Fialkov & Chamberlain Talk The Return Of Punks

Punks is a strange book that doesn’t look, read, or feel like anything else on the stands. Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and illustrated/photographed/collaged by Kody Chamberlain, Punks is a bizarre, hilarious, and surrealist story that defies simple explanation. Brimming with humor and a true humorist punk rock attitude to storytelling, the book is as influenced by Terry Gilliam’s Monty Python-era aesthetics as it is by The Young Ones’ sensibility and punk rock mini comics.

I talked with Joshua and Kody about the return of Punks, the history of the book, how they approach such a strange comics’ creation, and of course, Punk Rock. Check out the preview for issue #1 after the interview.

Tell us about the history of the book. What was the genesis of Punks, and how did it eventually end up at Image?

Joshu Hale Fialkov: Punks started from a conversation Kody and I had.  He was doing this awesome zine style flyers, and we both thought, “Shit, we should do a book like that.”  We’d seen fumetti style comics, and some of the old weirdo Jack Kirby stuff, so, we knew you could do it.  As we went back and forth on ideas, Kody just… sent me that first image.  And we knew what we were doing.

Kody Chamberlain: Josh has a much better grasp of comic history than I do, I actually got into reading comics pretty late and I didn’t even know about the Kirby stuff until years after doing the first issue of Punks. Most of my frame of reference for photo collage artwork was well outside of comics and centered around the Punk scene, artists like Art Chantry and the Terry Gilliam animations on Monty Python.

Why the title Punks? Is that a scene you two were/are into?

JHF: I had a punk-metal-art rock band in high school, and a punk bluegrass band in College.  Music has always been a huge part of my life, and the “Fuck you, I’ll do it myself” ethos has been a driving factor in my life from the minute I could think on my own.

KC: There’s a simplicity to each of the characters, the dog is named Dog, the skull guy is named Skull. The title was probably a placeholder at first but it just sort of worked.

The book has a distinct, almost zine feel to it. Are you two into the mini-comics scene?

JHF: I came up through that stuff.  I did webcomics and mini-comics for a few years before I started doing more traditional comics.  Lots of experimental things that let me learn what the hell I was doing.  

KC: I hadn’t really seen much from the Zine world before doing Punks because we don’t have much of a Zine culture in south Louisiana. Still, I’d pick up mini-comics at conventions when I could, and many of them had Zine elements. That’s actually how I met Josh, I was browsing tables at a California convention and grabbed a few of Josh’s comics.

Kody, tell us about your process for putting these pages together? Would you say it takes more time than a regular drawn page?

KC: Punks is a good bit faster than traditional hand drawn artwork. Many people assume the work is digital, but it’s all done with actual photocopies, an X-Acto blade, and various things like tape and glue. The process is a little clunky at times but that’s where much of the visual aesthetic originates so I don’t try to streamline it. I go with what works. I usually start with my iPhone and I shoot photos of everything, including most of the characters and background work. Sometimes I have to create little characters or elements, other times I can use what I have on hand. Example, Josh wrote a scene with a glass bottle in the issue #1 script, but I didn’t have one in the studio so I used a spray paint can instead. I keep a skull on my desk and various jackets laying around. After I shoot everything I do some digital resizing to save on paper and toner, then I print everything out on my large format inkjet printer. From there, I start making photocopies on my old black and white photocopier, and I’ll start combining elements into figures and shapes. I might photocopy something a few times to roughen up the textures and flatten the tones. Then I cut out and paste the final figures and backgrounds onto 11×17 bristol board. It’s all done in black and white, so I do the final colors in Photoshop the way you would a normal comic page. In the end, every page is one-of-a-kind photo collage artwork.

Would you say your process changed since the original Punks books?

KC: I’d say the art process is exactly the same as it was on the early issues, but I’ve learned a lot about the techniques and I’ve gotten better at achieving the look I want with less trial and error. That was really the biggest time eater early on. I think I’ve successfully streamlined the process to the most efficient version without compromising on the quality or the fun. I love the process of making Punks, that’s the one thing I don’t want to eliminate.

What is the collaboration like on a project like this that feels so loose and surreal? Joshua, do you write an actual script first?

JHF: Yeah, I script a story with jokes, and then Kody… well, the two of us have pretty different backgrounds, so a lot of my jokes Kody translates into his own sense of humor, and then, in the lettering stage, I’ll change it again.  It’s a ton of fun because it’s an evolving, ever changing process.  Stories never end up where they start, and a lot of that is on Kody’s genius.

KC: There are also a strict limitations on the photo collage art process. If Josh writes “an alien tripod” into a script, I don’t actually own an alien tripod, so I might snap a photo of a wood panel station wagon and put three legs on that instead. It’s great to have those kinds of limitations because the creative solution adds to the unusual nature of the book.  

Like I said before, Punks has a great, almost surreal feeling to it, and I’m curious how it feels to work on a project like this as opposed to something more traditional?

JHF: For me, Punks is an outlet.  It’s all of the batshit crazy things banging around in my head that don’t have room in my other books.  It’s also the least ‘work’ feeling thing I do.  It’s like hanging out screwing around with my friend for 32 pages a month.  It’s a constant pleasure.

KC: Punks is the only book I do that I don’t do thumbnails for. It’s all done on the page and it’s a free flow of ideas and visuals. I’ll occasionally make little sketches of things I need to remember to photograph, but the art process is mostly intuitive and designed to be highly experimental.

What are some inspirations for Punks? Would you say there are any pieces of work or artists/writers that really made you want to create a work like this?

JHF: The Young Ones was a huge thing for me when I was a kid and a teenager.  And you can definitely see that in here.  Monty Python, too.  

KC: My background is in graphic design so the punk flyer/poster scene was the biggest influence on the art for Punks. I loved The Young Ones growing up, but the connection to Punks didn’t pop into my head until Josh brought it up one day. Looking back, there’s no denying that influence on the material, it just stayed subconscious until later in the process.

Is there a Punks playlist?

JHF: Lots of Motorhead, lots of Social Distortion, and lots of Pixies.

Finally, what are you two watching/listening to/reading these days?

JHF: I’m so damn busy these days between PUNKS, THE BUNKER, THE LIFE AFTER, and THE DEVILERS that I barely have time to sleep, let alone anything else… But, every month I make room for NAILBITER and SAGA from Image, THE AUTEUR from Oni, and whatever Dan Slott puts out.  Oh, and I’m super psyched for the new Jeff Smith book!

KC: I’ve been going crazy for the IDW Artists Additions, those are consuming most of my comic book time (and money) these days. Other recent favorites include THE FIFTH BEATLE, the PARKER adaptations by Cooke, HELLBOY, and a ton of different stuff from IMAGE including CHEW, DEAD BODY ROAD, LAZARUS, and a few others. Just picked up the first SAGA trade, haven’t read it yet. I’ve been reading some of the OWLY books to my kid, those are fantastic.