Jimmy Olsen | Sub Cultured

Brittney Williams, a wonderful artist from South Carolina and former Disney Story Intern currently has one of the freshest forthcoming fan adaptations of DC Comics’ Superman dubbed The Daily Planet Files currently on the internet. She has been sharing her colorful, kinetic concept art and designs of the characters for the the project as they’ve developed (Lois has purple hair!) for the past year. I’ve praised her approach to the Superman Family in the face of DC’s current mismanagement before and today I was able to sit down and talk with Brittney about her series.

Max: Hi there!

Brittney: Hey good afternoon!

Max: Good afternoon! Glad I caught you! How are you?

Brittney: All is well! It’s a nice rainy afternoon here.

Max: I’m up in Maryland we just cleared up today after two days of rain, it’s super nice out. I didn’t mind the rain though!

Brittney: I think whatever weather front that was up there moved its way down here to the Carolinas! It’s really peaceful and relaxing when it rains!

Max: We had so much it sort of crossed the line from between charming to “Oh god are the gutters cleared?” but we made it through okay. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for taking your time to chat with me today, it’s super cool, this is something new we’re doing and I’m super excited!

Brittney: Oh no, I’m really glad the rain cleared then- nobody wants a monsoon! I can’t remember if I said 2 oclock or 3 yesterday, I hope I’m not too late or early. I’m really excited to share and be a part of this also!

Max: You made it on time just fine!

Brittney: I really need to be more organized!

Max: So do I! I think it comes with the artistic temperament. So, I’ve been a big fan and been following your progress on your Superman and Lois Lane, or to be more accurate Superman Family fan project, The Daily Planet Files for a while now, I think it’s so far a pitch perfect adaptation. Can you tell how that started?

Brittney: Thank you! The Daily Planet Files all started out as a single piece of fanart, featuring Lois, Jimmy, and Clark that kind of morphed into a much bigger concept. I’m really glad people are liking this very random fan project!

Max: It’s super cute; teenagers and twenty, thirty-somethings are really receptive judging by the notes you receive on tumblr. It has a certain element of fun and casualness that is sorely missing from the real comics these days. I think it would have a lot of marketing potential. They [DC] doesn’t seem to know what to do with them [Superman Family], particularly Clark. Have you noticed this and was your original fanart any sort of response, or was it more of a fun thing?

Brittney: Hmm, I never actually thought about this. Originally the fanart was in response to the Superman Animated series from the 90’s. After school I would come home turn on the tv and watch both Superman and Batman religiously. Last year I was flipping through the tube and found Superman being replayed, and was like heck yeah I’m watching this! From that happy sense of nostalgia I drew a simple image of Lois, Jimmy and Clark walking and conversing with each other. From there more questions and ideas arose. I started thinking about the Silver Age Superman stories where there was a lot of crazy fun zany cool stuff happening all the time and how it was impossible to ever know what to expect next.I kind of just wanted to draw a Clark Kent and Superman who were the best friend/hero you could hope to have. A Lois Lane who unwittingly puts herself in all sorts of perilous predicaments in an attempt to save the world one story at a time, and a teenage Jimmy Olsen who wants to be good at something and eventually stand on his own. They’re a team of friends trying to figure out who they are and ultimately do the best they can through their adventures…I’m honestly not sure if I answered that question correctly!

Max: 100% answered it just fine! I love your Clark and Lois, I remember you said your Lois has Japanese heritage?

Brittney: Thank you! I was thinking maybe her mother had an Asian background, her family is very multicultural.

Max: Clark also looks pretty multicultural, I sense a bit of Dean Cain in his design, was that intentional too?

Brittney: I wanted him to be an “everyman” if that makes any sense at all, so his skin tone is right in the middle- kind of an almond brown. Plus as a guy who relies on the sun for energy I wanted him to look like someone who soaks up sun rays on a daily basis. Dean Cain influence is definitely there, but I was thinking more about Christopher Reeves while I was designing Clark.

Max: I think you succeed rather well! I can definitely see the influence there. You’ve seemed to have settled on their designs after a period of development and retooling, and your artwork has a very unique look, particularly your coloring. Do you have any particular influences when it comes to your artwork?

Brittney: Hahaa, yeah at one point there designs were all over the place. I really love vibrant colors! As for art influences my top two will always be Akira Toriyama and Eiichiro Oda. So much fun and adventure with those two!

Max: That’s awesome, and your love of color shows, your palettes are always really nice. You’ve talked on your blog quite a bit about growing up and wanting to draw Spider-Man and Gundams and literally be Akira Toriyama, and how you decided last minute to apply to a Story Apprenticeship at Disney after prepping for a Visual Development. What was that experience like?

Brittney: In the end I think all of those different childhood likes and obsessions, created who I became as an adult. Ultimate Spider-Man got me really into comics in middle school and that’s when I really started drawing comics. Then the whole anime/manga wave happened and I was really into giant robots and various Shonen manga. In the long run all of those things led me into my love of storytelling and applying for the Story internship at Disney (which I miraculously got). And oh my gosh did I learn a lot, it was an amazing experience!

Max: Was jumping from visual development to story-boarding a big change?

Brittney: Oh actually I’d never done either of them before. This was right after graduating from a state college with a degree in graphic design. I’d assumed I’d apply for the Vis Dev internship because I thought that was a better idea, when in reality I had more of a knack for story-boarding. I do love them both, but I realized I had more of a desire to tell stories.

Max: I’m all about storytelling too! That’s awesome and very bold of you to apply for either. I think that’s missing a bit in a lot of comics. People just want to write a character but don’t know how to tell a particular fun story? Since I also run a fan comic and collaborative series Batgirl Inc, it’s been so nice to talk to someone also doing fan work who just wants to tell stories using great characters!

Brittney: Yeah in today’s world, I don’t see why everyone isn’t just doing there own thing you know? If anythings going to change, and if we want new and exciting stories it’s time to do instead of sitting around waiting to be told! Go Team Fan Work!!

Max: Exactly, I think people are too scared of people judging doing “fanfiction” which I think is ridiculous; every new adaptation of a comic is fanfiction, you are just either paid and it folded into canon or not.

Brittney: Exactly, we need a revolution!

Max: Okay, one last thing; You say you have some exciting news and stuff coming up this year, I’ll assume pertaining to The Daily Planet Files, think you can give us a hint or is it top secret?

Brittney: Hmm, not so much top secret but a variety of works-in-progress, team-ups and preparation for maybe even bigger things to come- very cryptic I know! We’ll see what the future holds, either way I’ll continue drawing everyone’s favorite citizens of Metropolis!

Max: That’s so exciting. Thanks so much for your time, I would love to talk again soon sometime, Both everyone here at Sub-Cultured and I are super excited to see what comes from you next! Thanks so much for talking with me.

Brittney: It was my pleasure, thank you!

You can see Brittney’s work and reach her at

http://brittneywilliamsportfolio.carbonmade.com/

http://the-orange-one.deviantart.com/

http://anotherbrittneywilliams.tumblr.com/

See you all real soon!

Max Eber
Staff Writer/The Doctor
max@sub-cultured.com
Twitter: @maxlikescomics

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First, most of people are aware by now of DC Comics’ big Batwoman debacle this week with its Eisner award winning writer/artist JH Williams III and co-writer W. Haden Blackman both deciding to leave after issue #26 and since said announcement their run is now being cut even shorter.

It has to be said outright; editorial driving away all of it’s A+ talent (and lesser talents but still talent nonetheless) over excessive editorial interference and last minute edicts and bans over the past two years has gotten ridiculous. Since the reboot over twenty artists and writers have burned bridges and left DC Comics due to poor treatment, last minute changes and editorial impeding storytelling. Writer Gail Simone was fired via email and is only back writing Batgirl (an abysmal book in tone and content, the worst writing of her career) because fans had a massive outcry. Add in Dan Didio and Co’s ongoing feud with Batgirl fans over nonsensical edicts barring former Batgirls Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain from canon (a blessing in disguise) and non-canon alternate universe books (seemingly purely out of spite), the decimated state of the Batman family of heroes, the Flash family (care for the Flash title which actually is a terrific book) and so on. So many issues all over the board it is hard to list them all. Above all; the entire DC canon since the reboot, instead of being simpler and easier to understand as intended or touted to being, is a complete and utter mess. Look no further than Superboy’s new time-travel laden origin for an example of the awful and unnecessarily complicated choices DC has made.

Yes they are a company and they aim to make money; but all this dirty laundry and negative press regarding how people are treated there in an industry meant to entertain is leaving overall a negative image of the company and discourages aspiring writers (like myself) and artists to want to work there.

Literally any other company in any other field whose problems concerning the higher ups and that much information being revealed at how difficult and negative everything is working with them, would be toast. Diane Nelson either has a complete laissez-faire attitude, is completely ignorant of her editorial staff and what happens when they open their mouths on twitter, Facebook and at conventions, or is just another loose screw in the entire system. Which is disappointing since we need more women Presidents of companies. However, just because she’s a woman does not mean she is doing a good job. Their inability to really grasp or launch a movie universe franchise, their slow dismantling of Vertigo, the lack of attention to girls as a consumer base, ignoring kids and tweens as consumers in general outside of toys and Lego and DC’s extreme fear of Wonder Woman are just a few problems that plague DC Entertainment outside of their comic line. The cracks are everywhere.

As for DC the editorial staff might as well write all their books themselves if they won’t let anyone tell the story the way they really want to and force so many last minute edicts and moves ultimately chasing everyone away from the sandbox. Many of these edicts appear purely out of spite; for instance at Baltimore Comic Con this past Saturday (the 7th) Dan Didio has just in response to the barring of Batwoman from being married additionally revealed Mera and Aquaman were never married either. Which if you read the newer comics there are many references to her being the Queen of Atlantis as Arthur is King so I don’t know what is going on there. If it is a joke, it’s a stupid low blow. If it’s true then I am left rather speechless.

The only thing consistent about DC Comics is that editorial hates marriages. And they hate marriages because it supposedly “ruins drama”. This is false; characters being married under good writers should never be an issue in keeping superhero narratives fun and exciting. You also don’t need their lives to be a constant drag. That’s not why I read superheroes, but perhaps I am not who they want reading their comics. It’s really not hard. To say otherwise means you are a poor writer or lack creativity.

This is where I shut down and thank the stars, stripes and Wonder Woman’s invisible jet that DC fans are better at handling DC’s characters than their own company. Because where in the reality of DC Comics is negative and grim and full of just awful over in fan-made works there is nothing but mostly love and overall, understanding of the characters.

This is where I happily bring to you Brittney Williams’ concept ‘The Daily Planet Files’ and it is the Superman adaptation you never knew you even wanted.

Fan-work like Brittney Williams has’ The Daily Planet Files’ Superman concept and upcoming one-shot “manga-esque” comic is literally lifeblood for me in its brilliance. For those jaded and sad by all the negativity from DC and miss Superman that is a 100% accurate and true to form. This is Superman done right.

A personal fan project for the character designer and recent story trainee at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Brittney is doing this for herself and it just so happens to be absolutely a pitch perfect rendition of Superman, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and all their colleagues at The Daily Planet. Take a look for yourself:

Oh my glob Jimmy.

I mean is this not the Lois and Clark to end all Lois and Clarks? Look at that purple hair of glory.

inside_the_secret_lab_of_dr__tobora_by_the_orange_one-d6e298m

Why can’t the people who actually own these characters do it this well?

Clark you’re adorable. Jimmy stop its too much. Lois is so cute. What is going on with my emotions?!

And that’s just a taste. A word about the series from Brittney’s deviantart (where you can see super HQ big versions of these images) regarding her Superman concepts and the project:

It all began as I was nonchalantly channel surfing one day in early April, and I happened upon Superman the Animated series. Immediately I was thrown back into the early 90’s when I was a kid, and afternoons were spent playing outside then running into the house at 3 to watch Superman. I started to remember how much I actually used to love Superman and I was suddenly inspired to draw.

As some of you may have noticed Lois, Jimmy, and Clark vary a bit with each drawing in my gallery. That phenomenon is due to me never being quite satisfied with their designs. In each drawing I play with different influences, shapes, and styles, but at the same time, I try to stay true to the characters and how I would want to draw them as an artist.

She makes the underwearless costume look good too I swear why is she not in charge.

She’s had every other haircolor. Why not?

It is actually really cool to see the progression she mentions if you look through her gallery; Clark goes from being super broad and vertical to being a bit more gentle, burly and having a bit of a slouch. The oafish “country boy”. They all get slightly cartoonier and manga-esque. Jimmy is the most obvious in progression if you look through her archive; he goes from chipmunk-y buck toothed duck haired Jimmy to a scruffy hipster with a sparse mustache to then a scrappy greaser-type with a patchy goatee and in another display of art evolution recent pictures feature him a bit more clean shaven and the return of the bowtie to his punkier style. It’s really really cool and it’s amazing how well Brittney gets these characters and yet it be fresh and new.