Review Fix Exclusive: Thomas Boatwright Q & A

Review Fix chats with artist Thomas Boatwright, who discusses his career, influences and upcoming book, “Monsters and Other Stuff From My Head.”

Boatwright’s work was also featured in the recently released Dark Horse comic graphic novel, Halloween Legion.

Review Fix: How did you get interested in art?

Thomas Boatwright: Far back as I can remember. My mom was interested in art so drawing and painting were just always a part of my life. I was never really a student of art though. Drawing became my way of dealing with anxiety and panic stuff that runs through my family. Me retreating to my brain and making my world the page in front of me was how I put in the hours of practice.

Review Fix: Who are your influences?

Boatwright: Recently I’ve looked at my work to try and sum up what I’m doing. I came up with Frank Frankzetta by way of Bill Watterson, with a dash of Jim Henson. But any artist that focuses on character has my attention. I’m fascinated by how an artist or performer can give life to objects or lines that make them feel real. I don’t really care if your lines are straight or anatomy is correct as much as if I believe there’s life in what you made. Carries over to the music I enjoy as well. Technical skill doesn’t impress me near as much as emotion.

Review Fix: What comics did you read as a kid? How do you think they affected you?

Boatwright: I read a lot more comic strips than comic books. I devoured the Sunday comics. I didn’t always enjoy or understand all of them, but I kept reading them to try and figure out why they did or didn’t work. My dad sold most of his comics before I came along but he had a grocery bag of old Marvel stuff left I made my own. I was right there at the start of the Ninja Turtles too so I got pretty much all that Archie stuff. I think my most prized book aside from my Calvin and Hobbes collections was my copy of The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. I carried it everywhere until the glue came apart and pages fell out. I still have it, but I’ve bought a new copy to keep on the shelf.

I’m not sure how much they affected me specifically. Just gave me somewhere to go. I was an only child and something of a latchkey kid too. TV, toys, comics, all that business was just a substitute for friends. As I got older I had something of a hoarding problem honestly. When my wife came along I lost a lot of sentimentality for my early years. I’d probably have a different answer if you had asked me back in my 20s, but there’s definitely a chapter 2 in my life after I turned 30.

Review Fix: Who are your favorite types of characters to draw?

Boatwright: I’d be happy never drawing a real person ever again. Not cause people are hard to draw, but humans are kinda boring. That’s one of the thing I’m trying to work on; drawing less “real” people. Not that I’m doing anything photo-real, but I want to push my shapes and designs to more exaggerated forms. Just be a better cartoonist.

Review Fix: What are your goals for your art?

Boatwright: My interests are all over the place so I just want to be creative. I love comics, but I also enjoy sculpting and painting. I’d love to get into animation and make my own shorts. My wife says I missed my calling in puppetry as I’m really good at making stuffed animals and hand puppets come alive. It’s the fascination of life into lifelessness again.

Really my goal is to make a living, not a killing. If I can keep the lights on and food in the cabinets, I’m pretty satisfied.

Review Fix: What are you working on right now?

Boatwright: I’m wrapping up an art book called “Monsters and Other Stuff From My Head. It’s a collection of pin-ups, sketches, mock covers, and even some sequentials. They’re mostly separate but there’s an overall link and some of the characters crossover into other pages. It’s kind of a comic version of “Amazon Women on the Moon” or “Robot Chicken” for the younger readers. I’m also working on a new all-ages comic called “Catgut N’ Rum” about a banjo player and his crow friend and their adventures in kind of a hobo Neverland. There’s river boats, pirates, giant raccoons and a bear that talks to the skin of his brother that he also wears as a cape. Ya know, for kids.

Review Fix: How do you want to be remembered after your career is finished?

Boatwright: “While he was never flashy or innovative, Thomas Boatwright’s work was full of solid storytelling and believable characters. He had an odd way of looking at things, but it all came together in a wonderfully strange way.”

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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