Trained by the likes of Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman, encouraged by Marie Severin, you'd think that a talented artist like Mark Sparacio would have gone straight to work in the four-color industry. It didn't happen. He developed a whole other career for almost twenty years before returning to the art form he loved. But he couldn't ignore the call of comics. After getting back in the groove, his work began appearing on the cover of Shi, then published by Crusade Fine Arts. Now his Shi paintings have been seen on the covers of Previews and Overstreet's Comic Price Reivew (in addition to the upcoming Dark Horse series) and he's got additional work coming out from DC. Scoop caught up with this fantastic artist and got his story.

Scoop: Where were you born, and where did you grow up?
Mark Sparacio: I was born in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York, but when I was three and a half my folks bought a house in East Meadow, Long Island, New
York.

Scoop: What was your first exposure to comics?
Mark Sparacio: When I was about five years old or so my Grandparents came to visit us. My Grandfather and Grandmother still lived in Brooklyn at the time, so they would come out and stay for the weekend. On one particular trip my Grandfather brought out a stack of comic books that were probably going to be tossed out by the local candy store. In that pile were the usual Archie's and other "funny book-type" comics. But there were also some Batman, Superman, Sgt. Rock, Spider-Man, Strange Tales featuring a Nick Fury cover by the incomparable Jim Steranko, and two other books that really caught my attention, D.C.'s House of Mystery #159 and Marvel's Tales to Astonish #79. The H.O.M. featured Dial H for Hero. The T.T.A. featured an awesome cover of the Hulk battling Hercules, which I think was done by the great Marie Severin. (In a bit of an ironic twist I met Marie Severin up at the Marvel offices when I was fifteen. I had sent some drawings of some characters that I had worked up to the art editor and asked for an interview. I received a letter saying that they weren't interested in my characters but I could come up to the offices and speak with someone about my work. It was Marie Severin and she gave me about 40 minutes of her time, discussing my artwork, explaining to me how I could improve and showing me around the offices. She was great and that left an indelible mark on me.) At the time, I was only five, I really didn't think too much about comics. I flipped through that stack a few times and stuck them in the back of my closet.

Scoop: At what age did you know you wanted to be an artist?
Mark Sparacio: I always liked to draw but I probably didn't think seriously about being a comic book artist until I was thirteen. When I was younger I liked to play a lot of sports and I blew out my knee. The doctor told me I could be operated on or stay off it (no sports) for six months. I chose the easy way out and opted for no surgery. As a gag, one of my friends gave me a whole stack of comic books to read knowing I couldn't do anything physical (like chase him down and pummel him). So with that I was reintroduced to comic books, but this time it kind of stuck. Not only did I start reading them, I started to want to write and draw them. I also started voraciously collecting them. So for the next couple of years that's what I did. I wrote and drew as much as I could. When I was in high school I met one of my best friends, Richard Martin. Rich was into comics and also wanted to be an artist. He was editing a couple of publications (as well as doing artwork for them) that the school was putting out and he encouraged me to do some artwork for them. One was a science fiction magazine called Probe. This is where I had my first attempt at comic book work printed. That's about the time I met Marie Severin. Also around that time my buddy Rich and I would drive to a small gallery in Huntington, L.I. to hear lectures by industry greats like John Buscema and Gene Colan talk about comics. That was it for me. I was hooked. I knew then that I wanted to be a comic book artist. By the time I was ready to graduate high school, I had picked a couple of colleges that I wanted to attend. The one I really wanted to go to was the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. At the time it had one teacher that I knew I had to study with, Will Eisner.

Scoop: You trained with Will Eisner. How did that come about, and what was it like?
Mark Sparacio: As I said earlier I knew I wanted to get into the comic book industry and I knew getting in would be a lot easier with good training. My first year at S.V.A. was great. Six hour drawing classes, six hour painting classes, anatomy classes, and being surrounded by an entire school population that basically ate, drank and slept art. It was heaven. The only thing that sucked was that I had to wait until my junior year to get into Will's class. He only accepted juniors and seniors in his class. At the start of my second year at S.V.A., I enrolled in Harvey Kurtzman's cartooning class. Although it was an interesting class, it was gearing its students to be comic strip artists. You know the daily comic strips like Doonesbury and the Far Side. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I wanted the sequential stuff. I wanted the superheroes. So I formulated a plan. That first week of my second year I dropped out of Kurtzman's class and sat in on Will's class. After the class I approached Will. I explained to him that I was a sophomore and that I wanted to enter his class this year. He told me that he only accepted juniors and seniors. I replied that I thought I could benefit greatly if I could study with him for the extra year because I really, really wanted to be a comic book artist, as if all the other kids taking his course didn't. I guess he liked my chutzpah because he told me to bring my portfolio next week and he'd consider it. Well, I said I had a plan... I had my portfolio with me. After a look, Will decided I could benefit from a third year with him and he let me in on three conditions: (1) Always make his class, (2) Always do my assignments and (3) Always try my hardest. And to say the least, I did. I became the first student Will took as a sophomore. Will ran a fantastic class that I can absolutely say had an incredibly huge impact on me. It was an experience. For three hours every Thursday Will discussed the nuances of comics, penciling, inking, writing and of course storytelling, storytelling, storytelling. There were all sorts of discussions. And then Will would tell us stories about the golden age of comics. Stories about the Eisner/Iger studios... Lou Fine, Reed Crandell and others. Will also would spend a lot of extra time after class talking about comics or anything at all. It was way cool. Over the years I stayed in contact with Will, even though I wasn't in comics. Last summer I went to Comic-Con International: San Diego. I knew Will would be there so I called him to let him know I was going to attend. He asked why and I told him I was finally trying to break into comics. He said, "Better late than never kid." He asked me to meet him at the Dark Horse booth and show him my stuff. I felt just like that day I begged to get into his class. And the cool thing was, he made me feel great. He looked over my paintings and told me I was on my way. He had that way of making people feel comfortable when he was teaching and he still has it to this day.

Scoop: At the time, what did you think the most important thing you learned from Will was?
Mark Sparacio: At the time the most important thing I learned from Will was the storytelling. He really concentrated his class on that because he knew not all of us were going to make it into the comic book industry. He saw, even then, that sequential art had many other uses in advertising such as storyboarding. Back then, he basically explained that what sequential artists are trying to do is be the writer, director, lighting and sound for a medium that does not move or speak.

Scoop: Has your perspective on that changed over the years?
Mark Sparacio: No, I'd say my thinking on storytelling hasn't really changed over the years, even though I haven't done anything sequentially. Yet.

Scoop: You had a pretty long detour following school and before kicking your comics career into gear. What happened?
Mark Sparacio: Well I was one of the guys who didn't go into the comic book industry right away. It actually took me twenty years to come back to what has always been my first love. What happened was that while I was still in school I received my first real job. It was a movie poster for a United Artist film called The Draughtsman's Contract. At the time I was a senior at S.V.A., I received a call from the art director at U.A. to do this job. It was really cool. They set me up with a private screening of the film and I did some roughs. They liked one and I did it as a finished painting. While I was at S.V.A. and studying under Will, I was still taking anatomy, drawing and painting courses. At the time my fiancée Erin (now my wife), who also was a student at S.V.A., had an appointment with our guidance counselor/head of the illustration department, Marshall Arisman, to show him her portfolio and get his feedback. That day she happened to forget her portfolio, so instead of canceling the appointment, being the opportunist that I am, I showed him mine. It was a mixture of some paintings and mostly comic book art. At that time I had been tinkering around with fully painting the comic images instead of just using flat color. Marshall said I should think about illustration instead of comics. There was more money to be made in advertising. He must have liked something he saw in my work because he gave my name to the A.D. at United Artists. When I did get the call to do the poster, even Will said it was a better decision to go into advertising than comics. The comics industry was in one of its downward turns. So that poster led to another and then lots of ads, toy packaging and video cover illustrations. I had a real good run in advertising and met and worked with a lot of good creative people. I also honed my painting skills.

Scoop: After such a lengthy time, what made you start thinking about comics again?
Mark Sparacio: Well a couple of things really. After 9-11, I lost a lot of my clients, but much more tragically my family suffered a greater loss. My wife's brother Patrick Dwyer, who was a V.P. at Cantor Fitzgerald, was killed in the attack on the Twin Towers. So having to deal with that was extremely difficult. On top of that my business was failing. I was very depressed and really didn't know what to do. One night in February 2002, I just couldn't sleep, so at like two-thirty in the morning I grabbed a stack of comic books and went to the living room to read so I wouldn't wake Erin. It was then that I realized I had my answer in my hands. I also thought about my brother-in-law, Pat. Here was a guy who had it all. Great family, lots of money, big house, everything ... and a job he really loved. He loved it so much and was so good at it that he didn't have to go in to work that horrible day. But he did. Because he loved it. That's how I decided to try my hand at comic books again, because I took some inspiration from Erin's brother, Pat. My wife Erin has also had a very important role in my attempt at entering the comics industry. When I felt I wasn't going to make it, she was right there kicking me in the butt, telling me I could do this. Thanks for believing in me.

Scoop: You've done some work with Billy Tucci on Shi. How did you meet him?
Mark Sparacio: Oh God, Billy Tucci. I'm just kidding. Let's see... I met Billy in October of 2002 at the first convention I had attended in twenty years down in Baltimore, the Baltimore Comic-Con. I was nervous as all hell, because I had started working on my comics portfolio in February 2002 and felt I still wasn't ready. Comic book art is very different from advertising art and it took me a while to make the adjustment. I had put in a panicked call to my good friend, Tim Taylor, who had a friend, Brian Bilter who knew the excellent penciler Rags Morales (I knew Rags' work from Hourman, Turok and the J.S.A., and Tim had sent me some photo copies of Rags' pencil work). I called Rags and asked him if I could meet with him to pick his brain about getting into the industry. Rags was gracious enough to meet with me for four hours and he gave me a lot of great advice on my penciling and inking technique. Now you have to remember, I hadn't drawn or inked in a comic book style for about eighteen years. So what Rags said was extremely welcome. It was all very constructive. Then I pulled out a painting that I had done over a copy of a drawing that Rags' had done of Nexus. He loved it and thought that was the way I should try to get into the industry. So upon Rags' advice I did a bunch more paintings in preparation of trying to get work in comics. All that background info aside, I was determined to meet Billy Tucci because I knew he used other artists on the covers of his books. Also, it helped that Billy and I share the same accountant. Our accountant, Ray Rottkamp, had told me back in April 2002, that if I ever needed help getting into comics, one of his other clients was none other than Billy Tucci. When I saw that Billy was going to be at the Baltimore convention, I put in a call to Ray. Ray called Deb (Billy's wife) and set it up. While I was at the show I tried to meet with Billy three or four times but he was always mobbed with fans. It looked as if I wasn't going to meet him. Finally on Sunday afternoon as the show was almost over I got Billy's attention by flashing him a Marilyn Monroe painting that I had done for an ad. I guess he liked what he saw because we've been doing a lot of work together since and we've become good friends. I also appreciate the opportunity that Billy gave me. He has opened doorways for me and continues to try to help me build my career.


Scoop: What was the first thing you worked with him on?
Mark Sparacio: The first thing that Billy and I worked on together was the cover to Shi: The Illustrated Warrior # 5 (Crusade Fine Arts). Billy did a beautiful pencil drawing and I did a painting from it. He gave me his pencil drawing on a Friday and I returned a finished painting to him on Monday. He needed it quickly because he was trying to make a tight deadline. I think he was kind of surprise at the quick turnaround but I was extremely excited to work on that piece as it would be my first published comic book work. After that we did the cover to Shi: The Illustrated Warrior #6 and a double cover to issue #7. I also did a bunch of fully rendered black and white pencil illustrations for the interior of #7.

Scoop: How different is it when you paint something you didn't pencil?
Mark Sparacio: Actually it's quite interesting to paint over somebody else's pencils because you get to see how they work and what their thought processes are. Also I'm still a fanboy at heart, so it's cool to see somebody else's work. In the truest sense though, I'm not directly painting on their artwork. What I do is make a copy of the original pencils and then I trace it backwards line for line. I then take this backward drawing turn it the correct way (so the graphite is now touching my painting paper) and transfer it to this surface by retracing every line. I know this sounds crazy but since I work in water color, it's the best way of transferring a drawing and holding its integrity. At the end what you have is Billy's original pencils still intact and a finished painting by me.

Scoop: You've continued working with him, including on the piece that was on the cover of the February 2004 Previews. How has the reception been?
Mark Sparacio: Well people seem to really like our stuff. I know Billy likes my painting over his pencils and I like working with him. As for the piece on the cover to the February 2004 issue of Previews, Billy has titled it "The Rising Sun." That particular painting is one of my favorites because before Billy and I worked on that piece we were discussing the work of one of our favorite illustrators, Coles Phillips. He was a contemporary of Norman Rockwell, J.C. Leyendecker and Maxfield Parrish. Coles Phillips was famous for his beautiful women illustrations, most notably his "fade-away girls." Billy and I decided to try to incorporate that technique in that piece.

Scoop: On the upcoming Shi covers, it really looks like your painting has been inspiring Tucci to push his pencils quite a bit, and it also looks like he's pushing you as well. Is that an accurate assessment? (and why/why not)?
Mark Sparacio: I don't know that Billy needs anybody to push him. The guy's got a terrific drawing sensibility and great work ethic. Maybe it's that Billy's picking up on the excitement that I have for doing comic book work because it's really fresh to me. It's something I've always wanted to do. We also share a lot of the same interests in the industry, in art history and outside interests as well. So we can talk about a lot of stuff and maybe that helps him get inspired. I know it does for me. Getting back to the Dark Horse covers for the new Shi series, I think they look really cool and I'm looking forward to what the future holds for both working with Billy and Dark Horse and working in the industry on my own.

Scoop: What time of day do you like to work?
Mark Sparacio: Honestly, anytime of day I'm working is a good time of day. I know that sounds like BS, but after the past couple of years I had I'm just thrilled to be working. Getting into comics has totally rejuvenated my career. It's exciting again for me to be at the drawing board. I really enjoy drawing superheroes and it makes me feel like a kid again. So I can work any time of day or night. And like most other artists I've put in my share of all-nighters. I just hope people like what I'm doing and give me an opportunity to continue to grow in a medium I love.

Scoop: What's your studio space like?
Mark Sparacio: My studio space is probably like most other artists, a controlled chaotic disaster. My wife Erin claims that I'm in violation of every fire code in the book, but it's not that bad. I do have a lot of reference books and magazines, oh and tons of comics. When I was doing well as an illustrator I bought some Golden Age comics. Without a doubt my absolute pride is an F/VF copy of Uncle Sam #1, which, Erin gave to me as an anniversary gift.

Scoop: Do you like silence when you work, or do you have stuff going on in the background?
Mark Sparacio: I like to work with music on. Some of my friends can work with the TV on, but I can't. The television is too visual a medium for me and thus a distraction. If there is a hockey game or a movie on I'll end up watching and lose all that time. So for me it's music. I have about 1400 CD's in my collection. My taste varies widely from classic rock thru jazz thru punk and metal. I've got a lot of stuff from small independent labels that nobody has ever heard of. And even though I like classic rock, I like listening to new and different stuff. Plus if I keep it loud enough I can drown out the noise from my two sons.

Scoop: What else have you been working on?
Mark Sparacio: Currently I've done the cover for DC's Green Lantern #175, another as yet to be determined Green Lantern cover and also an upcoming issue of J.S.A. Also right now I'm waiting to show some cover sketches to Marvel for a possible Exiles assignment.

Scoop: Anything else you'd like to add?
Mark Sparacio: Yes. I'd like to thank my wife Erin for putting up with this bizarre journey that we've been on. I'd also like to thank both the entire Dwyer and Sparacio families for their support. I'd also like to again thank Billy and Deb Tucci for giving me my very first shot at comics work. Also for all of their insights and business acumen. Also special thanks to Peter Tomasi, editor at D.C. comics, for having faith in me by giving me my first major comics company work. I'd also like to thank industry giants Mark Mckenna and Alex Saviuk. I met Alex at last years San Diego convention. After talking with him for a couple of minutes we discovered we had something in common, Will Eisner. Alex, it turns out went to S.V.A. a few years before I did and he studied under Will also. Alex has been a great friend and a real source of inspiration (I loved reading his Green Lantern, Flash and Web of Spiderman stuff). When I went to Baltimore to meet Billy Tucci in October 2002, I ran into Mark McKenna. Mark also went to S.V.A. and he and I were in Will's class together although we knew each other only peripherally. I was also a big fan of Mark's work, buying anything he inked, especially over Mike McKone's pencils. Mark immediately welcomed me to sit down and talk. And we've been talking ever since. Mark has become a great friend and mentor. Thanks to both for their time and patience.