Imagine you had made some mistakes in your life. One’s that you were now paying for. But your hope was, if you kept your nose clean, and stayed out of trouble, the time would pass and perhaps, you would get paroled. At least that was the idea. But in Moundsville State Prison, that wasn’t how it shook out. Instead, the local gang in the prison would choose an inmate without any backup on the inside but with a family on the outside. And then beat the hell out of them. They would then film the damage and send the evidence to the inmates family. Demanding a payoff or the process would repeat. But what happens when they choose the wrong person. One whose family would not take this lightly. That is the premise of Gerry Brown’s Hole.
Coming to NeoText on September 28th, Brown tells this intense and addictive story along with acclaimed artist Eduardo Risso. Eduardo is probably best known for his collaboration with Brian Azzarello in 100 Bullets. But he remains very busy so getting a few minutes is pretty special. So, with that in mind, let’s welcome renowned artist Eduard Risso to GVN’s Talking Comics.
Beginning
GVN: Thanks for sharing a bit of your time today, Eduardo. So, for those of our readers who are not familiar with your successful career, when did you first take an interest in art and comics specifically?
ER: I saw the first comic when I was five years old away from home and it was “ love at first sight”. However, it was during my third year of high school that I realized I liked drawing too much so I decided to do everything to get any chance of being published.
GVN: Obviously, that ended up working out for you. So as you were discovering your talents, who were the artists that inspired you in Argentina?
ER: Alberto Breccia, Domingo Mandrafina, Josè Muñoz among others.
Awards
GVN: You are best known by many fans for your series with 100 Bullets with Brian Azzarello. Your work on the series won multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards. Once you have had that kind of success, does it become easier or harder to try to sustain that level of work?
ER: Although these awards gave me the possibility of being much more visible by the fans, I’ve always tried that they don’t affect my concept of work. When I take on a project it is to give my best.
Hole
GVN: Speaking of your best, you have recently worked on a NeoText Novella entitled Hole, written by Gerry Brown. How did that collaboration come about and what was it about the story that motivated you to accept that project?
ER: I must be honest in saying that I didn’t want to get involved in another project that wasn’t comics. But after reading a part of the script, and with the possibility of choosing the moment to illustrate I decided to take it. The story is fascinating and I thought that my drawings could help to give it an ideal framework.
Artistic Freedom
GVN: As I perused your illustrations, your choices were spot on. You mentioned in the initial press release for Hole that you were given pretty much total freedom in your illustrations. Is that an important aspect when deciding which projects, you work on?
ER: It is extremely important to me today. At this point in my career I try to do what I like with all the freedom possible. In addition, I think with it you get a better final product.
GVN: Thanks again for your time, Eduardo since I know you are very busy. Before I let you go, do you have any other projects you would like our readers to know about?
ER: I just finished the Moonshine series and I am about to start a 38 page story for DC with Geoff Johns.
NeoText’s Hole by Gerry Brown with Illustrations by Eduardo Risso was released on September 28th.
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.
