Women in Comics Month: Interview with June Brigman
Mar 01, 2018
In honor of Women in Comics Month this March, PREVIEWSworld talks with penciler June Brigman!
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PREVIEWSworld: Who is your current comics employer?
June Brigman: Marvel Comics and King Features.
PREVIEWSworld: What is your primary job title? In a quick phrase or two, could you define your job’s key responsibility?
June Brigman: I’m a penciler. I do all the drawings you see in a comic.
PREVIEWSworld: Could you please explain how your work helps make comics a reality? (Connect the dots for us. Where are you in the flow of getting a book into reader hands?)
June Brigman: As a penciler, I am responsible for translating a writer’s script into a coherent visual narrative.
PREVIEWSworld: What’s the part of your job you enjoy the most?
June Brigman: The part I enjoy most is being finished with a job.
PREVIEWSworld: What comic titles have you worked on?
June Brigman: I’m best known for co-creating Power Pack with Louise Simonson. But I’ve also worked on Supergirl, Star Wars, and Alpha Flight, as well as the Brenda Starr and Mary Worth comic strips. I’m currently working on a new comic with writer Stuart Moore called Captain Ginger.
PREVIEWSworld: While there are loads of professionals in the comics industry, there are only so many folks who get to do what you do! How did you get started? How did you learn all the skills you needed for your position?
June Brigman: I didn’t read comics as a child. I wanted to be a professional artist, but it wasn’t until my boyfriend took me to a comic convention that I became interested in drawing comics. I had some help from comic pros Bob McLeod and Carl Potts, but I’m mostly self-taught.
PREVIEWSworld: Talk to us about the heroic people in your comics life. Who do you admire? Who inspires you? Why?
June Brigman: I taught for two years at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon art, where I became friends with Joe Kubert. Even at the age of 80 years old, he was passionate about comics and still creating beautiful work. But he was also very humble and grateful to still be working. His example as an artist and a fine human being will always inspire me. I also learned my craft from studying the work of Gil Kane and Berni Wrightson, among many others.
PREVIEWSworld: Please tell us about the coolest experience you’ve ever had thanks to your job.
June Brigman: 2014 was the 30th anniversary of Power Pack, and I was an invited guest at San Diego Comic Con International, where I was given an Inkpot award. That was pretty darn cool.
PREVIEWSworld: Every industry professional has something they absolutely love about comics. Whether it’s a particular title or format, audience or tradition, or something else, we’re all hooked. What’s special about comics for you? Would you be willing to share a treasured memory about it?
June Brigman: The best part of working in comics is meeting so many amazing artists. And as a professor of Sequential art at SCAD Atlanta, I get to work with the next generation of great artists!
PREVIEWSworld: If you had one comics-related wish—no limits—what would it be?
June Brigman: I would love to see a Power Pack movie made!
PREVIEWSworld: Do you have an online presence we can link to and share with our readers?
June Brigman: www.artwanted.com/juneart
