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JAN DUURSEMA INTERVIEW PART 2

Accomplished artist Jan Duursema has been drawing professionally for over 20 years. She is probably the most popular (and prolific) Star Wars comic artists today having co-created the Jedi Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura. Jan has illustrated in the Star Wars Ongoing arcs, Twilight and Darkness, the Darth Maul and Chewbacca miniseries, the Episode II Comic Adaptation, and Star Wars Tales. Along with popular comic scribe, John Ostrander, Jan has helmed the Jedi series as well as several Republic issues chronicling the Clone Wars.

Jan's other credits include Marvel's The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, Wolverine, X-Factor and The Uncanny X-Men.

Visit her official website at www.janduursema.com.

TUCWS: You drew the comic adaptation of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. How cool was it getting to know secrets and spoilers from the film before everyone else? Was it hard to keep the secrets to yourself?

JD: It was a totally incredible experience. Knowing everything about he film ahead of time felt kind of strange and it was really fun to be a part of the creative experience of a Star Wars film—even if it was a small part of it. Just when I thought I knew everything about the film--I was told that Aayla was going to be one of the Jedi in the Arena battle! I mean--how cool is that!!! It wasn't difficult to keep the secrets of the film to myself. I promised I wouldn't tell and I keep my promises. Besides--going into a film unspoiled is a treat I would never deny anyone.

TUCWS: The Clone Wars is a huge series, with comics, books, video games, toys, and a cartoon series. What is it like to be one of the first people to work in the Clone Wars?

JD: The Clone Wars is a vast undertaking for everyone involved. Coordinating the battles and the Jedi and Clone armies role in them involves a lot a communication to make it work. Ever since I heard Obi-Wan first tell Luke about the Clone Wars, I wanted to know what they were. I imagined these Jedi Knights waging fierce battles against the enemy with their lightsabers. To be directly involved in this now is truly awesome and at times a bit intimidating. It is such a huge event in the Star Wars universe. A lot of us have been waiting for the Clone Wars for a very long time. I could do stories about this era for the next ten years and still feel there was another story which was left untold.

TUCWS: Is there any particular style that you use for Star Wars, or more specifically, the Clone Wars?

JD: When I first started doing samples for Star Wars, I was also in the middle of trying to re-create my own style. I wanted my work to come across as more real and less exaggerated than what I had been doing for a the super heroic books and characters I'd been working on (X-Factor, Hawkman, Hulk). Yet I didn't want the style to be so close to reality that it couldn't involve exaggeration at all. Even before I was working on the Clone Wars in the Star Wars books, I darkened my style adding more shadow and harsh lighting. I worked on making the settings more dark and gritty. Until then, I think my style had come off as being really light and 'clean'. That aspect of my style always frustrated me since I enjoy being around things that have wear and tear. To me, a pair of worn old boots or torn jeans is both pure comfort and art at the same time. The way objects get worn tells us the history behind them. It’s like the lines on a person’s face. I enjoy the blend of high tech and gritty old tech that exists in the Star Wars universe. This holds as true in the Clone Wars as in the Classic Trilogy. So I guess I've tried to blend hard and soft edges—shiny crisp tech with rusty used tech. I try to keep likenesses as true as I can since I think it feels more like the films when the people look real.

TUCWS: The Clone War is one of the big events that bridges the gap between the Prequel Trilogy and the Original Trilogy. Does this affect or influence any of your work?

JD: It's a HUGE event! And that does influence my work. I want the events we see during the Clone Wars to be memorable. There is no way to cover everything that happens in this war in the time we have before Episode III. We need to zero in on characters and see key moments of the battles they are involved in. It would be easy to lose sight of personal struggles during this time in light of the epic battles which take place, but personal stories must play a large part in these tales. Without emotional content, a war becomes statistics. It's the people involved in this war and how they handle situations that make the stories mean something, just as it is Anakin’s and Luke and Leia’s personal stories which makes Star Wars great.

TUCWS: In addition to the comics, you've done the art for Michael Stackpole's "Elusion Illusion" short story in Star Wars Insider. Will you be doing more of these pieces or was this a one time thing because the story involved your character?

JD: I'd love to do more work for Star Wars Insider. I was asked to do that one specifically because the story featured Aayla Secura who I helped to create in Star Wars Republic. Brad Anderson and I also did a piece for a feature they ran on Jedi.

TUCWS: Were you pleased with Stackpole's interpretation of Aayla? What about Milton Freewater et al.'s interpretation of her in Star Wars Tales #14: "Tides of Terror"?

JD: It's always fun to see characters you've had a hand in creating take a walk on their own. Characters are like kids--they are 'born' with an inherent personality--you imbue them with part of yourself--and then they eventually leave and have their own lives. Both stories with Aayla were a lot of fun for me to read and see the art on. Cool stuff!

TUCWS: You've written at least one story in Star Wars Tales. Would you consider doing it again or do you prefer drawing?

JD: I’d love to write another short story like "Ghost" for Star Wars Tales. It was a lot of fun to do!

TUCWS: Last November, Cartoon Network aired a series of cartoon shorts called Star War: Clone Wars. The series occurs between some of the Republic and Jedi issues. Were you able to see some of the work that they were doing for that?

JD: I didn't get to see any of the cartoons before they were aired, but I did get a synopsis of the storyline. It's nice to be able to coordinate what we're doing with Republic and Jedi with the cartoons and the novels. I think the cartoons are loads of fun to see since they help fill in the gap between Episode II and III. A real neat Star Wars fix!. They are a lot like the Samurai Jack cartoons which are totally cool--I never miss those.

TUCWS: What is your opinion of how the Clone War is going?

JD: It is interesting to me that the Jedi have suddenly been charged with leading armies. Although they had worked for the Republic in various capacities before the Clone Wars, until they were made generals in the Clone Wars, the Jedi had much more independence. Many of them took on missions that were determined by the Jedi Council and not the Republic. Each Jedi must view this new call to duty in a different way and handle their troops according to their own methods--as any general does. Battles are lost and won on the way a general commands their troops so I find this very interesting. Which Jedi make better generals? While all Jedi are warriors as well as diplomats I think each Jedi would be better in one area than another. I sometimes wonder which Jedi would make better generals—the Jedi with better fighting skills or the Jedi who is a master at diplomacy.

TUCWS: How is the time period before the Clone Wars different than the time of the Wars in your opinion?

JD: Innocence. Lost innocence. Despite the decadence and political corruption within the Republic, there was an innocence about the time prior to the Clone Wars. There was evil in the galaxy, but the Jedi are handling things as keepers of the peace. The events on Geonosis changed that forever. Before the Clone Wars, the Jedi worked for and within the Republic, but they followed their own code. One of the questions both John Ostrander and I have had while talking over the Jedi’s role in the Clone Wars is, can the Jedi be generals in charge of sending these Clones--these men--to their deaths and still adhere to the Jedi code of preserving life? The Clones were born and bred for battle and are committed to their task much as the Jedi are. Both are committed to preserving the Republic. But there is no doubt in my mind that it must change them. In the great scheme of things, the Jedi must feel that the Force is guiding them, even through the Clone Wars. Being Jedi, they must have faith in the Force, but on a more personal level the devastating loss of life in the galaxy must try the faith of their order.

TUCWS: Which comic writer, dead or alive and excluding John Ostrander, would you most like to work with (again)?

JD: Excluding Ostrander… probably Ron Marz—I had a lot of fun drawing the Darth Maul mini! But I had fun working with Haden Blackman on the Nym story we did for Tales as well. So either one of them!

TUCWS: How closely do you work with the other teams (Brian Ching, Haden Blackman, et al.) who are also working on Republic?

JD: Brian and I have coordinated covers with interior art. John and Haden have worked with Randy Stradley on keeping continuity between Republic and Jedi. It's nice to be part of a larger team who can work together to create the larger story. Everyone is really nice and easy to get along with—an incredible bunch of really creative people!

TUCWS: How much input do you have on the stories that you draw?

JD: John and I work together to figure out where we want to take these stories. We've got a pretty good meld of writing and art going on these--it's tough to remember where his contribution ends and mine begins and vice versa. We just don't define things that way and both prefer to let these stories develop as they are being told. We'll get together and talk about what aspect of the Clone Wars we'd like to portray next, which characters we might want to focus on and would suit the story. John is very well read on war history and war in film and brings a lot of that knowledge to these stories. My specialty is choreographing fights--especially lightsaber battles and John leaves those wide open for me to do. I just completed one two page fight for an issue. At first I thought it would be a running battle of wits and agility, but I let the characters dictate how the battle would progress and it ended up as a short battle of brute force. I try to coordinate fights according to character and style of combat and that really suited the characters well.

TUCWS: Steven Spielberg replaced guns with walkie-talkies in E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial. George Lucas made Greedo shoot first. Disney inserted a questionable song number into The Lion King. What's your stance on going back to change past works? If you had the chance, would you change something you had drawn before or would you leave your work untouched?

JD: I’ve never thought about changing anything I’ve drawn since that creative decision is not a possibility in comics. I guess I’ve just learned to let things be.

TUCWS: What's coming up for you in the Star Wars universe? Are you going to be doing more comics for Republic or Jedi? What's happening after the Clone Wars is over?

JD: Until Episode III, I'll be working on Star Wars Republic: Clone Wars starting with issue 63. We have plans to take the books right up to the film. There are some hard hitting war stories coming up in this series. I wish we had more time to tell all the stories which should be told.

I'm not certain right now what will be coming up after Episode III for these books. There are always a lot of factors and variables which determine these decisions. Personally I would like to see a bunch of different Star Wars books--Knights of the Old Republic, Republic Clone Wars, the dark time in between Episode III and IV, Empire era and New Jedi Order. I would read them all!

TUCWS: Will we be seeing Aayla Secura in Episode III? It is widely known that many of the Jedi will die in the film, or just before, possibly in the literature. Would you want to draw her or Quinlan Vos's deaths or let someone else do it?

JD: We'll have to wait and see if Aayla will be in Episode III. I suppose since she was in Episode II that possibility exists. Not sure that Quin will even make it to Episode III. He hasn't exactly been behaving himself... Not sure I’d ever want to make the choice of drawing their deaths or having someone else do it... I guess I’d rather give them the proper send off myself.

TUCWS: What can you tell us about Episode III that we don't already know, if anything?

JD: Nothing. As I said, I like surprises!

Discuss this interview at The Galactic Senate.

Conducted by Andrew Liptak, TUCWS Staff, and Florian from The Senatorial Gazette, January 2004.

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