Hello all, Mad Dashiell here and thanks for joining us. Throughout the year's great films such as King Kong and The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad heralded special effects giants of their day. Today we chat with a hero from behind the scenes, special effects wizard, concept, storyboard, and comic book artist Michael Broom.
(Mad Dashiell/MD): "As an artist known for special effects, makeup, creature design, and comic art, please tell us a little about yourself. What got you into all of this?"
(Michael Broom/MB): "--'All of this' meaning...?"
(MD): "Speaking as a fan for awhile now, Its plain to see you're an artistic visionary steeped in all things awesome but especially I've noticed in horror. Your IMDB alone shows us that you're climbing right up there with the Godfathers of creature design. Tell us a little about what inspired you and cause you to get into doing that?"
(MB): "First of all, Thank you, much appreciate the compliment.
I guess I've always had an interest in horror and science fiction movies, ever since watching as many on television as a kid that I could find. Old black & white horror films of my youth like 'King Kong', 'Planet of the Apes' and 'Frankenstein' made an indelible impression on me early in life, and I grew up in what some consider a 'Golden era' of horror in the 70's with 'The Exorcist' and 'Jaws' being impressionable on me as well. I always loved creating art, so my interests were leaning that direction right from the start. I didn't take the risk to move across country (to Los Angeles) until I was in my 30's, so I still fell like a relative 'new guy' on the scene. I've been extremely fortunate to have gotten some of the opportunities to work on the some of the projects I have, and it's always fun to have the challenge to visualize something to help a project on its way."
(A piece of concept work for the movie Predators, Michael Broom's Alien-Predator hybrid.)
(MD): "Wow, and your work certainly shows that it is classically inspired. When I look at your comic art I certainly see the influence of old E.C. horror comics. Your work on the Phantasm Comic for instance. So I thought it was interesting the new project you brought to life looks very different in contrast. What can you tell us about SKY RATS Volume 1?"
(MB): "Oh, that Phantasm comic was a loooong time ago.. (I actually drew a second edition, but it was never released)
But it's funny you mentioned that, because 'Sky Rats' kinda came about after a resurgence of sorts, with the 'Zombie' comic getting a re-release after all these years..."
(MB): "Sky Rats started very organically. I have been working on another big graphic novel project 'Membrane' (which seems to be stuff in post-development Hell at the moment), and I drew up these funny 'sky rats' as a joke between me and my wife about the neighborhood doves... I have an acquaintance that was writing a children's book, and I thought the characters could lend themselves to a fun Indiana Jones/Treasure Island-like adventure.. So I crafted a short story around them. People have shown a bit of interest, though, so I am now doing (at least) another volume."
(MD): "Great stuff, looking forward to it. Is there anything else we have to look forward to from you that your able to or comfortable talking about at this time?"
(MB): "Volume 2 in a few months, and (hopefully) Membrane book one, my sci-fi horror idea. Everything else, industry-related, is still NDA."
(MD): "What would be one of your favorite projects you worked on or contributed to so far in the span of your career?"
(MB): "Thank you! It's hard to pick just one, but 'The Walking Dead', 'Blade Runner 2049', and 'Cabin in the Woods' were all fun projects that I got to be a small part of..."
(MD): "That is amazing, what did you work on for Blade Runner 2049?"
(MB): "A number of unused makeup designs for mutants, some city inhabitants, and a bunch of variations on the 'Joi' character... quite a few concepts here and there..."
(MD): "That sounds really cool. I would love to see a concept collection album one day. Can you tell us anything more about your Membrane project yet?
(MB): "Concerning Membrane, it's my graphic novel science fiction tale born from my desire to create some unique creature designs and build a world around them."
--If you aren't already following Michel Broom I have provided links so you can keep up with his updates on his projects, art, comic and more, be sure to follow Broom on--Keep an eye out for all the films he’s currently working and new releases featuring his concepts.
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/michaelbroom13/
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/michaelbroomart/
Website- http://michaelbroom.blogspot.com/
IMDB- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1968256/
Deviantart- https://haitisworst.deviantart.com/
I want to also mention again a book he entirely created on his own and just released recently --Sky Rats, It's a fun quick read in the vein of classic adventure stories. The Secret of Nim meets Indiana Jones, it's a story fun for the whole family to enjoy. Link here-- https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Rats-Book-One-1/dp/0692070540
Special thanks again to Michael Broom for joining us at Ain't It Cool News, until next time, Mad Dashiell signing off.
(MD): "Wow, and your work certainly shows that it is classically inspired. When I look at your comic art I certainly see the influence of old E.C. horror comics. Your work on the Phantasm Comic for instance. So I thought it was interesting the new project you brought to life looks very different in contrast. What can you tell us about SKY RATS Volume 1?"
(MB): "Oh, that Phantasm comic was a loooong time ago.. (I actually drew a second edition, but it was never released)
But it's funny you mentioned that, because 'Sky Rats' kinda came about after a resurgence of sorts, with the 'Zombie' comic getting a re-release after all these years..."
(MB): "Sky Rats started very organically. I have been working on another big graphic novel project 'Membrane' (which seems to be stuff in post-development Hell at the moment), and I drew up these funny 'sky rats' as a joke between me and my wife about the neighborhood doves... I have an acquaintance that was writing a children's book, and I thought the characters could lend themselves to a fun Indiana Jones/Treasure Island-like adventure.. So I crafted a short story around them. People have shown a bit of interest, though, so I am now doing (at least) another volume."
(MD): "Great stuff, looking forward to it. Is there anything else we have to look forward to from you that your able to or comfortable talking about at this time?"
(MB): "Volume 2 in a few months, and (hopefully) Membrane book one, my sci-fi horror idea. Everything else, industry-related, is still NDA."
(MD): "What would be one of your favorite projects you worked on or contributed to so far in the span of your career?"
(MB): "Thank you! It's hard to pick just one, but 'The Walking Dead', 'Blade Runner 2049', and 'Cabin in the Woods' were all fun projects that I got to be a small part of..."
(MD): "That is amazing, what did you work on for Blade Runner 2049?"
(MB): "A number of unused makeup designs for mutants, some city inhabitants, and a bunch of variations on the 'Joi' character... quite a few concepts here and there..."
(MD): "That sounds really cool. I would love to see a concept collection album one day. Can you tell us anything more about your Membrane project yet?
(MB): "Concerning Membrane, it's my graphic novel science fiction tale born from my desire to create some unique creature designs and build a world around them."
--If you aren't already following Michel Broom I have provided links so you can keep up with his updates on his projects, art, comic and more, be sure to follow Broom on--Keep an eye out for all the films he’s currently working and new releases featuring his concepts.
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/michaelbroom13/
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/michaelbroomart/
Website- http://michaelbroom.blogspot.com/
IMDB- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1968256/
Deviantart- https://haitisworst.deviantart.com/
I want to also mention again a book he entirely created on his own and just released recently --Sky Rats, It's a fun quick read in the vein of classic adventure stories. The Secret of Nim meets Indiana Jones, it's a story fun for the whole family to enjoy. Link here-- https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Rats-Book-One-1/dp/0692070540
Special thanks again to Michael Broom for joining us at Ain't It Cool News, until next time, Mad Dashiell signing off.
