Amanda Conner is a longtime comic book artist, and she's breaking into writing with an upcoming prequel to Watchmen . She talked to us about mean comic-store dudes, Game of Thrones , and why gigantic boobs can be important.
Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #1.
Source: DC Comics
Amanda Conner has drawn for such series as Power Girl, Painkiller Jane, Wonder Woman, and Vampirella. Now she's at work on an anime-inflected digital series called Ame-Comi Girls, and on a prequel to Watchmen about the adventures of Silk Spectre (played by Malin Akerman in the movie), the first issue of which comes out next week.
There's been a lot of controversy in the last few years over whether female superheroes are overly sexualized in comic books. What's your take on that?
I try to ignore the controversy and just give each character a lot of individuality. For instance, there's a lot of controversy about Power Girl's boobs. Frankly, her big boobs are part of her whole persona. People asked me, "Why didn't you give her smaller boobs?" I said, "Then it's going to become all about the boobs." We wanted to acknowledge that she looks the way she looks and move on to the story. She just happens to be a character that has gigantic boobs.
I wouldn't draw Supergirl the same way, because in my head she's a teenage girl and she's not done growing yet. I try and give each individual character their own body type — I'd like to think I do it with male characters too. For instance, I would draw Nightwing leaner and more wiry than Batman or Superman.
Who are your favorite characters to draw?
Every time I get a new character to draw, that's my new favorite one. I do love drawing Power Girl, though — she is one of my all-time favorites. I'm also loving drawing Silk Spectre. The character that I'd love to draw the most that I haven't drawn before in comic book form would be Catwoman.
How do you prepare to draw a new character?
I look at the way they've been drawn before and try to stay true to that, but I also want to put my own spin on the character. I think about not just what will look really great, but about what I'll feel like drawing over and over again for the next year. I've given characters costume details before that ended up driving me nuts when I had to draw them over and over.
What else in pop culture inspires your work, besides comics?
I like to read, but the funny thing is most of the stuff that I read isn't comic books or even fantasy or sci-fi, which is kind of ironic because that's the kind of stuff I work on. When I'm done working on it, I want to give my brain a break. My favorite author is Carl Hiaasen, and right now I'm reading a lot of Bill Bryson, one of the funniest travel writers I've ever read.
On TV, I love Game of Thrones — the last episode was on just the other night, so I'm worried about withdrawal.
Wonder Woman from the Ame-Comi Girls.
Source: DC Comics