AMERICAN COMIC ARTIST/WRITER (AND LAW              ENFORCEMENT  AGENT) MICK SWINARSKI

When I first contacted Mick for this "questionaire", he just replied with his acute sense of humour: " Jose, Fire away, though I can't imagine very many people being interested in what I have to say. I'm just a hack wannabe who's been blessed to work with some of the most exceptional as of yet undiscovered talent around like; Octavio Aragao , Fabio Fernandes, Malcolm MacDonald, Dan Membiela, Allan Whincup, Dave Myatt, Stephen Rodermond, JT Chan, Paco Walker. But I'd be honored to answer any questions you have, send them up"; and replying my request for a photo :"for a picture just slap a big hairless ape up there that's generally my shape anyway.:)".
So, this is a very gifted and modest guy whose his Brazilian friends really appreciate.

-Dear Mick, let´s begin with with some background. Your age, marital status, sons? Academic graduation and profession?

I'm 38 years old. I've been happily married for 13 years to my wonderful wife Cindy, who I thank God for each daybecause she could of done so much better than me. I am the proud papa of three children; Katey, my exceptionally bright and beautiful 12 year old daughter, Mikey, my nine year old namesake who's a dichtomy, sandpaper tough witha big sweet heart, and my youngest Patrick is six and handful, mischievous as all get out but can melt your heartwith a smile. They're great kids. I graduated from the Univeristy of Nebraska Omaha with dual degrees in history and geography with which I promptly went into federal law enforcement, where I have toiled against the forces of evilfor fifteen years.:)

-How did you get started?

In what law enforcement or writing? Law enforcement, I always wanted to help people and protect my country so Iaplied and boom. Writing, well story telling has always been a hobby of mine. I originally wanted to be a comicartist and the only thing holding me back was I sucked. Add onto that I damaged my drawing hand play football, Idecided to stick to writing. Though I believe if my big break is every going to come it'll probably be asan editor or publisher.

-What is it that attracted you to art and drawing? What were your influences?

I simply loved to draw and read, so it was just a natural progression. 
Like I said I sucked as an artist but I guessI took enough art class and drew enough to at least recognize talent. 
So I am a big fan of the greats like Jack Kirby,Gil Kane, Neal Adams, Joe Simon, George Perez. I also dig the newer guys like Jim Lee, Tim Sale, Mike Deodato, Kevin MacQuire, John Cassaday.                                 (George Perez)

Writing wise Tolkien was a big influence, because I write or at least attempt to write in a very visual style, I'mreally descriptive. I like Tom Clancy also, I'm a real detailphile. 
When I write I usually do the entire story in myhead and it plays out like a mental movie to me and then I just write down what I saw and heard. This of course comesinto conflict with comic writing because the artist also has his spin on what things should like. And in my writing sometimes that has irked me because I write pretty specifically what the scene should be and when it comes backdifferently I have to remind myself that the artist will add his spin and not to scream "Hey can't you follow directions." In that way I guess I have a trait in common with Mr. Moore because I've been told that his scripts are amazingly detailed and what he writes is what he wants the artist to draw. But when your Alan Moore you can getaway with that, when your Mick Swinarski you have to give and take. 
Getting back to your original question aside from Tolkien, Clancy and Moore, I truly dig the work of my buddy Jeph Loeb, I'd kill to be able to spin a yarn as cleverly as he does on a consistent basis. Geoff Johns, Kurt Busiek (Astro City not Avengers he got a little full of himself there I thought) Kevin Smith (more his movies than his comics), and Christopher Priest are all guys who stylesI just love. 

-How you first become interested in comics? What are your earliest memories as far as that go?                                                                (Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale) 

Some thrity odd years ago, I picked up a Fantastic Four number 12 I think and I was hooked. As a kid I was sick a lotand it gave me a way out of my sick bed and I guess I still follow them as a escape hatch from the every day grind today.

-As a child, did you spend a lot of time indoors reading? Comic books only or mainstream literature also?

I read a lot, now before I go on I want to qualify when I said I sick it wasn't serious things, it was little painin the butt stuff; bad allergies, small time injuries, and such. So it wasn't like I was an invalid, I spent tons of time playing sports and running around outside, but whenever the fickle finger of fate laid me up (which happenedso often I used think God was out to get me) I just read my recovery time away. Comics have always been my favorite but I loved read just about anything. Mainly historical stuff, I also loved tales of the Arthurian Knights, Sherlock Holmes, the Musketeers, mythology. 

-When I first contact you about this "questionaire", you have replied that " I'm just a hack wannabe who's been blessed to work with some of the most exceptional as of yet undiscovered talent around like; Octavio, Fabio Fernandes, Malcolm MacDonald, Dan Membiela, Allan Whincup, Dave Myatt, Stephen Rodermond, JT Chan, Paco Walker. What work have you done together  with all these artists? - please, go indeep, give us all details.

The guys I listed are all fellows I was honored to have worked with on a fan magazine called the "Awesome Army Outpost". It was dedicated to the characters of the Awesome publishing company and I owe a big thanks to Rob Liefeld and Jeph Loeb for letting us do for two years with their permission and support.

The Outpost is where I first met my Brasillian Brother, Octavio Aragao, when we worked on a piece regarding the origin of a Alan Moore character, Professor Night. We were discussing putting out the second issue of the Outpost and I saidI wanted to do a piece on the Professor, a character I just love, and out of nowhere this guy from Brasil says he'd like to also. I said okay, not knowing the collaboration would be one of the coolest pieces I ever did. Octavio and I just clicked when we started discussing the story, I talk about something and the next day he'd e mail an amazing sketch that was perfect, dead on what I was thinking. We were on the  same page from like day one, it was so cool.
So we did that piece and then another Moore piece, actually I think everything we did for the Outpost sans one was centered around a Moore character. Anyway we did a piece on Johnny Panic (read below note)that I thought was top drawer, a good mixture of action and comedy, we really nailed the character in my opinion and it was a step up from Professor Night artistically
I thought, we were getting better each time out. Then we followed it up with a piece that allowed me to play not only with another Moore character, the Winter Knight, but involve some of the Arthurian legend that I loved. That piece was probably our high water mark. We have discussed working on another character for Joe Simon, but life and the pursuit of providing for our families has put our plans on the back burner. Still I hope to one day live the dream of hooking up with Octavio again and just blowing everyone out of the water or at least making them mildly damp.:)

I got preoccupied about my work with octavio, but I wanted to mention one of the most satisfying and proud moments of the Outpost. The great comic innovator, Gil Kane, had just died, we were about to send issue number six I think out to print. When one of my writer, Malcolm MacDonald, e mailed and asked for a few day to whip out a tribute to Gil
that he had done with is artist buddy Allan Whincup and inker Dave Myatt. Well we all loved Kane so I said sure and if the span of a three day weekened, they put out a six page tribute that was simply stunning. Allan did it in Kane's signature style, Dave's inks were clean and concise and Malcolm's story was an amazing send off to a great man. I sent a special copy on high quality paper to his widow via a Kane  family friend and few weeks later a got a letter back from Mrs. Kane thanking us for the book and how much she enjoyed and how Gil would've been honored, that was our shining moment I believe.

- What was the first comic by Alan Moore did you read? -Did it had a special impact on you? Why?

Hard to say, I mean I can't really remember what was the first one.  The impact on me was "Gee this guy is dark" So it must've been Watchmen :). No, in all honesty I always liked Alan but it wasn't until he redid Supreme and how he was revamping an archtype that I really began to pay more attention  to his work. His stuff on Supreme, Robinson's Golden Age, Loeb's year one Batman stories, Johns' JSA these were the  type of stories I wanted to write taking these icons and breathing life into them again. These were the heroes  or archtypes I grew up with and I wanted to bring to life.

-What do you think is his best work to date? Why?

Well I'd expect a lot of folks would say Watchmen and it was an  amazing piece, but I gotta go with Supreme. It is an eternal shame that he isn't able to elaborate further on the universe 
he created there.

-What do you think about Big Numbers, if you have  read the  only two published issues?

I have to admit I haven't picked that up. But you've set off my  curiousity alarm, so I may have to see if I can locate me a copy to peruse.

-What do you think Alan would have intended to convey with this very  promising story?

Please buy my books I have two growing daughters.:)

-Do you agree with Chaos theory that our world (and the Universe as a  whole by extension) is ruled by fractals,  strange attractors and so on, where a little alteration on initial 
conditions could cause big and unexpected alterations  on the final ones?  

                                       (Octavio´s lay-out of  a Johnny Pannic page)

I agree that tiny occurrences can have a role in major sitautions. Do I believe in the Choas theory? No. To quote Oliver Wendell Jones, a favorite cartoon character of mine from the 
late great Bloom County strip, "The Universe is just too well ordered to have been just an big accident." I think  stuff happens because that's what suppose to  happen, I'm not saying fate, I'm just saying rendunancy is more  likely. I think there is a God, but I don't think
he harps on the actions of us mere mortals that why he set up the law  of physics to take care of what happens to a brick when you drop it, it falls ten times out of ten.

-Could a graphic-novel comprise all the complexity of human existence, common life, the whole Universe and so on, as an unique, united system, as AM intended to do with Big Numbers?                                                          (Kurt Busiek)

The whole Universe? No, I think instead of drugs if you want to blow your mind, try really hard to conceptualize how big the universe is. I mean ernestly try to grasp the logistics and as such I don't think there's enough paper on the planet to cover the complexity of existence. That being said I think a graphic novel is as good a place as any to try to explain one person's beliefs regarding said universe. But again no matter how detailed or vast the work I simply don't think man is capable of that task, maybe when we figure 
out how to utilize the 3/4 of our brain matter maybe. Personally, I think the extra 3/4 may actually be there simply  as a counterbalance so our heads don't  constantly tip forward.

-Do you think someday Alan could change his mind and thinks about it  again?

Anything's possible and when you have someone like Alan Moore, a very  intelligent man, I'd be surprised if he didn't because as you learn and grow, your perceptions, your  beliefs change. Show me someone who thinks they have it all figured out and I show you someone who's at a dead end intellectually. 

("Eternity´s End", by Swinarski - story & edits; Malcolm MacDonald - script; Allan Whincup - pencils e leters; & Dave Myatt - inks) 

-What are your ideas about Watchmen's innovations?

Watchmen was a Pandora's box, once Alan opened it that was it. The addition of stark realism and showing the all too human side of "heroes" was an amazing advance for comics. But as, unfortunately, it happens in comics it led to overkill. Instead of comics being about good versus evil, it was evil versus not quite as evil, comics became dark way too dark in my opinion. Writing runs like Scott Lobdell's on the   X-Men became just one depressing episode after another, you needed to take valium before reading your comics to stave off the need to slash your wrists due to all the doom and gloom. The world is a dark enough place I didn't see the need to blungdeon us with it in a entertainment medium. A lot of folks will point to a sales increase during this period, but I'll say look at the sales plummet that followed. Things like overly graphic violence, T &  A, dark "realism" are quick numbers getter but in my opinion they're temporary fixes because eventually the novelty wears off and the reader becomes jaded and it takes greater and greater levels of these formulas to even raise an  eyebrow, right up to where all you have  is 22 pages of unbated gore. Now again I am not accusing Alan of that  because he tempered his writing with elements of hope and humor. But I think to pull that off you need a writer of  immense talent elsewise it's all just shlock. There's a fine line between just enough and way too much. 

-And for From Hell, do you think it could be considered a history of the cradle to the 20th Century, with all its paranoia,conspirations and corruption? 

Well no because for one, I think he pegged the wrong guy as Jack the Ripper. There was a vigilante leader in White Chapel who I think did it; not only would he have the trust of these 
women after the initial attacks, what better place to hide than in the mob looking for the killer. Aside from the  Ripper angle I think Moore did a excellent job in portraying the social and political aspects of the time, but as  a closet optimist I tend to hope people are more good than bad. And I think it's easy to point out the faults  of society by highlighting certain major players and showing how they acted, but that's just one side of the  story how about the dozens, hundreds, thousands of citizens who were just trying to survive and had no part of the  scheming and plotting. You never hear about them because basically it's boring and let's face for all the social  relevance Moore may have been shooting for he still is in the business of selling books. No one is going to pick up  a story about a ho-hum 9 to 5er who loves his wife and kids. But you still have to acknowledge that guy is out there, so while you highlight the graft and the corruption, don't condemn society on whole because there are good people out there and I'm pretty sold on the good will eventually defeat evil concpet. Having said that I also realize from dealing with the scum of the society daily that a lot of folks are quite sheepish and one charmastic leader  can lead to folks to truly expose their dark  side, i.e. Hitler, Hussien, Bin Laden, Stalin. 

-What are your impressions on Brought to Light and its references to the CIA's covert operations around the world?

I am unfamiliar with the work, but let me in regards to my colleagues, what we know about the CIA and their action is a fraction of what they are actually all about. So to judge an organization on so minute a part of the whole picture is actually pretty arrogant and unfair. I tend to think that what motivated the folks to join the CIA is what motivated me to join the Bureau. A love of country, a desire to protect, and a hope to make a difference in the world for the plus. Now a lot of folks will point to all the CIA's well  known foipas, but there's an old saying in the intelligence game, "No one knows when you win". There are things these  people have done that have saved a lot of people also, but no one will ever know about it because that's the "spy" game  and yes I am speaking as an American and a lot of people nowadays are pointing fingers our way and sating we're  arrogant or imperialistic. But I'll answer back when you're in a bind who are you going to call or whose the first ones there with aid? For all our flaws and we have a lot, at least we're trying to help.

-Do you think that comics can be a political instrument , that they can  reach and appeal to a large audience?

I think any form of mass media can be used as a form of political instruction and indoctrination. Modern day comic creator are no different than the roving ministrels of old, telling tales of Robin Hood or Charelmange. Today's comic creator's ancestors are Homer and Mallory, people have always liked to be entertained by fanciful stories and even in the age of nano second attention spans and 200 cable channels people like to hear about heroes and their amazing feats. If those stories are used to teach something even better, but I  also think you have to be fair and not overly judgmental when you tell those tales. Hammering your audience with  your own political or social views is a great way to thin out your audience. Presenting a story with a meaning in a  way that allows the audience to judge for  themselves, that's the mark of a truly talented wordsmith.
(Ron Garney´s Cap.)
-And AM´s debuting in mainstream literature with Voice of the Fire, do  you think it accomplished it´s intention, to tell the history of magic, wichtcraft, shamanism and so on, through the history of Northampton?

I feel underprepared because obviously I am not up on my Moore  readings as I should be. But I have read a lot of his background work and have a basis of what I believe his story is. But as I have a sampling and not the entire work to judge my analysis on I can only say, he has a fascinating concept of world building and such. We used his World Tree in our issue seven of the Outpost (a massive crossover featuring  22 different creators from four different countries all working on one story) and it played out fairly well. There was  some tweaking here and there but that's just because different writers all put their own spin in as they write. As for accomplishing it's intent, I don't think Alan would put it out if it didn't realize his expectation and that's how you have to judge that and any work of literature what 
did the reader or viewer, in the case of art, take from the work. 

-Our friend Octavio Aragao (also my interviewee) told me you have done  something related to Alan Moore. What is it? Tell us with all details.

As I said earlier Octavio and I worked on Professor Night, we even did a prospectus on the good Professor in which we fleshed out the character and several of his rogue's gallery. Some  excellent art work by Octavio, especially his rendering of Jack Dandy. Unfortunately despite good reviews by Awesome  publisher Jeph Loeb, we got shafted when Awesome 
got into financial problems and began to decline. A opportunity to  write for an expanding comic universe died at the hands of a corporate financial back out. We also did Moore's Johnny Panic and Winter Knight.

-Any other projects related to Alan? 

Rob Liefeld owns the rights to Moore's Awesome characters and right now as a publisher they aren't going anywhere. But, I'd write Professor Night with Octavio in a second if given the chance.

-What do you think about Magic and about Alan's lyrics, CDs, The Birth Caul and Snakes and Ladders?

You're throwing stuff at me I've never heard of, I'm afraid I'm not the Moorephile as you are. My opinion on actual magic, there is stuff that can't be explained, forces that are beyond  our control, but I'm not sure if they're supernatural or just stuff that we don't having the capability of undedrstanding as of yet. 

-Movies and mainly music, can affect us deeply, rousing imprevisible  emotions. So it is Poetry. They all can transcend  its limitations as a genre. What about comics? Could it have this  quality also? (Mike Deodato)

I think anything that is well written or drawn can exceed it's precieved boundaries. Storylines like Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, the Death of Superman (while not of the literary standards of the preceeding two) all ventured into areas where comics usually feard to tread. I believe it's not the genre or medium it's the product itself that needs to evaluated, because if you turn your head from a specific area  simply because it's not what you usually dabble in you could miss something amazing.

-Could you mention examples? 

No because I feel that's more personal I think than uniform to  society. What motivates me and might not interest you at all, but that's why there's more than one flavor of ice cream. I 
dig Mint Chip while you might go for Strawberry Cheesecake, neither is right and neither is wrong, it's just what floats our respective boats, same with comics, music, anything. 

-Would AM be the pioneer and maybe the main representative of this  wider scope of the genre, as a true art form?

No, while Alan is a very talented man and likes to dabble in many  mediums. He's certainly not the first, I mean not even in comics, look at someone like Kevin Smith or even easier Stan Lee he's worked in comics, television, movies, he had a internet comic thing going to J Michael Straycznski he did Babylon 5 for televison  then moved over to comics. Jeph Loeb was a  movie producer and screenwriter before working on comics. There's a  ton of folks who have ventured into other areas of creativity, Alan is just another in the line of really talented  folks doing so.

- Returning to your comics and art, tell us more about them, their's  motivation, generation, objectives and so on .  What do you think is your best job till now and why?

I'm not sure I understand the question, sorry. My choice in comics  tends towards the traditional heroes Captain America being my favorite. I go for stories that are actually stories  and not just twenty two page picture books.
As for when I write it depends the character; for Professor  Night or Johnny Panic I went lighter and tried to interject humor wherever I could. I was more serious with the Winter 
Knight, and I have a character called the Chosen which is probably the darkest I ever wrote and in a near perfect segue it'd probably be my best work if it ever sees the public light of day. I write to entertain but naturally my own personal convictions will get tossed in there
from time to time. I couldn't write a character and adapt an entirely  different attitude because that wouldn't be my honest thoughts and I think you need sincerity to really write 
and I haven't learned how to fake that yet.:)

-Where can our readers see your art? 

They don't want to, my art is horrible. But if you want to read some of my stuff and you'd be the first outside of my wife and Mom, I could see what I can dig in ways of old issues of the Outpost or possibly contact my buddy, Octavio.

-Do you know the comic art of the now famous Brazilian Mike Deodato?  What do you think about it?

I love Deodato. Beautiful work; nice clean, crisp lines, good body language, and nice details. His work on Elektra for

                              JOHNNY PANIC  ( Em Portugues logo abaixo )

    "The Johnny Panic character, created by Alan Moore and originally drawn by Steve Skoce, is a tennager super-hero whose powers are...to create a "rave" in the minds of the enemies.

Thanks to an armature that shoots holographic images and an arsenal that shoots a krakatoa of several alucinogens, Johnny is a typical 00´s heroe, blending equally doses of counter-culture and inamous jokes.

The female-villain is Evening Primrose, another Alan Moore´s character. Since she never had been drawn before, her visual conception had been done by me after her´s background developed by Mick.

Evening is Alan Moore´s own version to Batman´s female villain, Poison Ivy. She is a deadly female who use plant´s as a gun. In our story, she is after Johnny´s psychodelic armature.

Everything is conducted under a very "camp" atmospherem quoting a lot of Pop Culture´s remarkable ichons, like Batman´s old TV series, starring Adam West; Star Wars; Babylon 5 (Evening Primrose even had been conceived after actress Claudia Christian´s likeness); an d even the Nirvana ( Johnny´s slangs and quotations had been inspired on Kurt Cobain). 

Johnny Panic: Down The Primrose Path had been originally published  in the issue # 3 of the  fanzine  Awesome Army Outpost, 1999. "    (Octavio Aragão ) 

           "O personagem Johnny Panic, criado por Alan Moore e desenhado originalmente por Steve Skroce, é um super-herói adolescente cujo poder é... criar uma "rave" na cabeça dos inimigos!

Graças a uma armadura que projeta imagens holográficas e um arsenal que dispara doses dos mais diversos alucinógenos, Johnny é um herói dos anos 00, que mistura contra-cultura e piadinhas infames.

A vilã dessa história é Evening Primrose, outra criação de Moore.
Como ela nunca foi desenhada por ninguém, sua concepção visual é de minha autoria, e o backgound do personagem é do Mick.

Evening é a versão de Moore para a Hera Venenosa, vilã de Batman. É uma mulher fatal que usa a temática das plantas para atacar seus inimigos. Nessa história, ela está atrás da armadura psicodélica de Johnny.

O clima todo é bem camp, com várias citações a ícones pop, tais como o velho seriado de Batman, com Adam West, Star Wars, Babylon 5 (Evening Primrose foi desenhada tendo como modelo a atriz Claudia Christian) e até ao Nirvana (a inspiração para as expessões de Johnny veio de Kurt Cobain).

Johnny Panic: Down The Primrose Path foi publicada originalmente no fanzine Awesome Army Outpost, nº 3, em 1999.  (Octavio Aragão )