Festival Focus: An Interview with artist Michael Lark

As the countdown continues toward the Lakes International Comic Art Festival next month in Bowness-on-Windermere (27th – 28th September 2022), we're delighted to bring you an interview with one of its guests – a quick chat with comic creator Michael Lark.

Michael Lark is the artist and co-creator of Lazarus and Lazarus: Risen, published by Image Comics. In his nearly thirty years in the comics industry, he has drawn many of the most iconic characters in the medium, including Spider-Man, Captain America, Daredevil, Batman, Superman, and many others.

What are you working on, comics-wise, right now, and when will it be published?

I’m currently drawing the final volume of my book Lazarus for Image Comics. We should begin publishing it in monthly instalments beginning early in 2025.

Which comic project you've worked on are you most proud of and where can people see it or buy it?

Aside from Lazarus, which is available on Amazon and in any comics shops, I am quite proud of the work I did on DC's Gotham Central, especially the Eisner-Award-winning story "Half A Life." It's available as part of the Gotham Central Omnibus Edition, also at Amazon and all comic book shops.

How do you plan your day as a creator? (Do you plan your day?)

It's more of a monthly and weekly planning. It takes me about two months to do the pencils, inks, and covers for an issue of Lazarus. When I first get the script, I spend time gathering reference and designing all the new characters, sets, and important props that will appear in the issue. That usually takes about a week.

Then each week, I take Monday to break down four pages, Tuesday and Wednesday to pencil them, and Thursday and Friday to ink them. But that's just a rough estimate. Some pages take longer, some pages go more quickly.

My goal is to average four pages a week.

What's the best thing about being a comics creator?

Not having to answer to a "boss," and getting to work at home in my pyjamas!

And the worst?

As an artist, the worst thing is when I have to draw elaborate set pieces and/or large numbers of individual characters in a scene. That kind of work is really time consuming. A writer can write "Two people are in a room talking" or "The Roman Legion comes over the hill" in the same amount of time. But the Roman Legion will take me hours and hours longer to draw than the two people in a room.

What most distracts you from getting your work done?

Just day-to-day things. Delivery people knocking on the door, laundry that needs doing, errands that need to be run.

I work best when I can just go from early morning to late afternoon with no breaks (except to grab a meal or coffee from the kitchen). That allows me to get into a zone where everything flows much more quickly. Even the smallest interruption can cause me to have to recalibrate my mindset when I get back into my studio.

I can get more done in six hours of unbroken work than I can in 12 hours that are broken up into chunks of an hour here and two hours there.

Do you think it's easier or harder for young comic creators to get published today?

I've been in this business full-time for over 30 years, so I'm not sure I can answer that. I am sure there are just as many hurdles now as there were when I started out, but many of them are different hurdles. One thing will always be the same, which is that it's important to draw consistently and regularly and to always be open to constructive criticism from people and creators who you respect.

Do you think AI is impacting work opportunities for artists and writers?

I honestly have no idea. It doesn't impact me in any way whatsoever.

What do you think might be its most significant impact on the comics industry in general, long term?

I suspect it is like any new tool, especially digital ones. It can be used constructively, or it can be abused. In the end, though, nothing can replace a human creator.

Which one comic creator would you most like to meet, and why?

I've lived long enough now to know that meeting one's heroes rarely works out well. I find that, more often than not, I get much more enjoyment out of accidentally stumbling across creators that I've never even considered meeting. Those types of happy accidents are much more satisfying.

What one piece of advice do you offer people looking to work in the comics industry?

I can only speak to artists, but I would say, as I mentioned above, that you have to draw regularly and consistently. When you choose to be an artist, whether it's for fun or for a living, you've decided to embark on a journey that has no destination. It's a constant striving to get better, to be the best artist you can be, with the knowledge that you will never get it perfect. That holds true whether you've been doing it 30 minutes or, like me, 30 years

What's your favourite comic right now and where can people get it?

I don't actually read many comics these days. I do have favourite artists, though, ones who influence me and get me excited about drawing.

My favourite at the moment is Gigi Cavenago, whose most recently published mainstream work is the Batman/Dylan Dog mini-series from DC. As always, available on Amazon or in fine comics shops in the UK and USA!

Michael, thank you very much for your time and we look forward to seeing you in Bowness!

• The Lakes International Comic Art Festival returns to Bowness-on-Windermere Friday 27th – Sunday 29th September 2024 | Ticket details here

• Follow Michael Lark on Facebook

• There are details of Lazarus collected editions here on the Image Comics web site

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