WIZARD: You’ll be at Wizard World Texas this year. Anything in particular you’re working on that you’ll be promoting?
O’BARR: I’m doing this book called Ride that’s distributed through Image. It’s a black-and-white independent book, and the basic premise is that each individual writer and artist can do whatever they want as long as this particular 1967 Camaro Rally Sport is in it. The theme is the life of the car as it goes from person to person. I’m working on a special or annual issue. There has never been a really good car chase scene in comics, and I thought that would be a nice challenge for me to do. But now I understand why there never has been one. It’s a static medium, and trying to make [the car] look like it’s going fast or going around a corner is really difficult. But I’m really happy with the pages I have so far. I set it in the ghetto at midnight in a snowstorm. I didn’t want to have just a flat surface with speed lines and vanishing points on horizon lines. I wanted levels and depth to the panels. There’s almost a 3-D effect to the artwork. When it’s finished it’s probably going to be about 96 pages. But it’s probably the best work I’ve done so far.
Did you study art on your own, or did you attend a school?
O’BARR: I attended pre-med school for about 18 months, but I never went to any kind of art school. Unfortunately, I lived in Detroit and came from a working-class family. Typically, if you wanted to be an artist you were wasting your time. You had to be more practical, which is why I ended up working on cars for 15 years. My parents—just like I’m sure every other parent—thought comic books were a waste of time, and they discouraged me going into that field. So, it took me a little longer to break in, but that’s okay. I mean, how many other artists or writers can say the very first book they put out is the best-selling independent graphic novel of all time? The Crow is upwards of three-quarters of a million copies sold. And it still sells around 30,000 copies every year. It has an amazing life.
When you’re at conventions, is it surreal to see the effect the comic and movie had?
O’BARR: The movie came out in 1994, so we’re talking a big span of years here, and it seems to get passed on. It’s on its third generation of fans now. I guess because of the material, it appeals to people who are around 13 to early 20s, and once they get married and have kids, they still have their comics and movies and such, but they’re not as enthusiastic about it. They have to deal with the real world at some point. So another generation of kids comes in and finds it through video or the book. It’s become this kind of gothic cult icon, and everyone seems to know about it. It’s a continually renewing source of fans. It’s like this turnover every couple of years, and suddenly I’m doing sketches for 15-year-old girls again—who are either enamored with [actor Brandon Lee] or the romanticism in the book.
I guess a lot of fans still ask about the movie and Brandons death?
O’BARR: Everyone still wants to know what happened, and was I there. It’s still really difficult to talk about. In some ways, I still haven’t dealt with it. I went through a long period where I felt I was successful because of Brandon and he wasn’t there to garner any of that success. And I felt really bad about it. It was just a really hard thing to deal with and for a good 10 years, going to conventions was a difficult thing to do because I knew I would be asked all the questions. Eventually I had to accept that Brandon was a huge part of my success because he was so faithful to the character—so much to the point that now I can’t even picture anyone else in that role. I guess that says a lot for his performance and his impact on me. It’s still a sad part that I have to deal with pretty much every time I do a show. But I’ve gotten better at it. It’s not as painful every time. Plus, the fans understand that this was somebody I cared about and that I was friends with. So, they’re usually delicate with it. It’s hard but it’s gotten a lot easier.
How long did you know Brandon?
O’BARR: It wasn’t all that long, probably 18 months or so. But he made me such a part of his life that he felt like my little brother. He was absolutely one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. I never heard him tell a lie. I never heard him exaggerate. And the fact that he was about to get married, and the fact that his fiancée, Eliza, was with him all the time, that perfected that image of Eric and Shelly I had in the book. They had to have been one of the most deeply in love couples I’ve ever met. Whenever someone would come up to meet Brandon, he would always introduce her first. Just a real gentleman and a real sweetheart. I still think about him a lot. He was just a genuinely likable person. And the world is a lesser place without him in it.
What’s it like meeting your fans at conventions?
O’BARR: Oh, they want to show me their Crow tattoos and give me demos of their bands or obscure bands from their hometown. From reading my stuff, they have a basic understanding of what I like and what type of music I enjoy. It’s very much a sharing experience. The Crow affected their lives and they want to give something back to me. Normally, I just feel that buying the book is enough, but they always want to give me gifts. I can’t think of a show I’d been to where I don’t come home with a box of things. They’re really generous, and they want to share that Goth culture and keep it alive.
What’s the craziest tattoo you’ve seen from a fan?
O’BARR: I was in Charlotte and this girl came up and wanted me to see her tattoo. She pulled up her T-shirt and across her whole back she had one of the paintings from the book. Literally, the whole thing was on her back in amazing detail. I don’t know who the artist was, but he did an amazing job. Although part of me thinks, “You’re 19, are you sure you wanted to do that?” There’s also this one experience in Seattle. I’m friends with Trent Reznor, and Nine Inch Nails had played the night before at a comics convention. This girl came in and asked if I could sign her breast. And I wasn’t comfortable with that—my wife was right over there. But she pulled up her shirt and said, “Well, Trent signed this one.” And there was a signature on her left breast. I thought, “Well, if he did it, I could do it. It’s no big deal.” I signed it, and I was little uncomfortable doing it, but I did it anyway. The next year, she had them tattooed on there.
Oh my God.
O’BARR: If you want to get some nice artwork, that’s cool. But don’t get it on your neck or your forehead or a body part that’s going to limit your job possibilities in the future. Think things through.
So, you’ve got Ride coming out, but what other projects do you have planned for the future?
O’BARR: I’m hoping next year, I’ll finally get to do a couple projects I’ve really wanted to do for along time. I’ve wanted to do a Batman project for a long time. And I think the people in charge of DC at the time were a little afraid of where I could take it, but now they seem to be a little more receptive to it. I’d really like to do the O’Barr version of Batman. At shows my version of the character seems to be widely popular. I asked Adam Hughes, “The echelon has changed over at DC—who should I talk to about doing a Batman story?” And Adam Hughes said, “O’Barr and Batman, that’s a f---in’ no-brainer. You can just talk to anyone!’”