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John Wagner And Dan Cornwell Tell Tripwire All About Spector: Incorruptible, The Final Work Of Carlos Ezquerra
Cleaning Up The City
Legendary Judge Dredd writer John Wagner and talented artist Dan Cornwell recently took some time to talk to Tripwire’s contributing writer Paul N Neal about the collected edition of Spector: Incorruptible that is published on 24 April.
This self-contained story includes the final pages of art completed by the missed 2000AD artist and Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra who illustrated British comics for over four decades and sadly passed away aged seventy in October of 2018…
TRIPWIRE: Dan, you’ve illustrated several of John Wagner’s Judge Dredd and Rok of The Reds scripts. When were you first approached with the script for Spector?
DAN CORNWELL: I think it was when I was working on Judge Dredd: The Citadel. John said he was really pleased how the pages were coming out and asked if I’d be interested in finishing the work Carlos had started, as he wanted the story to be completed.
TW: It is impossible to talk about the story without acknowledging the fact it includes the last few pages of art by Carlos Ezquerra before he passed away. Would it be reasonable to imagine this added a little more pressure for you as an artist compared to your previous projects at the time? This may be an utterly redundant thing to ask but were you a fan?
DC: A fan? Hell yeah! I mean, it’s Carlos Ezquerra!
There was a bit of pressure, obviously, as anyone following on from Carlos would have that pressure. But more than that, it was an honour. The fact that John asked was flattering and I’d do pretty much anything when it comes to working with John on scripts.
TW: How many pages of the story of Spector are yours compared to the work Carlos had finished?
DC: Carlos finished 2 episodes (20 pages), and I finished the following 8 episodes (80 pages).
TW: Did you find there was a need to alter or adjust your art style in order to follow the work of another artist? Was that an extra challenge?
DC: Originally John asked if I could use the same panel borders as Carlos used and is known for, to a degree. But it just didn’t work with my style. I asked John if I could revert back to how I do panel borders as I think it would look much better. I think it works better this way.
NOTE: Here is the official description of the book from the 2000AD website.
TW: Can you say a little about the storyline of Spector at all? Based on the official description, it is hard not to instinctively be reminded of Robocop. Reading just the official blurb alone, is that a fair comment? Given John Wagner’s track record of storytelling, would you agree there is slightly more involved?
DC: That’s a fair point, though this is much better. Haha. Take Robocop and have it written by John Wagner, add some Wagner action, dialogue, scene setting and humour and you know you’re onto a winner.
It’s a corrupt police department and things come to a head when the robot cop starts to uncover the corruption running throughout and within the DA.
JOHN WAGNER: To be honest I have little memory of Robocop, apart from the fact that everyone seemed to think it ripped a lot off from Dredd. My interest was in testing the boundaries of what a robot was, to explore the point where it could be said to become ‘human’, or at least to mimic the state.
TW: The cover to the collected edition deserves special mention. It really is rather impressive. Can you share any details about the design process that was involved?
DC: I was originally asked if I could replicate a Carlos panel. I personally didn’t think it would work as, well it’s Carlos’s work, and a copy of that wouldn’t do it justice. So, I asked if I could do an interpreted version of it with influences from a Metropolis (1927) poster of the city that I saw. Spector would become the city. Made a lot of work for myself. At first, some found it hard to see what it was, then once you see it you can’t unsee it. Close up it’s a city, pull away and it’s Spector.
JW: Its bloody amazing. I would suggest to Dan that he gift it to me, except that it’s worth a couple of grand or more, and what artist couldn’t be doing with that. They’re not overpaid.
TW: The colouring on the cover genuinely compliments you cover art. Can you say a few words about Dylan Teague’s work on Spector?
DC: The cover colours were done by me, with Dylan on interiors.
TW: I apologise, in which case your colours on the cover are amazing.
DC: Dylan’s one of the best in the business, not only as a colourist, but as an artist. He’s an amazing artist and he greatly improves my work when we collaborate. He’s done an awful lot of my work now on Dredd and others. Now he’s on the third series of Rok and I can’t wait to see what he does with my pages. They’re going to be amazing.
JW: I’m looking forward to seeing his colouring on Rok too. He’s a top-notch colourist.
TW: Spector was originally serialised in the Judge Dredd Megazine 455 -464 I believe, but I understand you may be doing one or two signings for the release of the collected edition, can you tell your fans when and where they will be being held?
DAN: We’re doing one in GOSH Comics, London on 27 April. There may be one in Birmingham, though not yet confirmed.
JW: I think it’s 26 April. Anyone turning up on the 27th is going to be disappointed.
Tripwire Note: To clarify here are the details of the signing mentioned.
TW: From your point of view, would you say Spector is a complete storyline? Has a follow up of any description been discussed at all?
DC: Both. It’s a complete storyline but never say never. It’s all dependent on if John wants to revisit Spector. He’s semi-retired now so only does things that he really wants to do.
JW: It’s possible, though I’m putting most of my effort into my Dredd with Mike Perkins, which may be my last, and especially into Rok 3. We’ll see how that goes but I would even consider a Rok 4.
TW: Finally, do you have anything else you would like to mention or promote? If you are allowed to say, what are you working on currently?
DAN: So, the first Rok of the Reds series is currently being run in the Megazine with Rok the God to follow. Then an all-new series – Rok the World – will follow that. There’s a couple of Dredds I’ve done coming soon written by Ken Niemand, ‘Old Man Joe’ in the Meg and ‘Blitzers’ in the prog. Lots of big things planned for the future too so watch this space.
JOHN: See above re Rok and check out my website for ‘A Life in Comics’, at johnwagner.co.uk. My reminiscences on an enjoyable life.
Spector: Incorruptible comes out on 24 April
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