As you guys already know, my favorite art style is 50’s propaganda. I love the bold slogans and the minimalist artwork.
I’ve already seen Ant Lucia’s work on the web before and I loved his Star Wars pieces. After I found out he was designing DC’s Bombshells statue, I had to talk to him about his work!
NerdSociety (NS): How did you end up working with DC Direct for the Bombshells line?
Ant Lucia (AL): I met the DC Collectibles team at C2E2 in Chicago back in 2011. They discovered my Artist Alley table and mentioned a project they might want my help with. We kept in touch through the con circuit. Chatting a little bit more at different shows and a couple months later I got a call. They’ve been extremely cool throughout the whole process.
NS: Do you work closely with DC’s sculptors?
AL: I really don’t communicate with the sculptor, I work with the DC team exclusively to finalize the art and then they communicate with the sculptor. Sometimes they make tweaks to the designs based on budget or functionality that I don’t see until the prototype is finished.
NS: They’ve show 4 statues to the public, which one has been your favorite?
AL: The first 4 are all so different it’s hard to pick a favorite. Wonder Woman is the first, with my favorite expression and I got to come up with some really fun details for her including the bracelets and belt buckle. Supergirl is my favorite pose. Poison Ivy has such fun “vine” play and Harley Quinn’s accessories were fun to work on with the jacket details and gun trinkets.
NS: What attracts you to 50’s art style?
AL: As a designer and illustrator I have always been attracted to not only the artwork but the composition and type treatments as well. Not to mention the campy sales pitches; buy this, enlist here, look out for std and all that good stuff.
NS: What’s your favorite character to draw, the least?
AL: Batman is my favorite, there are so many ways to draw him. As for the worst, that would be Spider-Man! All the webbing in his costume is a pain in the ass!
NS: Can you explain The Spook Show pinups?
AL: Spookshow Pinups was my debut line I developed when I first started this particular style. I started doing pinup illustrations but wanted to do a collection that had a common theme as my first series. The whole idea was to put my own spin on classic movie monsters and their female counterparts that where always a big part of the classic movie monster posters. In all the old posters the female character always look terrified by the monsters, in mine I wanted to present them as if it where more of a romantic comedy.
NS: I’ve only seen your work online and not at West Coast cons, will you ever do a California con?
AL: I’m from the midwest so I do a lot of show that are close to me. I plan to hit either WonderCon or SanDiego Comicon in the next year. I just exhibited at the Phoenix Comicon which seemed to have a lot of California fans.
NS: Do you do commissions at cons? If so what’s been your favorite?
AL: Typically, I do more signing than sketching. I stay pretty busy at the shows, so I try to avoid commissions. I prefer chatting with fans and as a fan I try to look around a bit and meet other artists. On occasion, I’ll do a sketch for an auction or charity or if a fan e-mails me prior to the show. My favorite was a Catwoman shredding a batman stuffed animal with her claws.
NS: What comics are you currently reading right now?
AL: My comic purchases are all over the place and it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to sink into a title. My habits are picking up a bunch of titles that I like the artwork on and never getting a chance to read them.
NS: So do you have a favorite comic story?
AL: CRAP!! You keep trying to pin me down! I’m a huge Batman fan so let’s go with Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns
NS: Any final words to your fans?
AL: Thank you for inspiring me! It’s so exciting to meet people that truly love your work and are excited to see what’s new. I have a blast watching people’s reactions to a particular piece. It’s truly rewarding. THANKS AGAIN!
I want to thank Mr. Lucia for the interview.
He just revamped his website, where you can purchase his awesome work. Make sure to check it out!
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