Declan Shalvey is the acclaimed artist of Moon Knight, Return Of Wolverine, and Injection. He has also gained praise for his Irish crime fiction, Bog Bodies and Savage Town. He sat down with ComicsXF to discuss his upcoming one-shot Immortal Hulk: Flatline, out February 17th 2021.
Zachary Jenkins: You’re best known as an artist but you have been writing some very interesting stuff, specifically in crime fiction with Bog Bodies and Savage Town. What started you on this journey to write and draw your stories as opposed to collaborating with another writer?
Declan Shalvey: Ah, thanks man. Over the years I felt I’ve found my ‘voice’ as a storyteller, and that extends beyond just drawing. I had been working on creator owned comics like Injection, and had found the experience quite empowering. You can have an idea… and just make the thing. And well, after years of reading scripts and doing lots of research on writing while I was drawing, I felt the compulsion to tell a story closer to home. This ended up being Savage Town …I just had the voice of the book in my head, I didn’t feel like I needed a writer to do it for me. I mean, I was pretty nervous about writing, but I hired a good editor (Sebastian Girner) to have as a sounding board and help me whip all my thoughts into a coherent story. I never considered asking another writer, really. I knew it would be a lot of work to draw though, so I asked another Irish artist who I was a big fan of (Philip Barret) so it was an excuse to get a graphic novel out of an artist I liked, and I got to experiment in a different discipline of storytelling, while still getting to work on the more high profile (and paying) work at Marvel, etc.
After that, I got more opportunities to write other stuff, like the Fury serial (Civil War II: Choosing Sides), Deadpool Vs Old Man Logan, Bond (James Bond: Case Files #4), etc. It’s a whole other side of telling stories that I’ve really enjoyed, I like craft a lot, and I it’s a whole new set of challenges to be able to work with the craft of writing too.
ZJ: Immortal Hulk has been one of the most critically acclaimed titles in comics in a while. With this increased spotlight, are you telling stories differently than you would if this was a more generic Hulk title?
DS: Well the main difference is that I’m writing and drawing which I’ve done a little of, but not a lot. This one shot is a nice opportunity to dig in a bit more than the short stories I’ve written/drawn before.
Indeed, Immortal Hulk is rightly acclaimed, what a series. The brief was pretty basic; enough to point me in the right direction, but relaxed enough to play around with. It being set in the early part of the run meant I could lean into the ‘lonely man’ aspect of that section of the series, which was evocative of the old TV show and has less complicated wheels turning around like what the book has built up into. I could take a proper bite into the character.
If someone had asked me a few years ago if I’d like to do a Hulk oneshot I think I’d have been mildly interested, but what Al and Joe have done with the book is extraordinary, and very much in line with the type of story I like to tell. I felt this was the perfect opportunity for me specifically to work on the character.
ZJ: This story promises the introduction of a new gamma powered antagonist. How did you tackle creating a character that The Hulk can’t just punch through?
DS: I tend to think visually (obviously) and while I was looking through Hulk’s gallery of villains, nothing was really speaking to me. I knew I wanted Hulk to be the biggest character in the book, for him to dominate the pages, and I didn’t want another big brawler for him to be punching, I wasn’t really interested in drawing that. The fun thing with Gamma, is that it’s a tool that can be worked in different ways, so I felt that I could power-up a character so that they would give Hulk things to hit and things to hit him, rather than hit the actual antogonist. I wanted to play up a bit of humour when needed, too. I also wanted a more personal component and came up with a character no one would actually be pulling for Hulk to punch.
ZJ: You’re also playing with elements of the source of anger. This is something you have played with in your crime fiction. Why is this a theme that is so resonate with you?
DS: Huh, I never thought of that. regarding the crime fiction… I’ll have to think on it. To fit the Irish stereotype, I probably have a lot of anger issues pushed deep, deep down and ready to resurface violently at inappropriate moments 😛
Regarding Flatline, I mean it’s THE HULK, so dealing with anger was a bit of a no brainer… I think that but of the Hulk mythology has always resonated with me, even as a kid. I guess I do have some issues!
Honestly, I think I was tapping into a bit of frustration that’s tied to anger… this was written during lockdown here in Ireland (as well as everywhere else) and I could see so many people online just not in a good place mentally with all that’s going on, and I wanted to tap into that a little. I guess I wanted to access the Hulk’s themes of anger and compress them into something more hopeful and constructive, if that makes sense. I do like my miserable-ending stories, but the ending of this one has a more positive outlook, I think.
ZJ: One thing Immortal Hulk has leaned into is the body horror elements of Bruce transforming into the jade goliath. You’ve played with elements of that before, I’m thinking of the first arc of Injection or the “Sleep” issue of Moon Knight. What unique challenges play into drawing monstrous images like that?
DS: I’m not sure why, but I really do like drawing messed up stuff. Generally it’s been written for me, so I didn’t know it was something I had a decent handle on until the opportunity arose. I think I just have a more natural affinity for it, it lets me be more gestural in my drawing. I don’t find it too challenging outside of working out the mechanics and spending the time drawing it all. Just from a nuts-and-bolts point of view, I think I just like drawing noodly, textural stuff so drawing organic things like plants, mushrooms, etc is just fun to draw. I like drawing environments and people, so things like body horror is a chance to just go a bit nuts with composition and texture that contrasts against the more pedestrian places/objects.
Again, being honest, I would have liked to have dug into the body horror stuff more in Flatline, especially with what’s been done in the main book, but I just didn’t have the room. I have some in there, but at the end of the day, the story had to come first.
ZJ: You’re coloring yourself on this book and colors on your books have often been defined by high contrast elements over dark blacks and ink washes. Does having a subject like Hulk, who is defined by one color, change that approach for you?
DS: Yes and no. I mean, it just gives me a new tool to take advantage of. I used to just think in black and white, especially when I had no idea who would end up colouring me. It was more about dominating the inks and controlling the art as much as possible just in case you ended up with a colourist who didn’t understand what i was going for. I have actually been VERY lucky with colourists in my career though, and I’ve worked with one very closely, who did a lot of great work that clicked with me really well/ Working with them trained me to open up and create more possibilities with colour.
Since then, I’ve been experimenting with doing it myself, building up my skill level slowly on covers. With getting to write and draw this book, I thought it was a good opportunity to expand my skill-set again, and deliberately work with colour as a storytelling tool. It unlocked a lot of possibilities. I specifically worked on a lot of key colour choices and ideas in my layouts, so I had a lot of ideas worked out before I even started penciling, and was able to ultimately work them out in the final pages. The process took longer of course, but it felt like it got to digest the ideas more, resulting in pages that were a lot more satisfying.
ZJ: Last year was difficult for many in the comics industry and I know you’ve talked about how it specifically hit you hard. Has that changed how you are approaching comics in 2021?
DS: It has. I had a certain plan in mind for 2020 that all went to hell, so I ended up with a bit of time to reflect and re-evaluate. The main thing was that I had been wanting to write and draw more and kept pushing it off because I’d get all these great opportunities. I think I’m observing a shift of more artists writing for themselves which, I have done a bit of, but I’d see younger artists do it and my response is “good for you” and then I’d have to think…. “Why aren’t I doing that right now?” If that is a shift happening in comics, why not be part of it, instead of the guy looking in at the others. So I promised myself to only write and draw for the next year, which is what’s happened with my story in Wolverine: Black White & Blood, Quarantine Comix, Immortal Hulk, etc. I’m going to commit to myself for a while, and not rely on anything else.
ZJ: What’s next for you?
DS: On my next project Zack…. I am working with a writer! I have completely contradicted the above commitment to myself 😛
Ha, something interesting, fun and short has come my way, so I’m drawing that while I set up the stuff I’m going to write and draw going forward.
The very next thing to come out though, is a creator owned series that I’m co-writing and drawing the covers for. It’s something I’ve been working on for ages and should finally be announced in the next week or so, so keep an eye out for that!
Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
