Adam Hughes and his quest to draw the most beautiful woman ever

A note: Heads up that the following interview includes adult topics as well as language.

You can name any female character in the respective Marvel or DC Universes and there’s a damn good chance that Adam Hughes has drawn her. Not only has he probably drawn her, but you can bet that he’s drawn her looking the best she’s ever looked, with the most confident hotness she’s ever been seen in, and somehow also ready to be the face of an Ovaltine ad like some kind of contemporary wartime bombshell. All of these things combined make up just a pinch of the appeal that comes with the AH! signature on a piece of art; the whole of which is never as simple as a beautiful woman, a sexy pose, a cheeky smile, or some cheeky cheeks – but an impressive amalgamation that begs its viewers to join Hughes in his appreciation of female beauty AND a good laugh.

Initially cutting his teeth in the bizarre trenches of 1980s independent publisher Comico with detective series The Maze Agency – most accurately described as Moonlighting for total nerds – as well as a doing backgrounds few independent series such as Star Rangers, Nexus, and Warriors, Hughes was later snatched up by DC comics as a regular artist on Justice League America. Since dipping his toes into the DC market, Hughes has become best known to most for his pinup covers, marking himself as THE Good Girl artist of a generation. (With good reason, I might add. One can’t look at Hughes’ Wonder Woman, Zatanna, or Catwoman covers in particular, for example, without remembering the first time you saw a Vargas girl or, for that matter, a photo of Bettie Page.)

That being said, there are a few of us who remember Hughes for his more direct approach to female sexuality and humor within the pages of the infamous Penthouse Comix – the pornography magazine’s painfully enjoyable attempt to crack into the 1990s comic book craze. Touting not only some of the best names in comic art and the best page rates in comics history still to this day (the two – I should note – are surely not unrelated), it’s no wonder that Hughes’ “Young Captain Adventure” series was one of the most consistent, funny, erotic, and beautiful of the magazines’ lineup. And that’s where we land here – behind Hughes’ table at Rose City Comic Con in Portland, Oregon, where I’m able to chin-wag with Hughes about introversion, perversion, respectable erotica, and the avoidance ritual of drawing damn good hair.

Popverse: Adam. Hey.

Adam Hughes: Hey bud. How’s it going?

Pretty good actually. It’s been a good show…for me at least. How’s it going for you?

Oh, here we are at the penultimate show of my return convention season. I think this is our fourth show in eight weeks, and I'm ready to be done. I'm actually a little nervous