Our Creator Interview series continues with a set of insightful interviews with multiple creators of the Ghost Machine team. Our next interview is with artist Gary Frank, who has contributed to Geiger and the Ghost Machine #1 one-shot. With solid pencils and stunning inks, Gary has made some amazing contributions to comics as a whole, and we are excited to sit down with him.
GlobalComix: For those new to your work, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your favorite projects you’ve been a part of?
Gary Frank: I’ve been in the comic biz for about thirty years at this point, starting with Marvel UK in the early nineties before moving into the US side of things on Hulk during Peter David’s run. I started working with Geoff on a couple of Avengers issues before he moved to DC and, when my contract with Marvel was done, I followed him over.
I couldn’t really choose a favourite project, really. I really love the Shazam! The story we did together and Doomsday Clock was, without doubt, the most ambitious project I’ve ever been involved in, but the Geiger stuff is special because it’s our baby. There’s just something extra special about creating something from nothing.
GlobalComix: Something that makes Ghost Machine unique is that it’s a shared universe but also composed of creator-owned titles. Do you feel like this is the shape of things to come in the comics industry where top creators gravitate towards projects where they have more of a stake in the game?
Gary: I think it’s heading that way, though. The important thing is the structure, I think. If this whole thing works, and it seems to be so far, I’d be happy to see more creatives getting together to pool their talents and sharing the fruits of their labours among themselves.
Time will tell how reproducible this is and I think a lot of it will always be dependent on the personalities and profiles of those involved but, if you can get a group of talented individuals together who can put egos aside and work towards a collective goal, that seems a lot more healthy to me than where the industry has recently been headed.
GlobalComix: What is it about penciling that you enjoy the most? Have you ever thought about working in other roles?
Gary: Over the years, the pencilling part of my job has dwindled to the point where I’m pretty much inking from breakdowns. The laying out of the story is the most engaging, but also the bit that is over the quickest. The thing that gives me the most satisfaction is when I look back at a sequence and the storytelling just flows. Everything is clear and the story can be taken in effortlessly. For me, it’s all about the storytelling. I don’t want the reader to feel like they’re trying to crack a puzzle as they read. Ideally, they shouldn’t even be conscious that they are deciphering a series of connected images at all. It should be immersive.
GlobalComix: What's your workflow like when starting a new comic book series or issue? Do you start with sketches, or do you dive straight into detailed drawings?
Gary: Always sketches. I like to know the characters I’ll be drawing. Inevitably, they’ll develop as I go but I like to start with an idea. Some characters - Nate is a good example - get a deliberate overhaul as it becomes clear that the original idea I had of them won’t be appropriate. He was originally designed by Bryan for a short story in the Geiger 80-page special. I picked him up for Ghost Machine #1 but, at that point, it was becoming clear that he wasn’t going to be that hard-bitten mercenary-type that he seemed so, before beginning the regular series, I adjusted the approach I would take with him.
GlobalComix: You’ve worked on some of the most iconic comic titles over the years. What sort of influence have they brought to how you architected the Ghost Machine Universe?
Gary: To be honest, I don’t think there’s much other than the basic skills and techniques I’ve developed of the years. This stuff is so different to what I’ve done before.
If anything, I’ve deliberately tried to distinguish these books from the superhero work of the past. I decided early on that I wanted a more organic look to pages, so the borders are drawn freehand, and I wanted to keep the layouts of the pages free of the usual tricks and elaborations such as insert panels. I just want the whole thing to bring a distinct atmosphere and reading experience.
GlobalComix: Tell us about working on Geiger and Geiger: Ground Zero with Ghost Machine. What has that experience been like, and what can we look forward to for the series?
Gary: It has been great fun. The things which people expect from Geoff and I are there - heart, character and stuff that works strongly on an emotional level. The landscape is bleak but there is a lot of warmth in the story.
GlobalComix: You’ve also contributed to the One-shot Ghost Machine #1, are you planning to work on other one-shots, or would you like to?
Gary: If the GM anthology title becomes a semi-regular thing then, yeah, of course. I love that format of a showcase for all of the great talent we have onboard and trying to get readers excited about what is to come.
GlobalComix: Will you be adding more creators to the Ghost Machine roster? What do you want to see from aspiring creators who are interested in working with you?
Gary: Yes, as things progress, we have a few other creators lined up. The important thing is that everyone is onboard with the idea that the story is paramount. Ghost Machine books are to read, not to look at. The way that the company is set up doesn’t lend itself to throwing the doors wide and inviting everyone to the party, so new additions will be carefully curated, but this is definitely just the beginning.
GlobalComix: Has there been a title that you’ve worked on in the past that still influences you a lot today?
Gary: I’ve drawn so many titles at this point that it’s hard for me to know where one influence ends and another begins, but I can definitely say that my love of drama and believable “acting” in my characters was born while working with Peter David all those years ago on Hulk. The soap opera elements of that stuff were great and really resonated with readers. I’ve always enjoyed trying to help deliver that ever since. Action scenes are all well and good, but they work so much better if the reader already sees the characters as people.
GlobalComix: With so much experience in penciling and artwork behind you, is there a piece of advice you've received in your career that has stuck with you, and could you share it with us?
Gary: I’m not sure who the original source of this was, but it came to me second-hand and it is super useful when a page, panel or figure won’t come out as well as I want and the imposter syndrome starts to kick in. There’s a tendency to want to correct or redraw or just get dispirited with the whole thing but then I just go to the mantra: Make the next page better.
Thank you so much to Gary Frank for sitting down with us to share some of your insights and the history behind Ghost Machine. We're excited to see more work from you and the Ghost Machine team.
If you want to keep up with all the amazing work Ghost Machine is putting out, we've got a list of pages and profile links for you: