Challenge Extra with Mike Schwartz

Earlier this week the Tribal Council posted the 15th Coloring Challenge with a piece from Mike Schwart’z’s Oceanverse.  I’m coming back at you now with a Challenge Extra.  My hope is that, through my Challenge extra series, that you’ll have a change to get to know the artists behind the artwork that’s posted on HueDoo for the Coloring Challenges.

Writer/Artist of Oceanverse, Mike Schwartz

Tribal Council: Since this is a column primarily about color…I suppose the first question should be…whats your favorite color and why?

Mike Schwartz: My favorite color is usually blue, but currently I really like a bright, Kermit-like green.  It’s the color I painted my work area and it helps keep my brain stimulated.  It certainly beats the taupe that was on the walls before.

TC: What got you into comics and when was it?

MS: The first comics I remember reading were Archie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  I was too young to understand that comics came out once a month, so I would bug my mom to take me to the book store to see if the new issue arrived.  After I grew out of that, the comic that I consider the one that got me “in” to comics was Ghost Rider #13, drawn by Mark Texeria.  I remember looking through it in the comic shop and watching Danny Ketch’s face melt off his flaming skull.  How could I put something that cool back on the shelf?

TC: How did you come to work on Oceanverse?

MS: I first came up with the idea when I was designing t-shirts for a boy’s apparel presentation (by day, I’m a graphic artist for a t-shirt company).  I drew a guy in a deep dive suit surrounded by dangerous sea creatures and something about it sparked my imagination.  Also, I was reading a lot of old comic strips from the early 20th century and wanted to create a project for myself that would make me draw more while at the same time recapture the spirit of those old comics.

TC: How does color effect your work (Oceanverse specifically)?

MS: In its current state, Oceanverse is published in black and white.  I would eventually like to colorize the current stories and possibly have future stories in color, but it’s really an issue of time and the fact that I’m still attracted to the black and white aesthetic.  When I publish Oceanverse in comic book form (every 48 strips), I get a chance to create a color cover.  For each cover, I try to use a different coloring technique, such as coloring over washes or, with my next cover, integrate a chalk/colored pencil style.  With each cover I do, I get the itch to try more Oceanverse in color.  We’ll see what the future holds.

TC: How does Oceanverse being a web comic effect how your tell your stories?

MS: I have to pay close attention to having each strip tell its own story yet end in a way to have the reader want to see what’s going to happen next.  Guys like Milton Caniff and Al Capp were masters at that.  Plus, since web comics are not pinned down by tradition or editorial mandate, I like to experiment with the composition of the strips.  I enjoy the challenge of coming up with different ways to tell a story within the basic comic strip rectangle.  I suppose the rectangular shape could be considered traditional, but it still gets the job done for Oceanverse.

TC: Hemming and the boys are currently on an adventure for the Amber Heart. Wanna give any spoilers for what’s coming up next?

MS: The Amber Heart story is wrapping up soon, and after that will be shorter, more character based stories.  The first is a ghost story starring B.R. Cooper.  After that is a crisis aboard the ship in which Meg has more of the spotlight.  Then a time travel story leading it to another big arc.  I’m quite far along into these stories and I’m really excited how they’re shaping up.

A huge thank you to Mike Schwartz for not only letting us have access to his amazing Oceanverse art but also for taking a few minutes out to answer some questions.  Be sure to check out Oceanverse every Monday and Thursday at www.oceanverse.com and be sure to check out Coloring Challenge #15 in the Pixel Shrine at www.huedoo.com