Comic Cuts - The Panel Show

Bonus Episode: Steve Dillon Interview 1982

• Kev F Sutherland • Season 2 • Episode 1

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Ahead of the new season of Comic Cuts The Panel Show, a bonus episode. This is a small bit of an interview recorded by Kev F and Steve (Shameful Steve) Noble with legendary comic artist Steve Dillon at the 1982 UK Comic Art Convention.

Steve at the time was working on Warrior magazine, and was yet to become the legendary artist of Preacher. Sadly he left us far too early. This recording, a snippet from long ago, is a chance to remember our sadly missed friend.

The second season of Comic Cuts The Panel Show, your favourite podcast about comics, will be coming soon.

Kev F Sutherland:

Hello there, I'm Kev, the host of Comic Comics, the panel show, your favourite podcast about the comics. There's a new season coming a little bit. But ahead of that, here's a little bit of a fun item for you. In the usual show, I get guests in and they bring in a panel of a comic and we talk about it. But I've been doing this sort of thing for quite a long time. And to give you an idea of how long here's a bit of a recording that was made by me and my friend Steve Noble, my little friend Steve Noble, who you will know is shameful Steve Holdercard. We went to the UK Comic Art Convention UK, as it was known in 1982. And we recorded interviews with Steve Moore and Alan Moore, Richard Burton, the then editor of 2000 AD, and the legendary artist Steve Dillon, who was then as young as we are now. Sadly, he's no longer with us. We recorded quite a long interview that I can cut down into a very small article for the fanzine fantasy advertiser. And the tape quality is atrocious. But here is a tiny little 10-minute snippet of Steve Dylan, who was then working for Warrior Comic in 1982. You said uh last year when we asked you in passing that you thought comic strips, and especially the comic strips you were doing, should be basically black and white done on cheap paper or something to that effect. You probably said that more in humour.

Steve Dillon:

I think there's room for everything. I mean, one day I might want to do a stick airbrush thing on great paper. I'd like the freedom to be able to do that. I don't want to I don't like people who say all comics should be done on happy paper. You're cutting off opportunities, you're cutting off areas of exploration if you say it should be done this way. Should be any way you want to do it if it's somebody we can read it. Even if many weeks to read it. So you shouldn't be doing it. You're too worried about it, so I've been killed killer by very little. I've done very little of it. And we never go into new areas, I think we have a lot of nodes. The Batman covered it for Nessa annually. Um was the first bit of professional colour work. Um I don't think it was particularly good. I think it was adequate. I think it was just adequate. Um with the warrior covers, the first one, me and Gary worked quite closely on the colour Russ. Even though the Illustrator appeared three months before in uh Stars of Degradation. Yeah. That was um we did work very closely on that, so I was learning a lot about colour work. But Gary actually did the physical work of colouring up the Camp Mere print. He didn't colour on the original, it was on the Campbell print. So Steve Moore now owns a black and white original back cover. Um and there's a the only four-colour version is um a Catmere print. About that, the original size, which Gary coloured up. Beautiful colour with inks. Doc Martins are used. He likes Doc Martins. That was originally it was going to be for a summer special, which was separate from Warrior due to various things that happened. It went on the side. It was going to be used as a cover, and Des being an economical chap, he says it's all money by doing that because we've all got a share in any money that comes into Warrior. Tries to use things in the best way possible wherever possible. And I think they may talk to that advert.

Steve Noble:

That's that's that's rather good actually, because IPC do that, and if they put a cover on 2000 feet, they did it with um ace trucking recently and they've done it with Judge Dredd as well. They take a panel and blow it up.

Steve Dillon:

Yeah, but they don't pay wrong, they didn't pay Mosimo for that. Well, Destin um doesn't pay any more to me for reusing that, but then he shouldn't have to because it's saving me money as well. Because if you'd got somebody to draw up an advert, whether it's me or anyone else, that comes off the cost of Warrior. Therefore, it cuts down the profits, therefore it cuts down uh possible bonuses. It also makes Warrior a less viable enterprise. So wherever you can save money, we'll be behind you. As long as it doesn't get silly and he hasn't got silly yet. That certainly does seem really good that you're all in it together. That is that is quite surprising. There's a siege situation.

Steve Noble:

Well, he's bailiffed. Yeah, right. Brackets, close bracket. Because um Des, I can understand saying everyone is in it together, but yeah, it's it's quite good to hear that everyone actually there's a lot of commitment behind it.

Steve Dillon:

I mean, like Dave Lloyd is really very committed. I mean, I admire Dave Lloyd. Anything he really gets involved in, he'll get involved in, yeah, because he's gonna be committed to it. He won't go into anything half-heartedly. The SSI is something that Dave's got very much involved in.

Steve Noble:

The the way he sells those newsletters, it's amazing.

Steve Dillon:

He's a very dedicated man. Sometimes I mean I could never do it. Sometimes I think he takes it to extremes, but if he's if he thinks it's worth it, then it's worth it for him to do it. Because he must enjoy it. You're from Luton, which is um a lot nearer to London than anywhere I've had. Too right. It made a difference. That thirty miles made a difference. It really did. I mean, for one thing, you do it's a lot of it's psychological, you feel cut off to a certain extent. Money was one reason because if you wanted to get to London, it costs six quid. You know, three quid there, three quid back on the train. Um because you couldn't guarantee on I mean if you had to rush there, you couldn't guarantee on get the cheap day return and being able to use it again. Often I bought a cheap day return and had to buy a ticket at the other end because I wanted to come back in the rush hour. So on the average it cost six quid, and I didn't always have six quid to throw around. So somebody rang up and said, we'd like you to do so so I can pick up the script today. So they didn't have time to mail it to me. And it was awkward. Well now I can nip on a bus sixty pence so I can be wherever I need to be. And there's some of a social life down there for people who work at home on their own, that's important. Yeah, the area is. But London does offer more opportunities to get involved with various things. I mean, one thing, I mean, it was important to me this whole area of it, because I went from a college environment, which I was really enjoying, that three months was a very happy three months, to living life of a monk. Um, because I wanted to learn how to draw comics, and I had three pages a week, I didn't have much time to do anything else. Then when all my uh my friends from Luton went to colleges all around the country, like Birmingham and Coventry, whatever, um, I was left without even people to go to the pub with at the weekends. And after a while that gets rather depressing. So um I decided I'd break the break and come down here. So I took a risk and I spent half my week not working. I just came down here and I slept on the floor and rides to tea was well used by me. Just as somewhere to stay. I used to come down, drink, miss the last train, and stay somewhere. And that was a fun period as well. I didn't earn much money during that time. So I made the permanent move down there and it's been well worth it. It's that feeling of isolation which is in many ways psychological, it's not purely geographical. And even if you don't have to go up to the office, just knowing that that opportunity is there is good. It does help the enthusiasm. Because at times when you're a bit depressed with your work, everything that's wrong will come up in your mind. Like, well, I'm not enjoying this and I'm stuck in a loop now. It all starts coming up and it doesn't help. I mean, the plus you are in secretary, that's one less thing you've got to worry about. I mean, maybe I'm peculiar in this, maybe I'm paranoid about where I am in relation to the industry. Don't grab the coincidence of actually meeting you in Bristol the other week. That was amazing, isn't it? I walked out of a print shop. Having just filled out the forms of the Comic Con, the only time I ever see Steve. Oh three years, yeah. I walked out of a print shop in Bristol to Steve. I was walking down the road, visiting Paul Neary. He said, What's Paul Neary doing in Bristol? He works there. Yeah, that's very good. We should just use your workboard. Programs advertising. Do you found Queen Square in the end? Yeah, I found Queen Square. I had to ask a few other people for still copper, actually. I made it. I made it really. He's having a good time as well. Is he? Well, he's um transferred his whole work and his social life down to Bristol. He's had he's had time problems with doing Mad Men. He was writing it for a while and Nick Austin was drawing it. God knows what's going to happen in the near future. Paul told me he'd like to draw it again. But I don't know, maybe he'll decide that it's not worth the hassle to. It depends how much he enjoyed Paul near his starting though. Mick's had to compromise to a certain extent to make the change less jarring. I want to see Mick do something purely in his own style. Probably it's my favourite thing. I saw that on the dummy.

Steve Noble:

That's lovely. I didn't know who'd done it. It's a great piece of colour. Um Marvel Mans zooming out of the water.

Steve Dillon:

Um the light. On the water droplets. It's a beautiful car park, yeah. He's a genius at car work. How old are you? I don't know. Um whenever I ask him he says 38, because he's not 38. Um I'd know middle twenties. Because you're you're younger than us. I'm 20. You're 20, I'm 20. Up a lot of it down to my lucky break in and getting the right people at the right time. But these I think the things like the comic on the comic marts, the Westminster comic marts, serve a great purpose in bringing some of the professionals together. I mean, like I said, I was very conscious of uh being isolated. Yeah. Well, sure that I reckon that is pretty standard thing amongst comic professionals. And I reckon we do relish the um prospect of seeing each other every month.

Steve Noble:

What about the SSI?

Steve Dillon:

Within the SSI there's a bit of dissension about whether it should be purely a social club or more business things.

Steve Noble:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Steve Dillon:

Yeah, I mean more used. Or an agency, there's another aspect, an agency, whether the SSI should be an agency for comic artists. Get them advertising work, whatever. But it is very valuable again for meeting certain people. I mean people at the SSI won't meet at comic markets. Some of the older professionals who don't come to the comic marks. Yeah. I mean the staunch British are are comic artists. Um are Wagner and Grant members of the SSI? Um they used to be, uh I they may still be, but they I haven't seen them in meetings for a while. Yeah. The only time I get to see them is uh 2000 AD functions. Yeah. I I I I haven't had that much opportunity to chat to Alan. You chatted to John, he's a he's a nice bloke as well. I mean, there's not many people in comics I don't like. I know, maybe that's just um common interest, I don't know, but it's to be packed out with wonderful people. Can't wait to see Mars Lady's stuff. God, Mars, no way. That's a yes song. I know. I mean because you've been working on Mirrorman. So I'm not sure how much of this mirror man stuff can go in to an interview. No, you can't. You really don't. Not actually, not many people are meant to know it even exists. We were wondering, actually, because the human league's next single is called Mirror Man. Maybe it's items. Talk different Mirrorman things as well. I mean everyone's got something to offer. I mean, some people I like their work more than others, but that's opinion. Give us some examples. Well, I love I love Mick McMahon's work, I like Kev O'Neill's work, I like Dave Gibbons' work, I like Dave Lloyd's work, I like Gary Leachie's work. Um, I do know, I happen to like their work as well. But maybe I don't know whether that's because I know them. But it does come down to opinions, and I do change my opinions as well. I mean, I never used to like Mick McMahon's work. But I used to think it was um this was when I was before I started being a professional when I took this 2008 stuff. I didn't see what anybody saw in it. And it took it wasn't until I was working in the industry a while that I really started appreciating it. Until now I think he's doing some of the most exciting stuff in British comics.

Kev F Sutherland:

There you have it. That was the wonderful and sadly missed Steve Dillon, talking way back in 1982, interviewed by myself and Steve Noble at UCAC in London. And Comic Cut, the panel show, your favourite podcast about comics, will be resuming soon wherever you get your podcasts. My guests have included comic folk like Brian Bollin, Rachel Smith, Metafrog, oGary N, Nigel Parkinson, Laura Howell, Son Yo Long, David Leach. We've had the comics, laureate Hannah Berry, resident alien creator Peter Hogan, podcasters like Adam Roach, legendary singer-songwriter Dean Friedman, Jessica Martin. The list of comedians include Ashley Story, Bethany Black, Will Hodgson, Paul Karenza, Izzy Lawrence Douglas Eagle. There is too many to list. And they've brought in comics from Marvel and DC to the Bunty and the Eagle, from Robert Crumb to Viz Webcomics. It was your manga, all points in between. And sometimes we don't talk about comics at all. Don't forget to click and subscribe, leave a review, and tell a friend. For example, what could these two be talking about?

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Kev F Sutherland

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