Marvel Comics newcomer Von Randal is set to take comic book fans by storm when the Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1 hits stores on Aug. 14. 

A self-taught artist who pursued his dream of becoming a comic book illustrator despite taking a non-art-based course in college, Randal has been making waves on Image Comics’ flagship title, Spawn, and other related titles.

He has been receiving a tsunami of projects via Next Comic Art, and this year he landed his first Marvel Comics gig—the Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1.

Marvel veterans Harvey Tolibao and Mico Suayan have praised Randal’s work often and his stock continues to rise with his current assignment for the House of Ideas. Working in Olongapo City, Philippines, Randal opened up about his humble beginnings, his introduction to Iron Fist, what we should expect from his eight-pager in the Iron Fist 50th, and more.

IAMIRONFIST: What inspired you to pursue a career illustrating comic books? Who were or are your creative influences?

RANDAL: I have three: Todd McFarlane, Harvey Tolibao, and Stephen Segovia. There are more, actually.

Todd was my first influence. I always loved watching cartoons as a kid. I was around 6-8 years old then. Two of my favorite shows at the time were X-Men the Animated Series and Batman the Animated Series. A third favorite I accidentally encountered while watching TV late at night was Spawn on HBO. I was amazed when I saw Todd McFarlane showing his drawing process.

I was so inspired that I said to myself, “I want to do what he’s doing!”

It was so fun watching Todd show how an artist had the freedom to start something from scratch and then apply it to a panel that would then turn into a page, and eventually become a comic book. I said, “This guy is so good!”

So it was a dream come true for me when he became my boss [at Image Comics].

IAIF: Wow! How did the two of you get connected?

RANDAL: He messaged me on Instagram and told me he was impressed by my work. He also asked if I was interested in the books that he produces every month. While I was reading it, there was like a moment of silence before it finally sunk in that this was the Toddfather himself (laughs)!

He reached out after he saw one of the pages I had just finished for one of the indie books I worked on and posted on IG. From there, we set up a meeting where he discussed the work they were doing. I was so impressed and it made me want to work with them more. 

As I was thinking about it, I was still in shock that Todd contacted me because I was an indie artist, and I knew that the artists who had worked for him and are working for him now are big-time professionals like Stephen Segovia, Greg Capullo, etc. 

Then I wondered if I could handle the job! I thought that the load was going to be quite heavy because of the deadlines. But I’m grateful that though I had an open contract with them, I am still being given projects to this day. They even added to my workload, too, which was great! So yeah, I am quite busy these days. 

I am so thankful for all the projects Todd and his team have been sending my way.

And now I am working for Marvel, too!

But in terms of the biggest influences in my art, Harvey and Stephen are at the top. I was so mystified at how they could produce such amazing art when I first saw their works. Then Leinil Yu came along and became an influence on my work as well.

Basically, my top influences are my fellow Filipino artists, which also include Jerome Opena, by the way.

IAIF: What titles were you collecting back then?

RANDAL: I wasn’t into comic books a lot before because no foreign-produced comics were being sold here in Olongapo City where I live. There were artists like me but they were mostly tattoo artists.

IAIF: So if you were inspired by animation to pursue art in the first place, how did you end up pursuing a career in comic books instead of animation?

RANDAL: I didn’t have the means to study animation and I used to read local comic books like Combatron and other Filipino comics. I was only exposed to Harvey and Stephen’s work through Facebook. An artwork from one of them happened to appear in my news feed and I was so impressed.

Back then, I was only drawing anime but I was suddenly exposed to Marvel Comics and other Western-style artworks. I checked out the friends list of the person who posted the work and saw that he was friends with so many artists including Harvey and Stephen.

So I searched for their works through Google and I said, “Wow! These are so good!” These were their works for Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse. This inspired me to study how to draw like them.

All I did then was copy their work and study them over and over again, but I was just studying their work on my own.

I also watched tutorial videos of David Finch [on YouTube] to enhance my learning. I watched several episodes, learning how to create a comic book, anatomy, perspective, etc. So when I finally met David at Singapore Comic Con, I was in awe. He didn’t even know he was my teacher!

IAIF: How did you develop your artistic style?

RANDAL: At first, I was just copying other artists’ styles, mostly Leinil’s. There’s still a touch of his influence in my work but it’s progressed over the years with the influences of other artists like Kim Jacinto and Olivier Coipel. I took bits and pieces from their work but I would test them if they would work well with the style I was developing for myself. If it worked, I would keep using it. If not, then I would drop it.

From there, I developed my own style, which happened while working on Spawn. I didn’t use a lot of blacks before but then I tested it to see if it made my work more efficient and not time-consuming, if I could finish several pages within an hour. I worked on it, studied it, and so that’s my style now.

IAIF: What was your first exposure to Iron Fist and your first impressions of the character?

RANDALL: I thought he looked great when I first saw him. I said to myself, “This character looks awesome.” He was like Bruce Lee, who was my idol, plus Iron Fist had a flaming fist. I was so impressed. Then I saw a different variation that had a gun (referring to Orson Randall). “This character is too cool,” I thought.

He looked like a character who wouldn’t back down from Thor or Captain America. It appeared to me like he could take them on in hand-to-hand combat

Then, I saw this little girl (Pei) become an Iron Fist alongside the adult version, which was a nice touch.

IAIF: The Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special is your first official Marvel work, right? How did you get the opportunity to work on the project? What was your reaction when you were approached to do it?

RANDAL: Yes, it’s my first Marvel work. [Marvel Editor] Danny Khazem approached me and told me they were giving me the Iron Fist 50th anniversary project and that I’d be a fill-in artist working alongside several other creators.

I was very happy, to say the least. I said, “Wow! Iron Fist! What a great project to be a part of.” When I read the script, I was blown away by the fact that it was a full-on fight fest from the start. I loved that I was drawing fight scenes for my first Marvel project.

Some of the artists I spoke with said that their first projects with them were mostly just conversations between characters. I hoped that this wouldn’t be the case for me, and I got what I wished for! It was only eight pages but it was chockful of action scenes from the get-go. I’m sure you’ll like it.

IAIF: That’s exciting to hear! I pre-ordered three copies already. Three of the artists are Filipinos, too, so I’m really excited to have all of you sign them.

RANDAL: Yes, there’s Whilce Portacio, Lan Medina, and me. I didn’t know at first that three of us Filipinos were working on the Iron Fist 50th along with a couple of foreign artists (Elena Casagrande and Ty Templeton). It just made me realize how good Filipino artists truly are.

IAIF: Were you paired together with (writer) Alyssa Wong from the beginning or did you have to wait to find out who the writer was that you would be working with?

RANDAL: I landed the job around April this year. There was no script yet when I was hired. I had to wait a few weeks because they were still working on it, so I had no idea who they would assign as my writer. It wasn’t until later that they told me I would work with Alyssa.

IAIF: You’re drawing the new Iron Fist, Lin Lie, who is relatively new and used to be called the Sword Master. What’s your take on the character and his journey as an Iron Fist so far?

RANDAL: I think his story is good and he’s a legit successor to Danny Rand as Iron Fist. It seems to me that he’s going to follow in the footsteps of the original character.

IAIF: While looking at your promo page that Marvel released a few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see Pei.

RANDAL: When I was drawing Pei, I thought, “This character is so cool! She’s your typical little girl but she’s older this time, almost a teenager. When I first saw her, she was still very small and very young. Now, the description they gave me was of someone who was between 11-12 years old. So I researched what 11-12 Asian girls looked like. I also checked out Kaare Andrews’ original character design for Pei, and I concluded that she wasn’t that difficult to illustrate.

I was also super happy with how Marvel allowed me to have a bit of freedom with how I would portray her. I illustrated Pei with her hands ablaze, making it look a bit more animated and stuff. I made sure that I drew her beautifully. So I’m truly grateful to Marvel that they gave me the artistic freedom to draw her the way I did.

Plus, the story is really good. I won’t spoil it for you, but that’s all I can say. It’s great!

IAIF: I believe you! When I saw your preview page that Marvel released a few weeks ago, it made me curious as to how a Spider-Man villain such as the Shocker found his way into an Iron Fist comic book.

RANDAL: Shocker is such a cool super-villain. He was the first villain that I ever drew for Marvel. Fun fact, I revised Shocker’s gauntlet. I absolutely love classic costume designs but in this case, I wanted to upgrade his gauntlet and make it look even cooler. So I showed it to Marvel, and to my surprise and delight, they approved it!

To tell you the truth, that design was from my test page for Marvel when I was trying out to be an artist for them.

IAIF: So you drew Shocker on your test page, and now he’s also in the pages you illustrated for the Iron Fist anniversary? Oh wow!

RANDAL: Yes! It was a blessing that when I did a good job with Shocker on my test page, he’s also in the first published book I did for Marvel. I feel so lucky! 

I tried to see if Marvel would allow me to use that same gauntlet design for the Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special. They didn’t ask me to change it back so I told my wife about it and she agreed that Marvel must’ve liked the design so much that they allowed me to illustrate the gauntlet like that. That’s my design and it’s a huge privilege for me to see it come to life on a published page.

IAIF: Wow! That’s so cool! When I saw Shocker’s gauntlet, I thought I was just not following his career and that this is how he looked now, not knowing that you were the one who souped up his gear, and this is the first time we’re seeing it.

I thought Shocker looked more powerful than ever, especially with his new weaponry. The effects you drew made him look like Lin Lie was in big trouble because of the new gauntlet.

RANDAL: Oh he’s really powerful in the story, but I can’t tell you any more than that. Though I can say that whenever he goes down, he doesn’t stay down. He fights back.

IAIF: Can you share any behind-the-scenes insights into your creative process when visualizing the “Iron Fist” punch?

RANDAL: I like watching Japanese anime, which has plenty of crazy power effects. I tried using those for Iron Fist and it worked mainly because it matched his powers.

IAIF: Do you have a background in martial arts, whether it’s watching kung-fu flicks or actual physical training?

RANDAL: No, I didn’t have any martial arts training at all, but I watched those films when I was a kid. My mom used to love watching kung-fu flicks and she would let us join her in watching them. So we acquired a love for martial arts through her.

IAIF: Did those films influence the way you illustrated this Iron Fist story?

RANDAL: Yes. I researched Shaolin films just for this. I didn’t pretend to be an expert martial artist when I drew fighting forms so I had to use references. You never know if there would be overly enthusiastic readers who are martial arts experts, and they might not like my work because the poses would be wrong.

So I made sure that I only drew poses that martial artists really use.

IAIF: For the Iron Fist 50th project, did you use digital or traditional art?

RANDAL: Traditional. Although, the layout is digital because it’s easier to edit it. I used to do traditional layouts but not anymore after learning to draw digitally, which made it much easier for me.

Afterwards, that was when the traditional art process began so I was burning the midnight oil while working on Iron Fist. I remember I only had 10 days to work on the pages assigned to me. The layout was already in Marvel’s hands but I had to wait for the final approval because I had to improve on my first submission, which had a lot of notes on it.

I was worried I would lose the project and this was my first time working for them (laughs). But Danny assured me and told me not to worry, and that they would give me feedback I could work on. Once I received their go-signal, I gave it my best. I wouldn’t sleep until early the next day because I was giving it my all. I didn’t want to sleep as much as possible until I finished several pages.

They showed it to Alyssa and asked her if she wanted me to make any changes. I remember saying to myself, “I hope she doesn’t ask me to because these were already done on paper (the one used for drawing comic book pages).” But I would redo it if I was asked, for sure.

Thank God they didn’t reject any of them! I was so happy! Even though it’s only eight pages, I gave it my best.

IAIF: Speaking of Alyssa, who helmed Lin Lie’s origin story of becoming the next Iron Fist, what was it like working with her and how did you collaborate with the editors to ensure your work aligned with the narrative direction and themes that they were looking for?*

*Note: This interview was conducted before Von first met Alyssa at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 this July. Wong is half-Filipina, according to Jiggy Aquino Cruz of Next Comic Art.

When the script was sent to me, I was talking to Danny, mostly. I only spoke to Alyssa after I started drawing the pages. Thankfully, she liked the pages I did. It was only one email but she told me how much she loved my work. I was so grateful to her!

But it was the editors that I worked with most of the time. After receiving the script, I worked off of it and did the layouts. From there, they would tell me what I could keep and which ones I should add. It was the first time I received so many notations on my work (laughs). From pages 1-8, I received a lot of notes, but I was good with it because I know I’m still learning and growing as an artist. At the same time, I was learning what it was like to work with Marvel because it’s always different from publisher to publisher.

Once I got their approval, I worked on finishing up all eight pages. I was very happy doing this project and it’s my first project with Marvel.

IAIF: Marital arts is deeply embedded in Asian culture and we Filipinos are known worldwide for our brand of martial arts with the arnis (a.k.a. kali or escrima). What do you think are the chances we’ll see an Iron Fist eventually wield an arnis as a weapon?

RANDAL: I haven’t talked to them face-to-face so I’m not sure how I should bring something like this up. But maybe if I do a few studies of an Iron Fist wielding an arnis with fiery effects…let’s see. Anything is possible. I’ll put that on my list.

IAIF: What advice would you give future artists who aspire to work in comics, in general, and in Marvel Comics, in particular?

RANDAL: To the newbies, as much as possible, work on your craft every day. Art is constantly evolving, so you should also be evolving as an artist. If you’re chasing a dream of working for the Big Three (Marvel, DC, and Image Comics), then you have to work hard, practice, and research.

You have to have a goal. Money should be at the bottom of your goals. It should be the least of your concerns. As an artist, and even as an entertainer, my highest priority and my biggest concern is to produce artwork that entertains my readers because I also want my readers to see their dreams become a reality through comics. That’s my goal.

Again, my advice to aspiring comics artists is to practice and study, and, if they want to work for Marvel Comics, they should build a portfolio of their characters. If you have a large number of Marvel characters in your portfolio, you have a greater chance of making it. They want to know what you’re capable of.

As an artist, you can tell if your portfolio isn’t “strong” enough. Marvel is very strict. Showing my portfolio at SuperManila 2023 was my fifth time trying out with them. Luckily, I finally got accepted. However, I had to study hard after each rejection and then build a strong portfolio each time.

That’s what Harvey kept reminding me of. “Build a strong portfolio because if they see that you have a strong portfolio, they won’t let go of you anymore,” he would say.

Work on your craft daily, even when you don’t feel like it, and even if you don’t have a project. Work on your weaknesses. Practice, do research, and study every day. Another reason why I’m here where I’m at right now is because I know how to listen. When Harvey would tell me to improve on something, I would do it.

After working on something like the Iron Fist 50th Anniversary project, I would take a break the next day, but my break is not like how one normally takes a break. I would look at the work I just finished, study it, and then ask myself, “What did I learn from this project?” That way, I can apply my learning to my next project. That’s how I work on my craft.

IAIF: Thank you so much for your time, Von! I enjoyed your stories a lot.

RANDAL: Sure! If I get another Iron Fist project, let’s do this again.