The following is an interview with Clover Press publisher Hank Kanalz regarding the recent Kickstarter campaign launch for The Marvel Art of Michael Turner in collaboration with Aspen Comics and Marvel Comics. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Kanalz about the revisiting nearly 20 years of Turner’s artwork for the collection, the production process involved in bringing the The Marvel Art of books to life, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congrats on the Kickstarter campaign launch for The Marvel Art of Michael Turner! In collecting almost 20 years of Michael’s incredible cover art, what has been your experience in revisiting his artwork and examining his legacy in the comics industry?
Hank Kanalz: It certainly brought back a lot of memories. I didn’t know Michael well, but we worked on a few projects over the years, and interacted at cons. I am far more familiar with the work he did at DC while I was there, so much of what I’ve reviewed for this book feels very new to me. The team at Aspen have done an amazing job of curating his body of work and are purposeful in the choices they’ve made for this project. Flipping through each page is a new discovery!
BD: In revisiting Michael’s covers, was there anything new or intriguing that you took away from the imagery that you hadn’t noted upon its initial release?
HK: It’s no surprise the amount of detail Michael put in his work, but getting to work with the pieces more closely, I’m struck by the delicacy of his line work. I’m thankful technology was advanced enough at the time to capture that, but looking at his originals – no scans can ever fully capture that. We come darn close, though.
BD: This book marks the latest installment of Clover Press’ The Marvel Art of books, which have become synonymous with high-quality and impeccably presented collections of legendary Marvel artists. What can you tell readers about the production process for each of these amazing art books?
HK: Each one is produced differently. We tell the artists they can be as little or as much involved as they’d like, and I’m relieved they all choose to be very involved. These books are personally curated by the artist, as they should be. This one is our first project with an artist not directly involved, but Frank (Mastromauro) and Peter (Steigerwald) aptly represent Michael’s body of work. I probably most enjoy hearing the stories behind each piece, as Frank and Peter were there and were a part of the creation of these amazing pieces of art.
BD: In light of the Kickstarter campaign, are there any particular backer rewards that you would like to highlight for our readers?
HK: Aspen suggested we try what we’re calling “The Mystery Tier” in which backers will receive a randomly selected tipped-in page, a randomly selected mini-print, and a randomly selected holofoil trading card. Each Mystery pack is limited to 60, and there are 5 packs from which to choose – so backers can have a really unique edition of the book and additional items. We like to try to add something new to each campaign and experiment, so we’re curious to see backer response to this one.
BD: Are there any other upcoming projects from Clover Press that you’re able to share with our readers?
HK: We launched ARMORED on Kickstarter last year, and we’ll be continuing this mini-series on Kickstarter next week! It’s a terrific debut mini-series by writer Michael Schwartz and illustrated by Ismael Hernandez about a kid who stumbles across a mystical suit of armor haunted by the knight who wore it centuries ago. Together, they work to stop an evil force from wreaking havoc on our world. The books are complete, so these will be printed and shipped as soon as the campaign concludes. And we have amazing covers by David Mack, Becky Cloonan, and Trevor Henderson.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for readers to lend their support to the Kickstarter campaign?
HK: Interested fans can go directly here to back the project. And if you can’t back this one, what would absolutely help is if readers can share the link on their social feeds. Every like and share helps expose this campaign to as many potential backers as possible.
