Tuesday 29 January 2013

Questions for Creators - #1 Thomas Muzzell



Questions for Creators #1 - Thomas Muzzell

By Kevin Muzzell

 

*Thomas Muzzell is owner and creator of Fine Line Ink!


Question #1
What kind of media, or medium (t.v., radio, novels, comic books) did you take most kindly to in your early creative years?

"Pocket book novels were the most accessible, and then, of course, comics. I enjoyed reading adventures by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Andre Norton the most, more so than comic stories. Comics were for the art, novels were for the imagination. Television came in third, with Bonanza (for the excitement) and the Ed Sullivan Show and Red Skeleton (for entertainment)."

Question #2
Down to brass tacks...What made you WANT to draw comic books?

"At a young age, I realized I could draw, and once I was introduced into comics, it was the natural way to bring out the adventures in my head. Not to mention, I wasn't interested in fixing cars or male dancing."

Question #3
Has anything suprised you when looking back on your creative career and how it came to be?

"The process involved in the artists' world have changed so drastically over a period of 20 years. The digital world, obviously, is the biggest notable. This is both good and bad. It evolves a good artist to make use of new tools, but also permits a mediocre one to hide behind "tricks"."

Question #4
Is there any character(s) that you've really enjoyed drawing over the years?

"Batman and Conan the Barbarian, without a doubt."

Question#5
Who, of all the 'greats' in the comic book industry, is the pinnacle of your artistic influence, and why?

"As a teenage, I first noticed Neal Adams' work. He was, and still is, a remarkable artist. I've always liked fine line and expressive characters, and he delivers that. (Barry) Windsor-Smith and (Mike) Kaluta and (Bernie) Wrightson then came out of the woodwork, and I began to see individual styles blossom. By the time I was able to appreciate comic art, Frank Frazetta had already left the medium. His paintings were so powerful, though, that he was a major influence as well."

Question #6
Is there a 'dream job' for you in comics? Meaning, a specific license/franchise you'd love to take over or redo?

"I guess that would still be either Batman or Conan the Barbarian."

Question #7
What is the allure of working and generating your own created property, as opposed to working off others' creations?

"The most obvious is you can control your own creativity. That can be good and bad. I believe a project is often better when it involves more than one frame of mind."

Question #8
What's your studio like? Neat & clean, or a complete zoo? Do you enjoy music/radio/news while illustrating, or do you prefer to work in silence?

"Presently it's filled with boxes of 'The Gift' statues, but normally it's a bit more organized. I like being surrounded with artwork, and have a number of originals hanging on the walls. There's also action figures on the shelves along with tons of trade-paperbacks, art books, and reference material. Now you'll ask, "what are you talking about, 'The Gift' statues?" Soon they'll be on the site I designed (www.finelineink.ca). I designed, had manufactured, and am presently hand-painting a collectible statue of the story's main characters. As for distractions, I like rock music, or I might even stick a movie into the computer."

Questions for Creators - #0 Introduction


Questions for Creators - Introduction


By Kevin Muzzell

FineLineInk's main objective is bringing together fans of the comic book medium, new and old, into discovering the magnificence of the many different styles our FineLineInk crew can create. We're also about giving as much as we can to our readers and followers; multiple all-original online comic series, art galleries by the many artists that contribute to our creations, several commissions by FineLineInk owner/creator Thomas Muzzell, etc...it didn't seem like enough. So when given the chance to bring more to the table, I, as writer/publicist for FineLineInk, did not hesitate.

The idea of a comic-news article came to mind and I instantly thought, "I love comics. And they obviously didn't come out of thin air. There's always someone behind the creation." And thus, 'Questions for Creators'. I would base my article on asking writers and artists about their journey in the business. Essentially, creators. Whether primary or secondary. It has a Q&A aspect that is fun and insightful for all fans and readers alike.

'Questions for Creators' is about building a fanbase, not only for ourselves, but for comic book creators, writers, artists, etc.. I believe that comic books deliver something unique and exclusive and are like nothing else. And luckily for me FineLineInk embraces that. And that is why this article is not only about comic books as a medium, but how they come to be and by who. And what a better way than to ask the creators themselves.