Exclusive Sketch by Ryan Ottley. Colored by Lucas Ackley.

One of the comics that most of us robots here at Big Shiny Robot! look forward to most every month (or thereabouts) is Robert Kirkman’s Invincible. It’s drawn by an astounding young man by the name of Ryan Ottley and he produces art for what is probably the greatest super-hero comic in the universe. His webpage, www.ryanottley.com, is updated regularly with “draw-night” sketches, Invincible covers and previews and all kinds of original art and is a daily “must-visit” for anyone interested in Ottley’s work.

We had a chance to ask him some questions and he was kind enough to answer, so without further ado, we’ll get to the interview:

Big Shiny Robot!: As you were growing up and honing in your skills, what were some of your favorite things to draw?

Ryan Ottley: I remember I was drawing at home one time with crayons on a huge piece of paper my Mom got for me. I forget my exact age but I know I was in Grade school at the time. Anyway I drew a nice quiet colorful scene of rolling green hills, big trees, birds, rainbows, flowers, and then on a hill I drew a Bear tearing a man to pieces, blood all over the hill. My Mom thought I was a little odd and maybe it worried her a little but she always supported whatever I drew. So violence was something I always enjoyed drawing. Dinosaurs, monsters, funny looking faces, those were my specialties as a kid.

BSR!: What’s it like working with Robert Kirkman?

RO: Ah it’s great! Robert’s a cool dude most of the time until he calls you up and tells you he forgot to let you know 5 covers are due tomorrow. But seriously he’s super laid back and easy to get along with and very easy on the eyes, know what I’m sayin?

BSR!: What can you tell us about the future for Mark and Eve’s relationship?
RO: Huh?!? Why would THEY have a future together? They’re just friends.

BSR!: In one of the issues of Invincible, you drew in some pretty derogatory things about Kirkman in Japanese. Are there any other jabs at Kirkman (or anyone else for that matter) that you’ve hidden in your books?

RO: Yeah the japanese part was a lot of fun. In the script Robert asked for alien writing on the walls, I figured he wouldn’t know the difference between alien and Japanese so I asked my buddy Derek who is fulent in Japanese to show me how to write “Kirkman is an idiot.” Robert called me one day and told me he was reading fan mail and in one of the letters it was letting Robert know about the writing on the wall, he asked me if it was true. I confessed, and he still wants to get me back somehow. That’s the only jab I’ve taken at him though. Well there was a license plate I drew on a car in that same issue that said “RK be gay”, but that’s not really a jab. heh.

BSR!: Last year DC published a Superman/Batman Annual. You were one of the featured artists. How did you feel to have yourself attached to such iconic characters?

RO: That was great but the thing that I felt really good about was how I got the job from Ed McGuinness calling me up and asking me if I wanted to help him with a few pages in the book. Ed is one of my favorite artists, so I had to say yes. And drawing Superman and Batman was icing on the cake. It was nice to have a chance to draw these two, good to get a little bit of the mainstream characters out of my system.

BSR!: When can we expect to see more Marvel/DC flagship work out of you?

RO: Not anytime soon. I’m hooked on Invincible, I love this book a LOT. I will be doing Marvel original art cards though, just keep checking my site. I’ll post them up soon.

BSR!: What are your feelings about Salt Lake Comix artist Derek Hunter [Pirate Club, Image Popgun]?

RO: Derek is radical. He loves the hell outta comics. It shows in his work, his upcoming Lobster Ladd is some really fun stuff, if you see a Slave Labor booth at a con go find him. [editorial note: Check the Big Shiny Robot! forums for an exclusive gander at Derek Hunter’s Lobster Ladd. It’s good stuff.]

BSR!: What was it like folowing Cory Walker on Invincible and having fans constantly compare the two of you?

RO: It was tuff. Cory is one of those artists that is so talented it’s hard to look at his stuff because you know no matter how hard you try you’ll never be as good as him. Occasionally I’ll hear from people who think we have similar styles but our works are completely different from eachother nowadays. I tried to keep a similar style on the book when I started with issue 8 and I fooled some people but in reality my early stuff on Invincible is pretty bad, looking back on Cory’s early work is crazy because it’s STILL good. I wish I could do that, I hate my first 30 or so issues.

BSR!: Why has Invincible been so late? Is it Kirkmans fault?

RO: He’d get mad at me if I told you it was his fault. And nobody wants Kirkman mad. But yeah it was my fault.

BSR!: What 3 comics do you most look forward to reading every month?

RO: Walking dead. Goon. Fell.

BSR!: And our last question, did you trade all of your soul with the devil for your wonderful talent? Or just part of it?

RO: Yes.