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Illustrator Jamal Igle (Photo: Mark Goggin)
On the mobile with the family back in New York and working on a comission with selective care, Jamal's early intermission from the comic-con's surge comes to an epilogue with a ready handshake. He's a down-to-earth host as chairs are quickly set up for the interview within the the designated table area. As an illustrator, Jamal had been part of the creative frontline responsible for taking the Supergirl title into and beyond the top 100 in distribution sales. Jamal has a professionalism made a likeable cool from more than a tinge of an impulsive natural conviviality. A factor that generates recurring Supergirl enthusiasts who are also aspiring artists.
Once into the interview, Jamal stays true to personality. He's near completion on a commission of artwork. A list on a clip-board has a full page of entries. They're all artwork requests.
Jamal explains, "I made a little announcement on my blog. I said ' I'm going to be in Baltimore and if you want a sketch let me know'. And so I did three or four already."
A native New Yorker, Jamal readily claims to be a Mets fan. An interjection about 1986 World Series by the photographer, another Mark, and a bout of laughter consumes some moments as discussions remain congenially jovial regarding the rival memories of the Red Sox fiasco during that too memorable World Series.
The crowd is gathering larger; the convention center louder. With time running low with each brief greeting and stated admiration, the discussion swerves back to focus on the business of comics. Particularly the comics' steady upward climb of ratings within sales and buyer's feedback.
"I don’t want to say it’s surprising, but it is; happily so. You know what I mean. When we came on the book the sales between issue one and issue thirty-three had really dropped. So the fact of the matter is, you know basically they [DC Comics] put together an untested writing team. The fact that they had faith in a relatively unknown writer and an artist people hadn't heard of, except the people who knew Firestorm, and put them on this book to get the sales up. That's amazing. Basically in a year we turned the book around, which is unheard of these days. Just an amazing testament to their faith in us. I think a lot of that had to do with Sterling Gates."
Supergirl has a certain fluency in every monthly story. The propulsion of the comic script through the comic panels is status quo. The degree to how both compliment can compliment each other and strike that simpatico into readers' attention opens an entirely new discussion. From the start, it seems, Jamal and Sterling were on the same page, so to speak.
"We had all the same ideas. We came into it with the same basic ideas on Kara as a character. We wanted to focus on: how do you hurt the strongest girl in the world? You don’t hurt her physically you hurt her emotionally. That's what we fooled around with. And we wanted to show her not only as a likeable character but as someone who’s more than just a girl in a skirt."
Feedback has equated with increased sales for Sterling and Jamal. Their day-to-day efforts on Supergirl haven't gone unnoticed. There are quite a few blogs dedicated to the character of Supergirl; gratefully surprised posts point out the creative aspects that have worked so far.
"It really has been one of these situations where it continues where people have responded. They responded positively for the most part. A lot of people liked the changes that we made. The fact of the matter is I think it was necessary for the changes to come. I mean, I as a reader didn't like what was going on with the character. As an artist I wanted the book to tell a good story. That's what I want to bring from a visual aspect. I like to consider the readers also. So we want to portray this character in the right light."
So in a year's time, this illustrator and writer team has followed through from when the first creative match was struck. During this part of the discussion the showcased artwork torques toward Kara's delivered expressions and fight sequences. From there the question surfaces whether some ideas were cut off and new ones catalysted as the comic book rose in sales rankings.
"No; no. It's pretty much the same. It was our idea that Kara's situation be explored. She's suddenly thrown into this situation where not only is Kal-El one of the only family members she has left, but her mother is the ruler of New Krypton. And Kara as a character suffers from greif. She has a survivor character after having been a captive of Braniac. She throws herself into everything she needs to do in order to keep her people safe. To help her people survive.
"Imagine your the one out of 99,000 Kryptonians left alive. That's a huge burden. No matter how powerful you are... When you get into New Krypton, you have to show that while there's a plan for the world not everybody is going along with the same program. And General Zod certainly, as well. And you don't know how involved Alura, her mother, is really involved; whether she knows what's going on or not. So you have all this great emotional tension."
Interruptions begin to increase with the crowd, and the interview's wrap-up spur's our conversation. Year two for Igle and Grant is underway. With that in mind, what will 2010 bring?
"Oooh. Goodie; goodie; goodie. Ah, let's see, in 2010... In Supergirl, Lana's sickness will be revealed. And, well I'll be off Supergirl for a bit. I'll be doing World's Finest #3. It'll be a team-up with Supergirl and Batgirl with them fighting Catwoman.
"And Superman has a big year in 2010. Everything that has been going on culminates to something huge. I don't know how much I can say about it. And after what James told me about it, I can say that it will be the most insane Superman story ever written."
After the convention, he'll be back in New York. Home with the family; his wife and daughter. Throughout our conversation and interview, what becomes clear is that Supergirl doesn't suppress the end of the day doting on his family. More on Jamal Igle can be seen on his blog, the great concocted title "Omelettes and Broken Eggs". He regularly updates. Currently there's a pretty good video on the Supergirl comic that he put together. And plenty of sidebar on his wife, and on Daddy's Little Girl.
"Yeah I try to keep it updated. I can't help... you know, I brag about my kid. I can go on and on. I can't help it, she's cute! Everybody loves her." Then he rocks back, laughing heartily and proudly.
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