.
I've never heard an interview with Ian Gibson before; now I know why. He doesn't feel the need to be diplomatic about anything or anyone. One former Tharg is a waste of oxygen and even Darth Vader feels the sharp end of Gibson's tongue.
His early life is so Sixties it sounds like Austin Powers' biography - he dropped out of art school to teach himself sitar! His apprenticeship under Blas Galego, walking out on Samantha Slade, and rewriting X-Men all make for great stories, explaining his character and his career.
Gibson puts forward a very different version of Halo Jones's creation than most of us would imagine, claiming the central theme and whole way the first book was told were his ideas, and that he and Moore tried to take the strip to French publishers after the latter grew to despise Tharg.
For all the fun had, Gibson's explanation of why we'll never see more comics from him again is heartbreaking. Essential listening:
PlayerFM (https://player.fm/series/everything-comes-back-to-2000ad/ecbt2000ad-ep300)
iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/everything-comes-back-to-2000ad/id406982833?mt=2)
ecbt2000ad (https://2000ad.wordpress.com/2017/02/02/ecbt2000ad-ep300/)
ohhh, ta for sharing, listening now !
Quote from: Frank on 02 February, 2017, 11:00:45 PM
For all the fun had, Gibson's explanation of why we'll never see more comics from him again is heartbreaking. Essential listening:
I don't listen to podcasts (or talk radio) so feel free to share!
Can't wait to listen to this.
I loved his early work on Dredd. The image of Dredd on the front of the Case Files volume 1 is great. At some point his art became more 'comical' though and the way he drew the helmet in particular changed drastically.
I know they get slated on here at times but the first two Robo Hunter stories (Verdus and Day of the Droids) are also two of my favourite comic stories. Didn't he base Sam Slade on Ted Danson?
Quote from: I, Cosh on 03 February, 2017, 01:27:27 PM
Quote from: Frank on 02 February, 2017, 11:00:45 PM
For all the fun had, Gibson's explanation of why we'll never see more comics from him again is heartbreaking. Essential listening
I don't listen to podcasts (or talk radio) so feel free to share!
I don't want to put my gloss on it, so I'll just transcribe Gibson's own words:
QuoteHaving been declared bankrupt, I'm now living on a pension. Because of the distress caused by the bankruptcy, I've developed a very shaky hand. So I can't do stuff to a schedule anymore. I can't work commercially because I don't know from one day to the next whether I'll be able to draw or not.
Ian Gibson, ecbt2000ad, episode 300, 02/02/2017 (https://player.fm/series/everything-comes-back-to-2000ad/ecbt2000ad-ep300)
Ah. That's a crying shame.
Great interview. Its refreshing to hear someone speaking their mind but its also a pity that some things aren't going so well for him at present.
Can't wait for the next part.
Found that interview to be quite sad.
Due to whatever circumstances, it's a bloody shame some of the best creators are ending up with so little in their latter days.
Maybe Tharg can give him some one-off thrills to do which don't need a deadline so he can just turn in the work when it's ready and not have to stress about it?
Quote from: Richard on 05 February, 2017, 07:04:20 PM
Maybe Tharg can give him some one-off thrills to do which don't need a deadline so he can just turn in the work when it's ready and not have to stress about it?
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/mar/21/halo-jones-topless-row-ian-gibson (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/mar/21/halo-jones-topless-row-ian-gibson)
Chips. Pissed on.
Bloody hell! :o
It doesn't look much like her though, does it. It really doesn't.
(I'm assuming that in the interests of verisimilitude you have all Googled the image in question?)
I don't get the big fuss about that picture and I think its a shame that there is a 'disconnect' between him and Rebellion.
I'm not a big Halo Jones fan though and think its over-rated (and a bit dull at times). If someone else had drawn it I don't think it would have worked half as well as it did.
I'm a bit critical of Alan Moore's work on 2000AD though. I didn't enjoy Skizz either. I think his best works in the prog were either D.R. and Quinch or the Future Shocks.
Quote from: Richard on 05 February, 2017, 07:04:20 PM
Maybe Tharg can give him some one-off thrills to do which don't need a deadline so he can just turn in the work when it's ready and not have to stress about it?
Listening to the interview suggests too much water has passed under that bridge, Gibson's burnt the bridge, and he's called the ferryman a talentless c___ too.
Gibson comes across as a fantastic character, but maybe a difficult one too - like your grandad, who doesn't give a shit what he says to anyone and bugger the consequences.
All that said, if Tharg's going to include one
Robohunter or
Ace Trucking story in every Summer Special or Christmas Prog, it'd be a shame not to see if Gibson could draw one.
I think he comes accross as refreshingly honest, a man of principle and as an artist that did things his own way without compromise in many ways.
But then as much as those traits can be applauded, they can also rub people up along the way and as much that I'm in favour of sticking it to the man, I know it's important to negotiate and work with people that you don't always see eye to eye with.
Still a genuine character that stamped his unmistakable mark on the Prog and it's a shame that we may never see his glorious artwork grace it's pages again.
Maybe we could ask about those olive branches next time?
Quote from: Jacqusie on 06 February, 2017, 11:04:56 PM
Maybe we could ask about those olive branches next time?
Gibson says he isn't interested. He doesn't want to put out an
Art Of Ian Gibson book or supplement his pension with private commissions either.
Part Two's just as good. Apart from learning which former 2000ad editor is a spineless tosspot, the second part of this entertaining chat includes Gibson's warm reminiscences about sharing studios with Don Lawrence and Jesus Redondo, as well as his admiration for Alex Nino.
True to form, Gibson also delights by revealing why he never got on with Pat Mills. The explanation involves
The Robot War and cutting off toes ...
PlayerFM (https://player.fm/series/everything-comes-back-to-2000ad/ecbt2000ad-ep302)
iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/everything-comes-back-to-2000ad/id406982833?mt=2)
ecbt2000ad (https://2000ad.wordpress.com/2017/02/06/ecbt2000ad-ep302/)
Quote from: Tony Angelino on 06 February, 2017, 06:10:13 PM
I'm not a big Halo Jones fan though and think its over-rated (and a bit dull at times).
(http://i.imgur.com/aqBeym1.jpg)
Your mouth is full of wrong.
I saw the Far Side cartoon and I knew that was going to be in relation to my ground breaking views on Halo Jones. One day I will be taken seriously.
Quote from: Tony Angelino on 06 February, 2017, 06:10:13 PM
I don't get the big fuss about that picture and I think its a shame that there is a 'disconnect' between him and Rebellion.
I'm not a big Halo Jones fan though and think its over-rated (and a bit dull at times). If someone else had drawn it I don't think it would have worked half as well as it did.
I'm a bit critical of Alan Moore's work on 2000AD though. I didn't enjoy Skizz either. I think his best works in the prog were either D.R. and Quinch or the Future Shocks.
This is the right answer.
D.R. and Quinch is truly inspired.
Quote from: Tony Angelino on 08 February, 2017, 10:52:40 PM
One day I will be taken seriously.
But this is not that day.
Quote from: JOE SOAP on 05 February, 2017, 03:01:38 AM
Due to whatever circumstances, it's a bloody shame some of the best creators are ending up with so little in their latter days.
Testify. When I think of all the pleasure I've got - and still get - from Ian's 2000AD work it's genuinely upsetting to hear this about yet another great creator. I've been in the bankruptcy headlights, and I totally see his point: depending on the agreement any income he can generate above allowable subsistence can potentially be seized by creditors throughout the term. So why, given the stress he's under, would he subject himself to that?
Quote from: TordelBack on 09 February, 2017, 02:20:33 PM
... depending on the agreement any income he can generate above allowable subsistence can potentially be seized by creditors
... and might take him over the threshold at which he'd have to start paying tax on his pension income too. Gibson has no idea how much past work like
Halo Jones is worth in annual royalty payments, as they're seized immediately by his ex-wife's creditors.
Speaking of exes, Gibson says the female member of the Red Light Gang in
The Alien Way (204) was based on his first wife:
(http://i.imgur.com/dziZWZY.png?2)
QuoteGibson has no idea how much past work like Halo Jones is worth in annual royalty payments, as they're seized immediately by his ex-wife's creditors.
Well, that's just straight-up bollocks, and in no way how the royalty payment system works.
Here's the Dredd costume Gibson made from foam rubber for a fancy dress party (2000ad Annual 1986) (http://ecbt2000ad.libsyn.com/ecbt2000ad-ep302). The lawgiver was made out of camera parts, food containers, and Blue Peter style sticky back plastic.
Gibson says the size of the pockets was determined by the need to accommodate a packet of Marlboro:
(http://i.imgur.com/becMi7k.png?1)
(http://i.imgur.com/JEk3v8x.png?2)
Quote from: Frank on 09 February, 2017, 06:40:26 PM
(http://i.imgur.com/becMi7k.png?1)
(http://i.imgur.com/JEk3v8x.png?2)
Well that's just straight-up jimping, and in no way how the judicial recruitment system works.
Just listened to the second part of the interview last night. Had a bit of a sleepless night so put the earphones in and really enjoyed it.
Turns out my information on Ted Danson being Sam Slade was wrong but it was good to have that one settled straight from the man himself.