This November, Dark Horse Comics is proud to present a career-spanning retrospective of the work of Al Williamson titled Al Williamson: Hidden Lands. Written by Tom Yeats with Mark Schultz and Steve Ringenberg, Hidden Lands contains more than 200 pages of commentary and art, some of it never before published or not published in fifty years or more.
Darkhorse.com was very fortunate when Williamson agreed to answer a few of our questions.
Darkhorse.com: What kinds of books, comics, and movies were you seeing or reading in Colombia as a kid that influenced you?
Al Willimason: Movie serials were the first things that really influenced the direction
my life would take. My mother took me to Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, and I couldn't believe that they'd make a movie out of this science
fiction, rocket ship stuff. So Buster Crabbe, who played Flash, became a very
important early influence. Errol Flynn's movies, too. And the dinosaur
sequence in Disney's Fantasia. I didn't get to see King Kong until I was a
little older and living in the states.
As far as books go, I didn't start seriously reading myself until I was 15
or 16. Before then my mom would read to me while I worked-- Edgar Rice
Burroughs and P.G. Wodehouse. She was a great reader - she would read Wodehouse's
comedies in the voices of the characters.
The earliest comics that influenced me would be Carlos Clemon's "Submarine
Empire", and Will Eisner's "Hawks of the Sea."
DH.C: How did you and your family come to relocate to America when you were twelve?
AW: My parents separated and my mother wanted to return home. My father paid
for my mother and I to fly to the states, instead of having to take a boat.
We flew on the Caribbean clipper, and the pilot let me sit in his seat and
"fly" the plane. What a thrill. I wanted to return to the states.
DH.C: A lot of people associate your first work with EC Comics, but you
actually did a lot of work before that, could you talk a little about
what you did before EC?
AW: Well, my first work was for Steve Douglass at Famous Funnies. He gave me
some spot illustrations to do in Famous Funnies, and then I did my first
actual comics work for his Heroic Comics-- that was real life adventure type
stuff.
And I worked for awhile on Topy Press's John Wayne Comics, drawing
westerns, as well as some as some other stuff here and there.
DH.C: What was it like going to work at EC and working with artists like
Frank Frazetta and Roy Krenkel?
AW: Roy and I worked a lot together-- he was just such a great guy. He taught
me a lot about illustration. He was so good, and he never got the recognition
he deserved. Wally Wood was a great guy, too.
DH.C: Who do you see as your artistic influences?
AW: As far as cartooonists go, at first it was Carlos Clemons and Will
Eisner. A little later I began to appreciate Alex Raymond and Hal Foster. And
MIlton Caniff-- he did this great "Terry and the Pirates" action sequence
with Pat Ryan fighting on a cliff, and that really inspired me. I learned
about illustrators from my boyhood friend Adolpho Buylla and, later, Roy
Krenkel -- Roy opened my eyes to illustration influences like Joseph Clement
Coll.
DH.C: Through your career, you've gone between daily comics strips and
monthly comics. Do you approach the two differently?
AW: No, I just sit down and do it. I grew up influenced by both strips and
comic books, so I guess I just took it all in and just sort of know what
works for what. There's no real difference I can put my finger on.
DH.C: You're very well known for doing the art on the Star Wars daily
strip, how did you come to get that job and what was it like working
on these characters that have become such fan favorites?
AW: Back in '75 or '76 this comic dealer I knew contacted me and told me
that the man who had made American Graphitti was making a science fiction
movie and wanted me to do the comics adaption. I didn't believe him, so I
never followed up, and then a year later Star Wars comes out.
Then I did do the adaption of The Empire Strikes Back, at George Lucas's
request. LucasFilm also asked me to take on the Star Wars comic strip at
about this time, but I was under contract to do "Secret Agent Corrigan", so
that was impossible. When the Corrigan contract was up, however, I was able
to finally jump to Star Wars. But I said I'd only do it if Archie Goodwin was
able to write the strip. Archie was brilliant-- the greatest writer I ever
worked with-- he understood the characters, the Star Wars world better than
any other Star Wars comics writer. His stuff felt like the movies. He made it
enjoyable.
DH.C: Despite having done Westerns and Fantasy comics early in your career,
you seem known now for science fiction comics, was that a conscious
move on your part, or did it just happen?
AW: It just happened. I prefer science fiction, and would take that work when
it was available. But I enjoyed doing those westerns, too.
DH.C: How does it feel to have a book like Hidden Lands, a retrospective of
your career, being published?
AW: It's very nice that anyone would want to do this. I want to thank Tom
Yeates for doing this, and I hope that Dark Horse doesn't lose its shirt...
DH.C: How closely are you working with the books authors?
AW: I made the art in my files available, and tried to be cooperative. Tom
has done all the work.
Admittedly, this interview only scratches the surface of what Williamson has to reveal. For more in-depth coverage of his life and career, please check out Al Williamson: Hidden Lands, a 224-page trade paperback, will be available in stores November 27.