Artist-writer Shawn Martinbrough was a guest at the recent Baltimore Comic-Con where he met fans of his work in Detective Comics, Luke Cage Noir, and Thief of Thieves, among other titles. Before the show started on Saturday morning, Martinbrough chatted with Scoop about his comics, drawing in the noir style, and upcoming projects.

Scoop: Good morning, Shawn. How are you doing?
Shawn Martinbrough (SM): Okay, this is a nice balmy day here in Baltimore at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Day, what is it, two? Yeah, okay, day two.

Scoop: Have you had a good time so far?
SM: Oh, it’s amazing. It’s always great to see the fans and see fellow creators that you haven’t seen in a while. And it’s kind of like a mini family reunion kind of thing.

Scoop: What does it mean to you to meet fans at shows like this?
SM: Well, it’s great because usually as an artist or a writer, we’re working at our little studios all by ourselves and then the work goes out in the world and then you hope that people like it. But when people actually come up and say, “Hey, I’m a big fan” or “I like your work and this inspired me” it’s great to see.

Scoop: You have a special piece exclusive to the show. Can you tell me more about that?
SM: Yeah, so this is an exclusive scavenger hunt reward. When you collect all the signatures, I guess for the Baltimore Comic-Con scavenger hunt, you get a print of this piece which features the Savage Dragon which is done by the incredible veteran Erik Larsen. And it also features characters from my book, Like Lava in My Veins. So, it was a really great piece, and I’ll be signing these for free when people come by and bring them to the booth.

Scoop: You’re well known for producing noir style art. What is it about that style that appeals to you?
SM: I mean, I love so many different types of art styles, but I think I grew up loving artists like Mike Mignola, David Mazzucchelli, Alex Toth, Frank Miller, and the whole shadow contrast is just so dramatic. So that really inspired me when I started working on like Batman or Luke Cage Noir or Thief of Thieves or the Anansi Boys. I kind of work it into some of my kids’ books, if that makes sense. Even though in kids’ books you can’t really use a lot of shadows. But you can try to create the scenes so that they’re dramatic.

Scoop: What do you like about doing the kids’ books versus doing the more serious or dramatic stuff?
SM: Well, for my kids’ book, Like Lava in My Veins – which is published by Nancy Paulsen Books and Penguin Random House – that was fun, but it was a challenge because they always say that the hardest things to draw are animals and kids. I say kids are harder to draw because their proportions are so different, and if you don’t get them right, they look like miniature adults. So their heads are bigger, they have less details on their faces, and they tend to be more expressive, or at least that’s what I try to draw them, as being more expressive. And so that was a really fun challenge to do that book. And it’s been really well received. It’s been nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and it’s also carried in the Smithsonian African American History and Culture Museum in DC.

Scoop: Nice, that’s great. You were the artist on the entire Thief of Thieves run which is a crime book with noir elements and is grounded by Conrad’s relationship with his family. Which arcs did you find the most exciting to draw?
SM: Oh, the whole thing was fun because, I mean, I did 42 or 43 issues of it in the entire run. The first arc was written by Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer. They had their own take on it. And then James Asmus came into the second arc. And then writer Andy Diggle and I did, like, three arcs. We created a ton of new characters, and we just had free reign to do whatever we wanted, which was really fun. It was really great illustrating a story that took place in different locations around the world, full of different types of characters with different types of looks. And so, it’s always fun when as an artist you can help visually shape a world and create characters.

Scoop: From Batman to Black Panther, you’ve worked on a lot of really cool characters. I’m wondering, are there other superheroes that you would like to write or illustrate?
SM: You know, I always get asked that question. I really don’t have… to me, whatever the new job is, is the challenge. For example, when I was approached to adapt the Anansi Boys by Dark Horse, I’m like, “Okay, what is this?” It was basically a sort of a dark comedy set in London featuring all black characters, which was like, okay, that was interesting, doing comedy, and that was great. Now I’m actually working on a new project for Mike Mignola, which is really, really cool, and it’s just different. I wouldn’t have thought about it, but I guess whenever I get offered a project, it’s the challenge. I’m like, “Okay, you know what? You’re going to offer me a project featuring this character? I never thought about it. Let me dive in.”

Scoop: What was it like to put Luke Cage in the noir style?
SM: That was really fun because, at the time, everyone only knew Luke Cage as the ‘70s, silk shirt wearing, metal tiara, sweet Christmas, I’m going to knock you out. But Marvel really wanted to do a different take on him and set him in the Harlem Renaissance, which is the 1920s. And I got to put him in a suit, and make him look more dapper and really play with a whole new environment, which was really fun. So that was really great. And then to add the whole noir approach was great. It was really big fun working with writers Michael Benson and Adam Glass, who co-wrote that series.

Scoop: It is cool seeing Luke Cage in that suit.
SM: And what was really cool was that the creator of the Netflix TV show, Cheo Hodari Coker, was a big fan of the Luke Cage Noir miniseries. So there are a lot of nods, there are a lot of references to our miniseries in that Netflix show.

Scoop: That’s awesome.
SM: Yeah, shout out to Cheo. He’s great.

Scoop: What do you consider the most important qualities to become a good comic book artist?
SM: You know, I feel it’s also what applies to being a good writer. And since I write and I draw now, it’s kind of living life. Try to get out and talk to different types of people and have different types of experiences and go to different locations because that will inspire you to pull from really cool things. Because if you live a very solitary life and you haven’t experienced anything, then what are you drawing from? You’ll probably draw from a movie that you saw or a TV show that you saw. But when you go out and you travel, especially when you do conventions and you go to different cities and different countries and you meet people… I’m like the Borg, I absorb all details. So, I will say, “Oh, that’s an interesting perspective you have.” And I’ll add that to my art or I’ll add that to my writing.

Scoop: What are you working on now?
SM: I just did a great short story for Oni Press, because they’re doing a series of horror anthologies with the EC Comics. I did two short stories for them, which is really, really fun. Doing horror is always interesting. And like I said, I’m working on a new unannounced project for the Mike Mignola Hellboy universe, which is really fun. And I’m also writing, so I’m working on two creator-owned series for Ignition Press, and I have an Image Comic creator-owned series that I’m writing that’s in the works. I’m kind of bouncing around and doing some other things that I can’t mention yet, but it’s just a fun time to be bouncing around working with different companies.

Scoop: Keeps things fresh, right?
SM: It does. It keeps things fresh, and it also keeps you on your toes for deadlines. Oh, I bet. I shouldn’t even be here talking to you right now. So this is not me. This is my representative giving this interview. I’m at home working.

Scoop: Fair enough. Are you doing any more shows this year?
SM: No, I don’t think so. Usually if I get invited, I’ll go. The last thing I went to was San Diego, so I was a guest there, and I received the Ink Pot Award, which was amazing. But the Baltimore Comic-Con is always great to me, so they invite me every year, so I’m coming here. So I don’t have anything booked, so I have no excuse for not working at home.

Scoop: Well, thank you so much.
SM: Of course, it’s my pleasure. Thank you so much.