She comes from a race of super-powered warriors
and every now and then they'll venture out into the world
to tell everyone to sit the fuck down.
She is...
And she's drawn by this woman.
Yes, meet the woman behind Wonder Woman.
Nicola Scott is the Australian artist
who is in charge of bringing
that most iconic female superhero Wonder Woman to life.
Scott has won countless awards,
she is a pioneer of the art form...
- Welcome to the show. - Thanks for having me.
People have an image that everybody that ends up working in comic books
grows up looking at comic books.
But you had a connection with the characters before the books.
That's right. I kind of grew up on '70s TV and film.
So Lynda Carter was my first superhero.
And I come from a big girl family.
Lots of... a few generations have just got...
The more I got to know the character
and probably the more I fell in love with the character
was probably because I continued to relate to her.
And I didn't understand comic books
so on the very odd occasion when I'd see one
I'd look at it and it'd be full of all these other characters
that I didn't know like Canary and Green Arrow and I'd be like
"Who the fuck are these people?
"I don't know these people. That makes no sense to me."
- It's wrong! - Go away!
They got it all wrong. Be gone from my sight.
And one Sunday morning I was like, I can draw,
and I really like Wonder Woman and it would be great
if I could just be paid to draw Wonder Woman all day every day.
Oh my god, there is a legit job that exists right now
somewhere in the world, it's in comic books,
oh my god, I should be drawing comic books,
they're full of superheroes, I love superheroes, what am I doing?
Cos I was already just about to turn 30.
I was smart enough to know that I didn't know anything
and so I would have to start with the dumb questions
and I did, I just started off by going into a comic book store
and eventually what became apparent
that if I wanted to make a living out of drawing comics,
I had to go to America so it was like,
"See you later, everybody, I'm going to America."
What sort reactions are you getting from family here?
"I'm going off to become a comic book artist."
- Are they like, are you mad? - Um, actually, no.
- Really? - Yeah.
You're the one person with a supportive family.
I am, I actually am.
Certainly some of my girlfriends were like "You're what now?
"What are you doing?"
And so I kind of packed up my life.
And it was like I just need to get rid of everything
that doesn't serve the goal.
And one-track mind it to getting what I want.
When I went to San Diego Comic-Con, the biggest convention in the world,
and it was like, OK, I'm going to that one.
Naturally.
So I went there with what was absolutely a first timer's portfolio
and every second person around me seemed to have a portfolio.
I would've thought at least 1000 people
were walking round with portfolios trying to get work.
And that was overwhelming.
And it took me a couple of days to build up the nerve to start showing my work to people.
And when I did they would be flipping through it like,
oh my god, what a mess of a portfolio.
Because it was absolutely a first-timer's portfolio.
But I came away from that experience going, right...
I didn't know what I needed to do and now I do know what I need to do.
I'm going to come back next year.
And so I went back the next year but this time I had
a smart portfolio, still wasn't very good,
but it had the right materials in it.
Here's a whole stack.
- Issues 1 to 5 right here. - Wow.
And some of Issue 6.
Quite often a first-timer's portfolio is full of "Look, I can draw!"
And it's like, yes, you can, but what do you want from me?
- Cos it's not just about drawing. - It's not just about drawing.
It's about storytelling.
I like to... I'll take my script which reads like so.
- It's a bit like a movie script. - It really does.
It's got the dialogue, it's got stage directions.
The writer is kind of the writer and the director
and the artist is the cinematographer and the actor
and the production designer.
I'm casting all the characters, what everyone needs to look like,
and sometimes I will literally stand up and act out all the parts.
I wish there was a security camera here to capture that.
- You really don't. - Oh yes I do.
I'll find myself doing an action at the window
trying to find where my centre of balance is
and I'll look out the window
and see that people are looking at me going...
Your neighbours think you're crazy.
Pretty much.
We've been putting off getting a kitten because
I'm not ready to deal with the anxiety
of it just chewing up a piece of artwork or shitting on one or...
What's gonna happen?
I know it's inevitable.
What's the worst thing that's ever happened?
I fell asleep with a pen in my hand. Whoo...
Put a line through it I had to Photoshop it out.
When you sit down to draw a really iconic character, is there a moment
where you acknowledge the responsibility of that?
Every time. Every time.
On my first... second page of my first book,
there was Wonder Woman
and it was like, oh my god, I'm drawing Wonder Woman...
For realties. I was also drawing all these other characters...
- Tell me you said "for realties". - I'm sure I did.
It was 10 years ago, I don't know that was a word back then.
It's not a word now!
From having no idea in my sun room to having a job with DC Comics
took about 4.5 years.
Which isn't very long considering I had no idea what I was doing
but it happened pretty fast just because I drove it there.
I tend to do about 10 issues a year
but I still have to work 7 days a week to achieve that.
- It's a full-on job. - It's a full-on job.
And I don't think I've every stopped long enough
to sort of reflect on what I have done,
because I'm too busy doing the next thing,
which sounds like I'm sucking all the fun out it.
It does.
I think where I get those moments to reflect on what I have done,
is when I'm at conventions.
And they don't know what's come before it,
they only see the finished product.
And it's not until someone says "This is my favourite book"
or "I've been reading your stuff since you started."
And it's like "Oh, wow."
That's when you get some reflection.