Illustration Alum Brian Wood (’97) was recently interviewed for an article in the Village Voice. He talked about why San Francisco just isn’t as good as New York (to him), how his artwork has developed, and the critical and social reaction to his art. Here’s an excerpt:
Comic-book fame is a funny thing: Even as Hollywood pushes the medium further into the mainstream, a sense of geek solidarity remains. Writers and artists feel compelled to stay in touch with their fans; the fans, in turn, continue to treat creators like best friends. “I’m hesitant to compare him to an emo band, but I feel like Brian has that sort of connection to the audience,” says James Lucas Jones, an editor at Oni Press who worked with Wood on Local. “People feel emotionally invested in him.”
Wood’s own fame was cemented in the late ’90s, after the publication of the William Gibson–esque Channel Zero. He now calls it something of “an art student’s rant”—a ” ‘zine where everybody talks about what pisses them off.” But Zero led to a writing stint at Marvel’s Generation X and paved the way for the series Couriers, Couscous Express, and Pounded, about a rock band in New York. Eventually, Wood transitioned from occasionally drawing into writing full-time, mostly because he “had so many ideas, and not enough time to put them to paper.”
Make sure you read the rest of the article here. Brian also has a list of other articles about his work here on his official website. You can pick up a copy of his latest book, The New York Four here.
Congrats on your continuing success, Brian!