article on Tom Raney and Gina-Going Raney
GusNYT
I had an article in the Sunday New Jersey section of the Times, but -- alas --
this section is not reproduced on the Times web site. I thought I would post it
here in case anyone is interested...
George Gustines
DATE: August 22, 2004
HEADLINE: Pencil, Paper, Lake: At Work in Sparta
BYLINE: George Gene Gustines
DATELINE: SPARTA
PHOTOS: Tom Raney draws the comic book ''Outsiders.'' His wife, Gina
Going-Raney, is the colorist. (Photo by Tom Madden for The New York Times)
BODY: TOM RANEY and his wife, Gina Going-Raney, are not typical residents of
this conservative, largely family-centered exurb in Sussex County. True, they
live in a modest cottage on a steep hill on the eastern shore of Lake Mohawk,
where life, in summer at least, can mean boating, swimming, fishing and
occasional fireworks and concerts. But the Raneys rarely partake in those
activities. They are too busy working on comic books.
The two, both in their 30's, are the art team on ''Outsiders,'' a monthly
series published by DC Comics. The heroes of this book -- led by Nightwing, the
grown-up Robin who was once partner to Batman, and Arsenal, the former sidekick
to Green Arrow -- seek to disrupt the plans of criminals before they are
hatched. If most superhero comic books are PG, this one is PG-13, with more
violence and sex.
The Raneys, though, focus more on the visuals than the plots. When
''Outsiders'' began in June 2003, it had a standard production process. Mr.
Raney rendered the characters and background in pencil and shipped the pages to
an inker, who added flourishes and darkened the line work for reproduction. The
pages then came back to Ms. Raney, who, as the colorist, kept the heroes'
flashy costumes from clashing. Finally, the work went back out, this time to a
letterer, who placed word balloons and captions on it.
But earlier this year, the Raneys tried a process that is relatively new to the
industry. They now skip the inker and give Mr. Raney's tightly rendered and
richly detailed pencil work straight to Ms. Raney for a process called digital
inking. The technique, which combines inking and coloring in one step, gives
the normally flat look of a comic book more depth and dimension.
The Raneys had played around with the process once before. In fact, an image in
the new form had been accidentally used as a full cover for ''Outsiders.''
Their editor liked it and allowed them to try it on the interior pages. ''We're
still learning what works best,'' Mr. Raney said in a recent interview, adding
that the process requires extra effort to prevent smudging. ''We scan at such a
high resolution to pick up every pencil line that it picks up every smudge that
you can't even see.''
While the Raneys toil over their art, Lake Mohawk and its more affluent western
shore are visible from their work space. The room has a television set,
bookcases, a computer where Ms. Raney colors and scans and an artist's drafting
table where Mr. Raney sits, his back to the window so as not to be distracted
by the outside world. ''While we're working, we call it the studio,'' Mr. Raney
said. ''During the odd times we have off, we call it a den. It depends on the
day.''
The Raneys have worked together for about 12 years, dating back to ''Warlock
Chronicles,'' a series, now canceled, that was published by Marvel Comics. They
met in 1986 while attending the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in
Dover. Like the comic book industry itself, the school is male-dominated. Ms.
Going (that was before her marriage) was one of only 13 women among 200
students in her class, and most of the women didn't last. ''In our graduating
class, we had the most women ever,'' she recalled. ''We had three women, and it
was amazing.''
Mr. Raney, nearly 6 feet tall with sandy brown hair and a scruffy beard, was
one year ahead of Ms. Going in the school's three-year program. They were
introduced by an instructor, but it was not exactly love at the first sight.
''Oh, he's so quiet -- he doesn't want to talk to me,'' Ms. Going recalled
thinking when they met. (Mr. Raney quickly countered: ''People who do what we
do are a little quiet.'')
Not that romance was necessarily on the agenda. Ms. Going, who is of average
height with frizzy dark hair, resembling a friendly version of a young woman
into all things gothic, had other plans and did not want to be distracted by
someone whom she now jokingly remembers as a nerd. ''I've got to get a job,''
she said she told herself. ''I've got to learn so I can get out there and make
money.''
But that anti-romantic thinking didn't work exactly as planned, she said with a
laugh. They married in 1990, shortly after her graduation. And now they live in
Sparta, childless but with one dog, Butch, and one cat, Bridgette.
Why did they choose Sparta? Well, they liked that lake as well as the historic
nature of the area, Mr. Raney said. ''When they set the community up,'' he
added, ''they had a mandate that every house must be different. That was kind
of nice -- not driving through a neighborhood where every house was the same.''
More than a decade ago, a school connection pointed Mr. Raney in the direction
of his first paid work -- ''Forgotten Realms,'' a sword-and-sorcery adventure
book from DC. ''They needed help on the book and that got my foot in the
door,'' he said. ''I've been busy every day since.''
Ms. Raney went from working as a color assistant to a friend to doing the
coloring on ''Fantastic Four,'' a series from Marvel Comics.
Neither Raney has been shy about taking on and pursuing work. One opportunity
took them to San Diego, where they were employed by a comic company, WildStorm,
where artists work together in an office instead of singly at home.
''It was an opportunity to learn,'' Mr. Raney said. ''Sitting at home, you have
to push off whatever you can find for inspiration or learning new techniques.
When we were out there, we had other people who were doing the same thing to
push off against, which is always nice.''
Two years later, they moved back to New Jersey, thanks to some New York
opportunities but also to a certain boredom with the never-ending sunshine of
San Diego. ''It wouldn't rain there,'' Ms. Raney said. ''It was a beautiful
day, but that's it -- it was a beautiful day every day.''
They were also homesick, they said, for the East Coast. Ms. Raney grew up in
Morris County and lived in the same house from the age of 3 to adulthood. Mr.
Raney was born in New England -- he refuses to say exactly where -- but his
family set up roots in New Jersey when he was 5.
Since moving back, the Raneys have worked on a number of comic books, but
''Outsiders'' is probably of the highest profile. It is written by Judd Winick,
who also writes ''Batman'' and ''Green Arrow.''
DC signed Mr. Raney to a one-year exclusive contract for ''Outsiders.'' ''It
gives you a little more security and benefits,'' Mr. Raney said of the
contract.
Ms. Raney added, ''It's not like, you know, 'I want M&M's in my dress room.'''
Mr. Raney agreed: ''Right. No rock star treatment.''
Benefits aside, it is a love of comics that makes the hard work worth it, the
two say. They work every day, with a typical shift at the drawing board or the
computer starting about 9 a.m. and sometimes ending at midnight or later.
''But we're doing something we enjoy,'' Mr. Raney said. ''There are plenty of
people who aren't doing what they enjoy and they have plenty of time off, but
they're dreading going back to what they're doing.''
''And that stinks,'' Ms. Raney said, concluding his thought.
GG
news:20040825151322...@mb-m14.aol.com...
> Greetings all,
>
> I had an article in the Sunday New Jersey section of the Times, but --
alas --
> this section is not reproduced on the Times web site. I thought I would
post it
> here in case anyone is interested...
<snip>
Nice article. Thanks for posting it.
--
Grant Giandonato
Check out my eBay auctions:
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/ggiandonato/