SPECTRUM FANTASTIC ART LIVE! Ben Templesmith
Here’s the first of my interviews with the amazing artists of Kansas City’s SPECTRUM FANTASTIC ART LIVE! show, and we’re kicking it off in style with writer and artist Ben Templesmith!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF8wPf-c6Bc]
In 2002, Ben Templesmith broke into genre consciousness as the artist and c0-creator of 30 Days Of Night, and quite simply, the series wouldn’t have been the same without him. His art is unique, a blend of exquisite detail and cartoonish excess, and it’s quite beautiful in a dark and twisted way… something perfect for what was, at the time, a groundbreaking take on vampires. But really, that was just the beginning for Templesmith.
Since then, while he’s returned to the world of Barrow, Alaska and its bloodsucker issues, he’s gone on to work on comics like Wormwood, Silent Hill, Doctor Who and his excellent Welcome To Hoxford, among many more. Along the way he’s garnered six Eisner Award nominations, two International Horror Award nominations, and a IHA win for The Nightmare Factory. These days, while working on his own projects, he also can be found working on Batman for DC Comics.
I’ll be honest. I had no idea Ben would be at Spectrum Live. I looked at the list of the Featured Guests, and when my eyes hit Mike Mignola and Brom, the art geek in me just locked up, and the list of featured exhibitors turned into a blur.
When my cameraman Chris Oliver and I came across Ben’s booth, we were both pleasantly surprised, and Ben seemed a little bemused that we would want to interview him. He kept us both laughing as we set up, with comments on Australian accents and Roman orgies… which, alas, we won’t have for you, BUT we do have much else to be amused and informed by in the video above.
The sound… isn’t the greatest. Our apologies. It was quite loud in the hall. To make up for it, here’s a short film adaptation of part of Templesmith’s Welcome To Hoxford, put together as a proof-of-concept to try and get a full scale adaptation into production. It’s adult-themed and graphic, so be warned, but it’s also extremely good, and you shouldn’t miss it!
[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/29832031]
