Melanie Cook
So who are you then and what do you do?
My name is Melanie Cook and I work as a comic book and storyboard artist.
However, to pay my insane Internet bills and feed my book addiction I also wash dogs… and may soon be working as a Bhangra dancer… go figure.
What have you done that we might recognize?
Not a lot… I don’t think.
What have you done that we might not know about?
I recently finished artwork on one of Insomnia’s graphic novels called Cages, which was written by the slightly certifiable Xander Bennett.
In addition to this, I did the cover art for Mysterious Visions Anthology #12 published by Dimestore Productions. The featured comic in that which I worked on is called Ho vs. Joe, which is about a showdown in the streets of Hanoi between the re-animated corpses of two former political figures, Ho Chi Minh and Joseph Stalin. This story was also spawned in the crazy mind of Xander Bennett.
http://www.dimestoredistro.com/mysteriousvisionsanthology12-p-1005.html
How many more plugs can I fit in here? :D
What are you working on now that we should look out for?
I am currently working as colourist on Cancertown, a graphic novel written by Cy Dethan, art by Stephen Downey, lettering by Nic Wilkinson and soon to be published by Insomnia Publications. It is awesome… you should all buy it. At least three times over.
What piece of work are you most proud of and why?
I made some really awesome Fudgey Raspberry Brownies the other day, sans packet mix. That was a crowning moment.
if I could buy only one thing you have worked on what should it be?
Cages!!!
What book would you have been proud to have worked on and why?
Clan of the Cave Bear, because I believe Jean M. Auel did an amazing job creating such a realistic and informative retelling of a time we know barely anything about.
If you could work on any book / character in comics what would it be and why?
I think Preacher would have been a lot of fun to work on. Garth Ennis has a wicked sense of humour (in both the literal and colloquial sense of the word).
Who would you most like to collaborate with on an original story with and why?
Mmm, I haven’t really thought about this to be honest, certainly no specific person. Generally I’m happy working with anyone who’s easy to get on with and has a great story to tell.
If you were allowed only five comics (does not have to be single issues a run counts as one) on a desert island (like Lost) what would they be?
Preacher, Y, The Invisibles, Scott Pilgrim, and something else.
Do you have a website / blog where we can find out more?
www.cagescomic.com and www.insomniapublications.com
If you were a sandwich what would your filling be?
Hommus!! Ah… because I’m… garlicky and tangy???
I’m sure some people find that attractive in a sandwich filling… somewhere.
Chocolate or Chips?
Neither, unfortunately they’re two habits I’m trying desperately to break- along with singing in the car at traffic lights and bastardising the English language when I talk.
Judge Dredd or Batman?
Batman!!!! No competition.
What word do you think is underused
“Wowzers!”
If you could be granted one superpower which would you chose?
Telekinesis. I’m lazy as.
Save the world or rule the galaxy?
Rule the galaxy.
What is your ultimate “who’d win” in comics?
Ooh, Ho Chi Minh vs. Joseph Stalin. Wait, someone already did that…
If you could be involved in telling a story featuring any two characters who would they be?
Hmm, Captain Paul Watson has an amazing story to tell, I would love to do something with that one day. Granted he’s not a fictional character, but he is a character.
I’m not sure who else would accompany him in that story. I’ll have to get back to you on that one.
What is the best and worst thing about working in comics?
The best thing so far would have to be the wonderful, crazy, creative people I’ve had the chance to work with. The worst thing would be that they usually all live on the other side of the world, so Friday afternoons at the pub after work, or annual Christmas parties don’t really work quite so well.
Will you forward this to someone you know who works in comics. And who if so who is it likely to be?
Unfortunately everybody I know working in comics has already answered one. Yep, all five of them. I guess I better make some more friends.
Any words of wisdom before you go?
Life’s too short to colour within the lines- unless you’re an actual colourist and people are paying you to do it. Then perhaps it’s best that you do…
Cages
Release Date: 30 Jul 2008
Author: Xander Bennet | Illustrator: Melanie Cook | Cover Art By: Jonathan Hickman
What if you’d spent your whole life in a cage, never glimpsing the world outside?
What if everything you knew was darkness, fear and cold, clinical steel?
What if one day, an angel came to you with a message of hope – a message that you were about to be set free?
This is the story of CAGES, a dark future tale of horror and redemption.
