Written by Jerry Lawrence
Kevin started his professional career as a
commercial artist in 1983 shortly after receiving his Associates Degree in Art. While in
college, he was interested in painting, decided to be an illustrator and then worked
mainly in the advertising business for ten years prior to his start in comic books.
Kevin was able to realize part of his dream in
1993 when he broke into comics after inking some sample pages over Greg Capullo, an old
friend who was penciling X-Force. Greg threw them in with his weekly pages and sent them
to his editor. After seeing the sample pages Kevin submitted, Bob Harras gave Kevin his
first professional assignment on X-Force #22 in March 1993. After doing various pages from
X-Force issues which also included #28, #30 and #36 with Tony Daniel, a new
penciler,
Kevin was given assignments on Marvel's Cable and other X books. As he continued to
improve his inking skills and with penciler Tony Daniel's request for Kevin to ink his
work, Kevin was given a regular assignment as an inker for X-Force at issue
#38.
After finishing X-Force #43, Gambit &
The Xternals #1 and #2, Kevin left Marvel and again hooked up with Greg who was then
working for Todd McFarlane on the #1 comic book, Spawn. Kevin spoke to Todd about Tony
Daniel's desire to leave Marvel and work for McFarlane. Tony also left Marvel to work for
McFarlane. Todd's idea was to keep Kevin and Tony together as a team since they had worked
well together on X-Force.
Kevin then worked with Tony on Spawn Blood Feud, a
four issue mini-series and also lent a hand inking various Spawn pages from issues #27 to
#37. Kevin's next project from Todd was inking the even numbered Spawn issues from #38 to
#48.
After the Spawn projects ended, Kevin freelanced
for Image affiliated studios such as Top Cow and Wildstorm Productions. Once again, he
teamed up with Tony on popular titles such as Witchblade, Tales of the
Witchblade,
Shattered Image and The Tenth. His inking work would also be featured in Weapon Zero,
Cyber Force, WildC.A.T.S., as well as some Marvel and DC comic titles. Kevin's penciling
work can be seen on a pin-up in Spawn #31, a cover from Samson Comics called Bloodbath,
and a Spawn chrome card. He is presently working on a double page KISS pin-up.
Early influences for Kevin in the comic book
business include inkers Joe Sinnott, Klaus Janson and Tom Palmer. More recently, Joe Weems
and Danny Miki are Kevin's favorites to study. Although Kevin admires and recognizes those
previously mentioned and many other talents as well, he is gaining confidence in settling
into his own style of inking. For the moment, Kevin is staying focused to continually
improve his craft while inking over many different style pencilers.
Most recently Kevin's inking work can be seen on
the new smash hit KISS: Psycho Circus which made its debut in August 1997 under the Image
Comics label and Todd McFarlane Productions. Kevin states, "At this point I couldn't
have asked for a better gig."
As a child, Kevin began collecting
comic books at age ten and started drawing super heroes with his friend Anthony at eleven
years old. Oddly enough, Kevin's favorite band growing up was KISS. During his early
school years, he would draw the members of KISS just for fun. He became a KISS fan at age
14 when his friend brought over the album "KISS Alive!" Kevin was so into it
that he rushed out and bought his own copy, nearly wearing it out from playing it every
day. He also wasted no time purchasing three previously released KISS albums. His comic
filled walls were now replaced with KISS posters. He also collected assorted KISS related
items such as jewelry, KISS dolls and other memorabilia. Kevin attended his first KISS
concert, the "Love Gun Tour", at age 17. Around the age of 18, he made a costume
and dressed up like Paul Stanley for Halloween. Kevin also attended countless other KISS
concerts and won a local radio sponsored KISS contest which led to actually meeting the
band.
Currently Kevin enjoys listening to Heavy Metal
and Jazz music while working. Although time is limited, he occasionally bangs out a few
beats on his drum kit. Other interests include daily walks with his two Shepherd/Labs,
Jessie and Jamie, working out with weights, cardiovascular exercise and eating a healthy
diet. He does admit to giving in to sweets on occasion. His goal is to eliminate all
animal by-products from his lifestyle by the end of 1998. No red meat or poultry has
passed his lips in years and he only eats seafood once or twice a week. He is an active
supporter of the Humane Society of the U.S., Defenders of Wildlife and PETA. Although he
is not in agreement with everything PETA does, he believes their extreme measures are
sometimes necessary to wake up society.
Kevin's typical workday starts with breakfast
around 6:00 AM and he's at the drawing table between 6:30 or 7:00 AM. His day is demanding
and fragmented due to the responsibilities to his five-year-old son Jonathan, from a
previous marriage. Although his free time is at a premium, Kevin spends as much time as
possible with his son, girlfriend Renee' and her daughter Morgan. He usually calls it a
night and gets to sleep between 10:30 and 11:00 PM.
Through the completion of nine issues, Kevin is
still euphoric and in a bit of shock. For Kevin, it's a dream come true to be involved in
the production of arguably the most successful KISS comic book to date.
ENDCAP, By Kevin Conrad
Being an inker, I really don't get many chances to
express my views, so I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity to say my piece.
I'd like to start with what I believe an inker's
job is. In it's simplest form, an inker's job is to translate the pencils into a 'camera
ready' page by finishing the pencils in black ink. When I try to explain this to people
who know nothing of the process, their first response is, "Oh, you color it."
No, that would be the colorist's job. I continue to try to explain the process by showing
a work in progress and their second response is, "Oh, you trace it." Now... as
infuriating as this response may be to the untrained eye, this is what they see. To
further explain what I do, I then show them the finished page next to a copy of the
original pencils and their response is usually, "Wow!"
To elaborate, I feel an inker has to
approach a page almost with the mindset of a penciler. Sure, the penciler has already
worked out the story telling and composition, but you as an inker need to make sure the
page is well balanced with a full range of values and textures; you need to make that page
scream. Take a couple of minutes and look at the page in front of you and ask yourself
what's missing. I usually do this and sum up my battle plan in a short period of time.
There are a lot of inkers who just blindly ink
what's there and to be fair, I think the majority of the pencilers would rather an inker
follow this path than completely obliterate any and all signs of who penciled the page.
This brings up my next point; a good inker can bring a lot to the table and live
harmoniously with the penciler. You can let the pencils shine through and still be able to
do your own thing without stepping on too many toes. The page needs to be able to stand on
it's own before color is even considered. If it needs more black, add it. Look at what's
on the page and decide what textures you may use. You wouldn't use the same technique on
glass that you would use on a rock. There's a whole palate of textures and techniques
available to you on each and every page, and as an inker you need to use these to take the
pencils to the next level.
There's more great talent in the industry now than
ever before and I've always been able to find something I like in just about everyone's
work, be it a penciler, inker or colorist. As far as inkers go, I think there are a huge
amount of technical wizards out there, but too many of them are just 'cookie cutters';
they have no identity. Who am I to make such a claim? Nobody, I'm just another guy out
there with an opinion. Are these guys better than me? Maybe, but I think I may have some
sort of an edge because my work doesn't look too much like anybody else. Is there any
originality in my stuff? Maybe, maybe not. All I can say is that I did borrow from many
different inkers that I revere and try my best to make it my own. I still watch what other
inkers do. The day you stop looking at what's going on around you is the day you stop
growing as an artist. Anybody that tells you that their stuff is the most original thin
out there (be it a penciler or inker), is under a grand illusion with the possible
exception of Danny Miki.
This sagging and highly competitive market
demands you to be different; to stand out in the crowd. It may not guarantee you success,
but it will guarantee you notice. Don't just be a part of the production, be a part of the
art team.
Looking back at my career in comics from an
outsider's perspective would show quite a successful jaunt. But it didn't come without its
bumps and head-on collisions along the way, both professionally and personally. I've been
hired, fired, and rehired on a couple of the biggest gigs of my career. Looking back at
these lost gigs, I now can see why I did lose them; I wasn't ready yet. But I also busted
my ass to get them back. After Tony Daniel and I parted ways and before I landed Psycho
Circus, I had a dry spell that lasted nearly three months. These experiences certainly
have a way of keeping you humble. It really makes you appreciate what you have. What's
that old saying, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger?
On a personal level, all within a two year period,
my marriage of ten years broke up, my mother nearly died when she blew a thoracic aneurysm
and I lost a best friend to a very ugly disease. On the flip side though, I never missed a
beat on the books I was working on throughout all that. I also found my beautiful
girlfriend, Renee', my Mom is now doing fine and I have my five year old son, Jonathan,
that means more to me than my own life. People who don't have kids will never understand
this and should keep their parenting advice to them to themselves. Jonathan, in the words
of Paul Stanley from Carnival of Souls, "I will be there, only blood will run so
deep, seal the promise I will keep.' Everybody should own this album. It rocks. And all
you know-it-all's out there, listen to the song "I Will Be There" and maybe
something about what its like to have a child will sink into the fat between your ears.
I would like to close by thanking some people who
have helped me along the way. First and foremost, I owe my entire career and quite
possibly my stay on the Psycho Circus to Greg Capullo. Were it not for his help and
guidance for the first four years of my career, I most certainly would not have entered
and succeeded in the field of comics. Thank you Bob Harras for firing me, Tony Daniel for
his insistence, Bob Harras for rehiring me, Art Thibert for his support and guidance, Todd
McFarlane for 'firing' me, Tony again for 'The Tenth', and lastly Todd again for giving me
the opportunity to be involved on the book of my dreams. All life's events make you who
you are and bring you to where you are today; I would not change a single thing in my life
in light of this.