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09/19/2008 Archived Entry: "An Interview with Amy Colburn"
J LHLS Interview with Amy Colburn
Manly
Author: Dale Lazarov
Illustrator: Amy Colburn
Publisher: Bruno Gmunder Verlag Gmbh, 2008
ISBN: 9783861878872
Artist Amy Colburn was kind enough to give J LHLS this interview on the eve of the U.S. publication of Manly, written by Dale Lazarov with art by Ms. Colburn.
Interview by Ginger Mayerson
Ginger Mayerson: So how long have you been working with Dale Lazarov? He's so cool, I get frostbite just thinking about him.
Amy Colburn: Dale is great. I've been working with him for...almost two years? Since we started production on "Manly."
GM: I love your art for "Manly." How did you and Dale find each other?
AC: Dale saw some of my personal comic work and contacted me about doing a book with him. I thought his previous book, "Sticky," (see links below, Ed) was amazing, and I was thrilled and flattered that he wanted to work with me. I jumped at it!
GM: What are you reading? Comics and other?
AC: Lately, I've been going back and reading books that I feel like I should have read by now. Dorian Gray, In Cold Blood, whatever I happen to pick up.
GM: What comics artists do you like?
AC: I love Alex Ross, but who doesn't? His technique is amazing, and his heroes are always majestic while still seeming very real. Whenever I get one of his books I just spend hours staring at it.
GM: Are there any stories that you'd like to see done as a comic book/graphic novel?
AC: I'd love to see a big gay superhero epic that really examines what it is to be a hero, and explores the weird sexual tension between heroes and villains.
GM: Are there any stories you'd like to draw as a comic book/graphic novel?
AC: In my dreams I'd draw a big gay superhero epic, but there's no way I have the chops for that. Too many crazy locations!
GM: How long have you been doing comics?
AC: This is my first professional comics gig. Before that, I just doodled them for my own amusement.
GM: How did you decide that comics were something you wanted to do?
AC: Well, I love storytelling and I love drawing, so comic books were a natural outlet.
GM: Did go to art school?
AC: No. I majored in art at a liberal arts college.
GM: Did it help?
AC: Definitely. I got a solid life-drawing education that's become the foundation of most of what I do. In retrospect, I wish I had pursued a more thorough education in art technique—I've had to learn a lot on my own and make a lot of mistakes along the way.
GM: What in your background has been most important to you as an artist?
AC: I don't think I can pinpoint a single thing. I owe any kind of skill I have to years and years of near-compulsive practice.
GM: What have been the biggest positive influences on you as an artist?
AC: Life drawing classes, books and books of old master paintings and drawings, and teachers who didn't mind me doodling all over my notes.
GM: What are the biggest negative influences on your art?
AC: Probably me. Left to my own devices, I'll pick and pick at an image forever.
GM: What were the first comics you drew about?
AC: The first comics I can remember drawing were from way back in elementary school, and they were about the awesome adventures of my cats. God, those were awful.
GM: Your men are very sexy. What's the attraction for drawing gay porn comics?
AC: Thank you! I think the male body is phenomenal. I love the muscles and sinews and the way the forms connect, and I love the challenge of drawing bodies interacting in a way that preserves the anatomy while still being beautiful. I liked this book especially because the sex was fueled by the previous character interactions. It was extra sexy because there was a plot and motivation behind everything.
GM: What are your next projects so I can have something to look forward to?
AC: Well, I have a lot of non-comic projects going on at the moment, but I would love to do more comics in the future!
GM: Thank you for the interview, Amy!
"Sticky" Reviews at J LHLS:
Sticky 1, Sticky 2 and Sticky 3.
Somewhere in this I Read Comics podcast, there's a segment on "Sticky 3."
Replies: 1 Comment
I've not seen the book "Manly" yet . . . I've just ordered it . . . but I've seen enough of Amy Colburn's artwork to know that she is the ONLY artist who can re-vitalize a Gay classic. Has she ever heard of a Gay novel called "Song of The Loon"? She must get a copy of this book right away! I'll send her a copy if she contacts me (my email address is doncharles@gmail.com). It was the most successful Gay-themed novel of the 1960s, and it was groundbreaking in its depiction of male eroticism. A not-so-great film was made of the book in 1970. It cries out to be transformed into a graphic novel. With Miss Colburn's artwork, it would be a sensation!
Posted by Don Charles @ 10/04/2008 12:17 PM PST
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