By Toney Tapia

Arthur Suydam burst onto the scene in the 1970’s with his creative innovation of infusing sequential art with classical painting. His extraordinary work helped revolutionize the industry and began the comic art renaissance of the 1980’s, opening doors for mainstream writers and artists to create literature for a more mature readership.
 
Recently honored with the coveted Spectrum Magazine Award for Excellence in Illustration, Suydam’s immense body of written and illustrative work comprises an aesthetic that is uniquely distinguishable. Recent releases include Arthur Suydam: The Art of the Barbarian; Skin Deep; The Alien Encounters Poster Book; Visions: The Art of Arthur Suydam; The Fantastic Art of Arthur Suydam; Mudwogs and The Adventures of Cholly and Flytrap,  published worldwide. In addition to his own works, Suydam has contributed text and artwork to countless comics publications including Heavy Metal, House of Secrets, Batman, Conan, Tarzan, Predator, Aliens, Death Dealer, Epic Illustrated and National Lampoon, to name only a few, as well as new work coming out from Marvel, DC Comics, Image, Last Gasp, Vanguard Productions and Eva Ink. Current projects include Fireflies, Mouse in the House and When Giants Walk the Earth — witty looks at rural life and in the American Heartland, mystery and magic, presently under film option.
 
DF:  I’m speaking with Arthur Suydam, the man who has turned some of Marvel’s best-known comic book covers into dark, zombiefied creations of art in the new smash-hit mini series from Marvel entitled, “Marvel Zombies"! Welcome Arthur. I’m a big fan and have got some questions that I’ve been dying to ask you for quite some time now. Are you a fan of this genre of horror- and, were you able to pick and choose which cover you wanted to reinvent?
ARTHUR SUYDAM:  Hey Toney. Yeah, I’m a long time horror and monster fan from way back. Like many comic artists, I grew up on all the Hammer films, giant bug and spooky Sci-Fi monster films from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s to the 60’s and 70’s. I think I must have seen them all, with the exception of some of the "Slice’em, Dice’em" movies, which I don’t really care for. I like a good monster flick, but when it gets too close to real life, that’s when I tune out.

As far as picking covers, I grew up on the Marvel Comics from the 60’s. I know every character and story forwards and backwards in my sleep. I love those Kirby and Ditko tales, and have been waiting a long time to show just what I could do with them.

I really dig P[interior artist Sean] Philip’s dark take on the interiors of the Zombie books with all that black ink- very appropriate. So, in answer to your question, these covers were pretty much my first choices. Coincidentally, they match up with what Marvel wanted as well, so it’s been a collaborative effort.

I put a good deal of forethought into what the story for each new cover will be before picking up a pencil or brush. By the time I start painting, I pretty much have a finished picture in my head and know what I want- what the humorous angle for the painting that is on deck will be. I try to make each cover unique.

In that way, constructing these paintings is like building a car. You make an architectural plan, go about executing it, when it’s done you stand back, scratch your head and try and figure out what the thing is and exactly what it needs to make it really sing. That’s my favorite stage of the process, putting on the final face. Signing it is my least favorite.

DF:  Oh? And why is that?
ARTHUR SUYDAM:  Oh, I don’t know. I guess it’s kind of like trying to hide that last batch of dirt you just swept up with no trash can in sight.  There just never seems to be a good place to hide it. Maybe it’s because I never want to stop tweaking a piece until it’s grabbed out of my hands.

DF:  Out of all the covers that you have done so far for "Marvel Zombies" my favorite has to be X-Men #1 where you have Iceman throwing snow-heads. Which is your favorite?
ARTHUR SUYDAM:  Yea, that was the last detail I painted on that cover, the skulls.

Well, now that’s a pretty good question- and not an easy one to answer. I guess whatever cover I’m working on at the time is my favorite-- until the next one comes along. I usually work pretty fast when I’m painting and try to knock them out in a day or so, though there are a couple that I got a little stuck on. The "Spiderman/M.J. Wedding" piece and the "Hulk #1" paintings were difficult. Sometimes you find yourself painting and painting. The day’s fly by and the picture still looks the same. The ones with no backgrounds in the original renditions present an interesting challenge. How to translate all that artistic shorthand and dead space into a more believable artistic plane. I like a good challenge. And these covers certainly do present that. Marvel usually needs them pretty fast and furious, so that’s how I deliver them. Often I’ll keep working on a painting even after it’s been delivered to the publisher, right up until the time it goes to press. I want them to be as good as they can be. I want them to be perfect.

DF:  You’ve been gathering quite a collection of awards of late for your work, including a lifetime achievement award from The University of Maryland, The Spectrum Gold Medal Award, the Dragon*Con Guest of Honor Award and The Lifetime Achievement Award at the San Sabastion film festival in Spain, to name a few. You have worked for all the major comics’ publishers at one time or another. How do you do it?
ARTHUR SUYDAM:  For me creating comics is like creating film, which is why comics translate so easily into the film genre. The script is the screenplay and the artist is the director.

I’m here to write the best stories and create the best art I possibly can. For me, comics are a legitimate art form, the fine art of the day, and that’s how I approach the genre. Each new work is an opportunity to show what I can or can’t do, and hopefully learn something along the way. I try to avoid the "big fish in the small pond” syndrome that so many creatives seem to get caught up in. To focus on the big picture--on the future, on the past is more important. In my world, my contemporaries are not competition. I compete with myself and with the great artists and writers who have gone before.

All I ask in return from a client is they be professional, straight up and effective at their job.

Not too much to ask for.  You wouldn’t think so, but sometimes you’d be surprised. But that’s a conversation for another day.  (Laughs)

DF:  I’d really love to hear about it sometime.  So how are the people at Marvel to work for?"
ARTHUR SUYDAM:  The group at Marvel I’m working with right now is a great bunch. This is a magical team. Very pro. The work gets done. It gets done fast and smooth and the end product is of superior quality. No fuss, no muss. No bullsh*t. And you see the result. That is the way it should be.

DF:  So not only do you write and draw but you’re a musician too and a tennis player as well. WOW. You work with musicians like Springsteen, Wings, Joe Cocker, Elton John, Billy Joel and the Rolling Stones, among others. Are you still involved in any projects in music and do you still play tennis?
ARTHUR SUYDAM:  No, I don’t do tennis anymore. Too rough here in the city. Everybody steals your balls, cheats, argues too much, and takes it too personal when they lose. Grown men crying and jumping up and down on their rackets.

DF:  Is that right?
ARTHUR SUYDAM:  As far as the music goes, yeah, I still play. Actually my band just recorded the new Bruce Springsteen album with Bruce, The Pete Seger sessions. They’re on the road now doing the world tour for the CD, as we speak.

DF:  That’s great! If you were stranded on a deserted island, with a portable DVD player that had enough power to watch one last film, what would that film be and why?
ARTHUR SUYDAM:  Well you know, I don’t really believe in Ultimates. For me there is no "best" at anything. There are only candidates who are great in their own right, and those who are not so great but may someday be great. However, if I was stranded on a desert island I can tell you that it would have to be something funny. A comedy to cheer up my depressed disenfranchised soul.

DF:  In addition to the Marvel Zombies you have an amazing barbarian series that’s out. I am of course referring to the "Art of the Barbarian" series from Image. You’ve worked on Conan in the past and now Conan and Red Sonja are back and driving fast to success. Any chance we’ll get to see your work with that series again?
ARTHUR SUYDAM: (Laughs) Well, I suppose anything is possible, although I do believe some very mixed up people would have to get their act together for that to happen. Actually, I am working on a top secret barbarian project right now that is better than Conan. I’m looking forward to expanding that genre from the present cliché. The publishers are keeping it very hush-hush until it’s ready for release but I’m sure there will be more announcements when they can.

DF:  Some of the writing on the Marvel Zombies series reminds me of your Cholly and Flytrap work. Any correlation there? The last I heard, Cholly and Flytrap is in pre-production for a film. What’s the latest on that?
ARTHUR SUYDAM:  No connection between Cholly and the Zombies. Robert Kirkman’s writing on the Zombie’s is terrific. Just the way I like it. Sassy and fresh. The Cholly movie project with Paranoid Delusions is happening and is a go. At present we are working on the scripts and the look and sound of the characters.

DF:  After Marvel Zombies, what next?
ARTHUR SUYDAM:  Hopefully more Marvel Zombies- with the same team. When you’ve got a great team together, one that works so well and can produce, it would be a crime to split them up. Everybody’s being very secretive.
I hear there are some other top-secret plans in place. I can’t talk about them now. Heck I don’t even know about them now, but I’m sure you’ll be hearing about them soon (Laughs).

DF:  Last but not least, what's your best advice that you can give to a starving artist who wants to get in the biz and do you recommend any books that he/she should read on How to become a comic book artist?
ARTHUR SUYDAM:  Oh &%#$!!  Eat. Don’t starve.  That’s a lot more time and space than we’ve got to answer here. But, here it is in a nutshell. Work hard to be the best. Watch out for the pond. Trying to be the best will help you shine and you’ll have success. I never read a book on how to become a comic artist so I couldn’t recommend one. There are two ways to be a successful artist in comics- Be a good artist or be a good businessman. Me, I’m a lousy businessman (laughs).

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