Lille Comics Festival 2008:Interview with Khoi Pham

Q- How is it working with Brian Michael Bendis? How are his scripts?
A- Brian is very specific and this makes it very easy for me because I like drawing what people ask me to draw. So you just give me the script and it's very easy to translate it onto the page. It's very specific, and I like that. I don't know about other pencillers, but I like that, being very specific. It's challenging because it demands a lot in terms of visual expressions and drama, because he's very specific with the emotions of the characters. But it's a fun challenge for me to do a story with Brian, specially for Secret Invansion, where for the Mighty book they were all tie-in issues that had all different characters, different parts of the story, different times…So keeping up with that was a fun challenge.

Q- Speaking of SI. How was it to get the story? Because there were so many, well, secrets. Did you have access to everything or did he leave some things a bit vague so that...you know…?
A- I didn't ask. Maybe if I’d asked, they would have told me. But I don't ask, so I just get a script and I just draw. But I got everything I needed because everything was tied in, so I got pages that Leinil was drawing, I got pages that Jim was drawing and so I knew what was happening as I was drawing. But I don't ask ahead to see what happens because I'm a fan too and as such, I want to find out myself. So I didn't have many secrets, and since I like to chat, it was good that I didn't knew too much.
When you work for Marvel, everything is top secret. SI, Hercules... It's all top-secret.

Q- How did you manage to get into comics big time?
A- I have no idea. I don't know. I'm very fortunate and I wonder that myself every day, but I'm still pretty new. I've only been drawing comics for 3 years, but I think... That was a good question! Why am I drawing Mighty Avengers? I have no idea! I think... I was an attorney, I'm a lawyer too. So I was doing that full time and when I started drawing for Marvel I was doing both, lawyer work and drawing X-Factor and drawing Hercules. And I think they were pleased with what I was drawing and they wanted to see more, you know, faster and better work. And I thought “I can't, because I have 2 jobs and I have to work for you full time. I can't just quit.” And they said "Ok, we'll put our faith in you. We'll sign you." And you know, if you're a exclusive, they have to give you a regular book to work on. How I ended up with Mighty Avengers? I have no idea. It was open. Then they had to give me a new place, so they put me there. Maybe it's just good fortune, has nothing to do with talent but with being in the right place at the right time.

Q- How is it working with Peter David compared to BMB? Because I believe their styles are very different.
A- They're very different. It's been fine and great. I've been lucky to work with Peter a lot, with Brian, and with Greg Pak, and Fred van Lente, who are all great writers too. They've very different styles and I learn a bit from everyone. Because I'm very new, so I try to learn a little bit from everyone: writers, inkers, colorists, pencillers, learning from Peter David's storytelling style which is very humorous… There's a lot of humour in there! Greg Pak and Fred van Lente were also humorous, but there's a lot of action in there, a lot of fighting in the Hercules stuff. And there's Brian who is very dramatic and serious and dark, and that was fun too. Now I'll be working with Dan Slott too, who reminds me a little bit of Peter David's storytelling, and that it's fun. It's been really great. But it's difficult to compare them. I mean, the scripts are... as penciller, all the scripts mean a bit the same, you know. I just try to do exactly what they write down. But their styles are different and they're all fun.

Q- Any new projects in the future that you can talk about?
A- No, just Mighty Avengers. But it'll be fun. We'll start with issue...21. There won't be any Mighty in December, I think. It'll be starting in January, and it'll be a relaunch of the book because of what happened in SI and we're going to do something really cool. I think it will be a nice contrast to SI, all the post-SI stuff. I hope people like it because it's been fun doing it so far.