Anyone who grew up in the mid-80s is sure to recognize the colorful and unique costumes of June Brigman and Louise Simonson’s Power Pack. The adolescent heroes made their mark in the Marvel Universe and took part in many event series of the day, including Secret Wars II and the decidedly un-kid friendly Mutant Massacre.
We got a chance to interview Brigman all about her co-creation of the team and her time on the title at this year’s TerrifiCon 2024.
Power Pack is a comic that many people remember from the mid-80s. How did you develop the comic originally?
June Brigman: What happened was on my first visit to Marvel when I was looking for work, I met Louise Simonson, who was an editor at the time, and she didn’t have anything for me at that moment, but she said, “You know, I’m thinking about doing this new comic book about little kids. Can you draw children?” And I said, yeah, as a matter of fact, I had worked as a portrait artist at Six Flags over Georgia once summer, and it wasn’t caricatures, it must be portraits and profile, and of course, everybody wants a kid done, so I had drawn a lot of kids, so I at least had a clue about how to draw children.
And we were just visiting New York trying to get kids jobs, and I went back to my friend’s place, and did some sketches and I brought them in the next day, and she was like, “okay”. She liked them, and she told me her idea, and I came up with some character designs, and costumes, and the chameleons, and we showed it to Jim Shooter, and he was editor in chief at the time, and he basically said, yeah, trick our hands, don’t do it. It was pretty much that simple.
What is your process for character designs? Is it a specific process, or is it different every time?
Brigman: Back then, I had no idea what I was doing. I mean, I didn’t even start reading comics until I was like 18, and by the time I was doing Power Pack, I was like 22, 23. I had never designed anything before in my life. I just knew I wanted to look a little different. I didn’t want to just be, you know, one sees with underwear on the outside, like most superheroes, and I just tried to come up with something that was a little asymmetrical. That was something a little different from what was already out there. Yeah, it’s interesting you say that, because I think the costumes are what probably people remember the most.
What was it like working with Louise Simonson?
Brigman: Working with Louise is great, because I mean, she’s such a good writer.
And to me, what she did on Power Pack was up there with Madeleine L’Engle or Andre Norton, or any of the classic, you know, young adult sci-fi writers and she was always open to any kind of input or suggestions that I had, and we worked pretty closely. We became very, very good friends, and we’d often have dinner with her and Walt (Simonson). So, you know, it was really nice that we were there when we could work together face-to-face. We weren’t just texting. We had, and still have, a really good working relationship.
The art industry keeps changing, and now, some artists only work in digital. I’ve heard people talk about, they prefer the old boards. How has your style changed or evolved over the years? Have you felt like your approach has changed, or is it mostly the same?
Brigman: I think my approach is pretty much the same. I hope I’ve gotten better as an artist! These days I work with my husband, Roy Richardson. I will do the penciling. He will do the inking. We do a comic strip called Mary Worth, and he will also letter it and color the Sunday edition.
If I’m doing, say, a cover, then I’m going to color it in Photoshop. We send in files digitally. We don’t FedEx the originals anymore. So, we do still basically work traditionally. I pick up a pencil and draw. I don’t like drawing on glass. I do the line work traditionally and scan it in and then I’ll color it. We still have the hard copy, and there’s also a nice secondary market for art. That’s another reason why we choose to work traditionally.
When you and Louise were doing Power Pack, I don’t imagine there was another team of two women working on a book and at a major publisher at that time, at least a big superhero book. Were there any challenges in that era?
Brigman: Not really. I mean, I’m often asked about, you know, being a woman, working in comics, especially at a time when there were very few, but I always felt very welcomed.
I mean, at the time I started, that was when the companies were really gearing up for the big sales push for the late 80s, early 90s and they were just happy to have someone to draw the books for it. They didn’t care if I was a woman or what; if I could get the work done by my deadline, they were good. I really never got any push back because of my gender.
And as far as what you’re working on right now, you mentioned the Mary Worth strip, right?
Brigman: Louise and I reunited for the five-issue Power Pack: Into the Storm series, which recently ended in July. Roy and I have been doing Mary Worth since 2016 when we took over from Joe Giella. We also did a series for Ahoy Comics called Captain Ginger (with Stuart Moore), and commissions and conventions. I also teach part time at Kennesaw State University. I teach sequential art there.
