Exclusive Interview With Botp Comic Artist, Wilson Tortosa

[Wilson Tortosa Interview © June 12, 2008 By Rory V. Pascual. PLEASE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE OUTSIDE OF GATCHAMANIA.NET WITHOUT MY WRITTEN PERMISSION.]

In my line of work as a journalist, I've met a lot of people in a wide variety of professions, including comic book artists. Most of the comic book artists I've met were pretty quiet, almost sedate people whom you could barely hear speak. I was actually expecting "Battle of the Planets" penciller Wilson Tortosa to be the same.

So, when Aya and I finally ambushed him at Mangaholix last May 31, he was a whole lot different from the other artists whom I had met before. How best to describe our elusive Condorman? To say he's nice is putting it in the mildest of terms. He is quite a charmer, always smiling, very articulate, and very patient enough not only to draw sketches for his two diehard fans, but also to answer questions regarding BoTP and the comic industry in general. Also, being an avid cosplayer himself, Wilson is always running around with his digital camera, taking pictures of his fellow cosplayers and offering words of praise and encouragement to them. Needless to say, Wilson is one heck of a guy, and it was really great knowing him!

I've convinced Wilson to answer a few questions that I have regarding the "Battle of the Planets" comic book. FINALLY, he has found a breather in his busy schedule (he's doing the "Wolverine" manga for Marvel) to answer them. Want to know what it was like making the comic book for Wilson Tortosa, then READ ON!!

Please tell us how the project of making "Battle of the Planets" as a comic book came about. Whose idea was it?

I believe it all started back when Wizard had an article about the 80's and Alex Ross did a full-page spread painting of Gatchaman. It turns out he's a big fan of Battle of the Planets, and with writer Munier Sharrief they pretty much were the brains behind the comic book version of BotP.

How did you get to become the artist for the comic book? Would you also call yourself a fan of "Battle of the Planets"/"Gatchaman"?

Originally, they already had an artist in mind, but his style looked different. So Top Cow approached Glasshouse Graphics and my agent David Campiti. Then (fellow Filipino) Edwin David and I did a few samples, and I guess we got lucky. Edwin is a BIG Gatchaman fan; he's got big action figures to prove it. I, on the other hand, grew up watching shows like G-Force, Mazinger Z, Voltes V, Astroboy, Voltron and Starblazers, so I guess I'm a fan of Gatchaman and everything old school.

Compared to the other comic book projects that you've done, just how challenging was it for you to do "Battle of the Planets"?

First off, I was working with THE Alex Ross, so I can't say enough how conscious I was trying to keep deadlines and make the book look good as best I could. Style-wise, it wasn't as difficult probably because being an old school nut, I'm rather familiar with the visual style.

What was it like working with cover artist Alex Ross and writer Munier Sharriff?

Although we never really met in person, Alex is probably one of the best people you'd ever work with. For instance, he actually did the corrections himself rather than wait for me to redraw and send them over. Munier, on the other hand, always had this exact vision in his mind on how he'd like the scene to be drawn. He'd include references of everything from movies to anime to Disney. That really made my work much easier.

Please describe to us the unique challenges of putting each of the five members of G-Force into comic book print. Who were the EASIEST to draw and the MOST DIFFICULT? Please explain why. How about drawing the other characters?

Bringing them to life on the comic page was, to put it simply, difficult. For one thing, I had to make them look like their animated versions but with more varied angles and facial expressions. Tatsunuko's character sheets had plenty of facial studies but not many facial angles. Imagine drawing a worm's eye view of Jinpei's face!

I also tried to keep my own style sort of visible. I tend to draw pouty lips and admittedly I get carried away a lot. I also tend to exaggerate their gestures and body language to make them more animated on the page.

The EASIEST one to draw would probably be Ryu. He doesn't pull extreme expressions much, and his hair basically draws itself.

The HARDEST would undoubtedly be Joe . There's just something with the angles in his eyes and the shape of his nose and face, if I don't get it right, it somehow doesn't look like him anymore. It's also hard to nail his expressions, the way he smirks, the way he looks at someone, even the way he leans on the wall.

Jun has a special place in my heart. Bless her soul, she just makes drawing the book very enjoyable.

On a side note, I had the most fun drawing Berg Katse/Zoltar . Basically he's all sharp curves and angles, from the edges of his lips to the tip of his pointy ears.

If I were to ask your opinion about the project, what would you say where the STRONG and WEAK points of the comic book? Please explain.

Now that's a hard one. I think the characters contributed both the strongest and the weakest points of the book. Strong points being that the characters are such icons that they have a huge and dedicated fanbase.

The weak point being that they're such icons it was difficult to portray them in a new way and yet appeal to both old and new fans -- from Gatchaman to BotP to G-Force. Looking back, it was a difficult balancing act for Munier and I.

The comic book was obviously left hanging. What was supposed to happen after that hanging ending?

A whole lot more. G-Force would be up against Spectra's new but very familiar operatives, but Zoltar would be up against new and familiar enemies of his own.

Could you clear up one question that is in the minds of fans who have read the comics -- Did Jason really join Spectra? When we spoke at the Mangaholix Con, you mentioned that there was supposed to be a second series and that Alex Ross actually made illustrations for new characters. Was one of these illustrations that of Jason as a member of Spectra?

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to spoil anything (even now), but just to be clear- Jason would NEVER join Spectra. (I think he'd rather swallow his feather shurikens.) If you looked very carefully at Zoltar's companion, you'll see that it's NOT him. The new characters, at least those that came from Alex Ross, are more related to G-Force than they are to Spectra.

Is there a possibility that the second "Battle of the Planets" comic book series will come out in the near future? Would you still be interested in doing the project? Do you think that Munier would also be continuing on as writer despite the drubbing that he got from the fans?

I'm afraid that I'm not certain there'd be another series, but if plans do come up, I definitely would love to. I can't speak for Munier, but I know he loves the characters. I think given the chance, he'd jump right back in.

Is there a particular "Battle of the Planets" storyline that you would like to do and would you be inclined to collaborate with a Filipino writer (like yours truly!) on this?

Oh man, anything with Prin and Jason, please. I'm that shallow LOL I also can't write to save my own hide so I definitely can use your help in the future.

Thanks for posting that interview, Rory. I really hated that Top Cow didn't finish the story and left readers hanging. At one time, they were going to publish a two part story called "Endgame" to finish but they never did. Curse them!

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Rory,

thank you for posting the interview!

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Dear James,

I'll just put my two cents worth on this, so I hope you won't get offended.

I was rather late in actually getting into the comic books, so I was not around to see what happened during the time they were released. But from what Wilson had hinted to me, Sharriff got more than his share of criticisms from the fans. Okay, I must admit that on a writing standpoint, his script is not perfect (I've seen grammar and typo errors in the comic book. But this oversight could also be blamed on the editor.) I must also admit that his way of depicting the characters' personalities were off or over exaggerated. I DO NOT have anything to complain about the plot though, because it was too tightly woven together that I could understand the frustration of a few that it was left hanging.

HOWEVER, if you look at it from the standpoint of a writer, there is nothing more difficult than doing stories that are based on a popular, well-loved title. Wilson said as much. In a way, the BoTP comic books could be said to be OFFICIALLY sanctioned "fanfics". So what happens is a writer would tend to depict a character the way he or she perceived them. And this is what Sharriff did. The problem is his perception of the characters differed from the way the irate majority pictured them. It's a scenario that happens in fan fiction circles. A writer attempts a unique, fresh approach; he or she gets criticized or even flamed for what they did. Writer's pride naturally gets in the way. Honestly speaking, would a writer want a reader to tell him or her how he or she should write? He wouldn't be a writer then; he would just be a stenographer. So what is a writer to do when faced with this kind of scenario? They either fade into oblivion or argue/fight back, which Sharriff lamentably did.

I will not presume to judge Sharriff's motives for doing the hanging ending. However, while as you said there were many fans whom you said "did not care about his writing", I've also seen that there are also fans who would've cared to find out how it would've ended and how it would've progressed if the comic book had been allowed to continue. I must admit to being one of them, especially after Wilson told me about the "second series" and the new characters that they were going to introduce. Sadly, for those who DID care about the comic books, we would never know.

In any case, if the reader reaction is to be the gauge for any comic books in the future, Tatsunoko Pro would be better off doing a comic book/manga version of the three original series AS IS, rather than let it be "improved", "tampered" with in any way. I could already imagine what the audience's reaction would be to Director Jun's "re-imagining" in the Gatchaman CGI movie.

Again, I am sorry if I have caused offense in any way.

Sincerely,
Rory

Hi all!

I thought Jason only joined Spectra for the opportunity of an army of Jason clones.

(and the Jesse versions...)

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Though I am no Condor, my Skylines rusty enough."

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There is no problem that cannot be solved with time, patience, and a judicious amount of high explosives.

Again, thanks to Rory for sharing his information from Wilson and the great interview.

I know I am in the minority, but I actually liked the comic book series. I liked the fact that they seemed more like the characters on Gatchaman. I also liked the subplot of the rivalry between Mark and Jason over Princess. That was something I would have like to seen in any of the Gatchaman incarnations. I suppose they should have just named the series "Gatchaman" and perhaps more people would have enjoyed it. From Rory's comments, it seems that Top Cow was trying to please everyone and ended up pleasing no one. Don't get me wrong, I think fan input is important especially if the persons involved in a project don't know the history of the characters, story, etc. However, I also believe that someone should follow his/her own vision and make the best project they can. I remember reading a quote from Gene Roddenberry who said "If I listened to the fans, Star Trek would be sh**."

I hope I have not offended anyone with this opinion, it's just my

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Old age is a high price to pay for maturity.

Hi all!

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Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up- Pablo Picasso.