Interview with Cliff Richards
Lore Masters interview the Isom series illustrator.
- Social
- Published
Jen & Sylvia Soska
The Rippaverse started with a bang! Eric July did not like what he saw in the comic book industry and decided to set out to make a difference. He launched the company with a dream to do better and a single title to test the waters – ISOM. Isom quickly became a huge sensation, and people demanded Isom #2, and the company was born! He wrote an incredible story that introduced a whole new universe and brought on the beloved Cliff Richards to bring it to life. It is an esteemed pleasure to get to talk with this absolute genius and a thrill to work alongside a true master of his craft!
Let’s freakin’ go!!!
Hey Cliff!
Thank you so much for making time to chat with me. We are both such fans of your work here at the Rippaverse and many other projects, including Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. It was such a thrill getting to work with you on THE UNDERDOG. There really is no type of comic you can’t do! Your images are so dynamic, and your characters have so much charm to them. I truly hope that the story is well-received, and we get to team up again soon.
Thank you for your art. It makes the world a more beautiful place to exist in.
Let’s get into it —
- What was the first comic book, character, or artist that made you want to get into working on comics, and why?
CLIFF: I was very young when I first had contact with comics. By that time, it was Alex Raymond with Flash Gordon, Rip Kirby, and Jungle Jim, I was captivated at first sight. Then I jumped to DC´s and Marvel´s universes. It was the 60s, and comics were becoming more and more prolific. Lucky me!!!!!
- Who are your favorite comic book characters and why?
CLIFF: As I said earlier, Flash Gordon made me fall in love with comic books, and I still love them. Then I discovered Spider-Man stories. It was a totally very different hero in those days that caught my attention, and soon I became a big fan ever since!
- Were you a Buffy fan before you started to work on the series with Dark Horse?
CLIFF: I had started following Buffy´s show even before I drew the book. I was a real Buffy fan when Dark Horse offered me the job. I was like a kid in a candy shop, couldn´t be happier. A dream coming true. What great years it was.
- What was it like working on the Buffy: The Vampire Slayer series, something that means so much to so many people?
CLIFF: As a fan, I tried to offer to readers the same passion I had and looked to improve the comic book as much as I could. Not rarely, I talked to Buffy´s creator, writer, and director, Joss Whedon, about some tips to make the book even better for the fans. We had lotsa fun on this.
- Okay, last Buffy question (I promise) — how does it feel to have a vampire in the Buffyverse named after you?
CLIFF: Ha ha, just a coincidence. It wasn´t named after me at all!
- How did you first get connected with Eric July?
CLIFF: My agent, David Campiti, called about a fresh new comic character first book. I became totally interested when he told me the details. I love to draw anything, and it´s always reinvigorating to work on a brand new book that no one knows yet.
It was a very exciting experience.
- What was it like to set up the whole Rippaverse in the Isom series?
CLIFF: Wow! That was awesome. Every time a new character appeared, it was great to see the Rippaverse unfolding for the first time. The Isom book is truly a new experience on comics for me and for the fans, for sure!
- How has it been for you working over at the Rippaverse?
CLIFF: After more than a couple of decades working on comic books, to see and participate in such a new universe being born is like my first days breaking in the market. Everything´s new and exciting. In a world full of comic book universes, Rippaverse came to bring a new vision and a joyful experience.
- Who are your favorite Rippaverse characters and why?
CLIFF: Besides Isom, you mean 😉 I love to work on all the new characters, but my favorite ones so far are Yaira and Bloodruth. These gals are really original, new, and unseen characters till now.
- I know we can’t do spoilers, but it was so much fun for us to collaborate with you on that new *secret* project. What was it like to work on a story in that genre? And what do you hope fans will take away from that story?
CLIFF: You know now how I like to experience new and refreshing things in the market. This story is something I had never done before, and I really enjoyed it a lot. Hopefully, fans will love it as much as I love to work on the pages, and if it’s a success, we can have way more to do and show that in the near future.
- What is the best advice you would give an aspiring artist wanting to break into the comic book industry? What would you say are the definite DO’s and DON’Ts?
CLIFF: The advice I can give is to really love what you work on. The market is tough and very hard sometimes, so you´ll need to really love what you do to survive and thrive even in the bad times. That´s what you should do; what you shouldn´t do is get a job you really don´t like at all. This probably won´t take you very far.
- Where can fans find more of your work? And are you open for commissions?
CLIFF: The internet is full of my older and new works I did for Dark Horse, Marvel, DC, and so many other publishers, even some works I did for CrossGen before the bankruptcy. There´s my agent’s homepage as well, glasshousegraphics.com. I’m open for commissions. Sometimes, I can do it really fast, but other times, regular jobs take all of my time, and commissions take longer. My email address for commissions is [email protected]
THANK YOU so much, Cliff! You’re a true rockstar!
