If you were a comic book fan in the US, you could be forgiven not to know who Nick Roche was. But in the UK, Nick had established a Transformers fan following even before his work on the Transformers for IDW. But once he got his foot in the door, he let his talent knock it down. Since then he has been a steady artistic and writing force in the world of Transformers. Through this work, his fame with all fans have grown. But now, he and Chris O’Hallaran have something different in mind with IDW’s Scarenthood. Coming in October, Scarenthood presents a tale like the Goonies but this time, allows the adults to do the exploring. In advance of this new four book series, GeekVibesLive Interview is proud to talk to artist and writer Nick Roche.
An Artist in Ireland
GVL: From what I’ve read, growing up in Ireland, you basically wanted to be a comic book artist from an early age. Did your family support your ambitions? Mine thought that drawing was a hobby, not a career. (In my case they were right..darn it!)
NR: Absolutely – so many of my peers in school wanted to draw comics professionally, and a lot of them absolutely had the skills. The only difference between them and me was my parents believed in me from the get-go. They figured that all the hard work I was putting in would pay off, and basically put up with me mooching off them looooong after most folks would. Either that, or they figured – rightly – that “this guy is incapable of ANYTHING else, so let’s back him on this, because he sure ain’t moving out any other way.
Inspirations
GVL: Your parents were very wise and sensible people. Who were your inspirations growing up, Artist wise. Was there an artist whose style you wanted to emulate?
NR: My main and constant exposure to comics were the Marvel UK toy/tv tie-in books that were on newsstands. So it was a healthy dose of Thundercats/Real Ghostbusters and primarily, Transformers. I was always unnerved by 2000AD, one of the other non-humour books that was easily accessible to me. It’s painted art and snarling heroes made it feel like “Big Boy” comics, and I’ve never felt like a Big Boy.
The UK Transformers books encouraged a diverse set of art styles, with a rotating team of creators. The first artist whose name I ever learned was Geoff Senior. His Transformers bent the laws of physics, and ramped up their poses, energy and facial expressions to 11. I didn’t know you SHOULDN’T draw like that, because it was kinda the only way I knew how. I’ve tried to carry that level of exaggeration, energy and rule-bending through to my own Transformers work.
As that book went on, Andrew Wildman joined the team, and appealed to me as my tastes matured. I was the right age to pick up all the storytelling and composition techniques he was using, and try to add that to my own arsenal. My teens were tweaked by Jim Lee, Joe Quesada, Joe Madureira and Humberto Ramos, but the main damage was done by Senior and Wildman on Transformers.
From Artist to Writer
GVL: You started your career as strictly an artist. When did you decide that you would like to add writing to your resume and what, if anything, had you written before comics? Also who encouraged you to take that plunge?
NR: From the ages of 6 to 14, I had completed over 100 written-and drawn Transformers comics in school exercise books, plus I’d written fairly regularly for local stage productions and radio. So I had always written. It just never occurred to me that it was possible to have that opportunity to combine my drawings with my own words. And because it hadn’t been done before on Western Transformers books, it never seemed to be a possibility.
But a combination of intense chattiness and an eagerness to show how much I knew about Transformers (and ONLY Transformers) caused then-IDW Editor In Chief Chirs Ryall to pop me on the list. This is when they were casting for additional writers to complement Simon Furman’s ongoing series. In fact, he only mentioned they were looking for new blood. I told them I’d have a think of possible candidates, then later on in the shower, the whole plot for a Transformers version of ‘I Am Legend’ popped into my head. (It later became my debut, ‘Spotlight: Kup’), and I asked for a shot. He agreed. So I can blame him for this, and most of the good things that have come from my career, really!
The Transformers
GVL: You got your big break drawing the Transformers for IDW. They had recently obtained the licensing when you were brought on board and your work was spot on. Did they place any restrictions on you, art or story wise as far as that licensing went?
NR: No, never! The previous license-holders worked with a more strict house style, and I had submitted some pieces to them but with no luck. My robots’ proportions were more exaggerated and comic-booky as opposed to slavishly-adhering to the toy designs. So, I was never going to be a good fit with them. But IDW have a more inde-comic background, where everyone is nurtured to add something of their own personality into their art. And as I mentioned, as a kid, I was exposed to a revolving series of interpretations of Transformers via the UK book. So, I was bringing some of that wonkiness with me. And luckily, enough people in editorial, at Hasbro and in line at the comic stores liked what I was aiming for, and that’s why I got to play as long as I did.
Creative Workflow
GVL: Before you started writing your own stories, what was your normal workflow with your writer? Did you work from a writers script or did you just work from an outline?
NR: It depended on the project. At IDW to start with, I was working with Simon Furman’s full scripts, and I think that was a good way to begin my career. It helped me work on delivering the story and concentrating on communicating the writer’s vision nice and clearly. But quite often at Marvel I’ve worked based on outline. Both methods are rewarding, it’s nice to be trusted to block out the story based on a looser outline, but it’s often designed to save the writer some time, and adds more to the artist! So while there’s more of YOU in the finished product, there’s often less time to execute it.
Scarenthood is Born
GVL: How long have you thought about the Scarenthood story and what were your inspirations for the tale?
NR: Scarenthood started to come about four years when my eldest kid became old enough to be brought to pre-school. It meant my mornings were free for me to work, but also: my mornings were free – did I WANT to go to work? I’d often think about finding distractions now that my time was my own again. At the same time, I found myself interacting with the other parents at the school gates, and that felt like being back at school for me. Who were the cool ones? Was I cool? What do we even talk about to each other? It just amplified my social awkwardness. I wouldn’t figure out if I was relieved when I wasn’t invited for coffee, or put-out. Plus, the cycle of chat and coffee was getting tedious and I wondered if there was anything better to do with our time.
So I literally asked myself, instead of visiting the cafe, or going home to do the work I was supposed to do, what could I do with these other parents to fill the morning? My first idea was “Go Ghost-hunting in the woods”, and “Scarenthood” was born.
It’s since grown to essentially being ‘The Goonies, but grown-up, with mortgages and panic attacks.’ It’s about four parents who disturb an entity underneath their kids’ preschool. Only one of the families are targeted, with one child in particular being the focus of Its attention. But while trying to deal with unwanted supernatural attention, the day-today care of their kids becomes disrupted, and the adults fight with the dual threat of fighting evil, and remembering to just be a good parent
Chris O’Halloran
GVL: You are working with colorist Chris O’Halloran. Was Chris someone you wanted to work with or did IDW put you two together? The results I’ve seen in preview are excellent.
NR: It was super-important for me to work with Chris. Purely because I wanted a fellow Irish creator who shared the same shorthand as I did, for time spent in Church Halls, slatey skies and our mad folklore. I could casually mention an idea for a location or scenario, and neither of us would need to spend time researching it too hard, because we already lived it. I was so lucky to trick Chris into working for me when I did, as his career is skyrocketing with no signs of stopping, having worked with every major publisher. And when someone like Chris O’ Halloran reckons your project is worth investing time in while it gets off the ground, it makes you think that we might be onto something with Scarenthood.
Scarenthood Beyond
GVL: From what we’ve seen so far, it looks like you work well together. This will be a four book series. If things go well, do you have any plans for any further stories in the Scarenthood realm?
NR: Absolutely! Ideally, I would have loved to have been given a longer runway from the offset, and introduced different concepts at different paces, but I understand why comics don’t work that way, and it means if #4 is the last ever issue of Scarenthood, we told a solid little story full of dread and jokes. But these four issues very much skim the surface of the whys and wherefores for the events that occur in Rathdaggan Village. I love spending time with these four idiot parents, and exorcising my own anxiety demons through them, and I’d love to shine more light on the ancient supernatural factions that lie behind this first layer of the story.
GVL: Do you have any other projects in the pipeline you would like our readers to know about?
NR: Scarenthood is my main focus right now as I wrap up art on the final chapter, so I’m trying not to think too far ahead. I’d love to say Scarenthood #5, but that depends on readers getting right behind this series and telling their friends! Not their kids though. Too many swearwords.
Finding a Time Machine
GVL: I would be remiss if I didn’t give you one of my famous rhetorical questions. So let’s do this thing. Good News…You have found a time machine bricked over in a hidden space in your home. You have an opportunity to go back in time and work on any title. Work with any past writer or perhaps, a collaboration with a iconic artist. Who would you like that to be and on what title?
NR: Ooh, tricky one! It’s weird, my first ever Transformers work was with Simon Furman scripting, and I’ve written stuff for Geoff Senior to draw. So two of my most on-brand items have already been ticked off. Working with Neil Gaiman or Alan Moore would be nice, but I’d feel I’d be wasting everyone’s time – and my time machine. I’m not sure I’d be a good match.
I think I’d like to go back and do a fill-in on any of the off-brand era of 90s superheroes: a Reign Of The Supermen/Knightfall/Age of Apocalypse one-shot with any writer would be a treat. I’ll just use the Time Machine to jump forward to see if Scarenthood has managed to convince BKV, Dan Slott, Kieron Gillen, Brian Lynch or John Allison to write something cool for me. Or maybe I’ll have convinced Rachael Stott, Kei Zama, Nate Stockman… or, er, John Allison to draw something I’ve written instead?
GVL: I admire a man who gives himself some options. Great answer! Thank you so much for your time and we at Geek Vibes look forward to your work on Scarenthood.
Be on the look out for IDW’s Scarenthood when it comes out in October. Also read about Nick’s creative partner in this project, Colorist Chris O’Hallaran, exclusively on Geek Vibes Nation.
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Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
