Comic books no longer just for kids, artist says
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Christopher Moeller, a graphic novel artist, in his basement studio in Mt. Lebanon, with a White Wolf Games illustration "Aberrant." -
Christopher Moeller shows one of his novels for DC Comics, "JLA, A League of One."
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It's a safe bet your work day is nothing like Christopher Moeller's.
He works in the relative dark of his basement art studio, but a startling bank of artificial light pours onto his canvas.
Over lunch, he might suddenly arrive at life-and-death decisions ... for fictional characters. He writes and illustrates graphic novels but doesn't take offense when they are referred to by their more common name -- comic books.
This is a cool time to be in his business, and Mr. Moeller, of Mt. Lebanon, appears happy to embrace the proverbial whole nine yards of geekdom.
"Comics have become hip at this point," said Mr. Moeller, who earned a degree in fine arts from the University of Michigan, then a master's degree from Syracuse University.
"It's really different now. There still is all that [traditional] stuff out there, Spider-Man and all that business, but [in America] it's more like the European or Japanese model, it's not so genre-specific.
"It's not just the superheroes or not just Archie, and it's certainly not just for kids."
Graphic novels, whether published through small, boutique labels or better-known giants such as DC or Marvel, provide artists with a wide range of options to build on the legacy of fantasy and science fiction that used to be considered kid stuff.
Back in the 1940s and early '50s, Mr. Moeller said, the novels were often considered subversive kid stuff with luridly titled crime stories and sensational, gory horror comics.
While growing up near Ithaca, N.Y., Mr. Moeller, 45, and his friends loved comic books. He began to write a novel in seventh grade and he was sketching all the time in high school -- "I was just known as 'that artist.' "
But it wasn't until he went to college that he began creating science-fiction comics for his own enjoyment.
"I posted them on my dorm door, so people would read them every day -- adventure stories," he said.
He was a struggling artist for about five years after getting his master's of fine arts degree from Syracuse, then moved to the Pittsburgh area when his wife, Dawn, got a job as a counselor at California University of Pennsylvania.
His first real job was doing illustrations for a small publishing company in Wheeling, W.Va., which specialized in painted comics.
Mr. Moeller noted with amusement that some fan reviews of his work refer to his style as "painterly." That's because it IS painted.
"People sometimes don't get it,'' he said. "They have no idea how art is created."
When he first broke into the business around 1990, much American graphic novel art was done in pen and ink. Evolution to a more glossy magazine style was a boon to those who painted.
"I was lucky; I hit that wave," he said.
Today, some comic book artists also use computer-generated digital images.
The popularity of online computer games has generated enthusiasm for elaborate card games based on characters from classics such as the popular "World of Warcraft."
The beautifully styled game cards provide Mr. Moeller with another source of work beyond his paintings for graphic novels.
The art department for "World of Warcraft" sends detailed requests for him to create cards depicting wizards, dragons, heroes, villains and the odd gnome or elf.
Last week, he was at work on a "human assassination rogue hero." The painting, secured against a background splattered with the acrylic leftovers of previous works, featured a muscular man leaping downward, wielding swords in each hand.
The art director for "World of Warcraft" sent the original assignment by e-mail, asking Mr. Moeller to "show the human assassination hero falling gracefully, yet purposefully, through the air as if to attack from above."
A few weeks later, after Mr. Moeller sent a scanned copy of sketches back to Blizzard Entertainment, the development and publishing firm that owns "World of Warcraft," he received further instructions.
This correspondence, among other points, suggested "Blizzard feels that this is a bit too 'quiet,' visually speaking, for a hero card.
"They would like to see the weapons beef up a bit and be more powerful looking, including a glowing aura to them, which would point to a higher level of item."
A big fan of card games, Mr. Moeller said he appreciates the attention to detail. He and his brother, Kevin, who lives in Santa Fe, N.M., play another game, "Magic: The Gathering" online.
Generations ago, or so family history goes, one of his ancestors was a court painter in Vienna. It still runs in the family. His daughter, Tessa, 16, is a talented artist and created a cover for Mt. Lebanon Magazine in the spring.
"She draws all the time and I've been very careful not to push her," Mr. Moeller said.
His son, Eric, 11, has been immortalized in a card for the "Magic" game, where likenesses of him grace the front of a somewhat-rare "Meddling Kids" card.
Mr. Moeller said he often takes photos and video captures -- stills from videotape -- of people to help him maintain consistency.
"For painted work, it's fairly important to get a likeness that is consistent over time if you want to get something that's even remotely realistic," he said.
His 2000 graphic novel, "Justice League of America: A League of One," was a saga of Wonder Woman doing battle with an ancient dragon.
He asked a neighbor to say the alphabet, then videotaped her talking and used the stills for the model.
Mr. Moeller's version of the heroine looks as if she could be an Olympic heptathlete. His Wonder Woman looks more athletic than most and less of a Barbie Doll.
"A lot of comics have become more and more exaggerated over the years," he said. "Comic book artists tend to feed off one another, so there's generation after generation of comic artists who have grown up only looking at one kind of comics.
"And so there is that impulse to 'Make him bigger. Make her sexier,' [or] exaggerate more. It gets to the point, where, in my opinion, it gets ridiculous."
He brings his own storytelling sense, which he describes as a Tolkien-esque approach, to writing his own adventures. The background for characters is elaborate -- "I'm a big history nut. I'm really captivated by the Napoleonic era" -- and he enjoys the sense of creating new worlds.
The first two graphic novels in his "Iron Empires" series were published in 1994 and 1998. He's working on a third but the publishing company involved is being bought out by another, he said, so things are on hold.
"The script is done, I'm doing the layout," he said. "But I'm not getting paid, so [work on "Iron Empires"] is being done around the corners of my paid work."
Since 1994, Mr. Moeller has been taking his work to the pinnacle of trade conventions, Comic-Con, in San Diego. What started out as a collection of artists and fans in a house has become a huge draw each summer. It's a place where the graphic novel still gets its due, but it's also a launch pad for major film studios' blockbuster movies, sci-fi and fantasy television shows, and video game premieres.
"There are about a million other comic conventions, but San Diego was always THE place," Mr. Moeller said.
Comic-Con's rampant growth beyond a focus on comics has prompted alternate conventions, including IlluXCon, which will be held Nov. 6-9 in Altoona.
IlluXCon is open to the public, although tickets are limited. It will feature a slew of well-regarded artists, including Mr. Moeller, and collectors of the genre.
"I'm just going to take a bunch of original art and prints and the books I want other guys to sign for me," said Mr. Moeller, adding he's a big fan of other comic book artists.
"That was always the fun of Comic-Con, going out to dinner with all these guys I used to idolize, and I think it's fun for the fans, too."
Because of the Internet, it's not hard to see how his work is received.
Many fans chime in on blogs or in Web postings with opinions on everything from character development to his integrity with iconic work such as the "JLA" book or "Star Wars" covers. One reader even commented on the differences between the single-point version of Wonder Woman's tiara versus a different kind found in other artists' work.
At conventions, he signs autographs and does little sketches, and he occasionally receives artwork from fans.
"The coolest thing was when someone sent me a photograph of his girlfriend's back, with this big tattoo of one of my covers," he said, laughing.
First Published September 18, 2008 6:14 am
