Doug Klauba…

Illustrator  Extraordinaire 
http://www.douglasklauba.com/

     The very first Phantom publication was a Big Little Book simply titled ‘The Phantom’ beginning a rich history of painted covers for the character. The Gold Key Phantom comics and Avon paperbacks painted by the late George Wilson and the Charlton comic covers by Don Newton were a high point for US Phantom fans. In more recent times, Moonstone revisited the tradition with Joel Naprstek’s excellent pulp-like paintings and then Doug Klauba’s powerful illustrations that combine modern sensibilities with a traditional feel.
     Doug’s first Phantom art was his dramatic cover for the sold out 2003 Moonstone Phantom trade paperback showing a mysterious Phantom with his trusty 45’s, arms folded in a lightning storm. It was a major coup for Moonstone to get a prizewinning artist like Doug, and his work has been a strong fan favorite for ‘The Phantom’ and other titles like ‘The Invisible Man,’ ‘Kolchak: the Night Stalker,’ and ‘Jack Hagee, Private Eye.’ Doug has done 10 Phantom covers for Moonstone including his upcoming skull throne painting for the prose book slated for a summer release.
     Doug is intelligent, articulate and friendly, and the following is an exclusive interview with the outstanding artist.

What started your interest in pursuing art as a career?
DK: As far back as I can remember I have always thought of myself as an artist. It seemed as though that path was chosen for me through support of family and friends my whole life. Art was something I have always been into, I always had a crayon or pencil in hand. Later it was ink and pens and then paints and brushes. My family knew I liked art so they encouraged it. My father would discuss an illustration on a book cover with me or draw with me, my mother would talk about the illustrations in a children's book. There was always something creative going on around the house and I never was a kid who was bored because I would simply just take out paper and draw. Both sides of my family have a creative inclination in one way or the other, so they didn't try and talk me out of pursuing art as a career like many families would do. I have family members who are fine artists, painters, architects, engineers, poets and I have cousins who have also pursed the graphic art field. My grandfather was a magician performing in Chicago and around the midwest during the early 1940's thru the 1970's. My fathers cousin is the brilliant actor Jerry Orbach. I was always surrounded by artistic friends. Guys I grew up with have gone onto being well known screenwriters, film makers, actors, painters, novelists and musicians. So I was always part of a circle that inspired each other.

What is your training? How did you develop such a tight air brush technique?
DK: It's been years of trying to remain focused on what interests me as an artist and what would help me improve and grow as a practicing illustrator. I started out at the American Academy of Art in Chicago where it really took root with me and my passion for being an artist. The school stressed academia and it's exactly what I needed and wanted. After graduating and working at a few Illustration studios around Chicago, I packed my bags (literally in a weekend), burned out from working long hours and losing direction in my advertising studio position and I moved to San Francisco to enroll at the Academy of Art College. I left my studio position because I was working with every medium, techniques and design and production chores. The studio had to shove the air brush in my hand because I had been refusing to use it since their air brush guy left. Looking back of course I am grateful with the experience thrown at me at a very busy studio but I lost my focus of being a painter and illustrator. I had an extremely rare opportunity to study with a number of incredible and popular illustrators at the Academy and I went for it. One of the illustrators was Drew Struzan and one of the many things I learned from him is using the air brush as a tool not only as a medium and technique. His instruction made me appreciate it as a commercial art tool just like a paint brush. Another illustrator was Thomas Blackshear who showed me how to use all my knowledge of the mediums that I knew and use it in my application in painting. For me the air brush was an ideal tool in commercial art to work fast and to make client changes and adjustments easily. In a nutshell, that is how I became attached to the air brush as my tool of choice.

 


Which mediums do you work with? (oil? Ink? Charcoal? Watercolor? Etc)
DK: I work in Acrylic paints, they dry fast and I can switch from the airbrush to the paintbrush comfortably. I incorporate color pencil in some works as well as ink. While studying at school I have worked in oil paint but my major focus at the Academy was watercolor and pastels. My favorite medium is pen and ink and I don't do nearly enough work in it, I hope to change that this year. I painted in Gouache for years before acrylics and still paint with them on occasion. Nothing beats drawing the figure in charcoal but out of convenience and durability I sketch and draw in graphite pencil, preferably a 2B.

Which artists (commercial and/or fine artists) have influenced or inspired you?
DK: Where do I begin? Don't get me started! This would be a long and incomplete list... so many artists have been both inspirations and influences. Thomas Blackshear who is one of my closest friends has always been a constant source of both. His willingness to share his experiences as an illustrator, painter, sculptor and businessman as well as work ethics has made a huge mark on my work. Although I probably would not have pursued Thomas as a teacher if I did not have an interest in art of Italian renaissance and read a biography on Michaelangelo. In studying his life I learned about the importance and the lost trade of seeking an apprenticeship. There were no apprenticeships when I was working in illustration studios. I was hired as a studio illustrator and became the main illustrator there in a year or so. If you were to look on my bookshelf you will find books and magazines on art nouveau, the symbolists, art deco sculptors, pulp magazine art, american illustration, pre-raphaelites, movie poster art and comic art. As a young art student, I admired (and still do) Jim Steranko. Following what he did in his work showed me a transition from comic books to paperback cover illustrator to conceptual artist and designer. The line work of Bernie Wrightson and Michael Kaluta opened the door to other masters of the pen and ink storytellers like, Franklin Booth and Joseph Clement Coll. The ultimate illustrator to me is Dean Cornwell. My favorite comic book artists are Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, John Buscema, Lou Fine, John Romita, Ross Andru, Wally Wood, Steranko, Steve Ditko, Sy Barry, Alex Raymond, Hal Foster.... lots of inspiration. Living in the Chicago area you get to meet with friends once in awhile who are also great illustrators and comic artists like: John Rush, Gary Gianni, Geof Darrow, Tom Gianni, Jill Thompson, Tony Akins to name a few. If we're not running into each other at conventions we're sitting down for lunch or dinner. And when I'm not hanging out with other artists and painters, you'll find me with friends who are designers, musicians, writers and film makers.

How did you get hooked up with Moonstone?
DK: My comic shop of choice, Amazing Fantasy is about 40 minutes away but I go there because they carry stuff that fits my esoteric tastes as well as my mainstream books I like to read. On one visit I was talking to Lori Gentile who runs the store about my artwork and she became interested enough to show her brother Joe my work. Fortunately I had begun reshaping my portfolio to include more of my personal interests into my work like sci-fi, fantasy, crime noir and pulp and comic book heroes to pursue those genres of interest. When I finally met Joe he told me about the new venture of color comics to begin from Moonstone and asked if I would be interested in working with them and I happily accepted. Since then I have provided twenty covers (and counting), a couple of spot illustrations and art for two 10 page stories for them.

Could you roughly outline your approach to creating the art for a cover?
DK: It usually begins with rough sketches after reading the manuscript or synopsis. Sometimes, I'll wait and see the interior art as well. I like to get a "feel" to what's going on in the story and represent that as best as I could on the cover. For the Phantom covers, I set out to look at facets of the character and concept from there along with what is going on in the story. Examples include the first trade paperback collection cover. I wanted to focus on the mystique of the Ghost Who Walks, the power behind the legend. Rain can set a mood instantly, the crack of thunder along with the blast of lightning as the Phantom stands guard... I thought cinematically along with a concept of how I wanted to see the character portrayed as familiar yet new. The same with the cover to issue four and the story titled: "The Curse of The Phantom". I began with the question, "what is a curse of the Phantom?" The one that stuck out to me first was the mark of his skull ring, a curse that any criminal would not want branded on their jaw. I went with that concept, did some rough thumbnail sketches to find a nice design and fitting composition and then a couple of studies. I then called my Phantom model and photographed him. From there I did a couple more pencil studies before drawing the presentation sketch. Once approved by editors at Moonstone and King Features I transfer my drawing to a gessoed illustration board, tighten the drawing with pencils. I then begin the painting by blocking in the darks with acrylics using Flats (3 in. and 1/4 in.) and Rounds (5 and 3). I then cut masks that I will use on areas of the painting for airbrushing overall tones, again using acrylic paint. I will then go into the painting with brush and acrylic using it wet or dry (no water, straight out of the tube) and working from dark to light. The whole process can take as much time as 3 to 5 days.

How would you compare what is happening stylistically for the current comics compared to earlier days?
DK: It has been a very exciting time to read comics in the last ten years or so with a variety of styles and genres available for all personal tastes and it doesn't look like that varied choice will slow down anytime soon. Compared to when I was growing up and buying them off the racks with the limited choice that I had. We now have an abundance of self published comics and on line strips to keep comic readers busy (if we can get them off of the fan forums a little bit). With todays comic books and graphic novels I've seen the blurred lines of illustration, fine art and sequential storytelling that is very exciting as a visual person. Although I like the "painted" comic book story, I prefer the expression of line and the added color. I've never been happier buying a comic in my life, there are countless artists that I will buy a book because they did it: Guy Davis, Paul Pope, Michael Lark, Geof Darrow, Eduardo Risso, Alex Maleev... Also the writers out there continue to raise the bar in comics. And there is a lot of insanely marvelous work that is unpublished from some incredibly talented creators, it's almost uncannily similar to the dawn of the comic book back in the 1930's as the comic strip increased in popularity into pamphlet form. With the current exposure to comic book properties in film and video games I have a watchful eye on where the comic book as medium and creative "farm" will arrive. It's also a great time for the forgotten heroes of yesteryear like The Phantom, Mandrake, The Shadow, Doc Savage, Buck Rogers and The Spider to re-emerge into new outlets and hopefully one day show themselves on the big screen and in print once again.

What do you think of other painted covers for Phantom comics like George Wilson, Don Newton, Rolf Gohs, Joel Naprstek?
DK: Incredible. Inspiring. With Joel, I had some big shoes to fill once I took over the painted covers for Moonstone. Joel's a great artist with a huge range to his work and those covers for Moonstone really got the character off the ground for them. I'm honored that you would include me in the line with cover artists such as George Wilson which I've always loved. It was hard not to look at his work when painting The Phantom covers, I wish someone would publish a book on those... I loved those montaged paperback covers. And even though as a young comic book reader and formative artist his realistic approach kind of "spooked" me. Later on I truly appreciated his covers for what they are. Very successful. As a young comic reader I was more interested in the magic that Don Newton was doing, they were more "comic book art" than "illustration art". They're amazing. They're all great examples of effective covers for the Phantom and showing his many facets. Quite interesting to also note that not only was he the first costumed hero but it seems that he was also the first realistically painted super hero (I may be going out on a limb here, so correct me if I'm wrong) to be painted on a comic book cover. I first started to notice Rolf Gohs work once I began working on my covers, so initially I had no real connection to his work until recently. Very prolific body of work and very effective.

How did you arrive at the cool idea for the skull throne painting for the prose anthology?
DK: Well, as I've said I wanted to paint the character in his many facets or perspectives. I have my own "picture" of The Phantom based upon what I know in Phantom lore. The guns are good for selling US comics, but the paperback cover needs to be a little simpler as illustrator James Bama has described - to catch the viewers eye. The one challenging piece would be to paint him on the thrown. I wasn't able to do that concept on the comic book series, it never seemed to fit any of the stories. So, I used the prose collection cover to use it. I thought it would be very fitting. I think if they do another I might do a George Wilson take on it and make it look like the old Avon paperbacks...

What would you like to see in a second Phantom film?
DK: I'd like to see some more flashbacks of earlier Phantoms especially since the Pirates of the Carribean films are hugely popular. I'd like to see one generation passing the torch to the next generation and explore the mythos of the Man Who Cannot Die. I'd like to see either Pete Klaus or you, Ed (or both) as the villains henchmen in an action sequence so it would be on the screen and just not in print form in an Egmont comic story! (LOL!) I actually would love to see a mini-series (get in and get out before they ruin it) 12 or 13 episodes unless they can do it as good as Smallville. I'd even settle for an animated mini-series like the Anime-Matrix - twelve different visions of the Phantom.

How would you describe or characterize the fans you have met? Do you do shows?
DK: I do my share of shows every year, mostly in the Chicago and midwest area. But, I've been to the big one's like San Diego Comic -Con and the New York Comic Con. I enjoy meeting the Phan's - I mean that's a big part of doing the shows. There are some convention goers who come up and have only seen the movie and just want to discuss the movie - so that's a different sort all together. I've met some fan's from Australia at a Wizard World show and that was very fun to discuss the Australian passion of the Phantom and comics in general. My favorite memory though is meeting some, obviously American young kids at a San Diego show and they were just so excited to see the Phantom at the Moonstone booth. They were shouting "Slam Evil!" and telling me how much they loved the Phantom. That was the best! Also, I like to listen- so I let the phans talk. I will tell of another funny instance though: I was at a smaller convention and this twenty-something comic fan came up to me and we started talking.... he then remarked to me that I must really like the Phantom. I answered that I did but asked him why he thought that? He answered because I had a lot of paintings of the Phantom on my table(?!?!) I tried to show him that they were for actual comic covers with new stories but he said that he only read Marvel and some indie stuff. You hear some pretty funny stuff from strangers at shows but the majority of people are very friendly.
I've made some very good friendships on the Phorums, hopefully I will meet them in person some day so we can hang out. Of course there a few on the Phorums that keep me from participating regularly. But, that's okay there's a place for everyone's passion. And although I've found the forums to be useful, they really don't seem to represent what I've heard from fans in person at shows. So that has left a bad vibe with me that I would rather stay away from. Right now, I'll post if there's something directed at or pertains to me which really is all I have time for at the moment.

Do you collect Phantom memorabilia? If so, what is your most prized Phantom possession?
DK: I do collect Phantom memorabilia besides the comic books. I treasure my personalized Sy Barry drawings. I really like these Phantom coins I have, one is French and they're like little sculptures or bronze medals. Right now, I'm into the Big Little Books....
Where can fans buy your art? DK: I have most of the Phantom covers as well as some of the pencil drawings and assorted other works like my Flash Gordon serial painting at:

www.comicartfans.com or http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=17668
Fans can also contact me through my website: http://www.douglasklauba.com/contact.html

Are there more plans to work with Moonstone in the future?
DK: Oh, I am always doing something with Moonstone. I am just finishing up my Doc Savage cover for their new paperback release. As far as more Phantom work I was asked to do the cover for the next trade paperback collection whenever that comes around.

What other projects are you working on?
DK: I'm working on some illustration projects for my main stable of on-going clients. In comics, I am working on a cover for a new character: General Jack Cosmo, he's in the same vein as Flash Gordon and then I am developing a couple of projects for Olympian Publishing, both as co-creator and co-writer as well as illustrator. Hopefully, I can release that information soon.

Are there any special thoughts you would like to share with readers?
DK: Well, thank you for all the kind words about my Phantom covers, I truly appreciate it. And as for The Phantom and his guns: he has him at his side for a reason, they're not ornaments. Let the man use them in defense.

What advice or encouragement can you give to young artists?
DK: Try your hardest, be sincere in trying and if you fall you only have failed if you don't get up and start again.
 

All Phantom images shown courtesy of Moonstone Publications © 2007 Moonstone Publications