Álvaro Martínez Bueno talks about the "emotional" change from DC Black Label to Vertigo

If you're a frequent reader of DC's top Black Label imprint series, The Nice House on the Lake, you will be very familiar with the work of its co-creator, Álvaro Martínez Bueno. The Spanish artist has been key in turning the comic series into a modern hit, and recently we had the chance to speak with him to learn his thoughts about the return of the classic imprint Vertigo, which The Nice House on the Lake will serve as a launch project for.

In a conversation at San Diego Comic Con Malaga, Martínez Bueno explained the emotional change from Black Label to Vertigo and how it's a huge deal for him, even if the transition won't really affect the way he conducts his usual creative process.

"Emotionally, a lot. Because Vertigo means a lot to me, means a lot to a lot of readers worldwide. So at first, it was like I was in New York for the presentation of the imprint. It was announced that Vertigo was coming back, and it was the excitement all around the panel and in the floor, it was overwhelming. But in the end, I'm working with the same people, with the same editors, same... So whenever I sit in my desk, I do my job as I did when I was Black Label. I have a lot of creative freedom with this series. That hasn't changed, and that's the thing that matters to me the most."

We also asked Martínez Bueno about the rise of European and particularly Spanish artists in the comic book world, to which he gave an idea as to why so many creatives from the region are finding success.

"Well, to be honest, I think we deliver something else to the table, because Spain has a lot of... Many people will say that. Probably my colleagues share this opinion with me. We have influence from the US market, from the French market, from the Japanese market, also our own heritage, artistic heritage in Spain, which is strong for centuries. So, we have no... We feel no restraint about delivering...

"I mean, if you look at Jorge Jimenez's work, it's perfect superheroes, distilled to the perfect shape. But if you scratch a little bit, there's a lot of manga there, there's a lot of European artists as well there. And then, if you look at Pepe [Larraz]'s work, it's the same. Pepe's influenced by many, many, many French artists. Pepe has a degree in history of art. He knows a lot about art. So, you can see that it brings something else to the table. And it's really curious, because there's a couple of thousand artists, Spanish artists working in the US market, and nobody looks the same. So, we bring a lot of personality."

You can see the full (and locally subtitled) interview below, and for more on Spanish artists from San Diego Comic Con Malaga, don't miss our chat with Larraz about Spider-Man and a potential DC future, and also with Jimenez about Batman and his Naruto inspiration.