Chattin' With Viktor Bogdanovic

Viktor Bogdanovic has quickly become one of the most sought after comic book artists. His career really took off after his Batman: Arkham Knight mini-series. He did a run on the newly created "New Super-Man" and followed that with a short run on Action Comics. He's currently working on "Terrifics" with Jeff Lemire. I can't wait to see what book he works on next. He's definitely somebody we're going to be hearing about for years to come.

Comic Lounge: How did you first break in to comics?

Viktor: I started out with some indie projects like "Garth Kirby and the Coobook of the Gods" with Sal Crivelli and "Chris Smith and the Nazi Zombies from Hell" with Julian Burrett. My first breakthrough was a mini series for Image Comics called "Reality Check" written by Glen Brunswick and in 2014 I sent some samples to DC and got hired to draw Batman: Arkham Knight.

Comic Lounge: Who were your biggest influences as an artist?

Viktor: Too many to name them all. John Byrne, Erik Larsen and Mike Zeck were the first artists I took note of. Then came John Romita Jr., John Buscema, Greg Capullo, Art Adams, Marc Silvestri… the list goes on and on.

Comic Lounge: Your work on Action Comics is probably my favorite, what was it like being able to add to the long history on that title?

Viktor: It was a huge honor! One of the first comic issues I held in my hands as a kid was an issue of Action Comics with John Byrne. Needless to say that I totally geeked out when they asked me to work on that title. On the other hand, it was a rush job so I felt like I couldn’t do what I usually do and in the end I was pretty burned out. I loved drawing Superman though, so I hope I can return to the character one day and do it on my terms. He’s my favorite Superhero and I feel like I have more in store for this guy.

Comic Lounge: What characters would you like to work on in the future?

Viktor: Oh wow, so many awesome characters, so little time. I think Flash or Spider-Man would be a lot of fun to draw. I wouldn’t say no to a Hulk book either. Can I also add Robocop and Ghost Rider to the list? Actually, there aren’t many characters I’d turn down.

Comic Lounge: Are there any writers you would like to collaborate with in the future?

Viktor: I wish I could work with all of them but I don’t have any favorites, no. I love collaborating with writers but on the other hand I also wanna write my own stuff at some point. Hopefully I can find the time to do both.

Comic Lounge: You also got to co-create the New Super-Man, what was it like being able to design a whole new set of characters for the DCU?

Viktor: Out of all the books I’ve done for DC, so far New Super-Man has been the most fun. We had a lot of liberties so it felt like our own little universe at times. It was almost like working on an indie book again. Good times.

Comic Lounge: Are there any new books you're currently working on that you can talk about?

Viktor: I just started working on the Terrifics with Jeff Lemire. Issue #10 is my first one. It’s gonna be absolutely crazy with the Terrifics and the Tom Strong family fighting a gigantic demon god. So I guess I’m basically drawing a double team book. No idea how they talked me into this but it’s a lot of fun.