Athens Voice illo

New illustration for this weeks Athens Voice...for an article about the new flu serum.

Athens Voice George Pelecanos

This new illustration for Athens Voice which is a portrait of writer George Pelecanos was made with pencils, spraypaint and gouache. It's published in this weeks Athens Voice magazine.

Interview For Colorinkbook.com

New interview for Colorinkbook.com. You can read it here and of course here:

Words from Vassilis Gogtzilas

When is the most productive time of the day?

For many years I used to draw at night… somewhere in the middle of the night I had the most interesting and well-drawn images. Lately I have become really flexible. Any time of the day could be productive. I draw all the time… but mostly in the morning. The most important thing for me is to work. I believe in inspiration and I also believe that we have to chase it every moment.

Do you have a favorite comic?

I grew up reading Sam Kieth’s The Maxx. I was 13 years old when I read the first issue. I remember going to the nearest comic shop and buying only the new issue of The Maxx. Kieth was a big influence for me. His methods and the way he approaches the characters together with a more expressionistic look on the designing of the characters and the whole page as well is just exciting and a big inspiration.

Saturday nights are best spent where?

In my studio over the drawing board. I also love some small cafes around the city. You can find me there sometimes too.

What is Sam Raimi’s best film?

His best film for me is certainly Evil Dead 2: Dead by dawn. I remember me watching it when I was little in vhs after midnight… When watching the movie I simply travelled far away with no return. It’s a cartoon movie but with actors of course… everything is so extreme that violence seems to be very amusing. Bruce Campell is also amazing.

Tell us about Mr. Universe.

Mr. Universe was created 4 years ago. It’s my look on superheroes. It’s my humble comment on superheroes. This comic was published in POPGUN anthology volume 2, as a one shot comic from Image Comics and a new adventure is coming out in POPGUN anthology-volume 4 this February. It’s about fanboys that like to read a comic called “Mr Universe”. In this comic within the comic Mr Universe is an interplanetary superhero without double identity. He spends night and day guarding different galaxies. In the one shot comic I tried to explore the temperament of a young reader called Tommy. His relationship with everyone around him like his relatives or his classmates. Also his love for this certain comic book and how much it has haunted him as well as the problems that causes in his daily life.

What is your favorite food?

I like Greek food…

Have you ever self published anything: if so what?

I am lucky enough to find ways to publish my work. I didn’t have to self publish anything so far. It’s my goal to see my work published every year in any way – as comics or as illustrations. I started publishing my work when I was really young and it’s something like a habit for me anymore. This is the only thing I can say. I love typography.

What would your dream project be?

To collaborate on a comic book with Sam Kieth… definitely. This is a dream of mine that has to come true. There are also some scriptwriters that I would like to work with like J. M. Dematteis. These are my dreams as far as comics are concerned. I recently created a music video for a goth post rock band called 2L8. I hope I will be able to make more music videos in the future. Making a short movie is also a project that I would like to accomplish. There are already some scripts written and the only two things left to find are money and time.

How does one win the “most ingenious” marketing award?

I created a comic of course together the designers from “Red Creative” advertising company. We chose some comics to promote some new denim fabrics. And so Deniman was created. It’s one of the most interesting creative projects I’ve ever worked on. The comic stood out in the 1st DNR Textile Awards competition of the American Magazine DNR winning the “most ingenious marketing” award. It’s a project that shows how important comics can be in promoting and communicating.

Sandwich or burrito?

Sandwich.

George Pelecanos Portrait

George Pelecanos was born in Washington, D.C. in 1957. He worked as a line cook, dishwasher, bartender, and woman's shoe salesman before publishing his first novel in 1992.

Pelecanos is the author of fifteen crime novels set in and around Washington, D.C.: A Firing Offense, Nick's Trip, Shoedog, Down By the River Where the Dead Men Go, The Big Blowdown, King Suckerman, The Sweet Forever, Shame the Devil, Right as Rain, Hell to Pay, Soul Circus, Hard Revolution, Drama City, The Night Gardener, and The Turnaround. See the Bookshelf for more information on these titles. He has been the recipient of the Raymond Chandler award in Italy, the Falcon award in Japan, and the Grand Prix Du Roman Noir in France. Hell to Pay and Soul Circus were awarded the 2003 and 2004 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire and the collections Unusual Suspects, Best American Mystery Stories of 1997, Measures of Poison, Best American Mystery Stories of 2002, Men From Boys, Murder at the Foul Line, and D.C. Noir, for which he also served as editor. He is an award-winning essayist who has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, Sight and Sound, Uncut, Mojo, and numerous other publications. Esquire magazine called Pelecanos "the poet laureate of the D.C. crime world."

Pelecanos served as producer on the feature films Caught (Robert M. Young, 1996), Whatever (Susan Skoog, 1998) and BlackMale (George and Mike Baluzy, 1999), and was the U.S. distributor of John Woo's cult classic, The Killer and Richard Bugajski's Interrogation. Most recently, he was a producer, writer, and story editor for the acclaimed HBO dramatic series, The Wire, winner of the Peabody Award and the AFI Award. He was nominated for an Emmy for his writing on that show. His novel Right as Rain is currently in development with director Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential, Wonder Boys) and Warner Brothers. He was a writer on the World War II miniseries The Pacific, produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and HBO.

Pelecanos lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife and three children. He is at work on his next novel.

Sketchbook Art

Two ink studies...