THE WRITER OF MISS FURY TALKS TO THE WRITER OF THE LONE RANGER.
Ande Parks has been guiding the Lone Ranger along in this current volume of the masked hero. Continuing the creators-interviewing-creators over at Dynamite Comics, check out this interview with Rob Williams (MISS FURY) asking Ande Parks about the series.
ROB WILLIAMS: Lone Ranger comes across as a comic unaffected by the trends of the comic industry, and I mean that as a compliment. Solid, honest storytelling. What was your intentions when starting the book?
ANDE PARKS: Thanks. I was really thrilled when Dynamite offered me this opportunity. I wanted to do just what you're talking about: tell simple, heartfelt stories with some ties to research of the Old West.
While our stories are based on the foundation built at Dynamite by Brett Matthews, Sergio Cariello and John Cassaday, I saw an opportunity, with a first issue launch, to put my stamp on these iconic characters. Of course, The Ranger and Tonto will live on well past my humble efforts, but I hope Esteve, Marcelo, Simon, Marc and I have done something that stands up well when seen in the broad history of the characters.
Honestly, I think a lot of modern comics suffer from a tongue-in-cheek cleverness that undercuts any potential emotional attachment. Whether I'm reading a novel, a non-fiction book, or a comic, I want to be moved. Most comics I encounter these days leave me nothing but amused. I want to tell stories that move the reader... that make them really feel something. Anger, sadness, exhilaration... something. I think we've been pretty successful in making Lone Ranger comics that are sincere and grounded in real emotions. I hope so.
RW: Esteve Polls has a classic line to his work. It almost feels like John Buscema or John Severin. Are you enjoying working with him?
AP: I was glad that you mentioned Severin. That's who Esteve's work reminds me of the most. I feel very lucky to have been teamed with him for such a long run. He's a great fit. His characters are real. He draws the heroes well, and then he really fills the world we're depicting with interesting and unique supporting characters. I have the great luxury of being able to ask for a "skuzzy cowboy type" and knowing that Esteve will deliver beyond my expectations every time.
The settings he draws are also amazing, and very important to the book. Both the natural setting and the cities he draws are rich environments that really add to the depth of the stories we're telling.
I should mention here that I think we've had an amazing team throughout our run. Simon Bowland does amazing work as our letterer. I ask a lot of him, as our book features a lot of laid-in text pieces... stuff that requires its own font and style. He never disappoints. We've been very fortunate with the coloring, as well. Marcelo Pinto and Marc Rueda both really get what Esteve is going for, and compliment his linework perfectly. I owe our editor Joe Rybandt for putting together such a wonderful team, month to month.
RW: How much research do you do for the era?
AP: I do a fair amount with each issue. Basically, I come up with a premise and a theme for each story, and then I dog into the research. I think adding historical details makes the stories richer. We know the Lone Ranger and Tonto are fictional heroes, but tying their exploits to the real events of the Old West adds weight to their actions.
From the onset, I wanted to smash the black and white, noble values of The Ranger into some very gray situations where there may not be a clear, easy solution. Watching him navigate these moral choices is more interesting, I think, against a realistic backdrop.
RW: I guess people would expect Lone Ranger to be something of a romp, yet you're telling a hard-edged western. Is it a battle to get people to see past lazy expectations?
AP: I don't know. Brett Matthews and company set the tone for this Lone Ranger, and it's a tone I am happy to follow through with. With all due respect to the people that worked hard on the Lone Ranger film, I don't want to deliver these stories with a wink. I don't want a Ranger who is fumbling his way around a six gun. Our characters are heroes, plain and simple. The Ranger would die for what he believes in. He would die before taking a life. Those are the stories we're telling.
lf we can do it tell the stories we're passionate about as well as we possibly can. You can't fake it. We're putting our best work out there. Sometimes the marketplace rewards that. Sometimes it says, "Thanks but no thanks." I try not to go nuts about that. I put my best efforts into what I can control... the words on the page.
RW: What have you got planned for the book going forward?
AP: We're in the middle of a long run of single issue stories. Issue #19, which comes out this week, is a flashback Tonto issue that ties to things we've done in previous issues, but stands on its own, as well. The next issue takes The Ranger and Tonto back to my home state of Kansas, where the interact with some real historical figures. After that, we see our heroes fighting the elements of a blizzard, and so on...
These stand-alone issues are harder to write than big arcs, but they are rewarding. I like giving new readers a chance each month to jump on board. We're going to give you a solid and hopefully emotional involving Western each and every month. I hope people who haven't yet tried our book will check it out.
THE LONE RANGER #19 is now on sale.
http://www.comicvine.com/articles/in...l/1100-147535/
Ande Parks has been guiding the Lone Ranger along in this current volume of the masked hero. Continuing the creators-interviewing-creators over at Dynamite Comics, check out this interview with Rob Williams (MISS FURY) asking Ande Parks about the series.
ROB WILLIAMS: Lone Ranger comes across as a comic unaffected by the trends of the comic industry, and I mean that as a compliment. Solid, honest storytelling. What was your intentions when starting the book?
ANDE PARKS: Thanks. I was really thrilled when Dynamite offered me this opportunity. I wanted to do just what you're talking about: tell simple, heartfelt stories with some ties to research of the Old West.
While our stories are based on the foundation built at Dynamite by Brett Matthews, Sergio Cariello and John Cassaday, I saw an opportunity, with a first issue launch, to put my stamp on these iconic characters. Of course, The Ranger and Tonto will live on well past my humble efforts, but I hope Esteve, Marcelo, Simon, Marc and I have done something that stands up well when seen in the broad history of the characters.
Honestly, I think a lot of modern comics suffer from a tongue-in-cheek cleverness that undercuts any potential emotional attachment. Whether I'm reading a novel, a non-fiction book, or a comic, I want to be moved. Most comics I encounter these days leave me nothing but amused. I want to tell stories that move the reader... that make them really feel something. Anger, sadness, exhilaration... something. I think we've been pretty successful in making Lone Ranger comics that are sincere and grounded in real emotions. I hope so.
RW: Esteve Polls has a classic line to his work. It almost feels like John Buscema or John Severin. Are you enjoying working with him?
AP: I was glad that you mentioned Severin. That's who Esteve's work reminds me of the most. I feel very lucky to have been teamed with him for such a long run. He's a great fit. His characters are real. He draws the heroes well, and then he really fills the world we're depicting with interesting and unique supporting characters. I have the great luxury of being able to ask for a "skuzzy cowboy type" and knowing that Esteve will deliver beyond my expectations every time.
The settings he draws are also amazing, and very important to the book. Both the natural setting and the cities he draws are rich environments that really add to the depth of the stories we're telling.
I should mention here that I think we've had an amazing team throughout our run. Simon Bowland does amazing work as our letterer. I ask a lot of him, as our book features a lot of laid-in text pieces... stuff that requires its own font and style. He never disappoints. We've been very fortunate with the coloring, as well. Marcelo Pinto and Marc Rueda both really get what Esteve is going for, and compliment his linework perfectly. I owe our editor Joe Rybandt for putting together such a wonderful team, month to month.
RW: How much research do you do for the era?
AP: I do a fair amount with each issue. Basically, I come up with a premise and a theme for each story, and then I dog into the research. I think adding historical details makes the stories richer. We know the Lone Ranger and Tonto are fictional heroes, but tying their exploits to the real events of the Old West adds weight to their actions.
From the onset, I wanted to smash the black and white, noble values of The Ranger into some very gray situations where there may not be a clear, easy solution. Watching him navigate these moral choices is more interesting, I think, against a realistic backdrop.
RW: I guess people would expect Lone Ranger to be something of a romp, yet you're telling a hard-edged western. Is it a battle to get people to see past lazy expectations?
AP: I don't know. Brett Matthews and company set the tone for this Lone Ranger, and it's a tone I am happy to follow through with. With all due respect to the people that worked hard on the Lone Ranger film, I don't want to deliver these stories with a wink. I don't want a Ranger who is fumbling his way around a six gun. Our characters are heroes, plain and simple. The Ranger would die for what he believes in. He would die before taking a life. Those are the stories we're telling.
lf we can do it tell the stories we're passionate about as well as we possibly can. You can't fake it. We're putting our best work out there. Sometimes the marketplace rewards that. Sometimes it says, "Thanks but no thanks." I try not to go nuts about that. I put my best efforts into what I can control... the words on the page.
RW: What have you got planned for the book going forward?
AP: We're in the middle of a long run of single issue stories. Issue #19, which comes out this week, is a flashback Tonto issue that ties to things we've done in previous issues, but stands on its own, as well. The next issue takes The Ranger and Tonto back to my home state of Kansas, where the interact with some real historical figures. After that, we see our heroes fighting the elements of a blizzard, and so on...
These stand-alone issues are harder to write than big arcs, but they are rewarding. I like giving new readers a chance each month to jump on board. We're going to give you a solid and hopefully emotional involving Western each and every month. I hope people who haven't yet tried our book will check it out.
THE LONE RANGER #19 is now on sale.
http://www.comicvine.com/articles/in...l/1100-147535/