34
A
manda Conner has lived in Los Angeles, California;
Jacksonville, Florida; Connecticut; and Brooklyn,
New York. She started out doing short comic stories
and ad storyboards. Although advertising paid better, comics
were more fun, so she opted for the latter.
Conner was drawing Marvel’s Barbie and Claypool’s
Soulsearchers and Company, as well as Disney’s Gargoyles
books, when she met Jimmy Palmiotti, who would become
her favorite inker, favorite writer, and all-around favorite
guy. They have teamed up on many projects, including
Vampirella, Painkiller Jane, and JSA Classified: Power Girl.
They have also teamed up with Mark Waid to cocreate
Gatecrasher, and with Garth Ennis to create The Pro, an
Eisner award–nominated book about a superhero prostitute.
Conner illustrates for Revolver, MAD, and TV and film proj-
ects such as promotions for Who Wants to Be a Superhero?
and art for the Underdog film. She is currently working on
Terra, a six-issue mini-series, with Palmiotti and Justin Gray.
She lives in Brooklyn with Palmiotti.
Amanda Conner
Title: The Pro, The Pro Meets the Ho
Client: Image Comics
Media: Pen and pencil on paper, Photoshop
Creative Process
Most comic books start out with a script, similar to a
movie script, which I get from the editor, or in this case
Garth Ennis, the writer. I read each page and do a tiny
thumbnail sketch (with stick figures) for that page, to
figure out how I want it laid out.
I then go to a tight sketch (though still pretty small).
My favorite things to draw are facial expressions and
body language. I blow the result up on the copier to
comic page art size (roughly 10” x 15” [25.4 x 38.1 cm],
but I work a little smaller). Then I use very tight pencils
to light-box it onto Bristol. Many artists go from thumb-
nails straight to finished pencils.
At this point, I usually give it over to Jimmy to be
inked. When I ink a piece of art myself, I do the pencils
much lighter and looser, because I know what I want
to put down. It’s really important to find an inker who
is compatible with your work. Everyone is different, and
some teams work better together than others.
When I’m working on one of my own projects, such
as The Pro, I prefer to letter the art myself. I like the
handmade, organic look and feel. I do lettering before
the piece is inked. Most books today are computer-let-
tered, and if it’s done that way, it happens after inking,
dropped in before or after coloring.
As with inkers, it’s important to find a compatible
colorist. I’ve found that in Paul Mounts. My work is very
open, and when artwork is open and without a lot of
shading, it can end up colored like garish 1970s anima-
tion. Paul gives my work the right amount of bounciness
or moodiness, depending on what’s needed.
The reason most comic books have so many people
working on them is that they usually come out on a
monthly schedule, and when you have a whole team
working simultaneously, it’s easier to get twenty-two
pages of writing and art finished in a timely manner.
That’s where having a great editor comes in. He or she
has to be a good wrangler, know storytelling, and have
an eye for art and color.
On these pieces, we edited ourselves
because it was our baby. That’s the
beauty of doing your own thing. You
don’t have big companies worrying
about their properties and breathing
down your neck. But at the same time
you have to be very self-disciplined.
35
Amanda Conner
Vampirella, Painkiller Jane, and JSA Classified: Power Girl.
They have also teamed up with Mark Waid to cocreate
Gatecrasher, and with Garth Ennis to create The Pro, an
Eisner award–nominated book about a superhero prostitute.
Conner illustrates for Revolver, MAD, and TV and film proj-
ects such as promotions for Who Wants to Be a Superhero?
and art for the Underdog film. She is currently working on
Terra, a six-issue mini-series, with Palmiotti and Justin Gray.
She lives in Brooklyn with Palmiotti.
Amanda Conner
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