1. What drew you to comics?
My introduction to comics is one of my earliest and fondest memories. My father introduced me to DC Comics and Batman was immediately my favorite and remains so today. As a pre-teen, I gravitated more towards Marvel and discovered the Avengers.
2. Please tell us about the vital role of the inker in comics.
The inker certainly is responsible for a crucial element of the visual aspect of comics. Unfortunately, there has been less of that over the last decade. Most pencilers are permitted to ink themselves or sometimes are even “digitally inked”. At its worse, it’s just darkening pencils, mistakes and all. There are definitely strong examples of digital inking but I’m still not convinced that any of them match the traditional methods. Yet. I am excited to see the day arrive. I ink and color a lot of my work digitally these days so I enjoy the advances digital rendering has made.
Ultimately, the inker’s role is to define, delineate and embellish the pencil art in a respectful manner that is not tracing but also enhances the penciler’s work first and foremost. The best situation in comics is when the collaborative project gels between the creators of the project. I have been fortunate enough to work with some incredibly skillful people and have that chemistry.
3. You've worked on some very well-known titles -- any particularly positive collaboration that you'd like to visit or revisit?
I have had so many experiences that were amazing. My life dream was to work on Batman (and related titles) which I was fortunate enough to with many creators who I respect. Working with Mark Bagley on Batman was exciting because He is someone I did not expect to ink and I had often thought about what that collaboration might look like.
Gotham Underground was a dream project in terms of concept. It was a nine-issue Batman series and it featured the villains. Batman Family was a title I loved as a young person and this reminded me very much of that.
My creator owned gn, Malice and Mistletoe, was truly the most “leave your ego at the door” project I ever worked on. Nathan Graham Davis is a screenwriter who was a collaborator in every sense of the word. That project meant a lot to me in ways that were far different than any of my “work for hire” projects.
Getting to work with Stan Lee was always the unspoken dream and I got to work on the Guardian Project with him. Excelsior!
4. Any character/storyline you'd like to visit or revisit?
I would always love to go back to Gotham and work on a Bat-project. I recently finished a 9-page follow-up to Malice and Mistletoe that should drop in the fall (on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/user?u=6892318 )
and that was special!
5. Where can we find more information about your work?
You can follow my @jackpurcellink on Facebook and Instagram and my pro wrestling podcast Faces and Heels Podcast @facesandheels on FB and @facesandheelspodcast on Insta. I have pro wrestlers from all over as guests and it’s been a phenomenal experience! I am putting together a pro wrestling-focused project that I plan to crowdfund on Kickstarter. It will include a 20-page excerpt from my creator owned project, Alike and pro wrestling art I have created collaborating with Blitzkrieg Pro, Luchawear and lots of top wrestlers.
The only place to see my process work and full finished art is on my Patreon and you can get some great deals on commissions there too.
If you’re in the New England area in August, I will be a guest at Fan Expo Boston.
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