An Interview with Artist Manoel Magalhaes
Manoel Magalhaes
Manoel Magalhaes is the artist who brought The Three Princes to visual life. Working from Rio de Janeiro, Manoel has started to amass a number of impressive credits. He’s an artist on the rise, but managed to find some time in his busy schedule to reflect on his work for Acts of Violence.
How did you come to be the artist on The Three Princes?
I came to know Chad Boudreau, writer of the story, through the Internet. I answered his ad at Digital Webbing, did a test-page for him, he liked it and that was it.
What was your initial reaction to the script?
First of all, I’m a huge fan of this kind of story. Something in that period of history interests me a lot. I love to draw people wearing those suits and the tommy-guns, but then I got a little nervous and started wondering if I was capable of achieving the level of work that Chad needed. I think that anyone who reads a comic book pays a lot of attention on the illustrations– at least I do– so I knew I had to do my best.
To what degree was Chad involved in the visuals of The Three Princes? For example, did he provide you with reference photos, research material, etc?
Chad did a terrific job with the research part of the project. You’re right; he provided lots of reference photos, showing exactly how he imagined places, cars, the interior of the buildings. He even sent me photos of how he imagined the characters should look like. In my opinion, a very thorough and exhausting task which made MY job a lot easier. But what helped the project the most was our numerous emails, where we discussed many scenes and angles for the pages. Chad seemed to have every detail in his mind already, like a movie director.
What was the most difficult scene to draw?
Drawing comics is a work that demands patience and attention to detail. I think that´s the fun, but if I had to choose one page that took me longer to produce I´d say it was the first page. It was a very important page. It should make an impact on the reader and give him an idea of what waits for him in the story.
What was the scene that was the most fun to draw?
Many of them! I love to draw those old cars, action scenes. People firing their machine guns, near the end of the story, was my favorite!
Do you draw on a computer or on board? And tell us a little bit about how you work.
I think all this computer stuff that shows up everyday is a little difficult to learn. Whenever we learn to use a program, a new one is created, and then it starts all over again. I grew up drawing using paper, pencils and ink. I love Hal Foster, Al Williamson, Moebius– those guys are beyond any comparison! I´m always researching via the Internet, looking for artists all over the world.
My way of working is very simple. I start drawing the roughs with a more clear pencil, then make a final version with a darker one. Then I send the writer the complete layout. When the page is approved, I ink it, sometimes with a pen, sometimes using the brush. The only thing I do in a computer are those lines around each panel.
Now tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and what experience do you have?
I was born in Brazil, and live in Rio de Janeiro. As most illustrators, I’ve always wanted to draw, and since I was a kid I wanted to do comic books. For some time I worked in animation, but I confess that comics is my passion.
I had two graphic novels published here, but in Brazil we don’t have a strong market as in the USA or France, so I started to search the Internet and started to pitch my projects. I´ve been rejected many many times, but never gave up. I started doing some short stories for indie publishers, even in the UK. There´s a new POPGUN edition with some work of mine, and a webcomic I´m working on right now called BICYCLE COP DAVE, writen by noir writer Gary Phillips.
Lastly, what’s up next for Manoel?
A lot of things are coming up! My sci-fi graphic novel COLONEL is coming out online through Blackline Comics on Free Comic Book Day (http://www.myebook.com/index.php?option=ebook&id=25443), and hopefully on paper soon, who knows? I drew threestories for Bluewater Productions´ Vincent Price Presents series, one of them is coming out in July. Last, I´m finishing my other sci-fi project called SYNCHRONICITY, with my friend Chad Boudreau as co-writer. For those interested in checking out all this, please take a look at my blog: www.blogmanoel.blogspot.com.
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Acts of Violence: A Crime Comics Anthology is listed in the April edition of Previews on page 299 under New Reliable Press. The order code is APR101035. Head to your local comic shop and ask them to order you a copy.
CLICK HERE for a PDF that you can print and bring to your local comic shop to let them know you’d like to order the book. The PDF contains all the info that your retailer will need for Acts Of Violence.
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Tags: The Three Princes