The following is an interview with Russell Dauterman on partnering with Clover Press to launch a Kickstarter campaign for The Marvel Art of Russell Dauterman, a coffee table book collecting the past 10 years of his incredible artwork with Marvel Comics, as well rare, never-been-seen illustrations. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Dauterman about the experience of revisiting his artwork for the collection, his creative process in collaborating with Clover Press, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the recent launch of your Kickstarter campaign! As you look ahead to the combined collection, what has been your experience in revisiting your body of work thus far?
Russell Dauterman: I’ve really been enjoying it! I’m an organization nerd, so gathering all the covers and interiors and designs and figuring out what should be in the book and in what order has been really exciting for me. I find it easier to look at certain pieces than others! The farther back I go, like to my Cyclops series, the more I appreciate the work, even if the style is different than what I’m doing now.
I’m over the limit on pieces to include in the book, so as we’re getting to the final book being locked, I’ll need to make some difficult cuts.
BD: In revisiting your work, was there anything new or intriguing that you took away from the imagery that you hadn’t anticipated when originally creating it?
RD: I generally wonder if the intent behind my work shines through — like if a character’s facial expression conveys what I want it to, if anatomy looks alright, or if certain symbolism is obvious enough. Distance always makes it easier to review that stuff with fresh eyes. Looking back over all of this work, I’ve noticed what hits and what misses, and I think that’s helped me refocus my current work. I was really happy to see big beats hitting (for me, at least!), like an emotional scene with Thor Odinson and Jane Foster in THE MIGHTY THOR, outside the hospital where she works.
BD: Likewise, in looking ahead at the next 10 years, are there any aspects of the world of design and illustration that build your excitement and that you feel are pushing the craft forward?
RD: I’ve really been loving the new X-Men ’97 animated series. I’ve been blown away by the animation, the art direction, the design, and storyboarding — to say nothing of the masterful writing! I feel like that show is combining superhero comics with modern animation to push the aesthetic of superhero art forward. Same with the Spider-Verse movies and the new TMNT. That’s definitely inspiring me to bring more of that to my own work in the comics world.
BD: What can you tell us about your shared creative process in working with Clover Press for the collection?
RD: Clover Press has been wonderful! They’ve brought really exciting ideas to the project and have been especially great to work with in terms of organizing everything and making it all professional. Clover has also been great at snowballing ideas. They suggested doing a puzzle as one of the bonus merch pieces — then I had the idea to use my costumes covers (where I show one character in their various looks through the decades), Marvel suggested some design things that made it all better, and now there’s going to be a fun extra to have that I never would’ve thought of.
BD: Are there any other projects on which you are working that you’re able to share with readers?
RD: I’m currently working on Marvel’s Scarlet Witch comic book series. There is a new volume and #1 issue launching in June, written by Steve Orlando, with interior art by Jacopo Camagni. I’m doing the covers, doing some character design work, and a little more that hasn’t been announced yet.
All the Scarlet Witch covers — from this new volume and the previous ones — might be my favorite work I’ve done. I’m really grateful to be working on that, and very grateful to have spent the last few years working on X-Men comics.
BD: Lastly, in light of the Kickstarter campaign, are there any particular backer rewards that you would like to highlight for our readers?
RD: My favorite extra for the Kickstarter is a set of X-Men trading cards! For the past few years, I’ve drawn comic book variant covers in the style of Jim Lee’s iconic X-Men cards from the ’90s. We’re turning those variants into actual cards, and I’m adding a bunch of new cards to the set. Little Kid Me who collected those Jim Lee cards is over-the-moon about this!
