For our inaugural column, I chat with one of comics’ leading ladies of the industry: Becky Cloonan, an artist who you will not find in your local Korova milk bar sipping on a milk-plus with the rest of the droogs, but rather in an antique shop, searching for Lovecraftian manuscripts.

It’s easy to see that she is smart, she is funny, and that she has a leadful of cleverness she easily beats into her art like a savvy Taiko drummer.

So. Breathe With Me. Inhale the electric ambiance of Ms. Cloonan. While it burns your nose hairs and brings sulfuric tears to your eyes, I’ll hip you to the reason why comics are lucky to have her, how her coolness eclipses those around her, and why playing video games isn’t just for your pasty love-town boys.

Ryan Burton: So, you should know I dig your art, Becky. There’s a lot of talent swimming around in those pretty pictures you draw. I feel some manga influence in there. Care to expunge, expound, or explain?

Becky Cloonan: When I first started drawing comics it was when I was 13 or so, mostly characters “loosely” (ha ha…) based on Venom and Vertigo (you remember her, from the Savage Land…). But my interest in superheroes slowly faded during high school when I started reading more Japanese comics. Titles like Ranma 1/2 and Blade of the Immortal caught my eye, I think it was just the idea of reading something totally different, you know? Anyway, I got back into drawing comics during high school as well, and obviously the style I chose was more influenced by the books I was reading at the time. Eventually, I went to college and as my interests and influences became a lot more diverse, so did my art. I think my initial influences are still around, but I’d like to think that they’ve become more sophisticated. I dunno, though, maybe I’m just fooling myself; ha ha!

RB: Nonsense. Your art’s fine. I remember when the X-Men weren’t doing it for me anymore and I switched to manga. This actually happened early on, like, in elementary. You see, I had a friend who was Japanese and his grandmother would send him over Dragon Ball Z books. Talk about getting hooked up…the good ol’ days, huh? Back on the subject, though, tell me about your first (paying or non-paying) gig as an artist.

BC: The good old days indeed! I recently got back into superhero books last year; it’s funny how sometimes things come full circle.

My very first gig came when I was in high school, I was commissioned a wire sculpture, I got $200 bucks for. But if you mean comic artist, then my first book as a professional was Jennie One, a graphic novel that came out in early 2002, if I remember correctly. It was written by Brian Wood, who had seen some of my mini comics or my online work or something, and he sent me an email asking if I wanted to work with him on a comic. Of course I was all about it, even more so when I realized that it was an “origin” story of sorts for Jennie 2.5 of Brian’s infamous Channel Zero.

This book didn’t really put me on the metaphorical map (per se), but it did teach me a lot of important lessons about comics, from both the art side and the career side. I had drawn a lot of mini-comics before, but nothing over 20 pages. If anything it was my first real exercise in stamina.

RB: And now? Is your art a full-time job? What are the hours like?

BC: Last summer actually marked my independence from the commercial illustration market! Now I am completely self-sustained on comics, and it’s wonderful.

I have two main books right now, American Virgin from Vertigo, an ongoing monthly written by Steve Seagle, and East Coast Rising, a three graphic novel series that I’m writing and drawing. Right now I’m also working on a story for Flight 4 and the 24Seven Anthology for Image.

So recently my normal day is about 10 hours of work, I stop working around 1 or 2 am. I don’t really set hours for myself anymore because I’m in the habit of drawing every day. It’s not so much discipline as it is habitual. My only days off recently have been for comic conventions, which don’t really count when you think about it.

I’m trying to work my schedule for next year so I at least get a day or two off a week. Of course I’ll probably just end up making more work for myself.RB: Yeah, I’m digging American Virgin, Becky. There’s nothing like it on the shelves, and that’s where it’s at. What’s it like working with Steve? Is it relatively stress free or are you smokin’ a pack o’ stogies every chance you get? Also, when you draw and/or write, do you listen to music, sip on scotch, smoke a pipe…?BC: Steve is a peach to work with. The scripts he sends me are so well written and fleshed out that it really leaves no room for questions—I get a clear picture of every shot in my head. His writing is very easy to draw from. He also leaves most of the shots up to me; I get a lot of freedom about dividing the pages up. We have kind of a hands off process I guess; I trust his writing and he trusts my art. It’s pretty similar to the way Brian Wood and I worked together on Demo actually.

And yeah, I listen to a lot of music when I work, but I don’t really know anyone who doesn’t. Music is pretty universal.

RB: I noticed your main character in American Virgin, Adam, seems to be slowly losing his shit. What’s gonna happen to him—will he go on being the “pinnacle of virginity” or will he inevitably become a man-whore?

BC: Hey, that’s classified information. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you! Ha ha, I will say that what I like about Adam is how steadfast he’s been, how he sticks to his guns through all the shit and fire. I think it’d be easy to just give in and be like, “Let’s fuck!”, but so far Adam’s remained true to his original ideals no matter how much his foundation is shaken and tempted. It’s pretty Jobian.

RB: Classified-smaffafied. You know you wanna tell, but I’ll let you off the hook. When I was in New York this last weekend I picked up American Virgin #3 at Forbidden Planet, and I happened to notice that you and Adam’s stepsister look an awful lot alike. Coincidence? Do you model most your characters after people you know, or is this a Morrison-thing happening here?

BC: You really think she looks like me? Man, I dunno. I’ve read some reviews where people say all of my characters look Chinese too; I guess it’s all in the eye of the beholder.

To tell the truth, I usually don’t think much on it; I mostly design characters out of my head. Sometimes I’ll remember a hairdo or a nose or something that I saw and use that in a character design, and I’m sure a lot of people that I know have made it into my comics one way or another, but nothing too noticeable.

(Also, what’s a Morrison-thing? Did the Doors make comics too? Haha)

RB: Ok Becky, There’s been helluva debate as to whether or not comics promote misogyny, right? Some people shit when they see a naked form in the pages of a $2.99 comic book, others don’t give a damn. Some think it’s just a harmless case of pale, pasty fanboys living out their horniest dreams with women they may or may not ever get; others think it’s a case of pale, pasty fanboys living out their horniest dreams with women they may or may not ever get and projecting that towards living, breathing women. What’s your take?

BC: Now that’s a loaded question. First I want to mention that if I thought comics promoted misogyny, I wouldn’t be drawing them. Secondly, I mean misogyny, that’s the hatred of women; I don’t really think it even applies. Now if you want to say like, “comics promote the objectification of women,” there’s the debate.

Comics is, after all, a part of the entertainment industry; of course everybody wants hot women on the pages of their book. I mean, it’s an easy sell. If they can sell Pirellis like that I’m sure they can do the same with comics. This works both ways, though; for every Red Sonja there’s a Conan, for every Jean Grey there’s a Cyclops. These pasty fanboys you talk about spend all day looking at women they can never get with, remember that they also spend all day looking at men they can never be. To be fair also, I don’t think you give fanboys enough credit. Plus I’m sure they don’t all just look at the women.

Half of it is the intent of the creator; the other half is how that intent is interpreted by the reader. No matter how well Emma Frost is written, some people will only see how well she’s drawn. Also, do people watch Smallville because of the plot? I think it is probably aided by a cast of young, fresh, good-looking characters. And the movie, Gandhi, I mean I’m sure there was a point to it but I just couldn’t stop thinking about how hot Ben Kingsley was.

I could spend all day discussing how women are represented in the media. The comic industry is just a sub-genre; it only reflects everything else going on in society, right? From superhero comics to journal comics to Japanese comics, people would objectify other people even if there were none of these. So in a word, do comics promote the objectification of women and/or misogyny? I don’t think so. How can it? These things would be around no matter what. Even if we all lost our eyesight, people would still strive to sound and smell good. We’d find ways to objectify each other even without the use of our eyes, definitely. (Phew!)

RB: I believe that is an educated answer, Becky. But we should be clear that it’s not a case of me thinking every fanboy is like this—no, no—that’s why I use the word “some”. Hell, I remember when I was in 8 th grade and picked up the Wildstorm Swimsuit issue—and wow, did I think Voodoo was a hottie. I practically drooled on the pages. Now my mom? She was a little nervous about me owning a comic like that and having the ultra-hormones I had at the time. And don’t even get me started on J. Scott Cambell’s run on Gen 13… that’s a whole different story over a whole different pint. But speaking of loaded questions, let’s talk about loaded situations:

What are your con experiences like? And what’s the weirdest shit you’ve come across there?

BC: I have no convention horror stories! Is that weird? I mean I’m not exactly “famous” yet, so I don’t have to deal with some of the huge lines I see other creators getting. It’s cool; I usually get to have some good conversations with people, and I’ve always thought (not to brag) I have the best fans in the comic industry, they’re all super hip and talented and smart and funny. Seriously, conventions are a blast.

I’ve been to a lot of conventions, from SDCC to Wizard World to more indie cons like MoCCA, APE and SPX, and a few anime cons—that’s where the weird shit is. Anime conventions can be pretty hairy; when I go I only sell comics so I stick in the safety zone of the artist alley. I try to avoid the super hyper fans, 13-year-olds in lingerie and 40-year-old pedos with cameras who follow them around.

But yeah, I haven’t really had any weird convention experiences. For me it’s always been a nice time to hang out with my friends and meet new ones.

RB: “Pedos”—hah! I’ve never been to anime cons, but I sense that there’s quite a bit of shady cosplay going on there. I picture Sailor Moons being chased by hairy Son GoKus. Not pretty, but I must attend one to find out.

Now, I’ve noticed you sometimes hang around different forums on the web (like Warren Ellis’s The Engine)—do you feel an online presence is necessary as an artist on the rise?

BC: In high school, the first and most important piece of advice given to me about becoming a comic book artist was by the owner of my local comic store. He told me to get a website, so I went home and learned HTML. I’ve been building websites for myself ever since.* I think it’s so important to have a site online to not only make your art readily available, but to share information about upcoming comics and where to find the books you’ve done. The Internet is Captain Crucial.

Places like The Engine are great. There’s a lot of good discussion, and Warren keeps the place really clean. I think a lot more creators are posting on forums these days; it’s really cool. The Internet is such [a] powerful tool for communication; I think we’re only starting to scratch the surface of it.

Then there are online galleries and communities like MySpace, Deviantart, blogs—they’re all pretty good ways to get news out there, although honestly I don’t have much patience for the Internet lately. The hard part is finding the most efficient Time:Effort ratio. You don’t want to waste all day on the Internet, but you gotta promote your work somehow, so the key is finding places to do that while using the least amount of time as possible.

RB: So when you’re not drawing or creating and when you’re not on the web, what’re you doing? Seen any good movies lately, recommend any tasty albums? Do not go see the fucking DaVinci Code, by the way.

BC: My favorite album to work to is Dio’s Holy Diver and the Ninth Gate Soundtrack if I’m feeling particularly satanic. I just don’t have the time or energy to keep up with much new music, I tend to keep digging up old ones. Lately I’ve been playing Screeching Weasel’s Anthem for a New Tomorrow a lot.

Oh, also I’ve been playing some old LucasArts games; Monkey Island, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis… I also watch a lot of documentaries and old movies. The other day I just bought The Maltese Falcon; hell yeah! Since I don’t have a car it’s hard to get to a theater unless I tag-team with some friends. I still want to see the DaVinci Code, nothing you say will stop me!! And I don’t care what anybody says about X3, I’m still excited!!! I love the X-Men.

Browsing antique shops is a hobby of mine. I actually passed up on this really sweet compass from the 20s when I visited some shops in Providence, RI; I kinda regret not buying it. While we were there, we got to photocopy some Lovecraft manuscripts (Oh the unimaginable horror of it all!); that was pretty rad. I also looove going to museums, there’s a few near my apartment in Richmond I haven’t gone to yet.

I really don’t do much anymore; I just hang out with my friends, take walks and go to cafés. I don’t have much free time, though; on top of work I travel a lot and I move every year. Shit is pretty intense.

RB: So you’re nomadic like Madd Maxx, huh? I understand the traveling, but why all the moving? Also, you owe it to yourself to play God of War and Shadow of Colossus.

BC: Yeah, shit is totally beyond Thunderdome. This summer will mark the 5th move in 4 years! Maybe because I always rent apartments? I just haven’t found a spot I want to stay in for more then a year. The good thing about constantly packing up and going is I get rid of a lot of stuff that would otherwise just pile up. Before I move I end up giving a lot of stuff away to friends, keeping my possessions down to pretty much the necessary ones.

I’d love to play both games, oh if only I owned a TV and a Play Station… anybody feeling generous today? I reeeally want to play the next Metal Gear…! Heh heh, I’ve got a Nintendo DS that I’ve been playing old Castlevania games for the Advance on anyway; it keeps me busy enough.

RB: Hahaha! God, Mel Gibson was a sexpot back in the day, wasn’t he? Pre Bird on the Wire, mind. Being the free bird yourself, where’s the coolest place you’ve lived?

BC: I think my favorite place to live so far was Queens. I was there for some years back during my college years. There’s so much available in NY, so many resources and so much energy. I still have a lot of friends who live there; it was just a good time. Of course I’ve enjoyed all of the places I’ve lived; Allentown, PA has some amazing bakeries, and Richmond, VA has a luchador league! I win!!

You know I will probably end up moving back to New York City this winter, maybe. Truthfully I have no idea what I’m doing!

RB: Nothing wrong with that. So, okay. Let’s downshift a bit, and ask some real basic but fun questions for the last stretch, yeah? Top 5 movies, top 5 comic books, and top 5 video games…go!

BC: Oh, lists! Top 5s are almost impossible for me, so I’ll just name ones I really like a lot right now, yeah? Okay!

Movies - Sunset Boulevard, Howl’s Moving Castle, The Ninth Gate, The Imposters, and even though it’s not a movie, BBC’s “Blue Planet” series (an incredible documentary about the ocean!)

Comic Books - B.P.R.D., Blade of the Immortal, Civil War, Scott Pilgrim, Blacksad.

Video Games- Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Sonic 2, Metal Gear, Castlevania, and every Katamari game ever made. Now that I’m thinking about it, I really wish there was a Dio video game.

RB: Yeah, I don’t know what it is about me and lists, but I’m always making them. I think it’s some sorta OCD-thing going on. Okay, back on (somewhat of a) track: Favorite sin or indulgence? Why?

BC: My dad used to get irritated with me because he didn’t think I had any vices; I don’t drink or smoke or stay out late or anything really. My mom says that I’m a workaholic, so maybe that’s my indulgence? Work? I haven’t really thought about it, I don’t think I really indulge in anything. Maybe Italian food? I love a good tortellini alfredo.

RB: Err okay. Damnit. Ever been in a fight? Get a tattoo? Spit in someone’s face…?

BC: Oh man, I haven’t been in a fight in years and years! I’m totally an adult now! I’ve got two tattoos—nothing too crazy. I don’t have any piercings or third nipples, and I’ve never been involved in any gang wars or alien abductions—although last year a naked guy tried to pull me into his car but I slammed the door on his leg and got away. Intense, right?!

RB: There’s no other word for it. So, at the end of the day, what brings a smile to your face? Drawing? Listening to music? Kicking kittens? Also—being an artist, did you design your own tattoos?

BC: The more work I’ve done during the day the better I feel at the end of it, haha. I love listening to epic fantasy metal, reading a good book, cooking a tasty meal, thinking about my next comics; these things all brighten my day. I mean a great day is usually made up of many small good events. Wednesdays are particularly good, because that’s when I hit up my local comic shop.

I traded tattoo designs with an old friend of mine in NY, I designed one for his back and he did one for my arm so that was my first one. It’s pretty sweet, it’s a skull with a crossed brush and quill under it and it says “POISON FREE.” The second is two archaeopteryx fossils, which 150 million years of nature kindly designed for me, I just arranged them to fit on my left arm. The archaeopteryx is widely thought of as the first bird, although it had maintained uncanny resemblances to dinosaurs.

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* Becky’s website is http://estrigious.com/becky/ where you can spend all of your day buying her stuff, appreciating her art, and most importantly, misbehave.