Music and
movies have a long-standing relationship, playing an integral part in each
other’s development from the early days of cinema. This is exceptionally true
when it comes to horror movies since music is an excellent method to accentuate
a mood shift or sudden scare that is often a key component of horror cinema.
Heavy Metal and Hard Rock n Roll have carved out a niche of being the ‘go-to”
music of this film genre. It might be the blaring guitar riffs, the pulsating
drums or the high pitch wails of the front man singing his lyrics… but whatever
it is, Heavy Metal/Hard Rock & Horror seem to go HAND IN HAND!
Vampires are on the way out. Zombies are on the rise. I can not wait for AMC's The Walking Dead, and I have been impressed with most of the newer takes on the classic Zombie genre like Fido and Resident Evil 3 (what... it took more of a zombie twist with 3, and I liked it. Milla can get it son!!!) Anyways, we were wandering through the 2010 Big Apple Comic Con when we were stopped by a guy that said "Oh, nice shirt... hey Arthur, check this out." As I was turned around to face an artist who was drawing, he began to analyze my Marvel Zombies T shirt... "Not bad, but why did they have to go around the edges with marker?" he asked his assistant. As I stood there modeling, I took a look down at the prints and realized that they were all of flesh rotting versions of superheroes and pop culture icons. As my eyes dropped down to the artist, he looked at me, extended his hand and said "I'm Arthur Suydam, nice to meet you." Damn, I just met a legendary comic artist and had no idea I was even next to him... gulp!
I asked Arthur if he would mind giving us an interview, and I think my shirt played into his choice to say yes. We agreed to come back a bit later, and when we did we were met by his assistant, Eric. Eric was great, and he cleared space for me to sit behind the table with Arthur. We had like a 10 minute chat, and Arthur told us what he loves about drawing Zombies, how it feels to have been doing something for years that other people are starting to jump on the bandwagon for, working for Heavy Metal, how long it takes to do one of his prints, getting to draw cadavers in the morgue to learn anatomy, and all types of other stuff. The guy was super friendly... check out the interview here:
What a cool guy. Eric told us to check for him the next day, as he would be dressing in an 8 foot Zombie Hulk costume. You know we couldn't wait for that!!! I went the next day with my son Mikey, and when Eric put on the suit... well, Ill let you see for yourself:
Check out Arthur's work in Marvel Zombies, Marvel Zombies 2, Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness, Mudwags, Mudwags II, and Arthur Suydam: The Art of the Barbarian. Also, check back here for more of his work. Thanks for the love Arthur.
P.S.- The next day, I brought Mikey over to meet Arthur, and he sketched him a Deadpool Zombie head in his sketchbook. Yeah son... check it out!!!
