Interview with Brandon Badeaux

1. What is your name and where are you from?

My name is Brandon Badeaux and I’m from New Orleans, Louisiana.

2. Where might my followers recognize your work?

 I’ve work on a bunch of comics that nobody has probably read I’ve had small runs on Superman, G.I. Joe, Star Wars, the Authority, I’ve done fill in issues of Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Wetworks, and done covers for Gears of War, Resident Evil and a few others. Most recently I worked on designing the villains for the Arkham City multi platform video game.

Hopefully sometime soon I’ll be able to publish the creator owned project that I’m currently developing.

3. I understand you did some concept designs for the Batman Arkham City game. How did that come about?

 I originally got the offer right before the first game, Arkham Asylum, launched the preorders sales were strong enough to justify a second game and they immediately began development, I was working for Wildstorm at the time, who were charged as the consultants for the first game but because this sequel was so large in scope they wanted another pair of eyes on the project. And they asked me to do a number of renditions of some of DC’s iconic villains. I like to think they asked me because I have a habit of trying to alter a characters costume every time I draw them but I can’t really say why they choose me over others.

4. Which characters did you design?

 I did renditions of Two Face, Mister Freeze, Solomon Grundy, Harley Quinn, Catwoman and the Final Boss character which if you played the game you’ll know who he is but I think we’re still on media blackout.

5. Who is your favorite character from the game?

Honestly… Mister Freeze. When I got my copy I furiously played through to get to all the parts with him in it. The design turned out to be exactly like my drawing, save for one small change which I think was done to make him less terrifying. When I originally designed him I made him frostbitten so his nose and ears were missing and everyone seemed gung ho about that idea but I’m assuming it was just a little too scary for a younger audience who would surely be dawning the cowl. But seeing the suit move around on screen was really rewarding. He has a tragic storyline that sometimes gets lost in the comics when he turns in to a cackling villain, but the story of him trying to cure his wife from a disease that he created while he becomes more monstrous in order to fund that research is a sad tale that makes him almost an antihero. And because that story is so strong you can actually make it come through in the design. So my goal was to lose the cartoonish Beaker over his head in favor of a big cumbersome refrigeration unit on his back, which acts visually as his burden, this weighty monstrosity on his shoulders, and to compliment that we went with a spindly leg armature which makes him appear out of balance while keeping that high-tech flare. The frostbite would eat away at his flesh so that even if he cures his beloved wife he will never be the same again. He was just plain fun and because most people think of him as cheesy he was the one I really felt I could leave a stamp on. So I was glad he had such a big role in the game and he was my first character design for a big budget project so he’s my favorite.

6. What projects of yours can we expect in the near future?

I’m currently working on a creator owned series that I wrote the plot for and the first few issues of, while the lights were out during hurricane Katrina but for some reason I never had the ability to take some time off from working to really focus on. It has limitless storytelling potential as far as I’m concerned so I hope to be able to have a long run on it after the first arc is complete. So keeping my fingers crossed I’ll be able to build something from the ground up and actually own a property.