Arts and Warcraft Interview

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Eurogamer: So how much influence does Blizzard exercise over what goes into the comic?

Hank Kanalz: They have a lot of influence. Like I say, it's a true collaboration. When you start reading the comic book you're going to be pleasantly surprised at how much lore is in the book and how much it plays into the game, and the events they've got planned.

Jon Buran: They have final approval on everything, but you feel like you're in good hands because everything they put out is solid, perfect. It's good when they approve stuff because that means we're doing our part.

Eurogamer: Do you have big plans for when Wrath of the Lich King comes out?

Jon Buran: Yes. There's a lot of stuff with this, and also the Ashbringer series Ludo Lullabi's doing, that's going to be tied in heavily. The stuff we're doing in the main story arc ties into it. There will be a lot of payoff for fans who are reading this story then pick up Wrath of the Lich King; you're really going to feel rewarded for paying attention to the lore.

Hank Kanalz: The Ashbringer series is four 40-page comic books telling the story of Ashbringer. It'll tie into the Lich King release as well. A lot of what we've been doing in the comic book, you can see the results in the beta right now.

Jon Buran: They gave me Lich King beta access a little while ago and there's some really, really nice stuff in there. They want to show us a really low percentage of what they actually put out, I think, so when the game finally drops it's going to be huge. It's really cool.

Eurogamer: As an artist, do you ever feel constrained by the Blizzard art style?

Jon Buran: No, not personally. I can see how some people might, because they do have their own style. You have to make it fun and energetic, and make things look as cool as possible. But that's the style I was going for before I was even on the project - because I was influenced by these games throughout my childhood.

Eurogamer: Which race is the most fun to draw?

Jon Buran: I like drawing Broll, the night elf druid, because I'm a huge druid fan. Also he's a bigger guy and he changes into different forms. Lo'Gosh is obviously very fun as well, he's a pretty sweet character. They're really setting up Lo'Gosh as the next Arthas; he's going to be above Arthas in terms of the next coolness factor.

We're a month ahead, and the storyline we're working on... You guys have no idea what's about to happen. It's going to be wild. Lo'Gosh is going to be an awesome character for many years to come in the lore.

Eurogamer: Do you put in a lot of in-jokes for hardcore fans?

Jon Buran: I don't think anybody caught it, but there was a big crowd scene I did where I put a Pandaren in there, just to see if anybody noticed. I've got to give the colour guy some notes just to make sure they get it right... So yes, I try to throw a few things in there.

Eurogamer: Will there be any announcements relating to the WOW graphic novels at the next BlizzCon?

Hank Kanalz: Yes, we have a couple of special BlizzCon announcements about what we're doing next year. We just had a meeting with Blizzard yesterday and they like the concepts of what we want to do.

Jon Buran: As a fan, when they told me, I was literally floored; I was like, 'Oh, this is gonna be good...' So anybody who plays the game, who loves the lore, you're going to be very excited.