Ankkalinnake

John Lustig -haastattelu

 

Amerikkalainen ankkakäsikirjoittaja John Lustig istahtaa tällä kertaa haastattelupenkkiin. Hän aloitti ankkojen käsikirjoittamisen 70-luvun alkupuolella ja on jatkanut työtään tähän päivään saakka. Johnilla on myös oma sarjansa nimeltään LastKiss.

Johnin inducksesittelyn löydät täältä. Suurkiitos Villelle haastattelun tekemisestä! Haastattelu löytyy englanniksi.


1. Who is/are your so called "rolemodel(s)" from Donald Duck artists?
Carl Barks is, of course, my favorite Disney creator. When I'm starting a new duck story--especially if it's been awhile since I've written a Disney story--I'll often read several of Carl's stories to immerse myself in his characters and dialog. As far as I'm concerned, Carl's work is the bible for the entire duck universe. On top of that, Carl's plot structure, dialog and humor are topnotch. When people ask me how to write Disney comics, I tell them to read Carl's stories. And then re-read them. And re-read them a bunch more. With his best stories you'll discover something new each time.

I also admire the work of my friend William (Bill) Van Horn. I don't know how his stories read when they're translated into Finnish, but the original English scripts are full of wonderfully silly and absurd dialog. Bill has been a big influence on me and early on acted as my mentor in writing for Disney.

I also admire Daan Jippes--certainly one of the finest Disney duck artists in the business.

As for folks (like me) who merely write and don't draw, if I had to pick just one it'd probably be Janet Gilbert. Janet's consistently inventive. Even though she doesn't draw the comics, you can often tell which stories are hers just by looking at the art and seeing how outlandish the plot are. I mean--for gosh sakes--I think she once turned Donald into a talking chair. And she made it work. She's always at least good and she's frequently brilliant.


2. Is there any certain character from Duckburg, that you prefer to write and draw?
Well, I only write. I don't draw. But Donald's my favorite of the main characters. I like Scrooge. But I can identify more with Donald and he's easier to write because you can do so much with him. Of the auxiliary characters, I've always had a fondness for the Beagle Boys. They're proud of being crooks. They enjoy their work. Unfortunately for them, they're just not that good at it.


3. How long does it take to write an average story?
Too long. Really. I'm sure my editor would tell you the same thing.

At my slowest--which is usually when I'm starting a story--I may only write one page a day. I'd say my average is about two and a half pages a day. If I'm really into the story and I'm on a creative roll I hit about four pages a day. Once I got inspired and actually created six and a half pages in a single day. There was a lot of action in that story, though. Usually, the more action there is the easier the scripting is.

My rough draft dialog is usually pretty close to what I end up with. After I write out the dialog, I usually take another two days or so to write up all the panel descriptions for the artists. When I'm scripting, I always know approximately what the physical gags are going to be. But when I'm writing up the panel descriptions, I'll sometimes realize that a bit of action doesn't work. So I'll have to come up with a new action gag and that means I may have to revise the dialog as well.


4. What makes drawing Donald Ducks so intresting/enjoyable
First of all, Carl Barks created a universe rich with characters who are varied, interesting and complex. (Certainly more varied, interesting and complex than the animated Disney cartoon characters.) Donald really is suited for such a vast variety of stories that he's a joy to work with. And all of the characters--even the supremely competent Junior Woodchucks--are flawed. (For the Woodchucks, that flaw would be pride.) Flawed characters are always more interesting than perfect characters.

I also enjoy the fact that unlike American superhero comics, the duck universe isn't tied into such a deeply structured and tight continuity that you're restricted in what you can do with the characters.

I like that the stories (at their best) are basically satires. Outrageous things happen in the duck universe. In another type of comic, you couldn't get away with the odd coincidences and outlandish happenings that occur in duckdom. The random whims of fortune play a big part in bringing balance (and occasionally justice) to the ducks.

There is, however, a dark streak that runs through the original Carl Barks universe. None of the characters are purely good all the time. And that keeps things from getting boring.


5. Do you work with Donald Ducks only when you draw/write, or is Donald Duck part of your "free" time?
Comics are my only job. Sort of. You see, since 2000 most of my time has been spent on a nonDisney comics project of my own called Last Kiss. ( See www.LastKiss.us ) Basically I take old romance comics art (which I bought the publishing rights to) and rewrite them into humor pieces. I've done comic books, comic strips, greeting cards, refrigerator magnets, etc. Unfortunately, merchandising and business matters have taken up ridiculously large amounts of my time.

Consequently, I've spent very little time writing for Egmont over the last few years. I'm happy to say, though, that I've set aside most of the next two months to work on Disney scripts. I should get several stories done before the end of the year. And I should be able to set aside blocks of time in 2008 as well.

I should explain that I really do love writing Disney stories. I'm just bad at not getting distracted by other things which always seem to need to be done right away. Like today. This really nice guy named Ville asked me to answer some interview questions for a great Finnish website. Obviously, the smart thing to do is say no.

Oops. Too late. Darn.


6. And for final, your greetings to Ankkalinnake

Hello! Thanks for reading!


Ankkalinnake kiittää John Lustigia haastattelusta!

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