Interview with artist D.W. Frydendall

By Geoff Bough

As a child of the 80's, monsters were everything to me. I grew up with horror and slasher movies, Freddy Kruger and Leatherface were to me what Care Bears and Rainbow Brite were to other kids. ha! Maybe that's why I need help?

I always wished that I could bring my vivid imagination to life on paper but failing at that I turned to horror comics at an early age and fell in love.

Artist D.W. Frydendall is currently taking horror illustration and animation to a whole new dimension of awesome. From his work on The Haunted Mansion to Robert Rhine's 'Satan's 3-Ring Circus', D.W's work is morbidly wicked. We got to chat with the man himself, check it out...

Rev: When was the first time that you really looked at your work and realized that you really had talent? Were you getting a lot criticisms and compliments with your early works?

D.W.: Truth to be told, sometimes I look at my artwork now and don’t really think of myself as talented. I guess when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade my abilities to draw probably manifested. I’d draw the droids from Star Wars, Spider-Man and Bigfoot over and over and I guess I started to learn that way. Also, my Dad was a painter and he’d give me pointers on my artwork so he was very helpful.

The criticisms started in 3rd grade in Catholic school almost immediately. I would draw something and the teachers (mainly nuns... or should I say manly nuns) would just flip out and scold me like mad. The kids around me in my classes growing up really dug on my stuff so that helped... especially when I got older and the “cool” kids in bands would ask me to do their flyers.

Rev: Did you study art in school?

D.W.: As much as I could. I took advanced placement Art in my senior year of High School and had like 3 or 4 art classes a semester that year. That was great! The purpose of the class was to teach the art student how to make a portfolio in the professional world. I got really low marks for my portfolio mainly because I would draw the Terminator, Evil Wizards, and Wolverine.

I think if I drew what would be deemed as “professional” I would have been bored out of my skull. I attended Art Center School of Design in Pasadena for a while, and left because I was working professionally. I even hired some of my artist friends for projects I was working on.

Rev: You've recently done some of the most kickass work on Satan's 3 Ring Circus and Haunted Mansion, can you tell us how you got hooked up with Robert Rhine of Girls and Corpses Magazine? How has that experience been?

D.W.: Thanks for the compliment! I met Robert at Fright Night in Burbank. My friend Gris Grimly introduced me to him and I sent him some samples. He really liked them so he had me do a couple of pages of art. Then I did more art. Then I inked other peoples art. By the time the book was done I had done gobs of stuff all through it! Robert’s a really cool cat. I get along with him great and he’s always straight with me. I appreciate that in a person. When he started Girls and Corpses he approached me right away to help him out with that and we’ve been working on that ever since.

Rev: How did you get attached to do The Haunted Mansion?

D.W.: I was introduced to Dan Vado at Slave Labor at a convention and when I mentioned I worked at Disney at the time he told me that he had the rights to do a Haunted Mansion book. I said that I had done some art already of the Hitchhiking Ghosts in my style and he wanted to see them. I sent them in and he hired me right then and there. The book was a blast! I did a story for the first issue that was a tribute to the E.C. comics of the fifties and the second story was written by my friend John Habermas who in my opinion, is one of the most talented writers out there today.

Rev: I think The Haunted Mansion would be totally kick-ass as an animated series or feature, any mentions of that as a possibility?

D.W.: I agree... I would only hope that it was done right. But then again, what I think is right would horrify most of the viewing public! It would probably get a little to cute for me. Television practice and standard being what they are now a days.

Rev: You've also done a lot of work as an animator and 3d illustrator for major networks and studios, do you prefer working in comics/graphic novels opposed to the major studio projects? Were you able to learn a lot from working with big studios or is it more cut-throat?

D.W.: The world of corporate art is very cut-throat. At Disney I would get thrown under the bus all of the time. There seemed to be a culture of apathy. Although I worked with a bunch of great artists and learned quite a bit from them, some of the executives seemed to have failed upwards and gotten to their positions by knowing people. I would much rather work on my own projects in my own office then work in a corporate place. But then, the checks ALWAYS cash out from Disney!

Rev: Take us through some of your influences as an artist. I know you love
monsters and horror but are there any events or people that have influenced you?

D.W.: I like to draw in many other various styles. I really enjoy drawing art nouveau style illustration. When I was younger I saw art by Alphonse Mucha and it blew me away! Harry Clarke was also an illustrator in the 20’s who drew the most insane horror art. He was a huge influence.

A lot of my influences have been comic guys like John Byrne, Marc Silvestri, Art Adams, Jim Lee, as well as horror artists like Berni Wrightson, Ghastly Graham Ingels and all of the Tales From the Crypt Guys.

Rev: What kinda tunes are you jamming while you work? Any favorite bands at the moment?

D.W.: That’s a tough one. Like right now I’m listening to Symphony #40 by Mozart. Sometimes I listen to punk, sometimes rockabilly, sometimes I listen to Howard Stern or Outlaw Country on Sirius.

I’ve got lots of favorite bands but there are so many genres that it get’s too complicated to say this or that is my favorite.

Rev: It's apparent that you have a love for zombies, having done The Classic Monsters series do you have any plans for any more zombie tales?

D.W.: I’m thinking of doing some really cool werewolves and vampires in that vein (forgive the pun). It’s strange... I’ve been doing so many zombies lately that I like to take a break from drawing rotten skeletons sometimes. Then other times I just want to draw a zombie.

Rev: How do you feel about the mass amounts of zombie comics lately? Do you check them out?

D.W.: I’ve read a couple. I like The Walking Dead, it is really good. Other comics seem like continuations of the Romero zombie world. I’d like to see something really original. Steve Niles does some really original stuff along those lines.

Rev: You also do cover artwork for bands, how has that been for you?

D.W.: Great! Most, if not all of the bands have been really, really cool! I work with Calabrese a lot and those are some of the nicest, level headed people I’ve ever worked with.Thee Spectors and The Ghastly Ones are also friends. I destroy my liver when I hang out with them. I also see The Howlers and Back to Zero at some of the shows I go to and they’re always willing to have a blast!

Rev: If you could do the artwork for the graphic adaptation of any horror movie, which film would you choose?

D.W.: Any movie? Hmmm... perhaps John Carpenter’s The Thing. Book? Easy... any H.P. Lovecraft story. By a mile! Anything with cosmic evil gods sounds like great fun!

Rev: What can we expect to see from you in the future? Will you be at any
upcoming conventions?

D.W.: I’m working on The Journal of Rohauser and am talking to a couple of companies about it. This is my big project. I’ve been getting this thing ready forever. It would be hilarious when I release it no one likes it at all! I’m going to be doing the usual rounds of conventions. Like Fangoria in Burbank is this weekend. I’m going to go say hello to everyone. The people in the horror scene are really fun to hang out with.

Thanks for your time D.W.!

For all of you out there fiending for some of D.W's work, you can get your hands on The Haunted Mansion at your local comic shop as well as Amazon.com. You can also buy Frydendall's work at his own website by clicking the banner link below!