How did the evolution of the characters come about? How did you development the sketches of the main cast?
A meeting involving all the parties was held at the Odd agency in London. Present were myself and my agent, the designers at the agency responsible for creating the whole identity of the Young James Bond franchise, and Charlie Higson himself. We talked at length about how we saw the characters, discussed their attributes, influences and similarities to persons living or dead. Charlie had a very well developed idea of how his characters looked, as you would expect from someone who'd already lived with them inside his head for several months.

How did you ensure that the characters appeared in the correct attire for the era? Are the designs chosen inspired directly by the text, if not where was the strongest influences from?
Charlie Higson had already done most of the research leg work and allowed me to make reference photocopies from the books he'd used. particularly the cars, the costumes and the type of locations required.

Right: A young James Bond

I've had quite a variety of work over the years and experimentation with different materials and techniques has always been a key part of it. It helps to keep the work fresh if you're always trying something new.

What restrictions/guidelines did you have to follow? Who had input into there final designs?
The whole look of the characters and locations was very tightly controlled, by Fleming Media and Charlie Higson, but being able to talk to them meant I had a good idea what they were looking for. The only real restrictions were the sizes and colour schemes I had to work to.

Given that it's set in the 1930's, it wouldn't have looked accurate if I'd given James a brightly coloured jacket or a modern haircut, so lots of books on the fashions of the period were essential.

Which was the most difficult character to conceive and why?
James himself was the hardest to create, since he was the most important. The way he looked had to try and convey all the thoughts and background included in the book by Charlie. The way a character looks is shaped by his/her experiences, so everything plays a part.

Aside from your work on the Young Bond could you suggest other titles for people to explore your artwork?
I've worked for the comic 2000ad for over 15 years now so there's plenty to choose from: Judge Dredd, The ABC Warriors are notable, but there are many other characters who are less well known. I was a concept artist on the Judge Dredd movie with Sylvester Stallone, and have also worked extensively for Games Workshop, and the Magic:The Gathering trading card game.

Right: aaCon Poster

What was the length of time you spent on each character beginning to end? Which character was the most rewarding to draw?
There was probably around two to three days spent on each character, in total, though not all in one go, I worked through each stage in a sort of production line basis, from rough sketches, through finished pencils, inked illustrations and finally computer coloured a/w. James himself was of course the most rewarding. When a character is hard to draw there is a mixture of relief and achievement when you finally get it right.

Will you be returning to work on BloodFever and its new colourful character?
Like Charlie Higson I have a contract to do more work, other than that I'm saying nothing. It's a secret...

Above: Uncle Max