TSC CREATOR INTERVIEW: Jacob Edgar

I instantly loved the classic, clean feel of Jacob’s work when I came across his work a few years back, and he seemed like a perfect fit for The Griever, a story that features a couple flashing back to their earlier years as one of them is dying. Jacob totally nailed the nostalgia of the flashbacks and the warmth (and sadness) of the present-day scenes. He took some time away from working on The Ones (with BENDIS!) and his toddling triplets to answer some questions for me…

Matt: What got you into comics as reader/fan?

Jacob: I don't remember not having comics around. Either my dad's or my older brother's. Between that and the animated superhero shows of the early 90s (BTAS, Spider-Man, etc), I was hooked pretty early.

Matt: What got you into comics as creator?

Jacob: When I read Batman: Hush, I was 11-12, that's when I took notice of the names in the credits. And that's when I decided I wanted to do that. It was Jim Lee's art, most specifically. I wanted to draw comics for a job and I wanted to draw them like THAT. I've achieved the first part.

Matt: Who do you consider to be your influences, and are there any artists you consider to be an influence that might not be apparent from your style?

Jacob: It's a big list. I think the more obvious ones are Jack Kirby, Bruce Timm, Darwyn Cooke, Alex Toth, David Mazzucchelli, Chris Samnee. Maybe less obvious ones: Lee Weeks, John Romita Sr and Jr, Alex Raymond, Mike Mignola, Paolo Rivera. 

Matt: Are there any influences on your work from outside of comics?

Jacob: A lot of animation, probably. Other than the superhero stuff...classic Disney movies, Looney Tunes for sure. Illustrators like Robert McGinnis and Austin Briggs. Those early-mid 20th century illustrators are having a big moment right now in comics, if you look at what artists like Greg Smallwood or Mitch Gerads are doing. I think a lot of us are starting to pull influence from that era.

Matt: Aside from communicating the narrative, do you have other artistic goals in mind when you sit down to create a story? Anything you're trying to pull off, artistically speaking... a certain way you want to stylistically approach a certain aspect of things, etc.?

Jacob: Yeah story is first, obviously. Beyond that, I don't think of myself as the most technically gifted artist. I'm not going to wow you with rendering or detail or some creative use of material. So my goal is to make the pages fun or exciting, and mainly that's through energy and character acting. If it's superheroes, I really try to push the dynamism like Kirby or Timm. If it's a quiet scene or a comedy, what can I do to really sell the acting and emotion? That's the stuff I think about.

Matt: Are there ways in which you hope to push your art in the future, or just things you hope to try at some point?

Jacob: My big goal is in relation to shadows and spot blacks. The final form of my art, at least in my head, would be very high contrast, lots of shadow. That's the Toth/Samnee/Mignola side of my influences. I think if you look at what I'm doing now versus when I was first published in 2017, there's improvement, but I'm not where I want to be yet.

Matt: Is there an aspect of your ThoughtScape story that you especially enjoyed or are especially happy with how it came out?

Jacob: I hope the emotion comes through. It was one of the most emotional stories I've worked on, in terms of script, maybe THE most. So I hope that lands with readers.

Matt: The Batman and Superman strips you write and draw are fantastic (and you've also had a chance to do some work on Batman in Batman Audio Adventures), and you obviously have a connection and something to say about these two. How would you describe your angle and take on them, and what do you feel the best stories involving these two - either them individually or as a team - can achieve?

Jacob: My take on them isn't reinventing the wheel, but it's more about restoring or embracing a tone of adventure and fun. Especially for Batman. There are a lot of valid ways to do Batman, and certainly enough Bat-content out there that everyone can get their flavor, but the grim and brooding miserable Bruce Wayne doesn't interest me. I like to make him a bit more swashbuckling, a bit more like Zorro. I don't think he lives in his pain and grief EVERY single night. Not my Batman, anyway. Superman is pretty simple. What if the most powerful man on Earth was also the most humble and kind? I don't write a Superman who feels isolated or alienated by humanity. If anything, he sees more good in humans than anyone. Superman should always be hopeful and inspirational. As far as them together, I like them as friends. The way Mark Waid writes them together or Jeph Loeb, their relationship in the Bruce Timm animated universe, that's what I go for.

Matt: What does a successful career in comics look like to you?

Jacob: Right now it looks like: being able to quit my day job, which hasn't been able to happen yet. There are a lot of Marvel and DC characters I'd love to work on and I have some creator-owned ideas I'm kicking around as well. But the bottom line would be the ability to support my family only on comics and art. That would be success. 

Matt: How did it feel to have someone of Bendis' level/position-in-comics recognize your work and want to collaborate with you, and how was that process? And were there any aspects of all that might surprise folks? 

Jacob: It was and still is a bit surreal. The way it happened, just randomly through Twitter seemed crazy. The fact that he asked me to come on board and build a whole universe with him versus just drawing an issue of Superman or something (which is what initially assumed it would be). The process has been very fun and very collaborative. I've done a lot of work-for-hire stuff on licensed properties and on those jobs, essentially you just get a script and you draw that script. Take some licenses with it here and there, sure. But Brian and I were on Zoom calls coming up with character names and bouncing back and forth on costume ideas, the kind of collaboration that I imagined working in comics was. And he's been very open with me playing with the script and moving things around visually, closer to the old "Marvel style" comic-making, at times. I came up on reading his work like Daredevil and Avengers, but working together we have just felt like peers the entire time.

Matt: What do you do when you're not making comics?

Jacob: Aside from the full-time day job, my wife and I have 15-month old triplets. So my days are pretty full right now. But when I'm not on deadlines and have some of that mythical and elusive "free time," I dabble in video games a bit. Mostly just replaying Red Dead Redemption 2. 

Matt: What are you working on currently / what's coming up for you?

Jacob: I'm working on the last issue of The Ones right now. I wrote a one-shot for Dynamite called Rocketman and Rocketgirl that will be out in March, drawn by Jordi Perez. And at the start of 2023 Nate Cosy and I will be jumping full-steam ahead into finishing The Daring Double Life of Ace Adams, which was funded through Kickstarter. Trying to get that in people's hands as quick as we can.

Matt: Last great comic you read?

Jacob: Batman vs Robin #2, the Mark Waid/Mahmud Asrar series. I'm also reading World's Finest, Gotham City Year One, Human Target, Reckless and Detective Comics, currently. 

Matt: Where can folks find and follow your work?

Jacob: Online they can find me under @jcbedgar on Twitter and Instagram. I have an Etsy page (Jacob Edgar Art) for prints and originals, and find my comics wherever comics are sold!