When I first met self taught artist Adam Hughes I admit, I gushed. I can recall marveling at his work on Wonder Woman and Catwoman for DC Comics long before meeting him- but when I came face to face with the man (who is far too humble and modest for his own good) I grew even more enamored with his work and talent because he is, quite frankly, a fantastic and wonderful human being. Following a video review of Hughes' New York Times best selling book Cover Run; which is part autobiographical and part art portfolio; he contacted me and asked if I would moderate his spotlight panel at Wonder Con. I admit I was nervous at first- unsure of whether or not I could do Hughes justice- but nevertheless, I agreed. While a huge fan of his work, and sure, I thought he was a great guy, I didn't actually know all that much about Hughes. The more I read and learned about him, however, the more I grew to appreciate his work and him as a creator. == TEASER ==
Sara: You worked on Penthouse Comics, correct?
AH: Yes, but I was young and I needed the money.
Sara: [Laughter] As an illustrator, did you feel that the lack of censorship was liberating, or do you feel that drawing characters like Wonder Woman and Catwoman for DC as more subtly sexy is more satisfying artistically.
AH: Column B. I firmly believe that drawing a fully clothed, beautiful woman is more sensuous than a completely naked, laying on a table getting ready to go in for a CAT scan. I firmly think that it's what you hint and suggest- that is more attractive- and that goes for both men and women. When you go into full nudity, and swing for the fences with the nudity, it can be titillating at first, but after a while you get kind of tired and kind of spent and decide 'Hey, you know what, I am just going to go watch the ball game.' I think that you need to have the mystery, and that layer to be peeled away so that the interest remains there. When I was working on the Penthouse stuff I was soul sick the entire time. How many people here have had someone actually name the price? Like, 'OK I will sell my soul to you for that dollar amount.' They said to me, 'We're gonna pay you FIVE TIMES what Marvel and DC would pay you for that page,' and I said. [feign sobbing] 'I'll do it...I'm a filthy whore and I will do it.' And I am working on the whole thing, feeling like one of those underage sex workers [feigns sobbing] and I am drawing and I am crying.' And I felt like crap the whole time. My career at the time was only about seven years old, and I was already thinking 'Marvel and DC aren't going to want to work with a pornographer. When I look back at it I think, Oh I was so
scared you know? But I was really lucky. Today I can say I am a New York Times best selling author. Fifteen years ago I thought Penthouse could have been the end of everything. But if you look at my Penthouse work, you can see that it wasn't at all my best work. I would rather draw a beautiful, strong superheroine in most of her costume.
Big thanks to Sora The Key for filming the panel and sending me the footage which allowed me to transcribe some of Mr. Hughes' responses!
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