Leinil Yu is a Filipino comic book artist who has drawn for Marvel, DC, and Wildstorm. He is best known for his work on New Avengers, Superman: Birthright, and X-men. He describes his art style as “Dynamic Pseudo-Realism”, with nuances from a number of different influences that include Japanese super robot anime.

Leinil sat down with whole bunch of bloggers to answer questions about his work and his influences. I managed to put him on the spot with three different questions, which he gamely answered (some of it at lenght!).

You were part of a Guinness World Records attempt for the Fastest Production of a Comic Book and Most Contributors to a Comic Book. How was it?

Leinil Yu (LY): It was a lot of fun! I only had to do the cover so I wasn’t under a lot of stress — but the letterer and the designer must’ve had the worst time ever!

That must’ve been helluva collaborative effort. Was it easier or harder when working on an actual comic?

LY: Collaborations are not difficult because every person I have worked with was very professional. It’s actually easier these days — new technologies like imaging software and the internet has made our work as comic artists easier. I still remember the time when we used faxes and overnight couriers — the internet definitely changed everything!

Of course, not every new technology is great. Although the internet has helped us with our work, it has also made piracy quicker and easier. But I still think new technologies make collaborative work much easier.

I’m gonna put you on the spot for a bit: as a manga fan I don’t really read a lot of comics — what would you recommend for me? On the other hand, as a female reader I can see that the comics market is not really geared towards me, but what would you recommend I read anyway?

LY: Off the top of my head, read Marvel Ultimates, Civil War, and Secret Invasion. And maybe non-Avengers titles like Daredevil. I know a lot of female readers love Sandman and other Vertigo titles.

As for fewer girls reading comics compared to guys, I guess it’s just really about taste and not gender. I mean, my SO loves shoujo manga and doesn’t read a lot of Western comics, but she can kick my ass in FPS games — so being a girl has nothing to do with not reading as much superhero comics as the next person.

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