talking with lan

The fanboy in me got quite a kick when I was able to meet Lan Medina, artist of Fables, American Century and Darna #2.

A kind, soft-spoken man without a hint of artistic arrogance, he was graceful enough to answer all of the questions Vin and I asked him.

I wanted to know more about the creative and production process, working from overseas, coordinating with writers like Howard Chaykin and Bill Willingham, and all the editorial back and forth.

He aslo offered to lend me copies of Willingham's scripts for the first story arc of Fables. This is of great interest to me as a writer (and scriptwriter) because Lan mentioned that Willingham worked in incredible detail, describing everything panel by panel (as opposed to the looser styles of other writers who give the artist more creative leeway). Basically, I want to see how Lan interpreted the writer's vision, how closely he followed instructions and how he simultaneously protected the writer's vision while forwarding his own artistic agenda.

As a bonus, he signed a copy of Fables for me. And I left the store a very happy fan.