Comics News

Liam Sharp Talks Writing And Drawing Conan

Published

2 years ago

November 29, 2024

Admin

From Derby To Cimmeria

Writer artist Liam Sharp recently chatted to our contributing writer Paul Neal about Liam’s upcoming work writing and illustrating Conan, a longtime dream for him now come true…

Tripwire: Over the years, online and in interviews you had made no secret of your desire to work on Robert E Howard’s Conan. Where did this dream come from? When did you first experience this character?

Liam Sharp: That’s actually hard to say! I’m not sure if it was the comic or seeing one of Frazetta’s book cover illustrations! But either way, the impact was seismic on my young, pre-teen brain. Something of the imagery just immediately spoke to me.

TW: Do you personally have a big collection of Conan books, comics or other reference materials? Do you have any favourites?

LS: Yes! Of course. I have illustrated prose, with art by Gary Gianni. A huge Frazetta book collection. Comics from my school days, the big Savage Sword tomes Marvel put out. I have Barry Windsor Smith and Roy Thomas’s ‘Red Nails’ in the Savage Sword version, the giant Treasury version, the Dark Horse re-coloured collection and the huge Original Art Archives hardback!

TW: I have to ask: what is your opinion of the Arnold Schwarzenegger’s films from 1982 and 1984, and although not directly connected, the Red Sonia movie?

LS: I LOVE the original Conan the Barbarian movie! It’s not the greatest movie ever made, nor the best movie I have ever seen, but if I have a favourite movie it’s that one. Arnie was perfect – even his accent! This was NOT America! The soundtrack is peerless, and still gets played regularly. I think of it almost as a spaghetti western with swords. I used to run it through my head in my imagination to get to sleep when I was in my teens. I was the right age, the right demographic – everything! – when that film came out. The sequel, and the Sonja movie, did nothing for me, sadly. They were both huge disappointments.

TW: There have been a lot of Conan comics over the years by several publishers. Are there any artists you take inspiration from? Alternatively, will your take on Conan be entirely your own?

LS: The three influences on me are the classic triumvirate – Frazetta, Buscema, and of course, Barry Windsor-Smith. So Frazetta for his brutish, grounded ferocity and Buscema for the panther-like, powerful anatomy. And BWS for the ornate detail and incredible sense of wonder.

TW: Can you tell your fans all about what you have planned for your Conan? You are apparently writing and illustrating the whole project. Who is the publisher? How many issues can fans expect? Who do you have lined up as a colourist if any?

LS: It’s for Savage Sword of Conan, so it’ll be black and white. I’ve completed an 11-page short, and I’m following that with a 48-page epic weird heroic fantasy, with all the elements you’d hope for – fights, exotic locations, magic… I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel, but rather just be true to the spirit of the stories that inspired me as a boy. The publisher is Titan on behalf of Heroic Signatures, who handle the editorial, and who are, I have to say, an absolute joy to work with. I’m handling the writing, art, and lettering.

TW: Will your Conan be accessible to comic fans that have never picked up any previous adventures featuring the Cimmerian?

LS: I hope so!

TW: I hope it is okay to ask. Anyone that has ever met you knows you are a lovely gentle giant of a man? Did you ever bodybuild to emulate Howard’s creation? Have you modelled for this project?

LS: Ha Ha! Well, there’s some truth in that! I was a very shy, bullied kid. I was skin and bone, believe it or not! And around the time the Arnie movie came out I became interested in bodybuilding. I’ve never been able to do it as much as I’d like because I was either more interested in a busy social life, and beer, or work and family took precedent. It’s very time-consuming doing what we do! So sometimes it could be a decade before I got down the gym again – I never did it obsessively, or for more than a few months at a time, but… yes. I’ve tried to stay at least a little bit in shape! That said, no, I have not modelled for myself, but I think being interested in bodybuilding back in the day definitely helped with my understanding of anatomy.

TW: Is there anything else you can say to encourage comic fans to pick up this latest project of yours?

LS: Only that it’s the work of my career, and if you like my art you’ll love this. I wrote the first draft of the script for the second story, ‘Tattered Wings’, some 25 years ago, so even in that sense this has been a looooong time coming!