"We’re the first people allowed to do an original Parker story" - An Exclusive Interview with Sean Phillips

Tough Business recently had the amazing opportunity to interview Eisner Award-winning comic book artist Sean Phillips about his contributions to Parker's world. Best-known for his work on the Criminal series with writer Ed Brubaker, Sean stopped by for a short chat on production design, Darwyn Cooke's legacy, and collaborating on the first original Parker story allowed by Donald Westlake's estate.

Sean also kindly shared some of the original never-before-seen artwork for the Alan Grofield story appearing in Richard Stark's Parker: The Martini Edition - Last Call, the second volume collecting Darwyn Cooke's Parker comics, presented below in digital format for the first time.

1) How were you first introduced to Richard Stark's Parker? Have you read the novels?

Sean Phillips: I would have seen the Point Blank film when I was a kid, but I didn’t know anything about Parker until I started reading Darwyn’s graphic novel adaptations. I still haven’t read the original novels.

2) You did the production design on both the Eisner-winning Martini Edition - Last Call and the Complete Collection, the fantastic work showcased in there speaks of just how attuned you are to Parker's world and the visual language established by Darwyn Cooke. Can you tell us a little about the process there? Were you following your own instincts or just adhering to Darwyn's aesthetics?

SP: I tried to approach the design to complement what Darwyn did for the first volume, but I think we have similar influences anyway. I love mid-century graphic design and that sort of look was the way to go. I use a lot of white space and grids when I design other books, so I just continued that there.

3) On a similar note, and I think I've seen quite a few fans wondering about this, where did the cover illustration for the Complete Collection come from? It doesn't seem to depict any particular scene from a novel or comic!

SP: I think it was for an exclusive print for a comic con.

4) At the risk of sounding biased, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" -- the Alan Grofield short story in Last Call -- is quite possibly my favorite collaboration between you and Ed Brubaker, and I've thoroughly enjoyed all your work. It's tremendously heartfelt, and unafraid to be sentimental in the midst of what's commonly been perceived as some pretty cold-blooded stories. What was working on that short comic like? How did the opportunity arise, and did you have much input during the creative process?

SP: As I was designing the book anyway, and Ed was contributing to the text, it was suggested by our editor, Scott Dunbier, that we should do a story together. We’re the first people allowed to do an original Parker story. The plot is all Ed’s but there’s more to making a comic than just that. Ed and I have been working together for so long that he trusts me with a lot of storytelling decisions. As Darwyn’s stories were all black and white with one extra colour, that was the way to go for ours too. Although I did have to add another colour for one panel for it to work.

5) I recently stumbled onto a crowdfunding campaign to get a Finnish version of the Martini Edition printed last year, and it looks like you did an exclusive illustration for it. It's always amazing to see Parker fans around the globe but I was also stunned to find such a fantastic piece of art I'd never seen before! How did that come about?

SP: They asked and I said yes! Must have caught me on a good day.

6) Do you foresee a return to Richard Stark's Parker for you and Ed Brubaker at any point in the future?

SP: I don’t think so. Ed and I are busy with our own Criminal graphic novels for the foreseeable future, especially with the Amazon Prime Video TV series coming soon.