I just wanted to pop in and let you all know that all is generally good. In July, I was back in Banff and Canmore for some exciting video production work and was fortunate enough to be able to visit with some close friends and family in both Calgary and Edmonton as well. It seemed like such a short trip, and it was so great to see everybody, especially finally meeting the little cutie, Ciara Ann Moynihan! I’m already missing her and those awesome parents she has! Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to visit everybody again soon!

Destiny has been guiding me very interestingly this year (when isn’t it?) but there’s been some very solid constants in my life too. I’m thankful to have some amazingly close, supportive friends and family out here and back in Alberta, a few interesting projects to challenge me, and the breathtaking B.C and Alberta scenery to explore.

Life is also directing some absolutely positive energies and wonderful people into my life and that is what excites me the most. It’s great to be in the same city again with two of the most awesome hombres from my Edmonton days. They’re both extremely creative people who I can chat with for hours. John and Malcom: thanks for making me feel like I’m at home here and hanging out with the best and the brightest!

Between reconnecting with my Vancouver pals and all the new friends I’ve made here, I’m really feeling even more welcome in this vibrant city. Much appreciation goes to Ron (you creative low-stress genius), to Nis and Jessica for opening their hearts and introducing me to such an amazing soul, to Matt, Paul and the rest of the Z2H crew for introducing me to the Vancouver working atmosphere, and to Sebastien for some great career guidance and life insight.

And, of course, big hugs and many cheers to Andrea and Jakenator for making me smile again, laugh so hard until my cheeks and sides ache and for making me feel like Vancouver really is the place to call home.

I’m actually working on some new posts from home base here in Vancouver, so there will hopefully be more insightful content, stories, photos and links for you all. I’m just trying out WordPress for the iPhone to create this post actually and it should allow me to do some more posts remotely. Though I’m sure I’ll have to do a few corrections on the computer, but it looks like it will work.

While you wait for some more posts, follow me on Twitter or look at some of the photos I’ve been snapping during this year’s adventures on my Flickr photostream. A small sampling of the photos are below.

Be well and stay positive!

THE MERMAID OF JOHN LAWSON PARK

THE JOLLY ROGER OF WEST VANCOUVER – 02

WEST VANCOUVER PIER – 01

WEST VANCOUVER CEDAR TREE

SIGNS

PACIFIC CENTRE DOME

ENGLISH BAY BEACH

SUNSET AT ENGLISH BAY

THE GASTOWN STEAM CLOCK

We spent our time decorating the house here in Edmonton (April decorated our place in Iowa before she traveled up here), visiting friends and family, watching movies at home and the theater, playing board and video games, shopping for and wrapping gifts, cooking and eating plenty of good holiday meals, and having a generally pleasant time.

We wrapped up 2006 by attending a get-together at our friends place in Edmonton. It has become a yearly tradition and this year, as always, there was plenty of great food and festivities. Between Taboo, Jenga, Jeopardy, and the Bookers’ Nintendo Wii (pronounced ‘wee’) and Nintendo DS, nobody was sitting around bored.

After spending more time with the the Wii, I am even more convinced it will help attract non-gamers into the world of video games and pry those “couch potatoes” up off the sofa. It’s revolutionary control system (Revolution was the unit’s development codename) requires the player to perform movements just like the real action. Well, in truth, you can still sit down and use wrist motions to do all of the action, but it’s more fun, and more exercise if you’re standing up and playing the game with the Wii Remote. Wii Sports, which ships with the system, includes baseball, bowling, boxing, tennis, and golf. Of all the games, we found bowling to be one of the most fun (your movements are comparable to holding a real bowling ball and sending it down the lane), and boxing to be a fascinating way of using the Remote and ‘nunchuck’ accessory. April’s Tae Bo skills certainly came in handy during that Wii game! And no, there weren’t any Remote straps breaking or controllers flying into the big screen TV, lamps, or artwork.

Look for photos to be posted in the Flickr album soon.

A big thanks to all the great people who have kept in touch, who have been checking out the blogs and projects I work on, and for providing feedback. Stay tuned for more blog postings this year and follow what is sure to be an eventful, and hopefully positive, year ahead.

Cheers!
Chad

Enjoy!

–

Mark, thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions. We discussed your early career in Part 1 (at this link) and moved on to past/current projects, so let’s continue there.

Q: Are there any projects that you’d change if you could or do you consider past experiences as learning and move on?

Schultz: I look at everything I’ve done as a learning experience. There are some projects I’ve done that I’m not particularly proud of, but I learned, and I think improved, from all of them.

Q: Because we can’t be working all the time, what do you do to unwind when you’re not creating heroes and monsters?

Schultz: Hike—for exercise as well as to refocus my mind and eyes. Read. Watch movies—preferably B&W classics that are generally ignored today.

Howard Hawks’ 1951 sci-fi masterpiece. A fave of both Mark and myself. © Turner Home Entertainment.

Q: Is there something you do to refresh your creative spirit and get back into drawing or writing mode again?

Schultz: Hike. Travel. Visit the ocean.

Q: You recently took a trip to Spain where some of your work was exhibited. How was your trip and did you find European’s reactions to your work to be different from North Americans?

Schultz: Generally speaking, Europeans don’t seem to draw as definitive a line between the fine arts and the commercial arts as we do in North America. They are much more open to the notion that comics can be a legitimate form of expression. The Spanish people, at least, seemed to me to be much more knowledgeable about art in general—they consider an appreciation of the arts to be part of their every day existence.

Let’s move on to future projects.

Q: Do you plan on returning to Xenozoic Tales? Are there any plans for another animated series or feature film? How about a DVD box set of the animated series?

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. © 1993 Mark Schultz and Nelvana Limited. Images from here.

Schultz: There is nothing I want more then to get back to producing new issues of Xenozoic Tales. It is just a matter of finding a way of financing the process of getting it started again. My glacial slowness makes things difficult. I’m hoping to build a savings reservoir that could give me the time to devote to getting the series up and running again. Specifically, I have a four issue arc in mind that would complete the storyline I left hanging, but would also stand on its own, and would be collected as a trade paperback. At this time there are no current plans for XT projects in other media.

Q: In addition to Xenozoic Tales, what property that you’ve been involved with in the past, would you like to return to and in what capacity?

Cover art for SubHuman Issue #1 © Mark Schultz.

Schultz: I’d love to see SubHuman up and running. We really didn’t get a chance to get our sea legs under us with the initial Dark Horse mini-series. Both Michael and I have lots of stories Krill Stromer Family stories we’d like to tell, and hopefully someday we’ll have the chance. Beyond that, I have tons of other projects percolating away that are just waiting for the right opportunity to come to a boil.

Q: Who would you most like to work with that you haven’t yet had a chance to and who would you like to work with again?

Schultz: I’m pretty happy working mostly by myself, or with my already established cohorts.

Mark Schultz’s studio. Note the otherworldly visitors! Photos courtesy of Dr. Michael Ryan.

Q: What properties would you like to work on that you haven’t yet?

Schultz: I’d love a chance to illustrate Edgar Rice Burroughs, and more Robert E. Howard. Right now, a couple of years after I stopped writing Superman, I’m finally getting a chance to illustrate a Superman cover! I’m psyched!

Action Comics #836. Artwork by Mark Schultz. © DC Comics.

Q: What are you working on now and what projects have you got in the pipeline?

Schultz: I continue to write the Sunday comic strip Prince Valiant, which is beautifully illustrated by Gary Gianni. I’m working on Vol. 2 of my Various Drawings art book series, doing lots of commissions in connection with generating work for that, and picking up comic cover and illustration work here and there. It all continues to go well, I will be generating a series of books for Flesk Publications, the publisher of Various Drawings.

Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volumes 1 and 2. © Mark Schultz and Flesk Publications.

Q: Since Xenozoic Tales features dinosaurs, I can’t forget to ask if you have a favorite one?

Schultz: Of course, Tyrannosaurus rex is an icon that would probably be my all-time number one, but the coelacanth, with its great survivor’s story, is a sentimental favorite. I love drawing both of them.

Thanks again Mark for your time and letting all of us take a peak inside your creative mind. Please keep us up to date on your new projects and we wish you the best of luck with all of them!

Schultz: My pleasure. And thanks to all the readers for the support!

Stay tuned for a possible update from Mark on even more recent projects and topics we might have forgot in our first 2 parts!

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund art for sky*dog comics. © Mark Schultz and the CBLDF.

The first of these interviews is with the multiple award-winning (Eisner, Harvey, Spectrum, Inkpot, and Haxtur) author/illustrator Mark Schultz.

Schultz, who has been described by many to be “one of the nice guys in Comics,” has managed to tackle nearly every character we comic book and movie fans only dream of working with: Aliens, Conan, The Flash, The Terminator, King Kong, Luke Skywalker, Prince Valiant, Superman, Tarzan, and Tyrannosaurus rex to name just a few. However, he’s best known for the lavishly-illustrated Xenozoic Tales, an action-adventure series featuring old world mechanic Jack “Cadillac” Tenrec and the bold, beautiful Hannah Dundee. Of course, there’s more than a few classic cars and dinosaurs thrown in for fun.

Mark Schultz and myself at the 2001 San Diego Comic-Con.

–

DDM: First of all, thanks for taking the time to chat. I know a lot of people are anxious to hear what you’ve been up to and what exciting projects you have on the horizon but let’s start with your own creation, Xenozoic Tales. I know it means a great deal to you, and readers are anxious to find out what’s going on with the series.

Q: As the creator of Xenozoic Tales, (later re-branded as Cadillacs and Dinosaurs for Epic Comics and the animated television show from Nelvana), you’ve not only written but illustrated most of the series yourself. How did the idea come about?

Schultz: Through long hours of career dissatisfaction while I was executing advertising illustrations and working as a security guard. I’d long dreamed of becoming a cartoonist and spent a good deal of time imagining what my ideal comic book would be, based on my love for Edgar Rice Burroughs, EC Comics, King Kong, and other adventure movies and stories. Those influences, mixed with my interest in man’s relationship with the natural environment gelled into what became Xenozoic Tales. Essentially, I was creating the type of comic adventure I wanted to read, but wasn’t available in the contemporary market.

Q: In reading Xenozoic Tales, we seem to discover a slyly disguised ‘message’ at its core about the Earth and the symbiotic relationships of the planet’s systems. Not many comics or graphic novels can get away with this, yet you seem to have pulled it off effortlessly. The time period inhabited by your characters is a direct result of their ancestors’ effects on the Earth. Did you start with that message and find a story or was it the reverse?

Schultz: These concerns are very important to me, but even more important is telling a good story. If I feel that I am being preached to while I am reading a story, well, the storyteller has lost me. I trust that’s the same for my readers. The message, if there is one, must be integrated and buried within the dramatic telling of the story or it will alienate any reader who isn’t already on board with the point of view being promoted. In the case of Xenozoic Tales, the environmental angle was actually one of the last ingredients that got mixed into what started as pure SF adventure, but it was the necessary element that, I think, elevated the series, and, at the very least, keeps me interested in creating new stories.

Xenozoic Tales Volume One: After the End. © Mark Schultz. Published by Dark Horse Comics.

Q: Because you are the creator of the series, you have control of what happens, and therefore no major production studio to second-guess your decisions. With the exception of the marketing and distribution help from Kitchen Sink, Marvel, Nelvana, and Dark Horse, you’ve been able to shepherd Xenozoic Tales through its different incarnations the way you want. Were there any drawbacks to overseeing everything and not just writing the story or illustrating the books?

Schultz: Actually, I always had marketing and promotional help with Xenozoic Tales, first with my publisher, Denis Kitchen, filling that role, and then with the agency of Kitchen and Hansen. I have very limited knowledge when it comes to promotion and marketing, as well as distribution, so I have always relied on others for the “business” side of the business. I’ve also been very appreciative of editorial suggestions as well—even though I’ve never had to work with an editor on XT, I feel it helps to have a sounding board—another perspective with different experiences—available. I could never do XT on my own—I’m just the guy who makes the final decisions.

Q: One of the opportunities that I’ve truly enjoyed in life, is participating in palaeontological excavations. One certainly gains deeper respect for the scientists and volunteers that work under challenging field conditions with awkward equipment (ranging from heavy-but-powerful jackhammers to light-but-exacting dental picks) all in the name of research. Have you ever had a chance to join a palaeo/archeological dig and has it helped you with your Xenozoic Tales work?

Schultz: Unfortunately I have never had the opportunity to fulfill that life-long dream. Someday, I hope. I have been lucky enough to visit some fossil-rich sites, such as the Red Deer River Valley, but I’ve yet to find the time to participate. So, in the meantime, I pick the brains of cooperative sorts like our friend Dr. Michael Ryan.

Q: What other kinds of research do you conduct for projects like Xenozoic Tales?

Schultz: Lots of reading–mostly laymen’s scientific magazines and books–visual material of any appropriate kind, travel. Asking questions of the experts. I’m not shy about asking questions.

Your early training must have helped with Xenozoic Tales, so let’s talk a bit about the beginning of your career.

Q: What career training have you received? Was it formal, informal, self-taught, or a little bit of everything?

Schultz: I graduated college with a BFA in Painting from Kutztown State University in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the fundamentals of draftsmanship were not stressed like I now believe they should be, and as a result, much of my drawing ability, as it is now, formed through comic book on-the-job training. What I DID learn in college, and what I consider indispensable, was the ability to teach myself—to research and develop on my own accord.

Q: Do you recommend one method over the other for those hoping to follow in your footsteps?

Schultz: I don’t think there is any one right way. The unifying necessity is that you be passionate about what you are doing, immensely self-critical and unafraid to change as needed to become professional, and willing to push yourself harder than everyone else vying for the career you want. Success in the arts does not come to the faint of heart.

Q: Who were your creative influences growing up and why?

Top: Art by Winslow Homer. Bottom left: Art by Howard Pyle. Bottom right: Art by NC Wyeth.

Schultz: Visually, my work is strongly influenced by a love for classic American illustration. Winslow Homer, Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Daniel Smith, Dean Cornwell, Herbert Morton Stoops, and Frank Hoban are among the illustrators I’ve closely studied. My principal influences from within the comics field include Hal Foster, Alex Raymond, Roy Crane, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, and Al Williamson.

For visuals, as well as storytelling elements, the films of Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Val Lewton, and many other greats who worked primarily in black and white have had a strong effect on my work. Of course, Cooper and Schoedsack’s King Kong—there will never be a more complex, more visually and thematically rich film. Film and comics are two very different mediums, but if you look past the technical divides, they do share some important storytelling properties.

King Kong cover art by Mark Schultz. Issue 2 of 6. © 1990 Mark Schultz and Monster Comics.

For pure storytelling, the writings of Edgar Rice Burrroughs, Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft and John Steinbeck have meant a lot to me.

Q: Are there any current creative influences you’re learning from or just admire for the work they’re doing?

Left: Styracosaur art by William Stout. Right: Hellboy art by Mike Mignola.

Schultz: While I don’t think there are any contemporaries who I’d call influences—Bill Stout being the exception—I admire the work of Gary Gianni, Mike Mignola, Dan Clowes—there are many others…

Left: Art by Gary Gianni. Right: Art by Daniel Clowes.

Q: Did you have any ‘big goals’ when you started into your career and do you feel you’ve been successful at achieving them?

Schultz: I had no expectations when I started my comic career. I didn’t even want to get my hopes up that I would be able to make a basic living. Everything that’s come surprises me to certain degree. What success I’ve had amazes me.

Q: You’ve spent a good part of your early career as an illustrator, yet lately you’ve built up quite the writing resume. Why the shift?

Schultz: Actually, I’m shifting back towards illustration now. I like diversity—I like to be able to go back and forth between drawing and writing. Plus, I take advantage of what the marketplace is offering me at the time. I think it’s very important, and I keep telling this to students, to become adept with as many different skills as possible—to both take advantage of the marketplace and to maintain as much control over your own properties as possible.

Q: Which do you find easier: illustrating or writing?

Schultz: Nothing’s easy. But I can write faster than I can illustrate.

Q: What artwork/story/project are you most proud of and why?

Schultz: Xenozoic Tales—because it’s my own, start to finish.

Mark recently completed the above Centrosaurus brinkmani depiction and another illustration for palaeontologist Dr. Michael Ryan.
Art © Mark Schultz from the collection of Dr. Michael Ryan.

– Continue to Part 2 of the interview! –

Photos © 2006 Chad Kerychuk.

Bubbly. And a Pepsi.

Me and Rick mug it up for the camera. We’re almost twins!

Mike and April ready for the year-end hot wing feast!

Ed gives birth during another round of “Twister.” Just kidding buddy!

Norma, acts as a “human beat box” while Mike “B-Boy” Chow busts out some “dope” moves!

The fantastic hosts, John and Cathy Booker!

Happy New Year from Chad and April Kerychuk!

All photos © 2005 Chad Kerychuk

A new dinosaur species discovered by my good friend, Dr. Michael J. Ryan, was officially announced recently.

From the press release:

“The new species of dinosaur, named Centrosaurus brinkmani, belongs to the group of dinosaurs related to the well-known Triceratops, but lived about 10 million years earlier. Remains of the dinosaur were discovered in bone beds in southern Alberta, the largest of which is in Dinosaur Provincial Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ceratopsian (horned) dinosaurs can be distinguished from one another by the ornamentation on their frills that extend shield-like from the back of their skulls.

Distinctive hooks and “spikelets” on the frill of Centrosaurus brinkmani allowed scientists to identify this dinosaur as a new species.“

Read more about the new dinosaur, who it’s named after, and feast your eyes on other beautiful illustrations of the species at Palaeoblog.

When you’re done, head over to CBC’s ‘Quirks & Quarks‘ website and listen to Dr. Ryan describe the new species.

Thanks to Dean for the CBC link!

Guess who arrived in the mail today?

That’s right! Dr. Tran! Here! Now! Forever!

The ‘Special Edition’ DVD sports over 30 minutes of Bonus Features!!

Also included in this incredible DVD package:

A Cowboy Hat!!!!!!

OK. I lied. It doesn’t really contain any of those things, just the DVD. Unless my copy got raided at Customs…in which case I best call on…Dr. Tran!!!

If you haven’t ordered your DVD yet…(all you folks hitting the blog in search of the good doctor!!) get your butt over to the official Here Comes Dr. Tran website and make the purchase!

Thanks Rick (and Breehn)!

]]> http://www.digitaldreammachine.com/blog/2005/06/10/the-arrival-of-dr-tran/feed/ 1 http://www.digitaldreammachine.com/blog/2005/03/10/dr-philip-currie-joins-the-university-of-alberta/ http://www.digitaldreammachine.com/blog/2005/03/10/dr-philip-currie-joins-the-university-of-alberta/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2005 04:02:00 +0000 chad http://www.digitaldreammachine.com/wordpress/?p=49 Congratulations goes out to our good friend, Dr. Philip Currie, one of the world’s leading Palaeontologists. Starting October 1, Dr. Currie will become a professor with the University of Alberta’s Palaeontology program, here in Edmonton.

Along with his many accolades, Currie was recently chosen as one of three Canadians to receive the 2004 Michael Smith Award for outstanding achievement in the promotion of science in Canada. The award was presented by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada on November 22 of 2004.

While this is great news for the University of Alberta and Edmonton, it is sad news for the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller. The world-class museum and research institute loses not only another world-renowned expert, but also an engaging representative of the facility.

We wish Dr. Currie the best of luck in his new role!

You can read the story in the Edmonton Journal here.

Photo courtesy of Time Magazine.

Update: CBC also has a report on Currie’s new position and how it could lead to more dinosaur finds. You can read more at this link.

]]> http://www.digitaldreammachine.com/blog/2005/03/10/dr-philip-currie-joins-the-university-of-alberta/feed/ 0 http://www.digitaldreammachine.com/blog/2004/12/04/dr-michael-ryan-joins-the-cleveland-museum-of-natural-history/ http://www.digitaldreammachine.com/blog/2004/12/04/dr-michael-ryan-joins-the-cleveland-museum-of-natural-history/#comments Sun, 05 Dec 2004 04:49:36 +0000 chad http://www.digitaldreammachine.com/wordpress/?p=34 I’d like to congratulate my good friend, Dr. Michael J. Ryan on his new role as Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology with the prestigious Cleveland Museum of Natural History. In addition to his experience with the world-renowned Royal Tyrrell Museum, Ryan has travelled extensively around the globe exploring fossilized dinosaur remains and has been published in numerous scientific journals. As a member of Phaeton Group, Michael has provided in-depth scientific and creative consulting and has also helped locate some of the lost filming locations of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. Check out the press release to learn more about Michael’s accomplishments and new role.

]]> http://www.digitaldreammachine.com/blog/2004/12/04/dr-michael-ryan-joins-the-cleveland-museum-of-natural-history/feed/ 0