J.M. Ringuet

"Spinal Tap meets superpowers"--if that's not a brilliant pitch for a comic, I'm not sure what is. That's the gist of Transhuman, a four-issue miniseries from Image Comics by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist JM Ringuet. With previous work for publishers Devil's Due and Boom Studios, Transhuman is Ringuet's first project with both Image and Hickman.

Ringuet has some additional work (including a creator-owned book) coming out later this year, but this chat focuses on Transhuman, and his collaboration with Hickman, an emerging talent in his own right with a bushel of innovative work already under his belt (Pax Romana, Nightly News).--Matt Springer

HeavyInk: What is Transhuman, in a nutshell?

JM Ringuet: It's a comedy, a satire, and a mockumentary, a fake documentary in the style of Spinal Tap, Best in Show, or The Office. It's a story about the people and the companies trying to create the next generation of humans, the superhumans. It's funny, it's ironic and dark, but it's also a gripping story with a lot of twists told Rashomon style by a varied cast of characters who may be lying at any time. It's a page tuner with this wicked sense of humor that readers of The Nightly News know well.

HI: How did your collaboration with Jonathan Hickman come about?

JMR: I posted some pages of my project Supercharger on a message board and Jonathan was kind enough to post a nice message and also to support me against people who thought I was too experimental. I e-mailed him to thank him and we went from there.

HI: From a style perspective, how have you adapted to fit the themes in Transhuman?

JMR: I started doing a kind of simple more cartoony style than my usual stuff and then I realized that I was trying to make the art funny and that wasn't working for the story. So I went for something more realistic but exaggerated, almost serious, that works a lot better with the tone of the book. It's not slapstick; it's subtle and layered. I also had to really focus on the faces of the characters and on the expressions, because most panels are static and the faces have to convey the guarded emotional state of mind of each character, yet be a funny counterpoint to the dialogue. So my style had to be very different for this book. I actually completely changed my inking technique to achieve the look I wanted.

HI: You've described Transhuman as a "mockumentary" comic...how has that altered your approach to the art?

JMR: When I heard "mockumentary," I immediately thought about Spinal Tap and The Office (UK), and also about all those 1970's documentaries made with little money but that had this feel of authencity that is missing from more polished modern productions. So I tried to emulate the look of those movies: The bad film stock, dusty and shifting toward yellow; the scratches; the awkward camera angles; and the mike peeking at the edge of the frame. But I didn't want to give it a fake "old faux film" effect in Photoshop, so I worked to integrate those elements in the art style itself, either at the inking level (dust and scratches) or at the coloring level (yellowing, spots, stains, etc.). I think the result is not digital at all, but feels very organic. That's what I was trying to achieve, in any case.

HI: I've also seen some talk of Transhuman as a satire...what are some of the satirical targets you and Jonathan Hickman are taking aim at?

JMR: We are aiming (in no order) at the business world, the hi-tech Silicon Valley type companies, the modern "entrepreneurs" with dubious ethics, the nerdy scientists who have no ethics, the greedy pharmaceutical companies, and the people ready to accept anything to change their life. That and a lot more.

HI: You've already mentioned to me a few of the other projects you have coming up this year, and we'll be doing some follow-up interviews to cover those, but can you give me a quick nutshell of what's on your plate for the rest of 2008?

JMR: I'm doing a very ambitious miniseries called Sparks for a new comic publisher called Catastrophic Comics created by William Katt of The Greatest American Hero fame. It's a story set in 1948, it's Superhero Noir, Philip Marlowe meets Spider-Man. It's written by Christopher Folino and I'm doing all the art on it. First issue should be out around June (Diamond just gave their approval to distribute).

I'm also working on my creator-owned book, called Supercharger, for which I'm doing everything, writing, art, lettering, you name it (so I'm the only one to blame). It's a hi-octane explosive rock n' roll roadstory of a man forced to run because of the choice he made with all Hell after him; it's like Hellboy directed by Sam Peckinpah with music by Johnny Cash and White Zombie and a lot of Detroit muscle. Or something like that. I'm talking to Ape Comics to distribute it later this year. Besides that I'm also doing covers here and there, coloring, and probably a few other small or big things including writing. A lotta busy.