Ryan Ottley Talks Invincible and Spider-Man

Ryan Ottley has long been, in my opinion one of the best artists in the industry. His work is full of energy and his battle scenes are the best, not to mention the goriest.

He first broke into the industry teaming up with Robert Kirkman on INVINCIBLE. The series ran for 144 issues, 127 of which Ryan illustrated. It was his work on this book that instantly made me a fan. While it was sad to see that book end this past year, I was thankful we didn't have to wait long for his next project.

After finishing up that epic run, he teamed up with writer Nick Spencer to relaunch AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. I can't think of a better artist to draw Spidey. Ottley's style is perfect for the book. He is quickly setting himself to be among the greatest Spider-Man artists of all time.

He's also consulting on the INVINCIBLE animated series that is coming out soon on Amazon. While Invincible 

may have ended, fan's of Ottley's work still get to enjoy his art on AMAZING SPIDE-MAN. And who knows what the future may hold, more Invincible? Or maybe another series with Kirkman. Either way Ottley has a bright future ahead of him and I can't wait to see what else he has up his sleeve.

COMIC LOUNGE: What age were you when you discovered comics?

RYAN OTTLEY: My cousin introduced me to comics when I was 15. I felt like a bit of a latecomer to comics, but better late than never. I was immediately hooked.

COMIC LOUNGE: What comics and creators inspired you to become an artist?

OTTLEY: Todd McFarlane was my first huge influence. The energy he put into everything really made me excited to get into this Industry some day. And then I found Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Sam Kieth, lots of influences that helped create me. 

COMIC LOUNGE: What was your first professional project? 

OTTLEY: INVINCIBLE. I did a few small things before that but really, INVINCIBLE was the first large publisher gig. And I just stayed with it because everything about it was amazing and right up my alley.

COMIC LOUNGE: You're best known for your work on INVINCIBLE, what were some of your favorite moments on that book? 

OTTLEY: The fights. The story ramped up the tension to the point that when a battle was needed it was felt pretty strongly by the reader. Father/son. Conquest. Thragg/Battle beast. Those were some of the most epic moments for me. 

COMIC LOUNGE: With Invincible being adapted into an animated series, have you been approached at all to help with the creative process? 

OTTLEY: Only as a consultant. No time to draw anything else except comics right now!

COMIC LOUNGE: Since you and Kirkman have had such a long creative partnership, do you ever see the two of you teaming up to do another run on a series or a return to the Invincible universe? 

OTTLEY: Absolutely! Robert is great to work with and we have talked about working together again. Not sure about another Invincible run but Roberts ideas are endless so there is a lot to choose from.

COMIC LOUNGE: You have been absolutely killing it on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, was that a book you always wanted to work on? How long do you plan in staying on the book?

OTTLEY: Spider-Man is what got me into comics, so yeah I’d dream of it for sure. Seems a lot of that dream fell away while drawing INVINCIBLE because i realized I’m not really a fan of characters. A character is only as good as the creator who moves them. So I was content being on INVINCIBLE for years until I finally felt the urge to do something else. Spidey is great to jump into now, fits nicely with what I currently want now, sure I can’t go nuts with the fights but I figure I got lots of time to bring that in someday on a different book. 

COMIC LOUNGE: Are there any specific Spidey characters you want to work on during your stint? 

OTTLEY: Nothing specific, I just want to play with his rogues gallery, so many awesome villains.

COMIC LOUNGE: Are there any other projects you're working on that you can talk about?

OTTLEY: No, Spider-Man keeps me completely busy!

COMIC LOUNGE: What does being an artist mean to you?

OTTLEY: It means I can do what I have always loved doing and make a living out of it, its a win win.

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