Earlier this week I caught up with Australian comic book creator, Mike Barry, to talk about how he approaches creating – both as an artist and as a comic book creator.
Below you’ll find my interview with Mike Barry in its entirety.
Interview with Mike Barry – Comic Book Writer and Artist
: Hi Mike, how are you going right now? How is this chaotic world treating you?
Mike Barry: I agree the world is chaotic but I’m a parent, so – if I’m being honest – chaos is kind of my default state.
: Where in the world are you from?
Mike Barry: I grew up – and still live – on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. It’s a very nice place and I feel very lucky to be here.
: What projects are you currently working on?
Mike Barry: Action Tank is my middle grade (i.e. made for 7-12 year olds) graphic novel series about a boy who finds himself on the other side of the Solar System and has to get home in time for his mum’s spaghetti carbonara.
I write and illustrate (and colour! and letter!) that series, and right now I’m prepping the second book for publication in the USA (thanks to my legendary publishing partners Scout Comics).
As soon as that’s ready, I’ll be back onto drawing Book 3, which is the “stunning conclusion” to the Action Tank story. Books 1 and 2 represent 350 pages of story so far, so I’m very pumped for people to read the conclusion.
I’ve also just completed We Run Tomorrow (which is out now through Penguin Random House). I made it in collaboration with Aussie kid-lit superstar Nat Amoore (who is a 100% verified creative genius) and it’s a novel/graphic novel mashup which means it’s a novel with graphic novel chapters appearing throughout.
It’s an electrifying tale about four best friends who are obsessed with a comic book series called The Screen Savers. When the adults in their lives threaten to tear the group apart, they run away from home to audition for the main parts in The Screen Savers movie. Nat wrote the prose and she and I worked on the graphic novel parts together. Such a great project.
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: How did you first get started?
Mike Barry: I’ve been an artist my whole life but I started making comics “for real” about 15 years ago. I’d always written and drawn fun little comics, but realised that building an author career would only ever be a fantasy unless I made something that people would actually buy, and keep buying. So, the day I turned 30 was the day I began working on my first pitch to Image Comics.
It took me months to work out how to make my art look professional. I feel like the writing and the storytelling were all I’d really thought about until then, but suddenly I was in the deep-end trying to work out character designs, how to refine my linework, how to colour my pages properly, and then there was the lettering! People don’t know how much detail goes into the lettering, but it’s a lot!
Anyway, after about six months I had a pitch ready: five sequential pages and a cover. I sent it in to Erik Larsen (who was the Publisher at Image back then) and he actually replied, which really shocked me. For a second there it looked like he might actually publish it and I remember my wife and I freaking out since it took me SIX MONTHS to make five pages.
In the end, though, he decided NOT to, but in our email exchanges he gave me some insightful feedback that really motivated me to keep making comics. The feedback he gave me actually still helps me to this day.
: What’s your favourite era of creative work by other artists?
Mike Barry: I came back to reading comics in the early 2000s when (in my opinion) the medium experienced a significant creative renaissance. This coincided with podcasting taking off and offering aspiring creators like me unprecedented access to the insights, personalities and processes of those leading this renaissance.
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: Are you more of a horror or sci-fi nerd? What are your go to films to check out?
Mike Barry: I used to watch Star Trek with my mum and Doctor Who with my dad, and started reading Marvel comics when I was about 9, so, yeah, sci-fi is pretty foundational to the way I conceive stories.
Netflix seems to now continually suggest I watch Edge of Tomorrow, which I happily do, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget how it felt to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey in my teens. I was dazzled and confused by it, and I remember thinking “what is this?” and “I love this!” at the same time.
I finally read the Arthur C Clarke novel years later (which was written at the same time the film was made – he and Kubrick collaborated on the film and the novel simultaneously, which is pretty incredible). Reading the novel not only gave me a new appreciation and understanding for the film, but also helped me realise just how deeply the film had affected me all those years ago.
: Who are your main creative influences and what aspects of your creative work can we find them in?
Mike Barry: I’m consciously influenced by… the way Bryan Lee O’Malley conveys true stuff through made up stuff, the way David Aja uses design to build narrative momentum, the way Brandon Graham creates a sense of place, the way Ryan Ottley finishes his lines, the way Jack White embraces limitations, the way Muse builds lyrical universes, the way Donald Glover crosses genres, the way Barbara Kruger selects words, the way Jonathan Hickman thinks about his career and the way Mike Mignola does everything.
: Who are your go to musical jams to put on while you’re working?
Mike Barry: When writing, I need all the brainpower and concentration I can muster, so it’s generally film soundtracks which are all feeling and no words.
When I’m drawing, I guess I have some brain capacity left, which is why I’ve now clocked thousands of hours listening to podcast interviews with creators, marketers, performers, writers, directors and artists. It’s incredible what’s out there. I basically learned to make comics through the generosity of other creators sharing their processes in interviews.
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: What strengths in previous jobs have helped strengthen your creativity?
Mike Barry: I worked in advertising for over 15 years (and still do, occasionally). I began as a designer and art director, then also became a copywriter, and ultimately a creative director. That career path is actually a perfect way to greenhouse the skills needed by a comic creator, as making comics is all about bringing words and images together to communicate compelling stories and ideas.
: What weaknesses have you identified in your current project that you’re going to work on in the future?
Mike Barry: Every page I make teaches me something, and I assume / hope it will continue like that forever. I feel an urgency to get my work out there, but that urgency doesn’t really match up with how long it takes to make comics, so I find that a bit frustrating at times.
: Let’s talk about some memories that you had when you first started getting creative? How has this changed from childhood to adolescence to creating as an adult?
Mike Barry: When I was young, being creative was purely about fun. When I joined the ad industry, being creative became about stress, efficiency but ultimately: delivery. So now my approach to being creative is a combination of both: having fun, but not at the expense of delivering well, and delivering well, but never at the expense of having fun.
: What’s the worst nightmare you’ve ever had?
Mike Barry: Do you remember when websites were made from Flash? I had a dream I was a Flash loading bar and I had to keep running or the website would never load. I woke up exhausted.
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: Do you have a favourite soft drink?
Mike Barry: I was a big Vanilla Coke guy in my 20s but these days I just drink coffee as often as is socially acceptable and sometimes more often than that.
: Who’s your favourite telepath or gifted character in pop culture?
Mike Barry: I have a real soft spot for Cyclops (aka Scott Summers) in the Whedon/Cassaday Astonishing X-Men run, where, unable to access his optic blast, we see that his real gift is leadership.
: Which creative work would you most like to be remembered for?
Mike Barry: I want my work to be important to people, so I’d be honoured to have any of it remembered.
Check out Mike Barry’s Social Accounts at any of the following links.
Mike Barry on Instagram
Mike Barry on Twitter
Mike Barry’s Website
Action Tank Comic
