Blond, James Blond

by: curvezilla 2 years, 10 months, 3 days, 2 hours, 38 minutes ago 1

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Curvezilla: Thanks for taking to time to sit down with us and tell us about James Blond.

Steve Downer: Itâ??s my pleasure! I need all the publicity I can get, thatâ??s for sure.

Curvezilla: Now Iâ??ve heard through the grapevine that you come from a family of 13 and live in Montana.  Whatâ??s the real scoop on Stephen Downer?

Steve Downer: Well, both of those are true. I was born and raised in Big Sky, a ski resort here in Montana, and I started drawing at about age 7. I started drawing well about four or so years ago. A few more random and ridiculous facts about me; Favorite cereal: Captain Crunch Vehicle of choice; â??84 Jeep Wagoneer Age: 18

Curvezilla: What comics do you read and who are your influences?

Steve Downer: Surprisingly, I actually read very few comic books. There were really no comic book shops in my area, though there are a couple now. I grew up reading Calvin and Hobbes, and Bill Watterson is definitely my major influence. I also grew up with Hergéâ??s Tintin stories- the public library in Bozeman had all his books in hardback, so Iâ??d devour those over and over again. Once I discovered the Internet, I found the works of people like Humberto Ramos, and I was really captivated by his cartoonish styleâ?¦ I also really love the energy in Skottie Youngâ??s art. My favorite colorist would be probably Studio F, and tying for second is about half the members of Gutterzombie, a forum for digital colorists. (http://www.dave-co.com/gutterzombie/)

Curvezilla: Have you done any work on anything else, or is James Blond your only project?

Steve Downer: I have done a fair amount of other artwork:

In 2004, I won an art contest to illustrate a childrenâ??s safety booklet, and I got about $8000 for thatâ?¦ You can check out the contest here: http://www.regionalmapleleaf.com . Iâ??ve also done some flatting work for Mike Garcia, an extremely talented colorist. And I color the monthly Simply Rich comic, by Rich Fuscia, for Wine Country magazine. I also do caricatures, mostly for fun- right now Iâ??m doing all the teachers at the school where Iâ??m employed.

Curvezilla: Who is James Blond?  And why should everyone be reading it?

Steve Downer: James Blond is an action hero, really, working for the government-contracted Secret Agent Agency, a clandestine corporation cleverly disguised as The Society For The Prevention Of Comic Book Violence. The strip is a comedy/action strip, in the vein of Jeff Campbellâ??s Danger Girl, or the film Bad Boys. Everyone should be reading it because itâ??s the best webcomic on the face of the earth, and it also gives you superpowers. Plus, all the girls will like you. 

Curvezilla: I really dig the artwork on James Blond.  Do you do it all?

Steve Downer: Yeah. I do the lines on my light table at home, pencil and pen on Bristol board, then I do the colors and letters on my iMac, using Photoshop and Illustrator, respectively.

Curvezilla: Tell us how you got started with James Blond and where do you hope to end up?

Steve Downer: James Blond started out as a schoolbook doodle when I was 13. I never really gave it any thought until about a year later when I came across the drawing while I was sorting my junk. I decided to try and make a story that was a parody of James Bondâ?¦ the only problem was that I had only seen one James Bond movie. â?¦I think it was GoldenEye. So I began writing what I thought was a parody (research wasnâ??t in my vocabulary at the time), and it kind of spun out of my control. I hadnâ??t had much experience drawing at the time, and was mainly going with what I had learned from the Internet. Iâ??m surprised it turned out as well as it did. Anyway, I finished a 30-page story, right on my 16th birthday, actually. It was fun enough that I planned to do more. In a nutshell, I never did get any more done until I came across the now-defunct Roxcomics, the predecessor to my current host, Transplant. ( http://www.transplantcomics.com/ ) I had never planned James Blond as a webcomic, but I think thatâ??s the perfect venue for it.

Iâ??m really starting to drift away from comics, though. Where I really want to end up is in childrenâ??s book illustration, with small freelance coloring projects on the side.

Curvezilla: Whatâ??s the best place for fans to get a dose of James Blond?

Steve Downer: http://jamesblond.transplantcomics.com , good sir!

Curvezilla: If you could be any super hero who would it be?
Steve Downer: Hmmmâ?¦. Probably Batman. Definitely Batman. Heâ??s always been my favorite, with all his cool gadgets. Plus, heâ??s filthy rich.

Anyway, thanks for interviewing me! Iâ??m very flattered, and I hope it was at least mildly interesting.