Exclusive: Interview With Marvel Fan-Favorite Artist Dan Panosian
Posted on June 17, 2010
In place of my usual witty wordage, I’ve done an interview on Marvel, DC, Image, and Boom! (among others) comic book artist Dan Panosian in beautiful, living color. His artwork encompasses Captain America, The Flash, Spider-Man, X-Men, Prophet, Wolverine, Green Lantern, Irredeemable, and a couple issues of the fondly remembered Marvel Swimsuit Special, so you can be sure there was a lot to talk about.
His current book, X-Factor Forever is on shelves now. If the interview just wasn’t enough for you, check out his website at DanPanosian.com and his bountiful blog, the Urban Barbarian. If you’re in the LA area, you can see him and a smattering of other artists boozin’ and sketchin’ during a clandestine meeting of the infamous Drink N’ Draw Social Club held every Thursday night at Casey’s in Downtown LA.
But for now, press play on the video after the jump and be profoundly amused by his words of wisdom.
Today I seek a world in which women from across the land can unite in their geekiness. A land where Princess Lea reigns alongside her ever-rakish Han Solo, a growly Hugh Jackman can’t seem to find his flannel shirt, and Wonder Woman saves the world and comes home to find her man has baked cookies.
It took me 20-odd years to figure out I am a writer. Apparently all those years in childhood spent pretending to be Lois Lane and writing mock newspapers never elicited one eureka. In high school I was editor of the school paper, but even then, I sought the path of a graphic artist. In my professional career I wrote numerous proposals for DVD and Blu-ray extra value content. Crafting concepts using Stan Lee-isms felt like play to me and yet I thought of myself as a producer. Not until one very rainy day when the streets were flooded and boredom hit me like Thor’s hammer did I call up Chris and tell him I wanted to write. I guess whatever gets your creative juices flowing while enduring the onslaught of boredom should be repeated.
It didn’t take me nearly as long to figure out I was a geek. I was surrounded by my brother’s inked pages of Captain America from a very young age. I would often look for my beloved action figures only to find them captured by my brother for use as “inspiration”. Whenever he took a break I would sneak in and rescue my toys with the stealth of a mutated ninja cat. Strangely the next morning a new rescue mission would have to be hatched. From then on, I watched copious She-Ra and Spider-man cartoons, learned about alternate realities from Back to the Future, and read the soup opera that was X-Men comics in the 90’s.