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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