Artist Mike Dubisch can see into the dark corners and draw it for all to behold in its frightening and disturbing beauty. He's been working in the Underground comic book scene for decades and has contributed his ability to create unusual creatures to the world of Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars RPG, album covers, film, and shares these skills with his students at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Most recently he contributed two very disturbing, comic book stories to "Slow Death" an anthology that includes a story by R. Crumb and the last published story from Richard Corben who just passed away last year.
His art also covers the pages of Forbidden Futures Magazine, a horror anthology published by Daniel Ringquist (aka Oddness) in San Francisco. Quarterly issues that will make your hair curl.
Mike lives and works in Mazatlán, Mexico with his wife, Carolyn Watson-Dubisch and three daughters. He joins us to chat about live and art.
Mike Dubisch
How long have you been in the Underground comic book scene? What are your greatest strengths?
I've been drawing underground comix- comics too violent, weird or stylized to be part of the mainstream, since before I was considered old enough to buy such books! I think I was right for the occupation because I have a natural tendency towards the grotesque, as well as sort of a rendered style that works well in black and white,and a straddling of realism and cartoon styles.
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| Deep Divide |
From Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars RPG, album covers to films, which are your top three favorite characters?
My favorite characters overall are probably among those I draw "on my own time" Swamp Thing, Spiderman and Batman, though if I'm being honest, I'm not terribly pleased with my own depictions of those favorite characters.
Of the one's I've drawn professionally, I'd say the various dragon characters I created for Palladium Books' "Dragons and Gods", the Elf and Orc pantheons for Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons and Dragons, and the A.I. "Mr. Turtle" from Kurodahan press.
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| Deep Love |
Could you tell us more about what led to your contributing to "Slow Death"?
The story of how I came to contribute to Slow Death Zero, the latest installment of the socially and environmentally conscious comic anthology that began in the back in 1971 (the year I was born!) is interesting. My friend horror author Cody Goodfellow and I had wanted to develop a similar comic and and ended up creating the graphic novel Mystery Meat, featuring a series of stories inspired by the implications of lab grown meat. When fellow cartoonist John Lucas mentioned he was contributing to the new Slow Death, I realized they'd missed our 'demo tape' and John helped me get a copy of Mystery Meat in the editor's hands. The publisher, Last Gasp, expanded the size of the book to include two new stories from Cody and I, inspired by the issues of refugees, disease, and the garbage crisis. It's an amazing honor to be included in the book with many of the underground comix masters I've revered my whole life.
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| Pandora |
How do you feel to have your art covering the pages of Forbidden Futures Magazine?
It's an incredible honor to have all these amazing authors create new stories based on my artwork. this may be the first time an entire genre fiction magazine has been illustrated by one artists work. I'm thrilled to be working in the cutting edge of weird fiction publication.
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| Spirit World |
Where would you consider places that give you the most inspirations for your art and creations?
I often become obsessed with ancient roles that cross modern boundaries. This inspired my graphic novel "The Wet Nurse" from Strange Aeons and the upcoming story "The Doula's Exile" in Forbidden Future's issue 9. Sometimes these stories are, in a general way, inspired by the works of authors I enjoy, and in my mind at least, they are sort of tributes to those other creators.
I do enjoy travel and doing art in new locations, and on those journeys I feel like I am discovering a new artist within myself. Those excursions and the work they generate influence my professional and personal work in many ways.
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| Disembodysuit |
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