{"id":3364,"date":"2008-07-05T12:00:28","date_gmt":"2008-07-05T16:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/?p=3364"},"modified":"2025-06-14T06:03:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T10:03:20","slug":"interview-with-artist-darryl-banks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/interview-with-artist-darryl-banks\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Artist Darryl Banks"},"content":{"rendered":"

thegreenlanterncorps.com:<\/strong> Darryl, this is the highest honor and a literal childhood thrill to be able to bounce some Q&A off of you.<\/p>\n

\"\"Thank you for agreeing to this \u2013 yours is the art that I first saw in the very first GL comic I ever picked up off the shelf.<\/p>\n

Darryl Banks:<\/strong> Hello, everyone!\u00a0 I’m honored to answer these questions.<\/p>\n

GLC:<\/strong> If you\u2019ll allow me, let\u2019s just knock this one out right away. OK, everyone has been asking for years\u2026 what are the chances or odds of you working on Green Lantern again? Are you even down for that in the here and now? What seem to be the challenges\/hurdles involved that stop such a thing?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Green Lantern seems to have creative teams in place and I don’t know how or if DC would be willing to see me do the book again.\u00a0 If I could I’d do a special or one-shot to familiarize myself with drawing the cast.<\/p>\n

GLC:<\/strong> What about working for DC at large, beyond GL? Have you approached them or been approached about any work since your last with them?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Recently I’ve done work with DC regarding licence property artwork, Mattel action figure reference for an example.\u00a0 No comics, though.<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>Without having to get too much into specifics, can you talk at all about under what circumstances or terms you departed Green Lantern? DC at large?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> After being affiliated with Green Lantern for eight years I was finally ready to move on to another title.\u00a0 The split wasn’t the way I had hoped and there is MUCH more to the story (ask me in person).\u00a0 Thankfully I got to do some JLA work because of editor Dan Raspler.\u00a0 That’s all I’ll say in writing for now.<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>In your takes on Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner artistically, did you have any specific models or actors in mind? Maybe it\u2019s just me, but I\u2019ve always seen a bit of vintage Dennis Quaid at times in your work, and I think that\u2019s awesome… though I could be way off.<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Dennis Quaid was and still is Hal Jordan to me.\u00a0 See the movie “Wilder Napalm” with Dennis in a costume and using fire super powers.\u00a0 Try as I did I could never find the right model for Kyle so I just made him from scratch, so to speak.\u00a0 Jade was based on Yasmine Bleeth and Donna Troy was based on Jennifer Connelly.<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>Have you kept up at all on Green Lantern over the years? Any thoughts on how it has progressed as a comic from when you were attached to it to the present, now following the Sinestro Corps War and heading into the Blackest Night (possibly company-wide) arc in 2009?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> I was given a few issues of GL and GL Corps, recently.\u00a0 The GL issues were from the time when Hal and some GLs fought these giant Manhunters and Arisia was discovered to be alive.\u00a0 The story and art were superb.\u00a0 Ron Marz once told me that if he could hand GL to another writer it would be Geoff Johns.\u00a0 I see why!<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>How does it feel to, nearly 15 years later, have such a deep involvement in the creation of Kyle Rayner, a character that \u2013 despite the return of Hal and the Corps and all of that in 2004 \u2013 still remains a fan favorite?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> I honestly thought Kyle Rayner would be dead and forgotten by now.\u00a0 Back in the 90’s we had electric Superman, Azrael-Batman, Artemis-Wonder Woman and a host of other re-interpreted characters.\u00a0 I’m glad Kyle is still around today.<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>How do you feel about the vast Hal vs. Kyle fan debates that have spawned from the moment \u201cEmerald Twilight\u201d hit stands that often times divide the fandom?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> I loved the Hal vs. Kyle debates.\u00a0 Fans cared about GL again!\u00a0 Passionately!\u00a0 Back in the early nineties Green Lantern was not a big deal sales or popularity wise.\u00a0 My editor Kevin Dooley told me that DC said that GL needed some big changes…..or else!<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>There\u2019s whole threads dedicated to the many, many costumes of Kyle Rayner since his creation. I want to shoot you a two-part question here\u2026 first, what do you think about Kyle changing his costume a whopping 6 times to date in just 14 years, and second, do you have any thoughts about the designs following yours in particular? How do you like the current one (I think designed by Ivan Reis)? The crab-mask returns!<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> I didn’t understand why the other GL artists didn’t get to design the costumes Kyle had after his first one.\u00a0 For example Jim Lee designed Kyle’s second costume and not the regular artist.\u00a0 Regarding the “crab mask” I’m shocked it made a comeback.\u00a0 I’m glad about it, though.<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>Going back to the beginning. What attracted you to comics in the first place? Does the comic industry still have the same allure it once did?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Comics have changed and so have I.\u00a0 I’m not as attached to them because I’m not into anti-heroes personally.\u00a0 When I was a kid I was influenced by the moral and heroic characters I read and I was inspired.\u00a0 That’s considered cheesy and outdated now. Back then there were lines you didn’t cross and those days in comics are gone in many cases.\u00a0 To each his own.<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>How did you originally land Green Lantern, Vol. 3 #50 with Ron Marz?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Long story but here it is in a nutshell.\u00a0 When I was working on Legion of Superheroes the assistant editor showed my work to the GL editor and I got my opportunity.\u00a0 And what an opportunity it was!\u00a0 Good times, good times.<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>Who are your greatest influences, if anyone, in your art and style?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> My artistic influences over the years have been many.\u00a0 Most of all I tried to make my art lifelike.\u00a0 Not necessarily realistic but lifelike and believable.\u00a0 Many artists I showed my early samples to suggested I work from life as much as possible.\u00a0 Any artist that used that same approach probably influenced me in one way or another.\u00a0 The influences were on different levels, too.\u00a0 Anime and John Byrne influenced my “camera” placement.\u00a0 George Perez influenced me to always be specific (not sketchy) in the pencil technique.\u00a0 Gil Kane influenced me to use the power of appropriate body language and anatomy.\u00a0 I can never forget Bryan Hitch who may be my biggest influence.\u00a0 I must mention that many of my artistic influences are not even from comics but fine art and illustration (Andrew Loomis for example).<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>Of any of the artists who have taken a crack at GL over the past few years, whose work do you most admire?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Ivan Reis is awesome.\u00a0 Ethan Van Sciver, Patrick Gleason, Paul Pelletier\u00a0 and a few others are incredible too but I love Ivan’s work.\u00a0 I first saw him on some Avengers work for Marvel.\u00a0 He’s like an Alan Davis with a spice of Ed Benes.<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>Any thoughts about Kyle currently \u2013 and this actually happened recently \u2013 headlining the Green Lantern Corps series with Guy Gardner under Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason? Particularly with that being more of an ensemble title as opposed to something more focused on any one Lantern\/character?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> It’s still exciting to know a character I helped create is existing along side characters that have been around since the sixties!\u00a0 I will always love the team dynamic.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>And now some questions from other GL fans…<\/p>\n

GreenLanternGeek:<\/p>\n

Which costume in GL are you most proud in designing?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Parallax!\u00a0 I designed the armor and came up with that name.\u00a0 At first DC wanted to name him the Protector.<\/p>\n

Nived:<\/p>\n

Even though it looks awesome, did you have any idea how difficult it would be for other artists to draw the classic Kyle ‘crab’ mask?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> No!\u00a0 It was easy for me and I thought once the action figures and statues were out there it would be easy for other artists too.\u00a0 Paul Pelletier handled the mask well.\u00a0 Here’s a little something for those that may not know:\u00a0 My biggest influence when creating Kyle’s mask was Marvel’s Sunfire character (his 70’s costume).\u00a0 I noticed I have a thing for heroes without noses!\u00a0 I love the classic design of Ultraman (the Japanese superhero), Marvel’s Nova, the Black Knight and of course Iron Man.\u00a0 Go figure.<\/p>\n

Michael Heide:<\/p>\n

Even with all the costume changes Kyle and Hal had since GL #50, are you proud that DC still uses elements of your designs for Kyle’s mask, the Sinestro Corps symbol (based on Parallax’ armor) or the Blue Lanterns’ symbol (which is pretty close to Kyle’s modified chest logo)?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> I feel like my ideas are appreciated or at least understood.\u00a0 I never thought those designs would be an influence like this.\u00a0 I assume Kyle still has the power battery I gave him.\u00a0 I’m not sure if he still has it.<\/p>\n

MH: <\/strong>If DC offered you a comic book of your choosing, which title would you pick? A Kyle solo series, something else in the GL cosmos, another DCU hero (or team), or maybe something creator-owned?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Good question.\u00a0 I love teams (I actually got into comics because I wanted to draw the Avengers) so it would be cool to do GL Corps., JLA or even JSA for DC.\u00a0 One of my dream projects would be to do an Invaders\/Golden Age JSA crossover.\u00a0 I got to draw the Invaders in a Captain America annual once and I’d love to do it again.\u00a0 I’m a big Namor fan, for one thing.<\/p>\n

MH: <\/strong>What do you think of DC’s diversifying across the line? We now have an Asian Atom, an African-American Firestorm and Spectre, a Hispanic Blue Beetle… are those the right steps into a multicultural direction, or do some of those changes seem forced to you, would you rather prefer all-new characters like the Milestone heroes fifteen years ago?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> I prefer all new characters.\u00a0 Even though I’m black I don’t want a black Firestorm.\u00a0 It’s not the same as John Stewart or War-Machine to me.\u00a0 John can exist with Hal Jordan and they are different characters using their powers differently.\u00a0 Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes are different in and out of their armors.\u00a0 I want new and original ethnic characters especially if I liked their original incarnations.\u00a0 It can be done!<\/p>\n

arhkhamite:<\/p>\n

Kyle was a graphic artist; John Stewart an architect. As an artist yourself would you say one was more “creative” then the other? Like many Kyle fans do, or is it just a different form of creativity. If you are a professional artist, you may use AI tools to automate your video process<\/a>. Would you say one requires more imagination than the other? How do you see it?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Those professions both require a huge amount of creativity.\u00a0 Since we’re talking comics I’d have to go with the illustrator because of variety and visual impact to the readers.<\/p>\n

arkhamite: <\/strong>I heard you had a large role in the creation of Fatality…can you describe her creation? Is it true you intended Fatality more as a foil for John Stewart (considering her history) than for Kyle Rayner?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Fatality was always meant to be a Kyle Rayner foe.\u00a0 John Stewart was her “ticket in”.\u00a0 My editor Kevin Dooley and Ron Marz felt it would be cool to introduce a GL hunter\/killer.\u00a0 An Angela vs. Spawn situation.\u00a0 I wanted Fatality to be black because I’ve always felt there were too few black female supervillains (how many can you name?).\u00a0 I wanted her to have a strong reason to want to kill Green Lanterns so I said she should be from Xanshi which is the planet John inadvertently caused to be destroyed.\u00a0 Also, I wanted to draw a character loosely based on Vivica Fox.<\/p>\n

Guardian2814:<\/p>\n

What else have you been up to lately (work-wise… in and out of comics)?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Primarily I do freelance concept art for Hawthorne Village collectibles, Hasbro and DC\/Mattel.\u00a0 The art is often for action figures, props and statues.\u00a0 I’ve done other illustration and character design in other areas like “How to draw…” type books for Chris Hart\/Art Studio LLC, Filsinger Games and etc.<\/p>\n

Guardian2814: <\/strong>Are you still teaching art at all?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> No, but my good friend Uko Smith teaches my old class at the Columbus College of Art and Design and he’s bringing a ton of fresh new ideas.\u00a0 If I went to that school I’d be sure to take his class.<\/p>\n

Lishego:<\/p>\n

Darryl, what do you consider your greatest issue [of GL Volume 3]? Least favorite?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> Favorite?\u00a0 Too hard to say but I loved issue #100 and the Effigy\/Controllers arc.\u00a0 Least favorite?\u00a0 Ah, I…won’t go there.<\/p>\n

The Kid Lantern:<\/p>\n

A couple redesigns and characters were talked about in an old Wizard interview with you and Ron Marz. Any chance that redesigned Red Tornado could be posted somewhere? Doctor Fate?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> I’ve never seen the Red Tornado design online just in the Wizard.\u00a0 I didn’t draw the Dr. Fate idea and I’m not sure how I’d change him offhand.\u00a0 If I did I would still keep the helmet since it’s perfect (no nose!).<\/p>\n

KL: <\/strong>If you could come back to Kyle, with the character’s artistic history, would you want to change Kyle’s suit up again just for originality’s sake? I remember the first rough idea you had in an old Wizard that included small shoulder pads, a Parallax-style pointed mask, and different shades of green instead of a lot of blacks and whites.<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> I would redesign Kyle (actually I already did and I may post it if I ever find it that is).<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

GLC: <\/strong>It has been a pleasure chatting with you, Darryl, a true honor. Anything you\u2019d like to say before we wrap this up?<\/p>\n

DB:<\/strong> The pleasure’s all mine!\u00a0 It’s great to be remembered by GL fans and I wouldn’t mind doing this Q&A again, God willing.\u00a0 Be sure to check out\u00a0my comicartfans.com gallery<\/a>.\u00a0 Thanks!!!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

thegreenlanterncorps.com: Darryl, this is the highest honor and a literal childhood thrill to be able to bounce some Q&A off of you. Thank you for agreeing to this \u2013 yours is the art that I first saw in the very … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281,198,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artists","category-exclusive","category-interviews"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3364"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10837,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3364\/revisions\/10837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegreenlanterncorps.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}