Creating a Graphic Novel : Art – Food – Photography

Mike Munshaw is a fantastic artist (with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design with a minor in Illustration) who’s also an avid sports fan. Baseball being his game of choice. He’s done some incredible work and today I’m showcasing a Wasp commission he completed.

Wasp :

Have you always wanted to be a comic artist?

I always wanted to be a comic book artist since I was a kid. Once I graduated from college, I had to make a decision, move to NYC and live in poverty while trying to make a go at it as an artist, or get a real job and pay some tuition bills. At first I said I would get a real job and then after a couple of years, try the art thing. Well life happens, and before I know it, I’m married, have two amazing sons, and fifteen years pass by. Once the boys were old enough to find out I’m really not that cool to hang out with, and that they had friends to spend their time with, I started to get the itch to get back to drawing. I somehow found an art group called APA-5 that was doing a monthly collection of their work. That got me back into the swing of things and since then I have been back drawing. I ended up doing two self-publishing projects with APA-5, along with various work that appeared in the other members self-publishing comics.

A lot of comic artists’ dream is to “break” into the industry. How have you gone in that respect?

I had a couple of close calls, but soon found out, it’s really hard to get a paying job in comics! Go figure. So here I am, doing commissions and dabbling in other people’s projects. I’m currently inking a book for Visionary Comics called The Offspring, that may or may not ever see the light of day. But we are all hopeful that it finds it’s way into reader’s hands.

The internet is an amazing tool to show your work and meet other creators. But it’s also an amazing pain in the ass to get requests to do work for free. And hear the same sales pitch that this particular concept will get picked by Image, or Marvel, or insert publishing company here. All I have to do is draw and ink 20 pages in a month for free! And all the while, I still sit by the phone waiting for Marvel or DC to never call me.

If Marvel or DC one day makes the call . . what would your dream assignment be?

I still hold close to my heart, to one day be the artist on Superman.

What do you do for fun?

Well between working and supporting my family, taking the boys to their different athletic activities, and doing some freelance Graphic Design work, I have very little time for fun. Or drawing for that matter. I keep holding unto this dream of having this extra time and energy to draw much more than I currently am doing.

How would you describe your artwork?

I always have such a tough time figuring this one out. When I first start a conversation with someone about my art, they ask who do I draw like. I never know how to answer that. One time I answered a guy that I was similar to Terry Dodson. Where that came from I have no idea. But when he saw my work the next time we met, he said “dude, you do not draw anything like Terry Dodson. You’re more detailed than that.” So it just shows I have no clue on how to handle this question. I would like to think, I’m the traditional, middle of the road, comic book artist. Not a realist, but not a cartoonist. Does this make any sense?

What comic piece really inspired you? (Please don’t say Rob Liefield)

I am really going to show my age with my answers to this one. I will forever be influenced by Superboy and the Legion of Super-heroes issue #239. It is drawn by Jim Starlin and inked by Joe Rubinstein. I was just blown away by it. The figures were so strong and powerful.

As a kid first figuring out this art stuff, I wanted to be the next Neal Adams (who at that time didn’t want to be?) Then there was Mike Grell and Gill Kane. I was a huge Edgar Rice Burroughs fan, so when Marvel came out with John Carter, Warlord of Mars drawn by Gill Kane, I was in comic heaven. His figure work got me to look at the human muscle and how the human body was put together. Which this then lead me to Burne Hogarth and his wonderful Dynamic Figure Drawing books. It wasn’t too long after that, that some guy named John Byrne started to draw this comic called Uncanny X-Men. And then Frank Miller took over Daredevil. It was with those issues that I started to pay attention to panel layout and how backgrounds affected a scene.

Today I love the work of Adam Hughes, Frank Cho, Terry Dodson, and Ed Benes. The Benes JLA stuff is just amazing to me. But can you see a common theme here? Hot chicks. And it just so happens that most of my current commission work is women. Could there be a connection?

Thanks for your time and I hope the dream of breaking in comes soon! All it needs is for you to convince one editor to take a chance on you. Good luck!

For more information check out :

• Art of Michael
• Michael’s Twitter
• Michael’s Comicspace

Email mmunshaw [at] artofm2.com if interested in any commissions.