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We don’t know who watches the Watchmen, but we do know who illustrated the legendary graphic novel: English artist Dave Gibbons. Recently in Sydney for the Supanova pop-culture expo, Dave discussed the comic-making process and the Watchmen phenomenon…

Why did you choose to become a comic-book artist?

I’ve read comics for as long as I’ve been able to read, and I also loved to draw when I was a kid, so it occurred to me at some point that I could draw comics. I never had a desire to be a painter or a moviemaker – it was always the medium of comics that fascinated me.

What were your favourite comics when you were growing up?

It was the American superhero comics, but at that time they weren’t imported into England. What we used to get were the Australian reprints! In 1959, they started to import comics direct from the US, and that’s when there was a real explosion of comic fandom in Britain. I also loved British comics like The Eagle, and I liked MAD magazine. A lot of early comic strips I did were MAD-type things; spoofs of TV for my own amusement and that of my friends.

When a writer brings you a story, how much freedom do you have to create the characters and settings?

As an artist, you have to take control of the material. Some writers will leave everything to you, while others will describe things in great detail. Alan Moore tends towards the latter, but he will always say to you, “This is a suggestion…” Often, when you actually come to draw something, it changes – you can’t draw it the way it’s specified because of aesthetic considerations. You’re usually free to add or take away a panel, break something down a bit more, or choose which picture you want to be dominant.

Apart from Watchmen, what are you most proud of creating?

I worked on a Superman story with Alan Moore called For the Man Who Has Everything, and that was a huge joy – it’s a great story and Superman is the crown jewel of comic-book characters. I’ve been really lucky because I’ve done stuff with Will Eisner, who created The Spirit; I’ve done a cover for MAD magazine; I’ve worked with Stan Lee, whose Marvel comics I loved as a kid; I co-created a character called Rogue Trooper for British comic 2000AD, which has been very successful; and I got to work with Frank Miller on a character called Martha Washington, which was a lot of fun.

Are there any other established series that you would be keen to illustrate?

I’m more interested in pursuing my own creative agenda than working on other people’s creations. It’s great to work for a publisher and play with the toys in their toybox, but there comes a time when you feel you want to have your own characters. There’s little incentive nowadays to work to any great degree on characters that somebody else owns.

Did you realise you were creating something special with Watchmen?

Alan Moore and I just wanted to do the sort of story that we’d like to read. It was only when we got feedback from our contemporaries that we got an inkling that it might be something. A writer and artist called Howard Chaykin, who’s quite outspoken, came up to us and said, “Guys, I’m going to say this once and once only – Watchmen is fuckin’ A.” And we thought if Howard says “fuckin A”, then maybe it is.

You were an advisor on the recent big-screen adaptation of the graphic novel. What do you think of the film?

I think the movie’s great, and I’m absolutely thrilled that it’s been done so well. Nothing’s ever going to be perfect, but I think it’s true to the spirit and a lot of the detail of the graphic novel. I’m very happy to have been involved with it.

Finally, who is your favourite Watchmen character, and why?

I suppose my favourite would have to be Nite Owl because I actually came up with the name and the original costume when I was about 14. I think if I was one of those characters, I would be the slightly overweight, middle-aged guy who sits in his basement with his toys!

Watchmen (Paramount) is available now on DVD and Blu-ray.

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