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Matt Hawkins, Top Cow President / Chief Operating Officer |
Matt
Hawkins is one of the most outspoken comics personnel in the
business today. I've rarely dabbled in Top Cow...but one thing changed my
mind - Think Tank.
If
you've read my reviews here on that book, it's pretty
innovative...and came with the intelligence and craftiness that Jon
Hickman usually wows with. Hawkins has scribed one of the best and
most underrated titles out at present...and I implore you all to
check more of the book out. And if you want splendid art to top that
off, Rahsan Ekedal's panels weave magic upon magic with each flip of
the page and each scene perused.
These
two have brought allure, charisma, enthusiasm and genuine grasp to
concepts that no doubt keep readers' minds provoked...I urge you guys
to dive into the tale of David Loren's life of creating weapons of
mass destruction for the military. What happens when curiosity
evoked, a baffling conscience and riveting impatience sets in...well,
David's a kid in an ant farm...and you'll soon see how intelligence
mixed with an insatiable appetite to rebel is never a good combo...
“I've had the initial ideas for this for a few years. I know some of the people who work in Think Tanks and for the military doing design work and I've seen a lot of the declassified stuff they do. The most interesting thing I've realized is the technology we use daily and that even the military uses is dated. Much of the cutting edge stuff they develop won't be used for 5-10 years,” Hawkins divulged.
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Buy Think Tank #1 |
Charged with helping the mechanics and the literal
engine of Top Cow to keep running, I was surprised that someone
steeped into so much of the organizational/business aspect of things
found the time to script something that attractive. I assumed he’d
be too busy to be taking on titles, akin to Joe Quesada’s absence
on paper as he helps turn the cogs at Marvel. But then I remembered
the workmanship and effortless desire of Jim Lee, Geoff Johns and Dan
Didio to stick to the ground level at DC and put their names on
titles, rather than remain the business-suited bigwig and stalwart in
the upper-deck of the spectrum. Hawkins may not have as much help as
these guys but to write such a great title and still steward so much
responsibility is very admirable. Top Cow surely deserves more
plaudits than they get. Matt further ushered us in a bit on how he
balanced the acts.
“I
have some contacts that help me but most of it is just pure Internet
research and reading books, etc. My background in science is helpful
in that I know what to look for and how to read certain things. A
lot of the more interesting things I've uncovered are - after reading
a 100-page manual that is God-awful boring, then you find a page or a
paragraph that blows your mind,”
he expounded. Matt was referring to researching military facilities,
weapons and research programs and how sources or footnotes came
abound.
He
continued, “I
get inspired by seeing a lot of this technology in the news. It's
scary sometimes when we open ‘Think Tank 5’ in Palestine and deal
with a situation that I wrote about 4 weeks before this current
flare-up happened. I also scour the science journals to see what
the latest, greatest is. Inspiration comes from all sources so it can
be something my girlfriend says or something I read on Twitter, who
knows?”
He
touched a bit on his musical respites also. “I've
really gotten into Skrillex and some of this new dubstep movement.
It's easy to listen to while writing and gets my heart rate up and
helps me focus,”
the writer added before regaining his momentum on the book’s
discussion.
With
USA being viewed as a global superpower, Matt addressed the notions
of political messages or those perceived, in the grand scheme of
things – “I've
tried hard to not come across as either liberal or conservative with
this, which fits in with my own personal, moderate stance on things.
People can read into it whatever they want but my only "commentary"
is – that America is not what Americans think it is,”
he relayed. Sometimes he’s eloquent, sometimes he’s not…but he
conveys his ideas with precision and that concise delivery is what
makes such a cohesive and flowing feel to Think Tank. There’s an
intellectual chaos and a streamlined view by David that he’s the
man to upset the order and taper the military’s vision with
turbulence.
It relates and appeals to several readers on different
levels, who were they layered into such a gritty spot – may
actually empathize with David. This leads coherently into – who the
hell can put up with such an arrogant prick? David's
best friend has been crucial to his tenure in the book and on this
fragile relationship, Matt endeavoured, “
It's a typical dominant/submissive relationship where one tends to
abuse the other a bit and the other enables too much. Ultimately,
they need each other and have a core friendship and trust that will
overshadow everything else. Manish is the closest thing David has to
a brother. I've avoided talking about David's family so far, but
Manish is the closest thing he has to "family" thus far in
the story.”
Now,
these ‘smaller’ labels have artists that, while not as polished
as the ‘Big 2’, have an unrefined essence and sparkling aura in
their coarse and crude pencils…and one illustrator that encompasses
all this to deliver the payload is Rahsan, who has wowed me by the
issue.
Matt
gleamed, “He’s
simply amazing! Any artist can make a fight look interesting, but
Rahsan can make David and Manish watching TV look interesting...and
that's hard to do. His storytelling skills are top notch and I see
him improving with each issue which boggles the mind a bit.”
Matt even offered some advice to the apprentices out there –
“Artists
- just keep drawing, take some classes and get good feedback from
others. Create an online portfolio and don't be annoying. Writers -
you need to be reading and writing every day. And if you want to
write comic books, read stuff other than comic books. There’s too
much derivative stuff out there already.”
He
concluded – “I
think comics are on an upward swing. There’s been lots of
negativity for years but digital, the new ‘52’ and a host of
other factors make this an exciting time for comics. Image Comics is
on a definite creative upswing with a bunch of awesome new titles.”
Comic Book Nerds Are Hot because---?
Matt
Hawkins – “I’m one of them!”
It
was great chatting with Matt so now, go buy his book and keep your
eyes on Top Cow, IDW and Image etc…for the months to come. Join the
revolt!
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