Post by /\/\att on May 10, 2004 1:23:18 GMT -5
Thread started on: Dec 30th, 2003
Jay worked on BIZARRO COMICS (DC Comics)
(July 2001) - 7 pages Batman story (written by Paul Pope, drawn and coloured by Jay) To see Jay's batman work, visit his site here:
www.jaystephens.com/stebatman.html
Jay is also the creator of one of my favorite new toons, Tutenstein!
Check out our Tutenstein fan page
www.Tutenstein.cjb.net
--------------------------
[glow=red,2,300]Batman Questions[/glow]
--------------------------
LoG: How did you come to work on The Bizzaro Comics project?
Jay Stephens: I've been working with Chris Duffy sporadically over at Nickelodeon Magazine for years and years, where he's the big shot comics editor. We'd tried getting a couple of weird DC projects going before (Krypto, for one), so I was 'in the loop'. I was one of the early Bizarro initiates... it was originally supposed to be a DC 'event', you know?.. where every DC comic for a month would be a 'Bizarro Version'...
anyway, when told I would be required to pair up with someone, I went with the tried-and-true formula of Stephens & Pope. We've been friends for a long time, and have jammed together before, most notably on Will Eisner's The Spirit, the New Adventures.
--------------------------
LoG: Did you chose to work on Batman, and if so why?
Jay Stephens:.
love Batman. And when they offer you the keys to any car on the lot, why not take the Aston-Martin out for a spin? I pitched the idea of a kid stumbling upon the Batcave, and Pope took it from there. We reversed the work chores of the Spirit story, talking out the story idea together, but this time with Paul doing the script/layouts, and me on the finished art.
--------------------------
LoG: Are you a Batman fan in general?
Jay Stephens: Very much so. The classic Batman is one of my all time favourite comic characters.
--------------------------
[glow=red,2,300]Tutenstein Questions[/glow]
--------------------------
LoG: Tutenstein is a fantastic cartoon. How did the character evolve from comics to toon?
Jay Stephens: Very slowly and painfully! It took seven years to go from print to screen... a long, arduous process that has scarred me for life. I think the trauma has caused some memory loss, but I do vaguely remember burning through several teams of writers in the early days. Seriously, I entered into the process fully aware of the different requirements of animation. We started with a simple, 24 page comic about a little mummy boy reawakened in a museum, and realized from day one there was a lot of fleshing out to do for TV. By trial and error, we gradually built a solid world around our main character.
--------------------------
LoG: Did aspects of your storytelling have to be altered to be appropriate for the target audience?
Jay Stephens: In a way. Discovery Kids wanted somthing that had the creepiness of my original story. Trying to adapt my original designs came off as too cute and 'Casper' for our purposes, so we made some changes there. My sense of humour and my concept of who Tutenstein is are intact... I recognize my character on the screen. We certainly had to develop a lot more supporting material, though, and that definately changed the 'feel' of Tutenstein. I makes for a far better cartoon, if you ask me.
I feel lucky that we were able to work with such talented creative people in the development of the show that could bring new depth to our threadbare concept!
--------------------------
LoG: *I recall reading a press release that said merchandise rights for Tutenstein were also worked out. Any idea what type of merchandise we'll potentially be seeing?
Jay Stephens: You'd have to ask Discovery Kids! It's up to them to capitalize on the U.S. market. Feel free to e-mail them and request all your favourite Tutenstein products... they just might move on it! Me, I'm hoping for a pull-apart doll, View-master reels, Tutenstein Senet game, and a slew of Hallowe'en costumes and stuff.
--------------------------
[shadow=green,left,300]A huge thanks to Jay for taking time out of his busy schedule to chat with us! He was also kind enough to supply my Tutenstein fansite with some great behind the scenes pics and sketches!
Check out the site: www.Tutenstein.cjb.net
Tutenstein[/shadow]
Jay worked on BIZARRO COMICS (DC Comics)
(July 2001) - 7 pages Batman story (written by Paul Pope, drawn and coloured by Jay) To see Jay's batman work, visit his site here:
www.jaystephens.com/stebatman.html
Jay is also the creator of one of my favorite new toons, Tutenstein!
Check out our Tutenstein fan page
www.Tutenstein.cjb.net
--------------------------
[glow=red,2,300]Batman Questions[/glow]
--------------------------
LoG: How did you come to work on The Bizzaro Comics project?
Jay Stephens: I've been working with Chris Duffy sporadically over at Nickelodeon Magazine for years and years, where he's the big shot comics editor. We'd tried getting a couple of weird DC projects going before (Krypto, for one), so I was 'in the loop'. I was one of the early Bizarro initiates... it was originally supposed to be a DC 'event', you know?.. where every DC comic for a month would be a 'Bizarro Version'...
anyway, when told I would be required to pair up with someone, I went with the tried-and-true formula of Stephens & Pope. We've been friends for a long time, and have jammed together before, most notably on Will Eisner's The Spirit, the New Adventures.
--------------------------
LoG: Did you chose to work on Batman, and if so why?
Jay Stephens:.
love Batman. And when they offer you the keys to any car on the lot, why not take the Aston-Martin out for a spin? I pitched the idea of a kid stumbling upon the Batcave, and Pope took it from there. We reversed the work chores of the Spirit story, talking out the story idea together, but this time with Paul doing the script/layouts, and me on the finished art.
--------------------------
LoG: Are you a Batman fan in general?
Jay Stephens: Very much so. The classic Batman is one of my all time favourite comic characters.
--------------------------
[glow=red,2,300]Tutenstein Questions[/glow]
--------------------------
LoG: Tutenstein is a fantastic cartoon. How did the character evolve from comics to toon?
Jay Stephens: Very slowly and painfully! It took seven years to go from print to screen... a long, arduous process that has scarred me for life. I think the trauma has caused some memory loss, but I do vaguely remember burning through several teams of writers in the early days. Seriously, I entered into the process fully aware of the different requirements of animation. We started with a simple, 24 page comic about a little mummy boy reawakened in a museum, and realized from day one there was a lot of fleshing out to do for TV. By trial and error, we gradually built a solid world around our main character.
--------------------------
LoG: Did aspects of your storytelling have to be altered to be appropriate for the target audience?
Jay Stephens: In a way. Discovery Kids wanted somthing that had the creepiness of my original story. Trying to adapt my original designs came off as too cute and 'Casper' for our purposes, so we made some changes there. My sense of humour and my concept of who Tutenstein is are intact... I recognize my character on the screen. We certainly had to develop a lot more supporting material, though, and that definately changed the 'feel' of Tutenstein. I makes for a far better cartoon, if you ask me.
I feel lucky that we were able to work with such talented creative people in the development of the show that could bring new depth to our threadbare concept!
--------------------------
LoG: *I recall reading a press release that said merchandise rights for Tutenstein were also worked out. Any idea what type of merchandise we'll potentially be seeing?
Jay Stephens: You'd have to ask Discovery Kids! It's up to them to capitalize on the U.S. market. Feel free to e-mail them and request all your favourite Tutenstein products... they just might move on it! Me, I'm hoping for a pull-apart doll, View-master reels, Tutenstein Senet game, and a slew of Hallowe'en costumes and stuff.
--------------------------
[shadow=green,left,300]A huge thanks to Jay for taking time out of his busy schedule to chat with us! He was also kind enough to supply my Tutenstein fansite with some great behind the scenes pics and sketches!
Check out the site: www.Tutenstein.cjb.net
Tutenstein[/shadow]