October 12, 2011

The Tale Of TAOKING - An Interview With Geof Darrow

Multiple Eisner Award winner Geof Darrow is renowned for his mind-blowingly detailed illustrations in such comics as Hard Boiled, Shaolin Cowboy, and the birthplace of the giant monster TAOKING – The Big Guy & Rusty the Boy Robot. On the eve of the release of the TAOKING Japanese vinyl figure, master collector Tom Franck spoke with Geof about his monstrous creation.

TF: What was your introduction to Japanese monsters? How did you first get into them?

GD: Oh, Godzilla. I saw "Godzilla vs. King Kong" at the theater. I grew up in a small town that didn’t have many movie theaters, and Godzilla, the Toho stuff, were B-pictures and those didn’t play in the main theater, they generally played in the drive-ins. And my parents never wanted to go to the drive-in! The only one that played in a theater was "Godzilla vs. King Kong." I’d known of him before because I think I’d seen him in "Famous Monsters" [Magazine] but that was the first [kaiju film] I ever saw.

I was very disappointed that King Kong won. I was like "No way. No way that that goofy thing could ever beat Godzilla." When "King Kong vs. Godzilla" came out, Aurora released those two model kits - I saved up got the model kit. I used to play with it all the time.

I remember watching Godzilla Raids Again - "Gigantis the Fire Monster" they called it, on somebody’s TV set. Because we had three TV stations in my area, and a neighbor was able to pick one up from the neighboring town. I remember going over there on a Saturday afternoon to watch that one. And it was real fuzzy but I could still see it!

I saw very few, except the ones I mentioned - until I finally was able to drive a car. I think the first one I saw after that was "Destroy All Monsters." Some of those monsters made me ask "Where the hell did these come from?" It was amazing to see them, but at the same time, I was a little taken aback because Godzilla had become kind of… he just wasn’t the fire-breather he was in the beginning! He had become a little domesticated. But, I mean, I really liked it.

TF: So you had the Godzilla Aurora model kit. When did you get your next Godzilla toy? Did you ever get into collecting the original Japanese monster toys?

GD: Oh yeah, I’ve got a bunch of them. As I became a little known as an artist, I have some fans in Japan and friends, and they would just send them to me. I’ve got a lot of them!

I remember when they came out with those Shogun Warriors (Japanese Jumbo Machinder toys) I remember getting Raydeen and a lot of those, because I got into the robots and stuff. I was into Ultraman. When I moved to Chicago for art school they had independent stations and had just started showing "Ultraman" and "Space Giants" and "Johnny Sokko" and they also had "Speed Racer" and I had never seen any of those things. I was like "wow!"

TF: Are you still fond of those shows today?

GD: Very much so. I remember I introduced my daughter to them. I remember going over to a toy show I was living [in Japan]. I don’t know what the actor’s name is, but he played Moroboshi Dan, who was Ultra Seven. He walked right by me and I was like "Wow that’s Moroboshi Dan." Yeah, I still love all that stuff. I still collect stuff.

I got so much stuff and I just buy stuff that’s cool. Sometimes I’ll buy things where I don’t know what the hell they are when I’m over there but they are just so beautifully sculpted.

TF: With classic kaiju vinyl toys there are essentially two schools of aesthetics: The older Bullmark and Marusan toys are much simpler in design, and then you’ve got the Bandai which are more realistic and more detailed. Do you have a preference towards either look, the vintage or the modern?

GD: I like them both. I bet if I were a kid, I’d probably go for the Bandai stuff because I’d want the stuff that looked just like the monster, but I love the simplicity of the Bullmark stuff.

TF: Do you use any of your toys for reference for your drawings?

GD: Oh yeah, yeah! When I was working The Big Guy & Rusty the Boy Robot, I was creating the monster that became known as TAOKING, as he actually had no name [in the comic]. I was looking at a Kaiyodo dinosaur kit, because I like them. Those things are so beautifully sculpted.

TF: So that was sort of the basis of TAOKING?

GD: Yeah. I would look at one dinosaur for arms and another one for legs, and I just kind of mixed them all together and kind of tried to come with something that I thought was kind of goofy-looking.

TF: Was it difficult matching the details of TAOKING from panel to panel?

GD: I played it pretty loose. I kind of went with the Japanese way – what I consider is the Japanese way- of doing things. They’ve got the guy in the suit, but the scale changes frequently. Sometimes Godzilla is smaller so you can have a human in a shot so he’s not too tiny. I think the size of TAOKING kind of changed depending on what [was necessary for the character to fit] into frame. I did the same thing with the main character Big Guy - I made him big enough so you could see him against the monster.

TF: Wrapping up, how do you think Godzilla would fare in a fight against TAOKING? Who would win?

GD: Oh, Godzilla would kill him - destroy him. BUT, but TAOKING would regenerate himself. TAOKING would constantly be trying, but he couldn’t beat Godzilla. Nobody could beat Godzilla….except…maybe…my other favorite monster, Gamera. Gamera is so funny and great and surreal.

TF: Well thank you for talking with us, we’re very excited about the release of the TAOKING vinyl figure at the New YorkComic Con!

GD: It’s a beautiful toy!

The DESTROY ALL KAIJU! COMIC VERSION YELLOW TAOKING VINYL FIGURE will debut for sale at New York Comic Con (October 13~16) at Super7 booth #688. Super7 will also hold a special raffle during the convention with the grand prize comprised of an "Unpainted Blue" TAOKING vinyl figure (not available anywhere else) as well as a copy of the complete THE BIG GUY & RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT autographed & sketched by Geof Darrow! No purchase necessary – just visit the booth to enter this one-of-a kind set!

Geof Darrow will be signing autographs, offering his original art for sale, as well as offering a number of limited edition prints at booth number G-9.

For more information, please visit http://super7store.com/taoking-2.html or www.newyorkcomiccon.com.

Special thanks to Tom Franck from www.comicsandcomics.com.

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