Tim Bradstreet: Bad Planet
By Gearalt Finlay
Tim Bradstreet has joined Thomas Jane on his new project Bad Planet. Tim serves as both inker and art director. Silver Bullets Comicbook's Gearalt Finlay talked with Tim Bradstreet about the new project.
Gearalt Finlay: Was there ever a point at the beginning where you said to your self, Thomas Jane is and actor not a comic book writer, why would I work with him?
Tim Bradstreet: Heheh, that’s hilarious. But no, not for a second did that ever cross my mind. You only have to know Tom a little to realize that he means business. I took him very seriously from the get go.
Tom is a creative soul and that’s really the only ingredient you need with the possible exception of having the guts to get out there and do it. Writing can be intimidating to someone not well schooled in the medium. It’s intimidating to me for God sakes. But Tom has written screenplays and it’s not a giant stretch to make a jump to comics. It’s just telling a story, only the format is a little different. And Tom didn’t jump in thinking he could naturally be gifted in the comics medium, that’s why he asked me from the very beginning if I could help him find a comic writer that he could work with. Tom is respectful of the genre because he’s a true fan. All he really needed was a nudge in the right direction, to get a taste and feel for the medium. Don’t be surprised if you see Jane writing all by his lonesome real soon. The guy is passionate about the craft and that passion has a way of ending up on the page.
Finlay: How did you end up working on Bad Planet ?
Bradstreet: The short version is that Tom brought me this idea for Bad Planet when we were hanging out promoting the Punisher film. He wanted to get into comics but he really didn’t have a definitive idea about how he was going to do it. He had this
story that he’d dreamt and thought it would make a cool comic, the
kind of material we both grew up on in the old EC SciFi/Horror
books and Creepy and Eerie magazine. He asked me if I could
recommend a writer and how he could go about publishing this
book. We looked at all the angles. We decided right away that DC
and Marvel were out because he wanted to retain the rights to the
property so I gave him a short list of independent publishers I
thought might be the ticket. I’d forgotten about this until we were
talking the other day but the first writer that came to my mind to
write this thing with Tom was Bruce Jones. We loved that idea
because in a sense we’d have been able to actually have a guy
that wrote for Warren in the 70’s on the team. Sadly I realized that
Bruce had an exclusive contract with the big leagues. Enter Steve
Niles. This seemed like a great possibility because I knew that
Steve had recently met Tom and they’d hit it off. On top of that Niles and I both had a good relationship with IDW, especially Steve. I knew that Steve would have no trouble selling them on the concept. Tom and Steve got together shortly thereafter and I went off to work on a film in Italy for 7 months. During this time we struck out trying to get Richard Corben to draw Bad Planet and Steve and Tom ran across this guy Chris Bolton. He did some really wonderful concepts but in the end he didn’t work out. I got back from Italy and all the sudden IDW was out too. We were back to square one. We three had a good skull session at Tom’s one afternoon and we hatched our new plan. We brought in Lewis LaRosa to pencil with me inking. Tom made the executive decision to go with Image to publish the book and from there we were off and running.
Finlay: You are the art director of Bad Planet . What does an art director do?
Bradstreet: Oh God. Had I known I would have never served myself up. Seriously it’s been a challenge. I had no real idea how much work it would be. For starters I am the hub between Tom and Lewis and Grant Goleash, the colorist. I also deal with the letterer Jason. So I’m on the phone with one or all of these guys daily in addition to inking the book and working on my own jobs outside of RAW. My penciler and colorist are both internet challenged and when files have to be uploaded or downloaded, scanned, the whole 9 yards, I have to talk them through every step from getting the right software to understanding what “login info” is. These guys grew up in the computer generation and I’m teaching THEM how to do this stuff. It baffles the mind. I also do all the graphic design and layout for ads, covers, posters, as well as assembling the final interior art, adding the lettered files from Jason and color correcting everything. Even early on it’s taught me a lot about coordination and logistics. I am not normally this organized so maybe I’m getting some benefit from this that I can carry over to my own day to day routine. It forces you to be sharp and on the ball because no one else is worrying about this stuff with the exception of Tom. I do love it though. Tom gives me a lot of freedom and control over what I do graphically and that is MOST satisfying. He trusts my eye and together we make a great team.
Finlay: You mentioned that there was a change in penciler on Bad Planet between the time it was announced and the time you joined. What happened?
Bradstreet: Yep, originally Tom and Steve had picked Chris Bolton.
I had nothing to do with the decision to hire him or to let him go,
and letting him go was pretty much decided by the time I got back
to the states. I do know this – Chris had done some spectacular
work with the concept drawings. Everyone loved them. The stuff
had a really different look that was perfect for what we had in mind.
Different and really grotesquely strange and interesting. But when
it came down to doing the actual pages my understanding is that
he did a 180 in terms of style and it wasn’t suitable for what Tom
ideally wanted the book to look like. I don’t know Chris personally
but I think his concept stuff was very cool. It’s a shame it didn’t
Finlay: What were you looking for in terms of an artist?
Bradstreet: Not necessarily a throwback artist, but someone who’s style was singular and interesting. Someone who either had a unique vision like Corben or that had a mix of that feel along with a stronger realistic style. Someone like Frank Quietly would have been wonderful. Frank’s name was thrown around quite a bit but as with Corben he just seemed too unattainable. We begged Richard but alas, he was too booked. We will nail him down on something though. In the end I think we got the best of both worlds because Lewis has an excellent grasp of realism but he can also turn it up a few notches and blow us away with his creatures and aliens. I think the most important thing we were looking for was someone with a style all their own. We wanted Bad Planet to have a very distinct look .
I had no intention of working on interiors when this all started so it wasn’t a case of finding me someone to work with. That just ended up being the way it worked out.
Finlay: There is an amazing line up of cover artist for this series, was this a process of saying "this artist would be great for this cover" or was it "well he's available in November lets get him to do the cover then"?
Bradstreet: The whole thing is an interesting story and you
know it was more of a brainstorm than anything else.
Originally I was going to do all the covers, that was the idea.
Then the book got rolling without me while I was out of the
country and I couldn’t handle the workload I had there along
with my regular monthlies at the time AND Bad Planet . So
then I was going to do every other one and then I was going
to skip the series entirely and just do the trade cover. I think
the idea at the time was that Chris Bolton would do the series’
covers. Then Tom pulled the series from IDW when Bolton
was let go. Once I was onboard for interior inks I took a more
active interest. I’m not sure if it was me or Tom who first
brought up the idea of Wrightson doing a cover for us. But
after we got Bernie to commit I thought this could be a nice
direction for the covers. I came to Tom with the idea of bringing in other legendary illustrators to contribute. The idea was not a hard sell. So Tom’s like “who should we get and how do we contact them”? I threw him a short list of names, guys like Kaluta, Stout, Dave Stevens, Gary Gianni, Steranko, Mark Schultz. The idea was that we would only use artists that were still at the top of their game, and who also either contributed to the kinds of books that inspired Bad Planet or were themselves stylistically influenced by that period in comics. Tom and I tag-teamed them. I’ve known all those guys for years and all we had to do was talk them into it. There was never any real plan with assigning specific issues to specific artists. The order was based on who was available first and so on.
Finlay: As art director do you do a rough sketch of each cover for the cover artist to work from?
Bradstreet: Not at all. My only art direction is try and stick fairly close to what the characters look like. I believe in very little actual art direction when it comes to dealing with an artist. In my experience you tend to get an artist’s best work when you don’t tie them down to a preexisting concept in the form of “key art” or someone else’s sketch idea. I work best when I have room to breathe and I figure that’s the best way to get the best effort. Everyone knows Tom and I are available if there is a need for more direction or reference. They get the script and it’s up to them to pull something from the page that interests them, something that plays to their individual vision and strengths. It could be a scene from the book that they are showing literally or it could be something more ambiguous. As long as it ties into the story or characters. It’s amazing to see these guys run with the material and create this world through their own eyes. Every piece we get in just leaves us drooling.
Finlay: Bad Planet also changed publishers and went from a 12 issue mini-series to a 6 issue-mini series, how did this come about?
Bradstreet: Tom or Steve could probably shed more light on
this question than me but it is my understanding that when
Bad Planet was pulled from the former publisher it was decided
that splitting the project in half would serve the material better.
Sometimes these little things like switching publishers and
having time to reevaluate is a blessing in disguise. You
suddenly realize that you can slow down and give the material
and how it is presented a bit more thought. The split also
allows the art team to get a breather and get ahead before the
next chapter. Monthly deadlines can be brutal so it’s nice to be
able to relax and take your time making sure the pages are the
best you can make them. We can get ahead of the game and
not feel so pressured. It also gave us pause to rethink how to
tell the next story which may include a 4-5 page backup story
in each issue. Maybe that’s where we’ll get Corben involved.
Finlay: Switching to your role as inker, you are primarily known as a cover artist, why take on the inking assignment on Bad Planet ?
Bradstreet: It’s funny, Palmiotti used to get on my case for this very same thing. He used to say “Why would you waste your time inking when you could be making way more money doing covers”? The simple truth is that I love the medium, I love the collaboration. I don’t do a lot of interior sequential on my own, for a whole lot of reasons, so it’s nice to get involved and contribute to something special once in a while. I do it every so often when the right project comes down the pike. The last thing I inked was Batman/Deathblow with Lee Bermejo. I just love to work with talented people and since my covers don’t really allow for that I opt for inking now and then. That’s how I started in comics before I was given the opportunity to do cover work and I’ve always had the bug. There is something infinitely more relaxing about only having to ink the page instead of worrying about the composition and everything else that goes along with penciling. I also feel I bring something to the party this way.
Finlay: As Jimmy said, you have such an amazing talent as a illustrator, why would you want to tie up so much of your time inking?
Bradstreet: I ask myself that question all the time. Not the way
you’ve phrased it there but I think, why am I doing this for
peanuts when I could be doing my own thing? The answer
is I believe in this story. I want to contribute because it’s
something I want to be a part of beyond doing a cover or two.
Inking is a very underappreciated component to the process.
I like to believe that what I do on the page makes a difference,
that I can bring something more to it than this guy or that guy.
I’m putting my stamp on this stuff and I’m very proud of the
final results. Ultimately it comes down to love of the medium.
I wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t working with a very tight penciler. I’m
only as good as what I’m given to work with. But if it’s tight
and well done then I can do the little things that can take it up
another notch. When it all comes together it is very satisfying
and it gives me pleasure. What more could you ask of a job . . . Besides the extra money I mean?
Finlay: What is the experience like, going from being in control of the subject matter on a cover, to enhancing someone else's art?
Bradstreet: It’s a different dynamic to be sure but it can be as equally gratifying. If I wasn’t still doing covers and having that almost total control on other projects then I’d probably find it wouldn’t be enough for me. But this is a choice. I have the luxury to do both if I choose. Which means that I can go from a collaboration with a really talented artist and being one cog in a larger machine to calling all the shots on my own stuff from one day to the next. I’ve reached the point after working professionally for almost 20 years that I can pick and choose to an extent what I want to do. I’m fortunate. I get a lot of juice from working with other illustrators. I like to learn what makes other guys tick and I actually learn a lot when I’m working with another artist. It forces me to let go of what I’m doing for a while and focus on what will serve their vision best. It’s a nice exercise and I highly recommend it. It can keep you fresh and on your toes.
Finlay: Do you find the experience more or less creative?
Bradstreet: Well I’d be lying if I said doing my own covers and
illustration wasn’t infinitely more enjoyable and creative for me. But
having said that I can also honestly say that inking is my favorite
part of that process. Inking is where I really feel it, I feel the craft of
it. When I get into a good groove when I’m inking I lose myself in it.
That applies to inking someone else’s work as well. There are
different challenges to inking someone else because they will have
different tendencies. To me it’s all creative.
Finlay: Some times pencilers are extremely happy with their inkers
and other times there is a lot of conflict. What has you experience
been like on Bad Planet ?
Bradstreet: Nothing but pure cane sugar. Lewis has had bad luck in the past with inkers. Quite a lot of inkers are not illustrators in their own right. Lewis needs a guy that understands his line and his sensibilities.
As an illustrator myself I feel a connection to his line and his technique. He’s said as much about my inks. If he sticks with it I think Lewis has the ability to become a master in this field. I’m trying to help him let go of conventional stylistic comic moves like feather lines and crosshatch, to do more with less, replacing the common technique with texture and shape, black and white – chiaroscuro. If he could simplify his style as he continues to evolve it could result in a very singular vision.
Finlay: With your dual role as inker and art director what could the penciler say if he was unhappy in any way?
Bradstreet: Lewis knows I’m no bossy, know it all taskmaster. He’s
a friend. He knows that if he has a better idea of a way to approach
something he can tell me. If it makes sense to me and I am capable
of doing what he asks then I’m more than willing to make him happy
and change something. We have a good rapport so this has never
been a roadblock.
Finlay: I am intrigued with the idea that part of Bad Planet #3 is 3D,
how does that change the way you approach the art?
Bradstreet: See? I get to sit back and not have to worry about that!
That’s entirely resting with Lewis. I’m sure he’ll try and be more
dynamic where it’s called for. But I think the 3D process is more
of an enhancement than a gimmick. I don’t think the idea is to blow
stuff off the page. I think it’s more a situation where there will be
significantly more depth to the art that is there, giving the material a more dramatic tone. It’s not like a “Lawrence Woolsey production of MANT!”. It’s more a case of Star Wars VS The Day The Earth Stood Still. They’re both good but one is more visually stimulating.
Finlay: Why not do the entire issue in 3D or for that matter why not do the entire series in 3D?
Bradstreet: That’s not a bad thought but I think it might be too expensive for a little independent like us. Plus I don’t think Tom is interested in having Bad Planet be known as “The 3D comic”. He’s not trying to break the confinements of the medium or to create a car that runs on sawdust. He’s doing it to have fun and to possibly serve a purpose. Doing the whole thing 3D would be too much of a good thing.
Finlay: What has the experience, working on Bad Planet , been like so far?
Bradstreet: Pretty amazing. It’s not all been a bed of roses but the positives far outweigh any stumbles there have been. It’s been challenging, I’m on the phone too much, I don’t see my wife enough but I’m having a ton of fun working on the pages, keeping the guys in line, and getting to flex creative muscle with the graphic design. Working for Tom is like working for a great friend. There is trust, there is freedom and there is great communication. It’s an ideal working environment.
Finlay: After the 6th issue comes out in May, will this be followed up with a Trade Paper Back, or another mini-series?
Bradstreet: It is my understanding that we will do a trade following the first 6 issues. I’m not sure of the exact schedule. I’d hope to have the Trade out or to have the second series begin by the time San Diego roles around. It’s the perfect opportunity for us to promote and with a guy like Tom in charge we’re never sure how ambitious that promotion will be. I’m up for something crazy though. Also, there is serious discussion about doing a black and white edition of the TPB. We are fairly in love with that possibility. Regardless, whenever the TPB comes out we are planning some very special things for it including a gallery by a group of artists that will stun you. It’ll also be stuffed with production art and unused material. One thing I feel I should mention is that Tom isn’t interested in doing a cheaply printed book. The TPB will be a cut above the standard fair at a price that won’t be detrimental to the casual buyer. The regular monthly comic is special too. We’re having it printed on a heavy, flat, bright Baxter stock, not that flimsy, glossy crap. That’s all due to Tom. His main focus with RAW is quality. If the book breaks even we’re happy. It’s never been about the almighty dollar. It’s about making the best comic we can.
