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Interview with Deadpool #900 Artist Shawn Crystal: Part 1
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Artist Shawn Crystal signing an issue of Deadpool #900.
Shawn Crystal, comic book artist who can be seen in Deadpool #13, 14 and 900), is the guest of honor at Hero House. Recently, I was able to speak with Shawn Crystal and ask him about his art and interests. For anyone who had the opportunity to talk with him, Crystal is obviously very passionate and knowledgeable about comics and his craft. The following is part one of the interview.
How did you first become interested in Comic books?
As a child, I was really obsessed with drawing and watching cartoons. That obsession graduated to watching movies, while still drawing. When I was 15—I remember this well—on July 4th, 1987, I saw Brian DePalma’s “The Untouchables.” I didn’t just see that movie, I felt it. I became very aware that the director had me feel tension, the sadness, the excitement, etc. I saw that there was an art to telling a story. Also around this time, my friend exposed me to comics. Yeah, I was a late bloomer. I already had a love for the superheroes, stemming from my Saturday mornings as a child watching Spidey cartoons on the tube. I read Batman: Year One, and got the same feeling as I did from watching “The Untouchables.” Storytelling was where it was at. I realized you could draw stories much like a film could be directed.
Who are your influences?
As a professor and student of comics, I’m obsessed with looking at comic art on a daily basis. So let me take a stab at this question without rambling too much. Here’s the essence of my influences…
1) Bill Watterson. The Best. Ever.
2) Eduardo Risso. His work taught me the importance of design within a page. How to use black and white shapes to direct your eye around the page, and use detail where the eye should pause.
3) Kevin Nowlan. Again, a brilliant page designer, but his work also showed me how you can render form with light and shadow. I also spend a lot of time looking at his inking/ mark making.
4) Bruce Timm. Bruce’s animation and design work helped me see how important it is to draw with simple shapes. His comics work taught me a lot about storytelling. He really is one of the most amazing storytellers in comics.
5) Jason Pearson. His work showed me how to learn cartooning from the world around us, not from looking at comics. It’s a way of seeing, not a surface technique.
6) Jorge Zaffino. I’ve always admired his work, but it’s just recently that I am looking to his work for drawing and inking lessons (Finding value shifts in the dark areas.) At some point I turned from trying to be a precision-based artist to one who brings more sketching to the final page. Well, I’m in the transition. Zafinno’s work is really helping with this.
7) Kyle Baker. The complete package. His drawing and writing are inseparable. “You are Here” is the work a master cartoonist.
8) Axel Alonso. My Editor at Marvel comics. I am constantly amazed at his understanding of this medium. He teaches me something new with every job.
9) My wife and kids. As cliché as this may sound, it’s true.
10) My students.
11) The other faculty in my department [at Savannah College of Art and Design].
a. Nolan Woodard. He’s currently working for Oni Press. Nolan spent many years working as a photo retoucher. His knowledge of print rivals anyone in comics. I’ll put my money on that. Also, he can draw his arse off!
b. Chris Schweizer. A graphic novelist, creator of the Crogan Adventure series (a series of historic fiction books for all ages published by Oni Press). Chris went from being a student of mine, to a graphic novelist, to a faculty member, to an Eisner award nominee in about two years. Fast track anyone?
12) I have a lot of friends who influence me on a daily basis. We have a lot of intense conversations about comics (business, craft, and theory), that are always challenging and thought provoking. These people influence my work on a deep and personal level. If you don’t know their work, seek it out. It will be well worth the search. They are working hard to shape the new frontier of comics.
a. Chris Brunner. If I were to honestly call someone I knew a “genius,” I would have to say it’s Chris. I really mean that. His work is earth shattering. The amount of thought he puts into every ounce of graphite and ink is staggering.
b. Jason Latour. The O.D.B. of comics. There is no father to his style. I’m partly kidding when I say that. Jason’s work is his own. I see him in every mark he makes, no one else. I dream of being able to do that.
c. Sean Murphy. He is the Che Guevara of comics. Part artist, part revolutionary. A brilliant guy who’s work is among the best being done. Hands down.
d. Nick Dragotta. We used to work together in Zylonol Studios, doing flats for Lee Loughridge. Nick loves comics and it shows in his work. Yeah we all do, but Nick LOVES comics, more than most anyone I’ve met. His work combines a respect for the old super hero masters, with a flair of modern flash. His drawings jump off the page and smash you in the face with “awesomeness.”
You’ve said your comic career began when you penciled the Wildstorm series Resident Evil: Fire and Ice in 2000, how did the news of receiving that job differ from when Marvel hired you to work on Deadpool?
That’s a great question with an interesting story behind it. I was in grad school when I got the Resident Evil job. I probably wasn’t ready to be working, but I was lucky. I finished the job before I graduated and assumed my career was paved. Nothing came my way. I graduated and looked for jobs, aggressively. I found small gigs here and there, for small publishers. A decade went by. I had been talking to Axel Alonso. He liked my work, explained it was a hard fit at Marvel and he’d throw something my way when it fit what I did. I thought it may have been more “Editor Speak.” I had heard a lot of this over the years. Then he called with the Deadpool annual, “Games of Death.” I understand what he meant now. My work fits there and I am now busy with comics work. I think the more work I do there, the more likely I am to be able to work on other titles, as my craft grows and my work becomes more familiar to the audience.
The interview continues here.
Please purchase Shawn Crystal's run on Deadpool and others at your local comic book shop which can be found here.
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If you have a suggestion for a topic or review you'd like to see, contact me at SusanReneePage@gmail.com
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