Ask Georges Jeanty
Here are Georges answers to the questions we put to him. I hope you find his answers as interesting as I did. And we now know who Twilight is!! Okay, not really, but I thought it was funny, lol.
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Perney: How has it been working on Season 8 so far? Has it challenged you artistically in some ways?
Every project I do has it's own challenges. With Buffy Season 8, the big challenge was trying to make the comic feel like the TV show withouty the book looking like it was just a jumble of traced figures and heads from the series. One of the first things Joss said to me when I got the project was that he wanted it to be a comic with the characters from the show. That, we now had an unlimited budget and that everything should be bigger! You should have heard him, he was so excited to be doing Seasin 8 of Buffy the way he wanted to. He told me one of the best things about working on a comic was that it was just him and the artist. He didn't have to deal with wardrobes, sets, lighting, actors and props. He just wrote what he wanted and it would appear in the form of art. I guess that can be a very liberating feeling after working so hard for 7 years on a series having to be responsible for every little thing. Not that Joss was hands off with the comic, on the contrary, in the beginning when we were getting to know each other, work wise, there was a lot of "no, more like this..." or "this is what I meant to say..." I find when I start work with a new writer at the beginning, that we are learning how to dance together and you're always stepping on each others toes! I will say, one of the best compliments that Joss gave me after working on the book for a few issues, he said, 'you know what you're doing. I trust these characters with you.' Higher praise I could not hope for.
Bluebird: What is your favorite character to draw?
This question really has a lot of levels to it, but the short answer is Buffy. She was the first person I had to draw when I got the gig, and will probably be the last in this series. I will add that all of the men have been easier to draw than the women except for maybe Andrew, and all the womane have had different levels of difficulty. Dawn being the hardest.
Willow-Tree: Did you watch the show when it aired? Where you a fan?
That's the thing! I never caught an episode of Buffy before!
That's not true. I did watch some of the episode with Jon Ritter in it, but that was only because I was a Jon Ritter fan. So I missed the whole Buffy saga as it was airing in prime time. When I got the job Dark Horse was nice enough to send me seasons 6 and 7 on DVD and I caught up rather quickly. From there I became such a fan that I went out and got Seasons 1 through 5 on my own and breezed right through them!
To date I think I've seen all of Joss's shows.
Crazy Flakes: How has your work on Buffy compared to your other experiences?
Buffy has by far been the most popular thing I've worked on. I did run on Gambit that was pretty popular but Buffy fans are... well, if you're a fan you know how dedicated you are. Which is great. I consider myself a Buffy fan and proud to walk among my brtheren! Having said that, there are no other fans like Buffy fans. What I really love most about Season 8 is I've had a lot of fans come uo to me at cons or sucj and tell me Buffy is the first comic they have ever read. What a great way to introduce someone to a new medium, wouldn't you say? I'm really proud to be on this book.
Crazy Flakes: Are you familiar with Joss' other projects, such as Angel, Firefly and now Dollhouse? If so, do you think you would be interested in drawing for the Angel or Serenity comics if given the opportunity?
I am well versed in the Whedonverse. I would love to tackle some of the Angel characters, and while it's true that Angel and Spike were a panel in the 3rd issue, that was more of a special case. In a somewhat related theme. I did do a Cover for Felicia Day's forthcoming comic of her Guild series. So that's kind of in the Joss family, right? Serenity might be fun but I don't know how well I would tackle the space scenes. I don't know if that's one of my strong points, but I would brave any prohect that allowed me to use Morena Baccarin as reference!
JCC: How do you think the comics compare to the show, in terms of quality, direction and style?
Well, if it's a quality thing, that's more my area, so I would say they hold up very well! But really, the great thing about Season 8 is that it brings back several of the show's writers! Aside from Joss, I've had the great distinction of working with Drew Goddard, Steven DeKnight, and Jane Espenson! How cool is that?! And every one of them came back not becuase it was a job but beacuse they love Buffy. Really. Drew was working on Cloverfield when he was doing his arc and Jane was working on Caprica, so their time was stretched as it was and they always found the time to talk to me about their stories. I think Season 8 is very close to the show with the one obvious exception that things are on a grander scale, like Dawn being a giant or Bufgfy having the power of flight. (what?! You say.? Buffy flies?! It's trye! Read the latest issue!) Ultimately only the fans can say for sure if it's like the show, but I will say I put in all the heart and drama that I can manage!
Kean: Is there anything personally you wolud like to see happen in Season 8?
I would like to see just who this Twilight is! Oh, wait, we're going to do that. I love the opportunity to get to draw all of these wonderful characters I've watched on the show!
AndrewCrossett: Where di you get the inspiration for Leah, the ultimate red head?
I don't know if it's obvious, but aside from Satsu, Leah is the one character I have a real affinity for. I'll try and put her in there as often as I can, even when she's not directly written in. I really like her. When we started, Joss had these specific slayers in mind and he left their look up to me. I had a lot of fun coming up with these girl's looks. I hope she comes into play a little more in the future.
AndrewCrossett: On one of the pages for issue #27 there's an image of Oz in his cage and Bay has just brought him a cup of tea and sat down next to the cage. Oz's background is in darkness, like the night sky, and Bay's background is an image of the rising sun. Was that deliberate symbolism, or just an interesting coincidence?
I would love to say that was a really cool accident, but I did put some thought into that. That's the great thing about visual storytelling, you can often portray your intent with symbolism. When I read the script for that issue, I was paying attention to how Oz was saying that he was lost and in the dark about his power (curse) I mean he did lose Willow over it. And here was this girl Bay, who was the same as he but she found the light in her curse. Bam. Two things that I read into in the script, I then tried to make visual in the art. Really good storytellers will use this type of stuff in their storytelling and make it seem effortless. I'm still a practicing storyteller so I have to think real hard about these things. More often than not, I'll see an issue that has come out and hit myself when I see some place I could have put some visual symbolism.
Lyri: I've heard you mention that the hardest character for you to 'get down' was Dawn, but who was the easiest?
Right from the get go Giles has always been the easiest for some reason. I guess because he has all these little characteristics, like glasses, a high forehead, a stout jaw line. Little things like that.
The problem with drawing women is that you have to use as few lines as possible or else they tend to look ugly, and as everyone knows Joss has this weird inner eye for finding some of the most beautiful women on television, but also very natural looking. Drawing them is always a challenge. The men I don't have that problem with because you can put as many lines in their faces and they'll look the same.
Lyri: Are there any BtVS characters that haven't shown up yet that you're hoping will make an appearance?
Well the series is coming to its climax so I don't know how many more characters can show up this late in the game, but there certainly will be more... and like Forrest Gump said, 'that's all I'll say about that.'
Lyri: How do you go about drawing each scene? What's your process?
Well, there is a Buffy sketch book available at Welcome to the KABALOUNGE! that covers this very thing! (shameless plug!) What I do is normally read the script a few times and then thumbnail the pages to get the sense of the story flow visually. Then I'll layout the pages, sketching in the characters and backgrounds. From there I'll tighten up what I have and then light box that on to the actual comic page and finish pencilling the drawing. From there it goes to the inker and then the colorist. I try and get as much reference for what I do. I have tons of pictures of all the actors and I'll look for location shots like Tibet where the gang is currently.
Lyri: Whos is Twilight? (don't think you'll answer this, but I had to try, lol)
Oh that's an easy answer. Twilight is Edward! We are doing this wicked cool cross over with that franchise... not! I could tell you who Twilight was, but, c'mon. Really. After all this time, isn't it more fun to just sit and wait for the reveal? I think a bigger question is not who is Twilight but why is he a 'big bad' to Buffy? Once Twilight is revealed that's just going to open up a whole new can of questions, believe me!
Be patient. It's coming... and it's a mind scrabbler!
charmingslayer: Who is the easiest character to draw?
I think I answered this one already. Mr. Giles has been very easy to draw. Although, I have to say, Faith is one I didn't have to work too hard on from the beginning.
charmingslayer: Can you give us any small tidbits on what's to come?
I wouldn't want to spoil anything for you guys! Just know that this ride is not over yet, and if you've been enjoying is this far you're gonna either love or hate how it all ends. I can tell you to check out Dark Horse on line and see advance previews of the issues when you need a quick fix.
Mr. Pointy: Who are your favorite artists (comic and otherwise) and why?
How much time have you got? That is much to broad a question to answer effectively! I love art so there are a large amount of artists I'm into, comics or otherwise. That's like saying name your favorite Buffy episode. You hve one that might stand out like "Once More With Feeling" but then there are so many others that resonate with you personally and emotionally. But to fair, I'll name a few, and in no particular order. Comic wise, Alan Davis, Mike Golden, John Byrne, Brian Hitch, and Jack Kirby. Outside of comics it's people like Dean Cornwell, J.C. Leyendecker, Alfonse Mucha, Drew Strusan, Amsel, Frank Frezetta and Franlin Booth and so many others.
Black Eye Guy: Do you get involved in the storyline at all? Would you ever want to be more involved in the story?
I would love to write an arc at some point. I don't think it'll happen with Season 8, but I think I could write a Buffy episode at this point. I've written other comics here and there, but the art keeps me so busy writing is something I can do once in a while but not all the time. Who knows maybe for season 9 I'll be asked to write an arc.
Black Eey Guy: Were you given specific instructions on how to draw Twilight? The main bit we've seen so far is a chin and you've had us comparing it to every chin you've drawn for the comic!
That was pure Joss! He knew exactly what he was doing, right down to where those panels landed on the page and the over to the next page! I knew early on that Twilight was a big deal and that Joss and I would go back and forth with the various designs and I was prepared for this to go on for a while. But, at the end of it all, Joss and I went back and forth a few times with the designs and he looked at what I came back with from his descriptions and he said "perfect!" So it didn't take long at all. Some of the unused designs are in the second Buffy Sketch book.
Nerd 4 Hire: From your presentation of Twilight, is it safe to say that Twilight is male, white, square-jawed, clean shaven to the lip, at least 6 foot, and is also not any of the characters we'vee seen with him (meaning there's only one)?
Wow. Do you know his measurements aswell? That's pretty specific when you think about it. I'm not so sure about the square jaw part but all the rest is pretty accurate. A lot of people were saying it was Riley, but Joss put a halt to that, or did he?
I'm kidding. It's not Riley. It's better!
Nerd 4 Hire: Is the use of a different font by the letterer when Twilight speaks a clue?
If you want to assume that whne Bruce Wayne speaks as Batman is a clue, then yes.
Nerd 4 Hire: Are you free to answer in what issue the actual reveal will take place? Can you hint?
It will tale place in Brad Metzler's issue between 31 to 35. Then there's the fall out...
Frketson: Could you possibly see yourself doing artwork for the Angel series somewhere down the line and have you read After the Fall? What did you think of it?
I have read some of the Angel books and have met the writer. I think I'm a little biased when it comes to the property. It would be unfair to comment on a competitor's book. I can tell you I understand how hard ot must be to get the book done and I don't envy their trek. I wish them well.
Lyri: When did you yourself find out who Twilight was? And were you surprised?
Man, I've known from the very beginning. And it has been torture to keep it a secret. Every time I'm at a show I'll have someone come up to me and ask if I know who Twilight is and all I can do is smile and say yes but I can't tell. I'm so sorry, but when you find out I know I'll be getting all the questions about 'can you believe who it is'. I was certainly surprised. I don't think it could be done in a viable way, but as with all things, in Joss we trust.
Please feel free to drop me a line when all this blows over. I'd love to hear what you all have to say!
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I'd like to thank Georges for his time in answering our questions. And now I'm off to bribe him with Jaffa Cakes to tell me who Twilight really is, lol. Can't believe he's known this whole time and I've never thought to ask!
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