The Geof Darrow Interview: Speak Softly and Carry a Big Brush

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Chapters
0:01:10 A Quick Look at the Studio
0:01:36 Traditional Tools vs Computers
0:06:16 Unused John Wick Art
0:08:40 Living as an Expat in France
0:14:14 Collaborating with Colorist Dave Stewart
0:21:20 Memories of Moebius
0:35:47 Meeting Folks like Jack Kirby in Animation
0:40:07 How Iron Man Led to Big Guy
0:43:53 Scatalogical Humor
0:46:13 Storytelling and Character Motivation
0:53:27 Influences for Action Scenes
0:57:55 Deadlines
1:03:40 Upcoming Work and Process
1:06:02 Frank Miller Collabs and Becoming a Sin City Character
1:11:26 Convention Stuff and Quick End
Geof Darrow has written and illustrated Shaolin Cowboy. He's drawn Hard Boiled, The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, and covers for just about every comic book publisher. In this interview, we discuss his working process, his style for collaboration, memories of collaborators like Moebius (Jean Giraud) and Jack Kirby, and how to treat fans.

[@oisintaylor3382]

Geof is an art hero of mine. We travelled across the Atlantic on honeymoon to San Diego Comic Con 2006 and bought some signed items from Geof who was such a nice guy. I’d never have the nerve to ask an artist for a quick sketch while getting items signed but out of the blue, Geof sketched a dinosaur as a gift for my daughter. He deserves every success.

[@Tomismyusername]

One of the all-time great geniuses of the art form.

[@CuteKiller313]

His art is truly something special, the hyper-detail gives such a gritty texture to everything like a vivid memory. Used to spend hours examining his comics as a kid and still have some pages from Art Of The Matrix stuck up on my wall.

[@gabrieljimenez9762]

Such a great interview! Uncle Geoff is a great guy. Loved getting to know him through Cartoonist Kayfabe and it's great to know that he actually enjoys this channel. Such a fascinating, talented and self-deprecating artist. I am very jealous of the people who get to go to NYCC. There are not that many artists that I would like to get to meet and get his signature more than him. I hope this is the first of many visits he makes here.

[@colmustard2546]

Geof has some of the best stories I could listen to him all day. His life experiences with some of the greatest artistic talents in comics are so amazing. I was so worried we would not get to hear from Geof again like this after Ed passed. Thank you so much for this Chris. I’m sure Geof would hate to hear this kind of thing but he is truly one of the greatest illustrators of our time. I would love to see you get Mike Allred on for an extended interview like this, he seems to have great stories as well. Keep up the great work Chris, you are appreciated.

[@pnptcn]

I'll watch Geoff Darrow talk about comics and art any time, thanks for bringing us a great interview.

[@jimcomic1426]

Great interview with Geof Darrow. I met him at Boston Comic Con about 10 years ago and he was extremely nice. He signed my copy of Hard Boiled # 1. Great stories in the interview. Hope he is on again.

[@jamesdunn9457]

It is funny listening to him talk about Mobius having self-doubt when he himself seems to be very self-deprecating. I guess masters of their craft always feel like they need to be better. That is what gets them to be masters.

[@roymakescomics]

Facts.

[@rickytoddbotelho9555]

I first became familiar with Geoff's work way back with ' hard boiled ' groundbreaking, hyper realistic . This guy remade the game and has influenced the industry. Some think Frank Miller's a fading glory , but they forget he found Geoff 😂❤very fartworthy 😛

[@SpiroHarvey]

Great interview and what a great guy. I've always loved his work, but this is the first time I've seen the man behind the mask, and I'm now officially a fanboy. Thanks for doing this.

[@noeldiaz5467]

The most human Drawing God! What a living legend. Humbling at it´s finest. His approach and what he shares about the pros he met. (The Moebius anecdotes are Sci-fi-like!). Great Job Chris.

[@username30536]

The healthcare discussion is wild. I spent a night in the hospital recently, blood transfusions etc. Completely free. The NHS is in bad shape but if I had to pay for healthcare by now I'd simply be dead.

[@andybrining]

I got his pencil art book a while back and about halfway through I caught myself laughing out loud at the absolute madness on display as I turned the pages. "Uncle Geof" is truly a singular talent, in a class he invented.

[@crashline]

Darrow is a legend. Thank you for this interview. I love that so many comic book creators are just nerds like us. Fans of the genre who also happen to be creators of it.

[@Connorgallus]

Genre?

[@crashline]

​@@Connorgallus Yeah. Genre. Like he's a comic book artist. He's a fan of comic books. He is also an artist of the medium. genre 1) A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content. 2) A realistic style of painting that depicts scenes from everyday life. 3) A type or class

[@Connorgallus]

@@crashline I know what a genre is windbag, comic books aren't a genre. Superheroes are a genre, comics as a whole isn't.

[@crashline]

@@Connorgallus cool! 😎

[@Eisenwulf666]

This is a great interview and a super star host

[@danbeaudet6718]

Wow! What a great Jean Giraud/Moebius experience. I met him in Montreal, in 1973, along the whole crew from 'Pilote' magazine. Also, when you read a GD strip, the action takes place between nanoseconds. Very unique!

[@ganjjabarsmedium2347]

Awesome Interview Chris! Geof Darrow is one of my favorite comic artists of all time. The level of detail he is able to put into his spreads are insane. Shaolin Cowboy is a chaotic masterpiece of comic book creation! 🙌

[@WayneAshford-l4p]

Just now catching this great interview and i'm in agreement with Geof Darrow about technology and (still) using a drawing/sketch book,props to you,Mr. Darrow 😮😅😊❤

[@erwingu]

Thanks for introducing his work for me. Now If I can find some of his books in the wild I'll buy it.

[@stankovicf]

Geof is such a class act! Thanks for the interview!

[@yoda1228]

I bought a print from him at NYCC back in the day and sat and chatted with him. Such an awesome guy with no ego

[@byronschexnayder875]

GREAT INTERVIEW CHRISLOVE GEOF DARROW'S ART HARD BOIL AND SHAOLIN COWBOY ARE MY FAVORITES

[@goatnicholson]

This was a lovely treat. Good job using your resources for this document. Moarrrr 😼

[@pravinbajaj]

Just love the fact you got to sit down and talk to one of my all-time favorite artists. Geof Darrow’s humbleness, and professionalism displays itself in this interview. Alongside the little nuggets and wonderful trivia he’s mentioned in this talk, shows his modesty. The discipline it takes to get to his level of high-quality, revered work is simply inspiring; not only teaches us to do the best you can, but also be a person of humility to achieve the respect he has in the industry of illustration.

[@JonBogdanove]

Outstanding interview! Great insights into process.

[@JonBogdanove]

I'm currently in deadline madness, working more than 100 hours/week at the board, and I for some reason, hearing Geoff talk about Moebius' hyper self criticisms and Jeff's own insecurities made me feel better about my own. Enormously helpful to glean bits and pieces of Geoff's thought process about his work, too. Inspirational AF-especially during these sleep-deprived weeks under pressure! You asked good questions and gave Geoff prompts to open up, and then let him run with it. Really great interview, Chris. Well done. Would love to see (hear) more like it. Suggestions: Walter, Kaluta, Charles Vess, Chaykin, Mignola, Erik Larsen, Francois Schuiten, Stan Sakai, Kelley Jones, Humberto Ramos.

[@antonydrossos5719]

I think I get where he’s coming from; I have a drawing tablet that cost me just over $1K, but I still prefer my sketchbooks and pencils

[@GazBot]

Great chat thanks so much to you both :)

[@testertree4545]

My all time fav artist

[@JRWorkAccount]

Amazing artist. You can spend so much time looking at every image, page and story and find something new to appreciate.

[@robertdouble559]

The GOAT in my world.

[@jamesgarrett7089]

Picked up the new book yesterday. Can’t wait to take in every page!

[@amikkelll]

Never thought I'd sit through an hour long interview with an artist I'm only vaguely familiar with. Great job Chris (and Geof)

[@CableTV-f6y]

I find it unbelievably unbelievable that he says he doesn't expect a lot of people at is booth wish you the best of luck pencil master

[@peterlinfield]

Great conversation! Geof is such an incredible artist and seems so chill.

[@johnnyslider9456]

Fantastic interview great episode

[@WayneAshford-l4p]

... this interview's inspiring me to finish up my own comic..,

[@johnfrogman3710]

the mind of this man is out of this world

[@OomaGooma]

My favorite Darrow work is a Fantastic Four poster from around 1994. It’s still on my wall after all these years.

[@spencerlewis9763]

Yes ! Chris & thanks Geof !

[@stevewik2280]

To be fair, if you're going to draw an environment, you pretty much have to draw a dog pooping or peeing on something. I'm pretty certain it's a law. Like if you draw a guy getting hit with an uppercut or a haymaker, you're legally obligated to have a tooth flying out. It's tradition. ;P

[@johnsonbenjamin887]

I am SOOOO happy to see a fresh Geof interview. I enjoyed him so much on Kayfabe. Thanks for doing this Chris !

[@franciscobello1519]

Glad someone mentioned his CK shoots. The one Darrow did with David Choe had DC insisting Darrow to get outside of his comfort zone, not do the labored hyper detailed work he's known for, just to see what else he's capable of. I wonder if even subconsciously Choe's dare was ringing in Darrow's head when he banged out that Cowboy vs Big Guy comic in a month, the one he briefly tells Chris about here.

[@johnsonbenjamin887]

@@franciscobello1519 maaan that’s a good point. Maybe so ?!

[@arniexvx9776]

this was my thought after a couple of his Darrow style tangents

[@OJR-vs1fg]

Holy Smokes! What a great interview. Thanks to you both.

[@NerdNonsense2161]

Thank you for this interview!

[@ErwinPapa]

Huge inspiration and an awesome person. I can listen to him forever. Thanks for the interview, Chris!

[@TheLobstersoup]

Wonderful! I was drawing during this interview and almost finished an entire panel outline. Really cool to have these interviews to listen to and to understand how even amazing artists struggle with trying to draw something, sometimes.

[@Doctor-Shoebill]

Great interview, Chris! It was a real treat!

[@Pensadordosceus]

The part around Moebius was excellent

[@MegaFROMOUTERSPACE]

Thank you

[@vantablacsol]

WHHHHHAT. I need to prepare for this.

[@donndavis2920]

So glad to see him on here. Hope you have him on here regularly like he was on CK. Keep him in the zeitgeist because he deserves it.

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

28:34 - ...and that young artist's name was Greg Land.

[@EasterlyArt]

21:45 Thank you for asking Geof this 🙏

[@curtjames]

“Entertain and educate” - absolutely perfect description of Comic Tropes!!

[@jeremyhyler]

very exciting

[@zainmudassir2964]

Good interview 👍

[@dannycruz5446]

Been a fan since that Daredevil/Punisher Child's Play cover from the late 80s.

[@danielg.w5733]

I wanna hear more about the Tahiti story

[@chrism70kc]

I would LOVE to get my hands on CS vs BG! Hopefully, people who can't get to SDCC will get a chance to buy this issue?

[@guillermobolasdemadera345]

First thing in the morning kudos Chris.

[@TheBeowulf]

Look they just can't have the wholesome family fun films of John Wick sullied by this crass violence!

[@clevercactus_834]

Can you cover Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-men

[@pootcargo]

Should have asked about him meeting Otomo

[@joedent3323]

Geof rules. I loved to see him on CK in his many interviews. Good get, Chris!

[@Jaddaprog]

There should have been government relief for hospital bills from covid. That was a national emergency. Glad you made it through that financial hardship though

[@hookedonjuneau6313]

Dope.

[@lunarmodule6419]

Interesting thx

[@s.a9339]

i wish Geoff would work with Jodorowsky

[@MrPatrickAnonymous]

Brilliant title for the video

[@matthewrickle7746]

I wonder what Batman story he was referring to!!

[@YanisMass-k6l]

Hey, Chris! Thank you for your videos. How about making a Joe Kubert one? I'm not gonna miss that!(Please, leave a like for my comment, so Chris would see it.)

[@joedent3323]

There ars some GREAT Joe Kubert School instructional videos here on youtube. They are the videos he would send out in his correspondence courses. They highlight his amazing and mesmerizing drawing style at good length. They are very inspiring viewing 😊

[@kylecarter1599]

Geoff rules

[@alejoparedes2388]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@achtungbabyblog]

👏👍

[@Sacrefiied]

Oh hi! You caught me taking a shit. Speaking of creating shit, let's talk about Ken Penders.

[@rbiznezz2]

Wow, this is a coup!!

[@GR8FLMD3AD]

All we want in th US is healthcare

[@BeckuliousMelimgar_Tron_lives]

Can you please go over the artwork of Mike Deodato Jr. please

[@CableTV-f6y]

I never pay my hospital bills I tell him I got a quarter on me they give you a number they're like okay make sure you call this number tomorrow and then you go to grab the card from him and they won't let go they're like make sure you call I never do

[@jpotter2086]

ANDROPOV! :D

[@joedent3323]

51:23

[@Luigiiiiiiiiiiii]

First here😀

[@johnsonbenjamin887]

I am SOOOO happy to see a fresh Geof interview. I enjoyed him so much on Kayfabe. Thanks for doing this Chris !