Keith Williams
An Interview from Behind the Universe

Hello and welcome back to the latest Interview from Behind The Universe by Nicholas Brown.

Today we have the magnificent Keith Williams, Assistant Editor, Inker and illustrator for numerous titles over the years and part of the old crew from the Marvel Comics Bullpen.

His story shows a lot of passion and love for his work and that really comes through in his art. I’d loved him on the Kolchak The Nightstalker comics from Moonstone. I’m a pretty big fan.

And now, Keith Williams from Behind the Universe:

Q: What did you do before working at Marvel Comics and do you think that helped prepare you for the job?

Ah! Before Marvel I worked at Alexander’s Department Store. Seasonal and the men’s department. A comic book store on 58th street in Manhattan. Barnes and Nobles, the main branch. And I was a para -professional for my old school South Shore in Canarsie, Brooklyn. I guess they’ve taught me to be responsible, on time and do the work that was given to me to the best of my abilities.

Q: What has life been like after Marvel Comics?

It was busy for awhile, after Marvel Comics. I worked for clients like DC Comics, Dark Horse, Valiant, King Features Syndicate and Avatar Press. Photoshop kind of took over as the new app for inking. So I wasn’t getting as much work as I used to. That is what pushed me to get back into drawing my own stuff. Now I go to conventions. I think I’ve done more than thirty this year. I would do commissions, sketch and sell prints. It’s pretty cool because I get to see and talk to the fans.

Q: Dad mentioned something about you being one of Romita’s Raiders, perhaps you could explain what that means and what it was like?

I was actually the first Raider. I had an inside track, because as a background inker I was up in the offices just about every day. So when Art Director, John Romita first mentioned the idea, I jumped at the chance to work inside the company. Art correcting was a Raiders’ job. Under the watchful eyes of John, we would fix comic book pages that needed fixing. Plus the added bonus of working with John Romita. Once we sort of graduated, we would move on to drawing, inking or coloring. It was an amazing experience.

Q: I see you’ve gotten some work for Moonshine’s Kolchak The Nightstalker comic series! I have to say I’m a fan, I’ve even got a couple odd issues in my collection. What was it like working on them? Were you a fan of the original TV show as well?

I was a huge fan! Before the series, there were two made-for-TV movies on ABC’s Movie of the Week. Kolchack the Night Stalker and the Night Strangler. I saw both of them when they first premiered. Written by Richard Matheson and Dan Curtis, the director of both was also the creator of Dark Shadows. So I knew I was in for a fun ride. To think that I was going to ink a comic book of one of my favorite TV shows? Mind blown!

Q: What got you to get into the comic industry in the first place?

My love of comics. My Grandma gave me my first comic at probably nine. Started collecting them. I love the stories, but I loved the art even more. I loved it so much I wanted to make my own. Jump ahead, while I was working on school shows as an adviser at my old High School, I met Howard Perlin. His dad was Don Perlin, artist at Marvel. He arranged a meet and he took me under his wing. He’s the guy who got me my first assignment at Marvel as a background artist.

Q: What was your first impression of Eliot?

My first impression of Eliot was that he was intimidating. This tall, really smart, take no crap guy with eyes that could burn a hole through your head. Yeah… You didn’t want to be on that guy’s bad side.

Q: Do you have any stories from the Bullpen that you’d like to tell? Perhaps something Dad’s overlooked in his writings or that you’d like to add to.

Oh you mean like the time I handcuffed Bob Harras and he chased me around the office. Or when I was Jim Owsley (aka Christopher Priest) assistant editor on the Spider-Man books we had a beach lounge chair and a blow up palm tree in our office. Or, all the great lunches we had on Marvel’s dime? How bout all the great times we had making comics. My dream job!

Q: What was the most fun you had working on a project at Marvel?

The most fun was working with Alex Saviuk on the Web of Spider-Man for five years! I mean, come on, Spider-Man!

Q: Do you have any good or funny stories about my father?

I discovered after a while after my first impression, that your dad is a really nice guy. When my daughter Victoria was born, we wanted some professional pictures taken of her. I heard that your dad was a photographer and asked if he would take some pictures of her. Well, he agreed and when he came to our house, he was super professional. Had a white backdrop and all. The pictures were the best ever taken of her. She looked like a doll. He also took pictures of us together as a family. They were wonderful! I will never forget that day. Thanks again Eliot.

Q: What have you been reading lately?

Finishing up Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. Great stories about a Wizard Detective. I love horror, fantasy and sci-fi.

Q: What are you working on these days and where can our readers see more of your work?

I’ll be doing conventions thru this year and next. You could see where I’ll be on

instagram.com/keithwilliamscomicbookart

and on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1261420729&ref=brem

Also, issue #1 of Thor the Worthy will be out in December. Ten pages of the story is penciled by Ron Frenz and inked by me!