLOCK & THE INFINITY WATCH # 2 by Angel Medina with a weekend deadline.

After college I had been working full-time on salary as a Burger King first-assistant manager and I couldn't get out of that 36 hour-scheduled weekend. I barely slept and worked late into the night but Angel's eye for detail is/was insane and I couldn't finish it all. Jim said that he'd submit the work anyway with an explanation to his editor and some time passed. Finally, he called one evening and said that he convinced his editor to hire me and that I wouldn't need to worry about working around the clock like that anymore because I could now quit my BK job. I did a dance and screamed in ecstasy but as I started Angel's work a month or two later I still found myself working all kinds of crazy hours. But I sure didn't care in this case because I was now home doing what I'd always dreamt of doing as a career, work schedule be damned.

Do you have formal training or are you just naturally talented?

Yeah right :-)

I graduated in 1990 with a BFA in Illustration at Umass Dartmouth. Unless you count as formal training the home-made comics me & my friends produced (Torpedo Comics) with both our own characters as well as Marvel ones from the 4th grade until I stopped around 9th or 10th grade when my courses and a part time job just made things too chaotic to continue. Although, I did continue as a fan & reader. We had done our own stories and art on blue-lined paper, 'inked' with razor-point markers and later colored with crayons and colored pencils. My 'creator' friends sort of drifted away from it all long before me. But I never got it out of my system and I still have the stack of those Torpedo Comics with me.

Do you work strictly in comics or do you also work in commercial art related fields?

Mostly in comics but occasionally I will get a small, side job for someone outside of the field.

Who has helped you along the way?

Besides Jim & Bernie getting me started, I have to thank editors who hired me as well as some pencil artists who, for a time, recommended that I work with them like Kevin J. West and Tom Grindberg. In '97 I was first paired up with my oft-partner Sal Velluto on BLOODSHOT at Acclaim and this commenced an almost exclusive relationship to this day with many thanks to him for pushing to always get be aboard an assignment. He also pushed me to try out different tools & approaches in my work. Last but not least, I'd also like to thanks my pal Mark McKenna who helped me get by for 2-3 years with assisting work for him while things were slow for me in the mid-90s. Thankfully I haven't needed to fall back on that for some years but I wouldn't have made it here now without Mark's bridge.

Do you use assistants?

Yes, I have. By 'late '93 my assistant editor and later regular Acclaim editor and friend Lynaire (Brust) Thompson suggested that I try using ink assistants since deadlines had been a struggle for me and everyone was using them. I started out with a local artist Andrew Wiernicki in '94 and he lasted a year on my initial Marvel projects. Today he professionally sculpts comic-related statues & busts.

After Andrew, I trained a local friend, Norman Lee, whom I had graduated with in Illustration from college in '90. He lasted about a year and a half working on Marvel & Malibu material until he was hired by Marvel to professionally ink several projects from their X-office and moved on to other stuff since then. Thanks to Mark connecting us, I had artist Aaron McClellan assist me while I was inking BLOODSHOT over Sal. I was referred by bud Keith Williams to his ex-assistant & artist Warren Martineck who helped me throughout the 3 years on BLACK PANTHER and beyond. Along the way on BP I also got some local help briefly from Vince Russell's ex-assistant Scott Ambruson, now a pro inker. Since 2003 I have done just about everything on my own due to reasonable deadlines. Other than Lino & Aaron, I'm in touch with everyone listed here as a friend and I'm happy to say that they're all successful and busy.

What job are you most proud of?

BLACK PANTHER without a doubt. Not only was I fond of the content as a fan but I felt that priest was creating something special that would be remembered fondly by fans down the road and I was proud to be a part of that. Also because he credited me along with Sal as ‘storyteller’ because I shared many ideas with him & Sal and they used just about everything that I had offered. I also acted as unofficial 'continuity cop' early on and assisted in much reference & research through my personal comic collection whenever Sal needed files (something that I do now on Marvel's OHOTMU A-Z series). In fact, Priest stated on Usenet that his "Happy-pants Panther" character was inspired by me due to my passion & love for the history & continuity of the work.

Is there a title or artist you have always really wanted to work on?

AVENGERS has always been my fave title since I was a kid and the work of George Perez on that and FANTASTIC FOUR was what motivated me to want to do this for a living. Closest I ever got was an ink jam cover with layouts by George that was later used on an Avengers tpb cover. So I got there I guess :-)

What other artists inspire you to do your best or to learn something new?

Some of my favorite artists (besides Sal and George!) growing up were/are John Byrne, Frank Miller, Gene Day, Michael Golden, Klaus Janson, Joe Rubenstein, Terry Austin, Neal Adams, Jim Starlin, Jim Steranko, Mark Farmer, Tom Palmer, Bob Layton, Adam Hughes, Bernie Wrightson, Jack Kirby, John Buscema, Carlos Pacheco, Jeff Jones, pre-manga Chris Bachalo, Alex Ross & numerous others. I have been lucky to ink a couple of these vets on commissions (and I have some more by others on the way) and that was truly mind-blowing.

How long does it take you to ink a page?

About a day. A little bit more over meticulous artists.

Nib or brush? Or what combination of the two...

Mostly brush and markers for me. Nibs only to rule some lines.

What tools aside from the brush and or nib do you use as part of your daily arsenal?

Micron & Pitt markers, correction fluid, toothbrush, X-acto blade, zip, fingers, sponges, ink-edged rulers, triangle, templates, flexicurve, frisket sheets, crayon pencil, prismacolor pencil, erasers,...that about does it.

What is your favorite ink? If it’s not a specific brand, what mix do you create that works well for you?

Koh-i-noor rapidograph ink. I use mostly Rapidomat but I use a little bit of Universal & Rapidraw to mix or for blacks. I dilute with distilled water when they need thinning.

What is your favorite white out?

Pro-white.

Which aspect of inking should all aspiring inkers work to improve but seldom do?

Enhance the material and fix what needs fixing without overwhelming or showing off. Our job is to make the work better and keep the storytelling clear. We need to do our best, timely work and maintain as much respect for what we do as possible. We could write columns or do interviews to explain further what we do, whatever to keep us in the public eye and awareness to understand the value of our craft. The concept & skill of inking has been around for decades and while we need to adapt with the technology we need to make sure that that history and quality is carried forward for better quality comics. Darkening pencil line with Photoshop is not inking and will not work well across the board.

Have you gone high tech to work with FTP and/or blueline pencils? If so, do you prefer this method to traditional pencils/shipping methods? Give us some specs about your printer and scanner as well.

Yes, it's about 50/50 with my assignments these days. Initially I easily preferred inking on the actual art but now I only do slightly. I use a Mustek scan-express A3 USB scanner and print blue line art on boards on an Epson stylus photo 1280.

Do you have anything additional to add?

Just plugs.

While I can't yet discuss projects in the works, I want to remind everyone that some trades of my work will soon ship: the VAMPIRELLA: REVELATIONS tpb by Carey, Lilly & myself will ship in April and CAPTAIN GRAVITY & THE POWER OF THE VRIL by Dysart, Velluto, and myself will be solicited soon from Penny-Farthing Press. I'm also inking a small sketch by Jim Mooney for an upcoming book on his life & work from Adelaide Comics & Books. Also, some of my earliest work will be collected in Marvel's upcoming INFINITY WAR tpb in March. Plus, you can check out my first sketchbook BOB ALMOND INKWORKS at upcoming conventions or from my site.

Let us check out your website:

The Bob Almond Inkwell
http://www.almondink.com