A CONVERSATION WITH NICOLA SCOTT
(DC COMICS ARTIST TEEN TITANS, EARTH 2)

To celebrate Oz Comic Con in Melbourne Australia, Impulse Gamer sat down with artist Nicola Scott to discuss her career, superheroes and the future of Earth 2.

[IG] Welcome to Impulse Gamer Nicola!

Thankyou

[IG] How did you become involved in comics?

It's kind of a round about way actually. A lot of people I know who work in comics, almost everybody who work in comics kind of grew up reading them but I didn't really have them in my life when I was a kid. I didn't know they existed. It wasn't really until I was in my late teens that I understood that there were comic books about superheroes. However I did grow up on TV shows about superheroes and as a kid, they really excited me and I never quite grew out of that.

I made the decision to draw comics based on the fact that I could draw and that I liked Wonder Woman and thought... wouldn't it be fun if I could draw Wonder Woman.

That meant drawing comics.

[IG] What were you doing before becoming a comic book artist? Did you try commercial art? I also read somewhere that you tried acting as well?

I came from a performing art high school and I was training to be an actor. That was the career that I intended to do but it just wasn't particularly happening. When I look back on it now and dissect the reasons why I don't think it was happening is that it is a competitive industry and that I wasn't getting anywhere. It then came down to finding something else that I could do that would be creatively satisfying.

One of the things that I have always been able to do is draw and I've worked as a commercial artist a couple of times as a freelancer that was mostly incidental work. It was not the career I wanted to pursue or even get serious training in it. It was just if I happened to know someone like my sister who is a graphic designer  and I've done a couple of little jobs for her that was nothing too taxing. I didn't really find this kind of work satisfying or enjoyable and making a career out of drawing was something that I never really considered fully.

[IG] So as an artist, how often do you draw? Do you practice much? How does it all work?

I draw all the time now, seven days a week. The nature of having a monthly book is that the deadlines are ever present and as soon as you finish one book, you move onto the next. I've been drawing full-time for about 8 to 9 years and I've been working on monthly books for around 7 1/2.

[IG] Who's your favourite comic book character and why?

Wonder Woman would be my favourite character as she was my first super hero I ever saw that created the initial connection to me and watching the Linda Carter series (of Wonder Woman) as a little kid also helped. That initial impact of her has never really disappeared. However, I've developed a great love of other superheroes since then, particularly characters that I have worked on and any other characters that passed my radar as a kid such as Superman, Batman and obscure characters like Electra Woman and Dyna Girl... they all had a big impression on me but Wonder Woman was the first and to me will always be the best.

[IG] How did you come to work for DC?

I've been at DC Comics full-time now for 7 1/2 years and I've got an exclusive contract with them which came from me pursuing them directly. They were the company that owned the characters I was familiar with the most and I had an emotional connection to them, especially because they owned Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Batgirl and Catwoman. These are  the characters that I really love. It was also the company that I was zeroing in on at San Diego Comic-Con which I visited every year to promote my portfolio and hopefully get some work.

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[IG] How did you come to Earth 2 and work with James Robinson?

When DC Comics rebooted their entire universe, the New 52, I had been working on a book called Teen Titans. I've been working on team books at DC most of the time I've been there and when I was finishing off Teen Titans, they came to me with the offer. I got an e-mail from Dan Didio asking if I would be interested working on a Justice Society related book with James and it was exactly the kind of book that I've been angling for, for the last couple of years.

It was something that was much bigger in scale with the books that I've been working on in terms of readership and content. I was offered the book six months before I started working on it. By the time I started drawing it, it evolved into Earth 2 and what Earth 2 is currently about.

[IG] Do you have any difficulty in drawing any of the characters in Earth 2?

I don't have any difficultly in drawing the characters in Earth 2 and I like to draw the diversity. I like drawing different body types and using body language when I draw. So no one is particularly difficult to draw but they may be challenging at the start when I'm getting to know them but anything that is difficult tends to be the most satisfying thing to do.

[IG] Who's your favourite character in Earth 2?

My favourite character... oh gosh, I'm really enjoying all of them. I quite like drawing Jay Garrick whose our Flash just because he's really young and he's quite awkward with his powers so far.

[IG] With Jay Garrick, did you have any influence on his costume?

His costume has gone through a number of designs before I started working on the book. There were a couple of people who were doing almost all the designs for every character in the new DCU. By the time I was starting to work on the book, there were already about 7 or 8 designs in motion and I got the chance to play around them and refine them. But at the 11th hour, we were given a design by Jim Lee which were quite different from any of the other designs we were toying with previously and that was the design they wanted to go with so I actually ended up having very little influence on the design.

[IG] You probably can't answer this but I'll ask anyway, can you make any comments on why James left Earth 2?

It's kind of more James' story but there was no big drama or anything. It is however James' comment to make. He did let me know it was going to happen about a month before it actually happened. He said that this was something that was kind of in the mix and was possibly quite likely to come up. It's a shame as I really enjoyed working with James and I'm still working on his scripts now. I know who the next writer is and I'm really looking forward to that too.

[IG] I don't suppose you can tell us who that is?

[Nicola laughs] No I can't sorry.

[IG] More importantly, you're still staying on Earth 2 as its artist when James departs right?

Yes. They approached me straight away and said you're sticking around right? I said yeah absolutely.

When they announce who the next writer is, people will understand why it would be important for me to stick around and I'm really looking forward to the continuation of Earth 2.

[IG] Speaking of writers, who would your dream writer be that you would like to draw for?

Oh gosh... I just love working with writers as I'm very collaborative, so anyone that's a character driven writer is really my favourite person to work with. I've been lucky enough so far to work with Gail Simone who I think I'm really a natural fit for and I get along so well with her. I love working with her.

I've had a very brief opportunity to work with Greg Rucka and he's one of my all time favourite writers. I just think he's brilliant so any opportunity to work with him would be at the top of my list. I would also love to work with Mark Waid as I'm such a fan of his writing. I'd love to do something with him.

[IG] I don't suppose you can give us a spoiler of what you're currently working on?

The story arc that is coming up is the war against Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf has revealed himself as still being on Earth 2 and the superheroes band together to go in there and do the super heroic thing and take him down. Unfortunately they clash with the World Army and they're sort of super powered soldiers, so they're clashing with them and Steppenwolf. There are also a few other little elements that were being teased along the way and are starting to come to the surface now. A lot of these are desperate issues that are starting to come together.

[IG] So will you be drawing the Red Lantern or Red Arrow in the future issues?

[Nicola laughs] I don't know what I can say there. Yes, I'm pretty sure that this will happen. I'm not sure on one of the characters but I'm pretty sure it will happen and I can definitely confirm that I've drawn one of them.

[IG] With Oz Comic-Con, what are you most looking forward to?

I'm just looking forward to the show and there's been some great shows this year here and Oz Comic Con is such a big comic show, there tends to be a great comics crowd there. There's some great guests lined up that I'm looking forward to meeting and catching up with. I love being down in Melbourne and I'm really looking forward to being there again.

[IG] At the conventions, who do fans usually ask you to draw?

I would say that 40% of the time, I'm asked to draw Wonder Woman and the rest of the time, I'm pretty much drawing everybody else.

[IG] Lastly Nicola, what does the future hold for you?

I've been with DC for nearly 8 years and my contract with them continues for another year which is at least September next year (2014) and then we'll see. You know, each time my contract expires, they ask me to re-sign depending on what I'm working on at the time. My plan is to stay on Earth 2 and by the time that the contract renewal rolls around, we'll see where we are at. 

And if there's something that I really want to work on or if there's something that they would like me to work on that I feel it's the next best thing for me to sink my teeth into, then I'll probably be sticking with DC for awhile. Otherwise, there are creator owned projects that have been calling my name for a little while and I wouldn't mind having an opportunity to sink my teeth into them as well.

[IG] Thanks for your time Nicola and all the best with Earth 2 and the Melbourne Oz Comic Con.

Thankyou.

Nicola Scott will be visiting Oz Comic Con in Melbourne
on the 6th and 7th of July at the Royal Exhibition Building

Images Copyright DC Comics, Nicola Scott and ABC