Those Questions: Igor Kordey
Igor Kordey was a comic book artist for many years, known mostly for his European projects, until a controversial tenure in Marvel’s X-office placed him on mainstream American radar. He was the man who became the regular artist for Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run when the other “regular” artists couldn’t keep up the pace. In between these hurried issues he also managed to fit in a Marvel Knights’ Black Widow mini-series and a run on Cable/Soldier X with Darko Macan. He then moved on to do an extended run of X-Treme X-Men with legendary writer Chris Claremont. Most recently he was slated to pencil the relaunched and reloaded Excalibur with the aforementioned Claremont, but something happened on the way to the altar, and he was curiously fired after the initial solicitiations had been released, and most of issue 1 had been drawn. While reasons for this still remain murky (at least in my mind), Kordey spoke up at several comic news sites, offering theories on his dismissal as well as on the state of American comics. His candor only served to enhance his controversial image in the minds of comics fans.
It was around this time that I came into contact with Igor via some discussions at various comics news sites. While I didn’t agree with everything he said, I recognized someone I would consider “kindred.” I recognized that there was a man behind it all. I also realized how much I hated all the bile spit against him (and many other creators) online. I thought that perhaps if other people could learn a little more about the person behind the comics, then maybe, just maybe, they’d think twice about their words. And so “Those Questions” was born.
The purpose of this feature is to ask “those questions” that will humanize the person interviewed. Cut past the image, cut past the controversy, cut past even the work itself, and simply get to the real person behind it all. I don’t know how well that will be achieved, but when I decided to do this I knew that I had to make Igor my first victim, er.. interviewee. While my questioning style can certainly grow and expand, Igor has set a fine example for this feature with the honest and candid answers he gives. I had high hopes from the start, but the answers I received far outweighed my expectations. In future weeks, I sincerely hope other creators will open themselves up the way Igor has.
CHRIS J. THOMPSON: Hey there, Igor! I’m just gonna launch straight into this.. in the biography on your website, your wife Andrea is mentioned. How long have you two been married, and could you share a little bit about how you first met?IGOR KORDEY: We were together for 14 years, and we met in a trendy club where I had a date with her best friend who brought Andrea to “hold the candle,” in case I’d been too persuasive about certain things. She just wanted to use me as promotional vehicle, to be introduced to the celebrity designers circle, but I spotted this beautiful girl at the bar (where she was making faces, being pissed and bored) and we clicked instantly. After 10 minutes we knew we were gonna live together and have three kids.. and the rest is history. We continued to live by the rule that there are no rules and it was quite magical at the time.
She was actually prophesied to me by the fortune-teller who was the fave of my previous girlfriend, who wanted to know what was going to happen with us when our relationship started to cool off. Today, Andrea and me don’t live together any more. The chemistry stopped working, but we are still best friends.
CJT: Despite your impressive resume, you still list your three daughters (Rea, Vilena & Rita) as your “three greatest creations.” How old are your girls now? And what is the one thing that you’ve always tried to teach them?
IK: Rea is almost 13, Vilena almost 11, and Rita little bit over 7. What I certainly taught them to do good is how to draw — all three of them are excellent artists. What I always try to teach them not to do (with more or less success) is lie. Since they started to go to school, each of them learned how to lie and get away with it.
CJT: I remember reading that one of the biggest blows about losing your job on Excalibur was that it would play havoc with your income and your ability to provide for your family. I think a lot of comic fans don’t consider such things, so it probably helps for them to see the man and the family behind it all. In terms of making ends meet, is comic art your only form of income? What do you do if you’re not drawing comics for a living?
IK: They don’t consider many things because nobody taught them to consider, to care, to value other things than material, to show real feelings. To show how you really feel is not considered “kewl.” So I don’t think anything would make them change their very narrow point of view. Yeah, that’s a good thing. One door closed for me, but many others opened. I started to do more book–cover illustrations. I started to paint again and realized how much I missed painting in these three years of being overwhelmed with comics deadlines.
CJT: Continuing on from that, what jobs have you held in the past? Have you had a varied work history, or was it art from the beginning? If you weren’t doing this then what would be your other dream job?
IK: My professional life was always divided in many sections — mostly comics, illustration and graphic design — and that became a problem only when I came to live here. By some unwritten standards, I’m not supposed to be a “Renaissance Man.” I should do ONE thing, for being easier to fit in a certain drawer and pulled out when necessary. So, other acivities were pretty much neglected in previous years on behalf of comics, but I’m getting back to them and I’m very satisfied about it — changes are always welcome.
There is one thing I never fulfilled “to the bone” — the career of the musician. Back there in the 80s, just when we (the band) were on the brink of something like pro life, we split. The whole band except me (I was the oldest) were drafted and went to do their time in the army. After a couple of years we tried again, this time with me as a sort of producer, and just when we were about to sign a contract with a big label, people started to fight. I dropped everything, greatly disappointed. At that time I was like 25 and thinking there will always be better drummers than me, but not too many better artists. After all these years, I know I chose wisely, but there is always that “what if?” beast, which sometimes lurks from within. I can always comfort myself. At least, I tried. But it leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Unfinished jobs are my biggest burdens. Today, I’m still a music junkie and collect everything I consider as good music.
CJT: During your time on New X-Men, I noticed that the credit box for your issues always labeled you as “Artist.” I also heard that this was something you stipulated; that you were an artist and not just a penciller or penciller/inker. Why make this distinction? What did it mean to you?IK: It means everything — my life code. I cannot live half-life. I mean, you are or you are not; there’s no middle. Middle solutions, those awkward Gestalt situations, called team-work, are invented to increase quantity, for making bigger profit, not for advance of art form. I’m strong enough to be on my own, not to depend on somebody else’s inferior knowledge, education and lack of comprehension. Right now I’m again working everything on my own, including drawing balloons, and that feels like being born again, dude!
CJT: What influences do you have outside of comics? Where do you draw your major influences from, and can you give some examples of each?
IK: Whoa, that’s what I call school of life. I learn from everything, every single day of my life. I think that a good comic artist must be the most educated person on Earth and that education never stops, as long as you live. I mean, I can learn from reproductions of classical maestros, and I can learn just sitting outside and watching the different ways of shadows cast on the bench, or just watching people in the bar, like the body language of a drunk, or the wrinkles on leather pants of a seductress. But the most important thing is to learn how to watch (everybody has that gift, but most of them don’t know what to do with it). That’s something I got enhanced from my professors in public and art school. It’s a training, like anything else connected with art. Anything that touches, excites and moves me deeply is my influence. It can be Brueghel, Goya, Hiroshige, Dali, Corben, Mignola, Risso.. or a cheap tapestry on my nanny’s kitchen wall. Or the first day of your life, when you’re left utterly alone.. or some girl’s beautiful feet.
CJT: Without touching on anything that you don’t want to discuss, could you tell us a little bit about your history in Croatia? I think a lot of readers don’t understand what you’ve been through, so they can’t comprehend why you have some of the strong feelings that you do. Feel free to say as much or as little as you like here.IK: Oh, you’re thinking about war time. Hey, that’s four years, just 1/11 of my life, and everybody here wants to know just about THAT period. And I always say, be careful what you wish for! I mean, look at the comic books or movies in the last 40 years. There’s always some ultra villain or evil alien destroying New York and so on and so forth, and then the Towers happened. That is something still hard to understand for me, maybe because the Balkan area had one war per every generation. War is the last thing most of the people over there would wish for. And why would such a big nation like American be obsessed with outher enemies all these years? Bad conscience?
The fact is that war changed my life completely. It’s a cornerstone; the end of my good life. I call it the ages of innocence, connected with spiritual upgrade and the beginning of my harsh, but very exciting life connected with material wealth, but loss of spirituality. You just can not have everything. And that’s my bad. I took the wrong path. With the war experience on my back, I started to work harder than ever, to never let my family experience poverty again, and to make them totally safe. And I went too far. They have everything they need and they are safe, but at the end I lost them, meaning I lost myself..
CJT: When and why did you end up leaving Croatia? What made you finally settle in Canada? Is this going to be your home from now on?
IK: After the war ended in ’95, I tried hard to run my company and make a living out of my artwork. I even started to run courses for comics and illustration, but eventually ended up bumping my head on the wall. The economic situation was so bad and getting worse, but when this invitation from Canada came (by a company related to the comic industry), the real reason was very romantic and foolish. After the war everything changed, Andrea and me changed and our relationship changed. I was thinking that with moving somewhere else we can start a new life, open a new page. Little did I know. But one thing I know for sure — I spent seven years here and my homesickness is growing and growing. I certainly don’t plan to leave my bones here.
CJT: Referring again to the biography on your website, can you tell us a little bit about the New Square group of comic artists and the original INCIDENT studio? What form does INCIDENT take now?IK: Ha! New Square (actually NEW FRAME) was like a band. We were a chemistry event, happening once in a lifetime, New Kids On the Block — young, cute, talented, energetic, and each one of us very different. We became celebrities very quickly, turning media upside down and burning out after 3 years (1979). But, what remained was a phenomena, because we did make a difference (somebody let us); [we’re] still a great influence on young generations and problem for crosswords. We just jumped the train of changes, together with complete new punk and new wave music scene, with fresh people taking over media, with young politicians paving their way up, with new winds of liberalism blowing in the mid-seventies and we had a thrill ride! What’s most important, we had huge fanbase to support us (I mostly remember the girls) — new generation, first after the baby boomers, born in the late fifties and early sixties, in the time when Yugoslavia started to grow economically, totally pulling out of Eastern block domination. And this era ended exactly at the beginning of the eighties, after the death of long-time President Tito. And chaos prevailed, caused by mice fighting for power after the big cat left the house. And that led to the war in 1991. The first INCIDENT was founded during wartime in ’93 in an effort to survive through company. The INCIDENT I founded here is basically the same, but on larger scale. This name is an acronym for “Incorporated Identities”,” and that’s what it is. If you look at my website you will see a wide range of diversities connected with one common denominator — visual art.
I have a greater ambitions, like to start publishing comic books, music CDs, educational books. And it will happen eventually. My life, though, is very exciting and full of obstacles, therefore every battle I win feels greater because it was fought the hard way.
CJT: What is a typical day like for Igor Kordey? Are you an early riser or a night-owl? When do you do most of your work, and what do you do when you’re not working?
IK: Every day is the same — 12-14 hours of fighting with the drawing table. It’s not easy; it requires discipline, focus and motivation. Well, after 30 years of doing it, it was about time to achieve those skills (heh). I get up early, and do most of my work with gusto up till 2-3 PM. Everything after that is just a struggle with myself. Damn deadlines!But music helps really much, good Turkish coffee, and my tobacco. I eat usually once a day, around 5-6 pm when it’s time for a break. When I’m not working, I read a lot, cook, go to my favourite comic or CD shop, go to my tae kwon do training, try to get laid, go to the theater, walk by the river when it is warm enough. Not much to do in my free time since my family’s not with me anymore. And since we sold that house (I live in the studio now), I don’t go out so much since they banned smoking in Winnipeg in public places last year. I don’t like to humiliate myself by smoking on the back door of the bar at –35C. That’s inhuman and non-democratic. Damn hypocrites! They, like, care for environment but they don’t want to ban gasoline cars.
CJT: I read that you haven’t been overly happy with some of your work in the American comics market. Which work do you feel wasn’t up to your personal standards and which work are you most proud of? What comics or graphic novels would you like fans of your work to have on their bookshelves?
IK: I certainly consider Tarzan: Rivers of Blood, Tarzan/Batman: Claws of the Catwoman, Cable and Soldier X opus, Wonder Years and Conspiracy as my best works on the American market. X-Treme X-Men would look much better if they’d let me ink it, but the main problem is always a story and story sells the book. With the exception of Darko Macan’s Soldier X and Neven Anticevic’s Rivers of Blood, I can not say that I was blessed with brilliant stories. Many times I had this bad feeling of wasting my time.
And that’s the worst part. You’re doing it because you need to eat, and you try to convince yourself that it is good and try to have fun, but at the same time you know that it will be lost in space and time. I mean, for example, I did brilliant and innovative stuff with storytelling in “Arena”, but nobody noticed it because.. was this story equally strong to support it? And all these inkers and colorists practicing on me, not having a clue what is actually goin’on with anatomy, sources of light, fashion, time of the day..CJT: How do you deal with the criticisms of your work, particularly from the harsh online fan community? I know that when I have a bad day at work or I come under attack then I usually need to share with my wife and vent a little. Do you cope with things in this way? Is your family aware of all the flak that you’ve copped or is it something that you deal with personally?
IK: Yeah, when I complain like that, that’s the moment where fanboys usually come in (even my fellow artists) like a chorus in a greek tragedy: What the heck is he complaining for? He earns enough to keep his trap shut and behave and his art sucks anyway! Always the same verses, like parrots. You know what, I don’t think I care so much anymore. I realized they don’t deserve me.
Before, I was desperate. I mean, I said before about my reasons to come here, but trying to cope with all this mess here, I mean way of life, we got even more exposed to stress, envy, greed, hatred. Things started to fall apart even faster. My family was with me most of the time, but eventually they got tired of everything. I wasn’t with them, although present physically all the time. I was fighting my windmills all the time.
CJT: I’ve read many times where you discuss the option of self-publishing. Is this something that you seriously want to do or more of a pipe dream? Would you use self-publishing as an outlet to bring your European stuff into the American market, or to create totally new and fresh projects that haven’t seen print before?
IK: Actually, both. I have tons of stuff never before published in America, together with completely new projects, which “just” need to be drawn. It’s not a pipe dream (I don’t do that, anyway — I prefer a good wine), but things on the market are getting more and more complicated. Today it’s more important to have slick presentation, than actually a good product. Market developers became more important than artists and writers, editors don’t read anymore, and the market is shrinking and shrinking because of big publishers’ bad moves.
CJT: Deep down, are you a frustrated writer or someone who really wants to write? Is that part of being an artist for you, or do the two remain separate?IK: I’m not frustrated, I just think that I still have a lot to learn to become a really good writer. And it’s coming together. I’m considered one of the best storytellers on the market. That means that I know how to do it, and I’m very close to really start to write. I think that my first effort — the last book in the Macedonian arc of Cable — wasn’t too shabby.
CJT: Does your art still qualify as a hobby since it is also your livelihood? What other hobbies do you have, and how much time do you get to give each of them?
IK: My hobby is collecting music, movies, and comics. My passion is women. My life is my art. And it’s all interwoven, all happening simultaneously. It’s about the amount of care and passion I put into everything. I can not do something if I don’t love it.
CJT: Do you ever feel the need to just escape the world of comics for a while, so that you can relax? Many of us use comics as our form of escape, but for you it is probably wildly different. Has it become any harder to really escape them and their influence when society has started embracing so many aspects of comics in popular culture (movies, book, TV, music)
IK: What I need badly is a month, on the Adriatic beach, doin’ nothing except get laid, swim and eat fish, and build sand castles with the kids. I haven’t had vacations since I came here — that means seven years. I mean, going to San Diego is just strain, fuss and mess, and fanboys don’t wash.
Otherwise I don’t have a need to escape. I’m still pretty good in my head. If you’re mixed up in your head, you can run, but you cannot hide. I realized a long time ago that I’m born in the wrong time and the wrong place; comics help to vent out my adventurous nature. On the other hand, I LIVED the life most of the people just dream of.. nothing to complain about. And when I try to bring some of my experience in comics, like.. I don’t know, ghosts, poltergeists or witchdoctors, nobody believes me. They just like to keep it in the drawers, movies and books, because for Chrissake, IT JUST DOESN’T HAPPENS IN REAL LIFE! Whatever.
CJT: Is there a particular motto or maxim that you live by? What is it, and has it changed as you’ve got older?IK: It’s about being honest, not to lie to yourself, not to lie to others. As I’m getting older, and being surrounded by society which is based on one big lie, my conviction is even stronger. I came a long way and I really don’t need to pretend and play roles anymore. Take it or leave it.
CJT: What is the legacy that you want to leave behind? I don’t mean as an artist, but as a man. If art is the primary thing then fine, but how do you want to be remembered? How do you want Igor Kordey to be viewed?
IK: I left quite a nice legacy — my three beautiful, smart, talented kids. All my art is nothing comparing with the creation of living human beings. Many don’t understand that, but that’s their problem, not mine. Meaning of life is soooo simple.
CJT: Being topical, have you seen Mel Gibson’s recent film The Passion of the Christ? If so, what did you think of it?
IK: One of strongest movies I saw recently. I loved it and was very sad, but not just because of the movie but because of people. When the lights in theater got lit up again, I turned around me and saw all those dull, unmoving faces, same as they were before, untouched by the powerful message. And I realized, nothing can move them anymore. And I felt sad, desperate and lonely. Most of those people go to church on Sundays, but they regulary rape and molest their kids at home, and get away with it. Humankind lost the faith on the way and there’s no such miracle to restore it again.
CJT: For the technically inclined, what equipment do you use for your art? And what advice/recommendations would you give to other aspiring artists?
IK: Oh, boy, what a jump from Christ to material! I use stuff I can find in art stores and try to adjust them to my needs. Like, I always water my ink to adjust it to my pen and such. I’m not a perfectionist in the work process. I’m just interested in the final result and that requires knowledge of pre-production and printing process. That would be a message — look around and learn — it’s not the tool that makes an artist.
CJT: Finally, how much time do you spend on an average page of art? Is there such a thing as an average page for you, or does it vary a lot?
IK: I am very fast, and lots of my colleagues hate me for that. If I would say HOW fast, they’d hate me even more. The secret is a KNOWLEDGE. I don’t use references for lot of things, I just know how they look. I know human and animal anatomy, architecture (even if I don’t know about particular detail, I know principles and logic of things, I can easily make it up) and work, work.. My professors in art school would always say: “Talent is just 10%, the rest is hard work” and this is big truth, especially for those who think that they can became great artists overnight.
DROP & GIVE ME 20
1. Your middle name: Aw, c’mon, Chris! I don’t do such things! But I will answer those I consider OK…..
2. Your shoe size:
3. Boxers or briefs:
4. First car:
5. Favourite colour: Earth colors (that would be stuff connected with yellow and red), plus turquoises all kinds and violets all kinds.
6. Favourite food: Everything from the sea and everything made out of milk, spring lamb, strawberries. I like to eat food I cook. I hate restaurants.
7. Favourite film: Andrei Rublev, Seven Samurai, Blade Runner, Once Upon a Time in the West, Wild Bunch, Incident.
8. Favourite TV show:
9. Favourite music: Gawd, let’s say everything that is energetic, fresh, quirky, exiting — that means from Borodin to White Noise to Harold Land to Zap Mama to Nusrat Fate Ali Khan to Moloko to Queens of the Stone Age to Basement Jaxx. But I would always bring my Amon Duul 2 collection on a desert island.
10. Favourite holiday destination: Croatian coast.
11. First ever comics work: One page ZEN story for youth magazine in Croatia, ’77.
12. First American comics work: “The Wall” 20 pgs B/W for Heavy Metal, ’89.
13. Favourite comic character: Tarzan.
14. Thing you love most about your job: To create worlds just by yourself.
15. Thing you hate most about your job: Deadlines and teamwork.
16. Thing that gives you the most pleasure in life: Women.
17. Thing that annoys you the most in life: lack of honesty.
18. Thing your proudest of: My children.
19. Thing you wish everyone would learn: That there are other more precious things than money out there.
20. Thing you would like everyone who reads this interview to know and understand (feel free to make this answer as lengthy or in-depth as you like): When you grow up, the only thing in your life you really must do is to die. Everything else is a matter of your decision or choice. Yes, human life is predestined, but it’s just up to you to discover how much. If you don’t try, you’ll never know.
So, there you have it, folks. I hope most of you got this far and enjoyed what you read. I’d like to the SBC crew for taking a chance with this, but most of all I’d like to thank Igor Kordey for participating and setting the standard. Hopefully there will be more great sets of “Those Questions” to follow. Til next time, I remain Chris J. Thompson.
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