Search Results

Talks about redesigning the Star Wars logo for Marvel for $25, only to see it used on billboards, posters, and merchandise worldwide. Details his extensive work on the Creepshow film for George Romero and Stephen King — creating splash pages, prop comic book pages, and fake ads for the movie's comic-book framing device. Discusses the overlooked craft of lettering: how bad lettering can destroy a great story like "a movie with a bad soundtrack," and how the field has become more lucrative with logos now paying based on usage (toys, films) rather than a flat rate.

Oakley, a staff letterer at Marvel for just over a year, explains his accidental entry into lettering after attending the Joe Kubert School, and his day-to-day duties including last-minute corrections and logo design (he designed the Mephisto logo). He talks craft: preference for a filed-down #107 Crowquill nib over Rapidographs, freehand balloon shapes, aversion to typeset copy in comics, and admiration for Jim Novak's balloon technique.