‘I Get Bored When I See Comics Where the [Artist] Just Sent It In’ : BY JAMES McCAFFREY

Illustrator Chris Bachalo has just signed a two-year exclusive contract with Marvel Comics to continue drawing “Generation X,” the hyperkinetic spinoff title of the long-running “X-Men” series. In addition, a live-action TV movie--also titled “Generation X”--based on the comic-book characters he created with writer Scott Lobdell premieres Tuesday night at 8 on the Fox network (Related story, F2). Not bad for a guy from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who only five years ago was surviving by painting ceramic pots in a warehouse.

“It was cruddy work . . . cold, with lots of clay dust,” the 30-year-old resident of Dove Canyon, east of Mission Viejo, recalled during a recent interview over lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen in Laguna Hills. “I had to lift pots all day and my back hurt, but it was good experience because I had to do it fast to earn any money.”

Far removed from those days, Bachalo took a break from illustrating to discuss how he moved from painting pots to comic books, and his approach to the books he works on.

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Question: What were your first experiences with comics?

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Answer: I started reading comics when I was 10. My dad was a beekeeper, and every summer my family [who moved to Fountain Valley shortly after Chris’ birth] would drive to Canada, where my dad would farm bees. The drive would take about three days. One year on the way back--I was about 10--we were in a drugstore getting ready to leave. My mom was looking for stuff to keep us busy, and I stopped by the comic rack. I hadn’t seen comics before. I was very interested in monsters, dinosaurs, that kind of stuff. I looked at the one that had Swamp Thing fighting a dinosaur on the cover. . . . I collected [comic books] for the next five years or so.

Q: That would put you in high school. Is that where you got serious about drawing?

A: Yes. I liked drawing, and I was always interested in art, but didn’t draw much. The turning point was my high-school Career Days experience. I filled out all the forms and bubbles, and it was deduced that I would be well-suited to carpentry work. I thought, “No, that’s not what I want to do!” and started drawing every day. I was drawing with felt-tip pens and notebook paper--nothing fancy. . . . I picked up classes during my last two years in high school. I learned all the basics, like how to define shapes using shading and rendering and square blocks and drawing the human head and learning how to use color.

Q: Did your enthusiasm spill over to college?

A: I went to Cal State Long Beach and acquired a degree in illustration [in 1989]. I didn’t get much positive feedback about doing comics. During my last semester, I rounded out my portfolio by drawing my own comic book. I just sat down and said, “This is what I’m going to pursue.” It was that rudimentary.

Q: Lots of aspiring artists dream about this kind of work. How did you make it happen?

A: I sent out about 50 copies of my book and got rejected by everyone [including DC Comics]. One company even sent me a photocopied textbook about how to draw. It stung a little, but I knew that I needed more practice. In the meantime, I worked a real job. It was while I was painting ceramic pots for $8 an hour that my dad took it upon himself to arrange an interview for me with a real estate company. I met their art director, Helen Woo, [who is now Bachalo’s wife] and was hired. Shortly thereafter, DC Comics contacted me and asked if I had been working on anything more recently.

Q: Your reaction?

A: I sent DC Comics this work that I had just finished drawing and penciling. About a week later, the art director [Richard Bruning] gave me a call and asked me if I wanted to try out for a book called “Shade.” I said sure. . . . While “Shade” was being developed, I filled in on an [another DC Comics] book called “Sandman,” by Neil Gaiman, Issue 12. That was my first work, and I went on from there. I worked on “Shade” for the next four years.

Q: How did you get involved with “Generation X”?

A: The funny thing about how this all worked out is the timing. All of the popular artists at Marvel had left [to form Image Comics], and Marvel had a lot of abandoned titles. I was asked to do a fill-in issue [Number 400] for “The Incredible Hulk,” which floored me. I had never worked on a superhero book before. [After that,] my name started getting mentioned in the Marvel offices, I guess, [and] I was asked to do “X-Men Unlimited” Number 1. I turned it down. When I returned home, my wife told me otherwise. She knew what the X-men were about, and more importantly, she told me that it was in my best interest financially. I called them back to accept the offer the next day. That book was my first work with Scott Lobdell, [co-creator of “Generation X”]. He liked my work and told me about “Gen-X,” which was then-untitled.

The problem was that I still had almost a year left on my contract for “Shade.” Scott told me that they were still in the planning stages and would wait. At the San Diego ComicCon [convention], Scott and I started discussing the characters. This was my first serious plunge into the superhero genre, so I had my doubts. “Shade” was a dark and eccentric book, and this new thing ran the risk of being more . . . conservative.

Q: What convinced you to do “Generation X”?

A: I knew I was in good shape as soon as Scott gave me his ideas, which were very weird. He envisioned this character [Chamber] who had his face and chest blown off by an internal explosion. I thought, “Whoa! That’s a little different!” I had him scribble me a rough idea of what he wanted. I took it home and thought about it. When I put it on paper, I knew that the character would work, and I wanted to do more.

Q: What age groups does “Generation X” target?

A: As many as possible! I understand that “X-Men” generally caters to kids between 10 and 14, but we seem to reach people a lot older than that. . . I think we please readers who are only interested in the stories, and also those readers who want to see things happening, both visually and verbally, beneath the surface.

Q: Who are some of your favorite characters and artists from other books?

A: I have to go back to my childhood interest in monsters. I loved werewolf characters, especially Deathlok the Demolisher. If I could pick one character to develop, it’s him. He has so much unused potential it’s ridiculous. As for artists, two in particular were inspirational. Michael Golden drew “Micronauts,” which I thought was the greatest thing in the world. He did the “Dr. Strange” issue [Number 55], which is like my bible. The other is Bill Sienkiewicz. . . . He did “Moon Knight,” among other things. He really explored the narrative possibilities of the art form, and his work is fantastic.

Q: A common observation about your work is that you don’t waste space. When did you start hiding objects in the background?

A: Since the first issue of “Shade,” I’ve tried to make the books interesting to look at. I get bored when I see comics where the [artist] just sent it in. Lots of guys don’t put real thought into their work, and it shows! . . . I enjoy throwing a turtle in, with the issue number and a little racing stripe on the shell. In issue Number 17, I have Gamera [an old monster-movie turtle] flying by. In the same issue, Stan Lee [co-creator of the “X-Men”] appears as himself and wrote all of his own dialogue. Little stuff like that makes this job a blast.

* “Generation X,” a new movie based on the comic strip, airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. on the Fox Network. On Saturday from 4-7 p.m., Chris Bachalo will sign his work at the Collector’s Library, 2930 Bristol St., A112 (in the Lab), Costa Mesa. (714) 545-1216.