I forget how I originally stumbled upon Life The Necropolis but it was down some abyss on Instagram hashtags one boring night. I forget exactly where the comic itself was when I first started reading but Nick had a few years under his belt already. I started from the very beginning and read up until current (at that time) and luckily not too long after he started hinting about an issue coming out. It's always exciting to see an indie creator release a first issue, live through that special moment.
The issue was the "Shrub" story which can be found in the archive in 16 parts in 2020-21. Having read far past that and knowing it wasn't the first story to come out I was a bit confused. But once my brain gears started turning, if you look at the way the art, perspective, composition, and level of storytelling evolves up to that point it really is the midpoint. Therefore a great way to show enough of the beginning while easing into the current. The art 'style' itself tightened up but kept it's gritty original charm. I find it to be easily distinguishable in the midst of many 'samey' comic artists. Maybe it's his influences compared to others? But just like musicians, it's in the fingers, wrists, elbows etc.
One fun thing about reading along on the archives, besides being able to read far more than just Shrub, was the notes at the bottom of the page by Nick.
Whenever there is a closeup of LIFE his eyes always
make me think of Joan Cornellà Vázquez
I remember noticing at the bottom of some pages as I was reading there was a 'Thought' on the specific comic page from Nick talking about this and that in the process like what influence was used for this, or the colouring from this panel was inspired by that, or where it started on "The Key: Part 28 Page 000093" he drew Life's nose more realistic to which he commented on it with a simple "meh". I wonder how many readers actually scrolled past the navigation buttons and read all those thoughts? There are also a shitload of tags/keywords there as well which gives clue to inspirations for certain elements. Ranging from GI JOE, IG88, Moebius, Nausicaa, Apocalypse Now etc etc.
One of my favourite pages, simple and fun Merc Werk
But what say thee of the Book Of Comik? The Floppy Tome Of Toonish Treasure?
Well how about you just look at some pics I took of it?
You can't get one, they are sold out, so instead, go harass him to make a second issue!
Front Cover SIGNED For Extra Nerd Points
Glare For Extra Blindness
Back Cover For Extra Not Good
But Of Course That Couldn't Possibly Be ALL I Was Gonna Have In This Post, Right?
Absolutely Not! So Here Are A Few Questions I Sent Nick, Nearly A Year Late!
What were the first types of art you gravitated towards as a kid?
Nick: All I wanted to do was draw GI Joe all day. I loved early 90s over the top comics that are pretty much the exact opposite of how I draw!
Who were the first artists who got you to start drawing?
Nick: The Image guys were the first ones whose names and styles I would recognize, like Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, and Whilce Portacio. Loved that stuff!
Is there/Was there a big comics scene where you Grew Up/Are From?
Nick: Not that I know of. Not as a kid in my home town or as an old man where I currently live. There’s a few artists here and there who work on stuff, but no connected community. Either that or they just don’t want me around…
How much does it suck to run a comic shop?
Nick: I still love the industry, but yeah, retail is retail. 95% of your interactions are great, selling the stuff you love to people who love it too, but that other 5% is what people hate. Most of our distributors have drastically cut back their service since the pandemic, and it makes the admin part of the job brutal. But I’ll be damned if I don’t still get excited every time stock shows up.
At what entry of LIFE's story did you finally feel like you truly understood/harnessed the character emotionally/mentally?
Nick: I’ve had a pretty clear idea of who Life is since day 1. He is just apathy and violence, with some kind of strange personal code. That’s why he’s called Life, because he kills everything.
Do you have a favourite panel or page? And what makes it so special to you?
Nick: For a long time my favourite was L’Homme, page 00050. It’s just one panel of Life fighting a pile of mutants. I was struggling with my colours so I directly copied some colours from the Moebius story “L’Homme Est-il Bon?” to try to help me with colouring. Just gave me hope I might be able to finally figure this whole thing out.
From "Health" page 000149 you started using this limited colour palette approach, what was your reason to switch from colouring everything to this?
Nick: I really don’t have an eye for colour. It was taking me forever to colour pages, and I was never happy with the end result. So I decided to go on a journey of deconstructing my colouring by starting with only one colour, and slowly adding from there. Although I’m sure it’s less popular, I much prefer my colouring now. It’s much faster, way more enjoyable, and much more in line with my vision of what I wanted my comic to be.
If you were going to recommend a handful of comic books to start their journey with, what would they be considering all that has come out since you were first introduced and inspired?
Nick: I’m the worst at this because so much of what I read is either directly connected to my childhood comic collecting, or weird sci-fi. I love the Death of Superman and Age of Apocalypse, but I don’t think I’d recommend if you have no attachment to it. I love Watchmen, Preacher, Dark Knight Returns, but that’s too easy. Judge Dredd is almost too big. You know what? Akira. Read Akira. Or The Incal.
Oh Shit are you ready for a THROWBACK THURSDAY?????
LIFE on his first night of being a Mercenary, Neo-CBGB's
This is definitely absolutely not Cannon...
...unless?
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