Today we get to chat with the Brazilian artist who drew the Dynamite Entertainment "The Last Phantom" series which was a series based on a concept by Alex Ross and Scott Beatty.
The first issue of "The Last Phantom" was published in August 2010 and the last (issue #12) in February 2012.
Famousily (or infamously) the first issue of series was published in ten variants, some limited to very few copies. In total, there were 60 cover variants produced for the 12 issues in the series.
Let us now learn about the artist Eduardo Ferigato, who drew the 12 issues in the series.
Chronicle Chamber: Can you tell us a bit about yourself? What country and region are you from?
Eduardo Ferigato: Hey guys, My name is Eduardo Ferigato, I’m a comic book artist and I live in Brazil, in the city of Campinas, which is in the Sao Paulo estate.
CC: Where did you study art?
EF: I studied art in several art schools, the major one being Quanta Academia de Artes. That is in
Sao Paulo city.
CC: Is there anyone in particular who has inspired you and influenced your work?
EF: I think the major person that influenced me, made me passionate about comics and inspired me to be a comic artist was Frank Miller. His work in Dark Knight Returns still amazes me to this
day. After that, Joe Madureira, Roger Cruz, Mike Mignola, Bruce Timm and most recently the
Italian artists Ivo Millazo and Gigi Cavenaggo.
CC: What made you want to be an artist?
EF: I have always drawn since I was a kid. I would sit in front of the television, watching Hanna
Barbera cartoons and would draw. After that, this passion turned to comics. Since it was
something that I loved doing, it was a big surprise to know that I could do that for a living.
CC: How did you get the role of the Last Phantom series for Dynamite?
EF: At the time I was in the Chiaroscuro agency, that takes care of the work of several Brazilian artists for the American comic market. So my agent got me the job.
CC: Did you know of the Phantom before you started work on those stories? Did you ever read the character?
EF: I did know about the Phantom, my father was a big fan of the character, and I have watched the Defenders of the Earth cartoons with him when I was young.
CC: Did you have to research a lot for the series?
EF: No I did not, I have downloaded some of the classic material, and with the visual references and character models from Alex Ross it was enough.
CC: Did you like working on the Phantom?
EF: It was a fun series to work on. And my first major comic character, so it holds a special place to me.
CC: How was it working on a series influenced and written by Scott Beatty and Alex Ross? Did you work closely with them?
EF: At the time, I talked most with the editors at Dynamite. I think I’ve exchanged two or three emai
ls with Alex about some concepts that I did for issue 3, but nothing further than that.
CC: The Last Phantom is famous for the berry juice dripping costume instead of the traditional skin tights. Did you design that?
EF: No, that was all Alex Ross. At the time, Dynamite has hired him to create the visuals for the
character. He was the one who created the berry juice and the invisible suit visuals.
CC: How was the challenge of drawing the Phantom in the jungle in one issue, fighting pirates on the high seas in the next and then the city in the other issues?
EF: I think that as an artist, that was the best part of it. Every issue had a different mood and
location, that makes it fresh and a challenge for me as I had to research the references, and environments that would work for the story.
CC: Was the series ever only 12 issues? Was there ever any talk about it being a regular series?
The series ended on a cliffhanger with the Phantom in trouble.
EF: I guess that it started with the intention to be a regular series, but the sales didn’t go so well,
after some time, they told me the series would end on issue 12.
CC: Devil and Hero who are shown from issue one, do you see them as descents of the 21st Phantoms? In issue 6, we see a pup that looks like Devil.
EF: Yes, they were descendants. I guess the idea was that the guys that took care of the phantom legacy, has breed animals for the future generations of the Phantom.
CC: Some phans did not enjoy the series because of the modernisation of the suit, the 22nd Phantom killing people and the fact that the 22nd Phantom stopped being the Phantom. How do you see the series?
EF: To be honest, when I heard I was going to work on the Phantom, I thought it would be with the original Phantom, not his son. Phantom killing people did not bother me, I wasn’t a reader of the original, and for me, a guy who walked with to pistols on his waist would have to use them at some point...lol
As I’ve said, if it was for me to decide, I would go for adventures with the original Phantom, protecting the jungle and all. I’ve read some of the original material and really liked it. The idea of a son who was always conflicted about being the Phantom or not bothered me a bit. But at the time, I did not have any choice on the matter, so, that being said, it was fun to draw it anyway. My favorite arc is the second one, that is more action packed and reminds me more of the source material.
CC: Did you enjoy adding in the Easter Eggs with things like the Mr Walker alias and coat? Did you have to research Phantom Lore elements like that?
EF: I haven’t. That credit goes all to Scott.
CC: In the flash backs with the 21st and 22nd Phantom, he is in a red costume. Is that a tribute for South America where he is red?
EF: Yes!
CC: Did you enjoy issue 7 with the different design past adventure with the movie star Fawkes?
EF: I loved it. It was a lot of fun.
CC: Did you follow what Dynamite did after your series? Do you have any feedback on it?
EF: No I haven’t. At this time I started to work on my own projects and was also working on a mobile games company, so I was out of mainstream comics for a while.
CC: Do you work traditionally using pencils, inks on paper or do you prefer working on the
computer?
EF: On the Phantom I did inks in some issues traditionally, and others on digital. The layouts were always digital, after that I would print the pages and make the inks with brushes and pens.
CC: Do you accept commissions and how can they contact you?
EF: I rarely have time for commissions, but sometimes I open lists on my social networks, you guys can follow me on Instagram and Facebook and follow the news :)
CC: Do you have a place where phans can see your work?
EF: Instagram: @eduardoferigato and Eduardo Ferigato on Facebook. And also, here’s my portfolio on Behance: https://www.behance.net/eduardoferigato
