Heebink's Notes - An Interview
with John Heebink
Over the course of a number of emails in 2003 and 2004, I
corresponded with John about his work on Nick Fury. Presented below are his
notes on the issues he worked on and his thoughts on Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.
Humberto M. Ferre'
John Heebink: Former Nick Fury penciler Heebink's proudest accomplishments are the horror-action graphic novel Doll and Creature and the erotic s-f spoof Space Chicks and Businessmen. He's been a penciler on such titles as Quasar, Daredevil, Elvira, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and currently pencils Peter David's Soulsearchers & Co. He also teaches art in the Academy of Art University's new comic book program in San Francisco)
On Nick Fury
Fury was my favorite Marvel character (thanks to Steranko), I was thrilled
that I got to work on the title for my first regular Marvel work and wish I
could revisit the character with my present-day skills.
Favorite comics
and artistic influences
Tom Strong, The Kirby Collector, Green Arrow, 'sixties and 'seventies Kirby,
'seventies Frank Robbins. I like Mignola, Bruce Timm, the Romitas, Moebius.
I love Wood, Stan Drake, Leonard Starr, Al Williamson, Garcia-Lopez, some lesser-known
Europeans and South Americans. Grew up on Neal Adams, Kubert Sr. and later
Chaykin. I could go on and on...
On becoming penciler
for the S.H.I.E.L.D. book
I got the Fury job because it was offered to my pal Mike Manley. I was assisting
him part-time with Darkhawk, etc. He was too busy to take it on. I did a two-page
tryout, and that was enough. Marvel was hiring everybody in this period. My
prior professional experience was mostly with Gladstone-Hamilton and Fantagraphics
and assisting others.
On drawing the S.H.I.E.L.D. cast
I figured that Dum Dum was a big Irish guy who liked food and drink, so I drew
him heavy because he didn't have the artificially slowed aging Fury does and
muscular guys tend to get paunchy when they're in their seventies--especially
if they like to drink, as I assumed Dum-Dum would. So I was trying to be realistic.
I'd do the same again.
I think I had more license to determine the looks of the characters than I took, except in case of Dum-Dum, where I took quite a bit. Val's beauty mark came from Gil Kane issues of Cap, I think. I always loved her design, with the hair. I didn't get to design any characters from scratch that I can remember--except the flying armor the S.H.I.E.L.D. guys wore in the last issue (feh--armor design was definitely not my "strong suit").
On the cancellation of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2) and its final issue
Greg [writer Gregory Wright], who from his tenure as an editor had many friends
inside Marvel, says the sales were coming up on our issues. Ironically, I came
onto the book with the understanding that it was slated to be canceled--a further
irony was that the sales, then in the 25,000-30,000 range, would make it a
minor hit in today's market...I found notes from an early phone conversation
with Greg that said he was "promised" issues #42-50 with the possibility
of a new #1 after!
The last issue was hasty. Greg was trying to do in one issue what he thought he would be able to do in four (or more, in effect, had Marvel made the reasonable decision to make #50 a double issue). I was behind and did all but the first few pages as breakdowns. Fill-in inker Brian Garvey did a dynamite job on the page where the UN blows up (Editor Mike was instructed by Macchio that it should only be damaged, not destroyed, for Marvel-wide continuity purposes), and presumably worked fast. I'd come quickly to appreciate the sympathetic work of regular S.H.I.E.L.D. inker Don Hudson. I missed him on that final issue of S.H.I.E.L.D., though Garvey did a fine job on a tight deadline.
Had I been allowed to destroy the UN Greg's way, the presence of high-level people like Clinton, Gore and Boutros-Galli on the site afterward would have made more sense. But post-9/11, the idea of sending the Pres, VP and Secretary General to the same disaster site seems risky. I caricatured Boutros-Galli from a verbal description.
On the Nick Fury FOX TV movie
It was a thrill seeing characters I'd drawn come to life on screen in the FOX
TV movie--especially the minor ones for some reason--"There's Pierce!
I drew him!" I don't even think I minded the low-budget aspect of it.
I just didn't like Hasselhof as Fury, though I think he was having the time
of his life.
On the MAX Fury series
I wasn't particularly wowed by the MAX FURY, even though it was nicely penciled
by my buddy and past studiomate Darick. In structure, it was a movie, not a
comic -- too little visual variety, having by my count all of four locations,
none particularly interesting visually. At least Ennis's' script was somewhat
real-world, even if not particularly adult in any way but violent content.
On Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s future
As an adult guy, I would like to see a S.H.I.E.L.D. comic with some understanding
of the real motives and aims of S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, etc. What's in it for them.
The morality of it has always been too G.I. Joe for my taste. That might be
the fiber that connects Stan's old S.H.I.E.L.D work with Ellis' Max Fury: We fight
them because they fight us and because we like fighting.
I want to know what the good guys and the bad guys want! That way you can understand the conflict in a real way. It brings the level of the drama up to that of your average movie. I think if there were to be a new SHIELD series, the biggest need would be for new and better villains, maybe without WWII backgrounds. As sort of a would-be writer's thought exercise, I used to think, what if there were a villain (or organization) who would view Von Strucker as a mere irritant and brush him out of the way to get at SHIELD? I never came up with anything...
Rockwitz
had me redraw the final splash page because my first one wasn't dynamic
enough. As I recall, Cap wasn't full figure and he had his thumb hooked
in his belt loop. I might as well have had him with a hayseed in his
mouth and standing in a barrel for as impactful as it was. I'm glad he
had me change it.
