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The Comic - Terry Beatty
The history of the animated Batman has gone on since the
late1990's; so who better to ask than a man that's been with it
for over seven years? Below is a interview with Terry Beatty,
the inker on Batman Adventures.
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This series had something special going for it from the
beginning, exploring a territory completely new to the animated
universe. What was it like to work on an animated book some
considered so radical?
Just as we did with all the previous incarnations of the
Bat'ventures books, we simply pushed to do the best work we
could do. I'd like to think that's not radical, but standard
operating procedure for any comics I work on.
Early on, you inked both Ty Templeton and Rick Burchett in
the same issue. How did you handle that?
Whoever is pencilling the book, there's a certain shared look to
the work that comes from following Bruce Timm's character design
and emulating the general look of the animated series. Beyond
that, I make whatever adjustments needed to adapt to the
penciller's approach. Ty's pencils were quite tight and didn't
call for much interpretation -- just a slick ink rendering on
top of his sharp pencils. Rick's work is a little looser -- but
having worked together so much -- and sharing so many of the
same influences, he doesn't have to be super-tight for me to
know what he intends.
You also worked with Kelsey Shannon and Dean Haspiel, art
styles that are very distinct. How did you make sure their style
could be seen while keeping true with what you do with an ink
pen?
Well, I didn't ink Dean's work -- he inked his own pencils.
Kelsey's (superb) pencils, like Ty's, are quite tight and
complete. Its just a matter of being sensitive to what the
penciller has already put on the page. A few adjustments were
made here and there in the inks to keep the characters
"on-model," but we've always allowed for personal style on the
Bat'ventures titles. Despite us all following Bruce Timm's lead,
if you compare Burchett, Staton, Hampton, Rousseau, Levins, etc.
you'll see real differences in their approach, and I adjust my
style to whomever I'm inking -- while still working to maintain
a certain consistancy to the series. My policy as an inker has
always been to stay true to the penciller's intent -- assuming,
of course, that the penciller has followed the script and done
his job properly. Which in the case of the Bat books has always
been so.
Oh -- and while there is some pen work involved in the inks,
it's mostly brush.
Quiet honestly...a lot of people don't know what an inker
does. Wanna let us in on how you go about inking an issue of
BATMAN ADVENTURES?
I'm sent the penciled pages, which used to have already been
lettered with borders inked. Now with the lettering done
exclusively on the computer, the pages arrive sans lettering,
and with borders still in pencil. So the first thing I do is ink
the borders with pen. I then go through the pages, doing all the
brush inks -- mainly figures -- but some background elements as
well. I use a Nijii "Waterbrush" -- an inexpensive synthetic
refillable cartridge brush meant for use by watercolorists in
the field -- but I fill it with "Ultradraw" ink and use it to
ink comics. It has replaced the expensive and increasingly
unreliable sable brushes I used to use. It has a sharp point
that's great for detail work, and also fans out to a nice thick
line when needed. When the brush work is done, I then do
whatever freehand pen work there is to do -- using Zig or Pitt
pens. Following that, I'll do whatever penwork needs to be done
with straight edge or templates. Now that there are disposable
marker-type pens filled with fade-proof, water-proof archival
quality ink, some of the old issues of fading and bleeding are
no longer a worry. When dry, I don't dispose of them, but pull
out the end cap and drop a little Ultradraw inside and re-use
them as long as the points hold.
Having worked on almost every animated title, how has your
style changed, and what have you done to make sure you left your
mark on each title.
I started with BATMAN AND ROBIN ADVENTURES #18, inking Brandon
Kruse, so I missed out on the original run of BATMAN ADVENTURES.
Whatever stylistic changes there've been have come from adapting
naturally to the different pencillers I've worked with.
Honestly, I've not been concerned about "leaving my mark," but
rather doing the best job I can do. If people take notice, then
that's great, but first and foremost, I want the public to enjoy
the experience of reading the comics. As long as my work helps
make that possible and never gets in the way of that goal, then
I've done my job.
BATMAN ADVENTURES is the final Batman comic based on the
animated continuity. Any thoughts on your history of this title,
and your work on the other titles, and your contributions.
I remember seeing a preview of the animated series at a Chicago
Con DC party. It was a sequence from "On Leather Wings" -- and I
was floored by it, as were most of the people there who viewed
it. The comics fan in me loved seeing the Batman characters
treated with such loving care and understanding. This was a
major step up from previous animated incarnations. When the
comic book version started, I was a fan of it as well, enjoying
the work done by Ty, Rick and the late Mike Parobeck. As a fan
of classic comic strips and vintage comics, I liked that it
still showed the influence of those earlier works, while
maintaining a modern attitude. It was one of the few mainstream
comic books I bought and enjoyed every month.
When one of my previous gigs was coming to an end, I was
scouting around looking for future work, and had heard that the
licensing department at DC could use people who could draw in
the "animated" style (for merchandise art, etc.). So I put
together a few sample drawings and shipped 'em off the the folks
in charge, thinking I might get hired to draw some t-shirt or
lunchbox art. On a whim I sent the same samples to the editors
in the Bat-office, but knowing that Rick Burchett was the
regular inker on the book, that I'd only have a vague shot at
inking a fill-in issue at some point. To my utter surprise, I
got a call asking if I'd like to fill in for Rick for six issues
while he took a Bat-break to get SUPERMAN ADVENTURES started. I
wasted no time saying "yes." I never did hear from the licensing
guys!
Well Rick took a few more than six issues -- and when he did
return it was as penciller, not inker, so I was kept on -- and
through the various incarnations of the series, inked it for
something like seven years. That's quite a run in this business
-- especially these days! And if you consider that I'm inking
THE BATMAN STRIKES (over Chris Jones' excellent pencils), my run
as animated Bat-inker continues.
I've worked with a lot great folks on this series, from editors
(starting with Scott Peterson and ending with Joan Hilty),
writers (Ty Templeton, Dan Slott, Scott Peterson, Paul Dini),
artists (Ty, Rick, Joe, Bo, Tim, Kelsey, Brandon, etc.)
colorists (Linda Medley, Rick Taylor -- and the amazing Lee
Loughridge) to letterers (Tim Harkins, among others) -- and it
was a treat working with them all -- though some I only know as
a voice on the phone (and my apologies to any I've left out). I
sure didn't mind that we were nominated for a number of Eisner
Awards along the way -- and won a few!
My association with Batman has been a high point of my career.
To be part of an exclusive club that includes such notables Dick
Sprang, Frank Robbins, Neal Adams, Alex Toth, Bruce Timm, etc.
is an honor and a privilege and a damn cool way to earn a
living. |
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