Big in Japan

Fantasy artist Sam Greenwell has sculpted Lady Death, Austin Powers, and Danger Girl, just to name a few. Because of his fear of being mobbed by raving Japanese fans, Sam rarely leaves his secluded mountain cabin. Sam's reclusive lifestyle and intense paranoia prevented a standard interview by phone or in person. This interview was therefore conducted entirely by carrier pigeon.

Steve Johnson: Ok, we know you're a sculptor. What have you done?

Sam: I've been doing a lot of work all over the place lately. I did the Purgatori, Lady Death, and Lady Demon sculptures for Chaos! Comics. I also sculpted the Crimson action figures for Dynamic Forces that came out a few months ago. Right now I'm working on the Tellos action figures and the second Crimson line.

SJ: Any personal favorites on the list above? Why?

Sam: Crimson's definitely my favorite project to date. I've always been a huge fan of Humberto's and it was really great working with him and the rest of the Crimson team

SJ: What are your qualifications? Did you study art, or just pick it up naturally?

Sam: I've been sculpting since I was about 4 years old. I never had any sculpture classes at all. I've taken a couple of figure drawing classes, but that's it. It's always seemed to me that the guys who've had a lot of art school end up without a real style of their own. Believe it or not, art school can really stifle creativity.

SJ: How'd you get into this particular field of sculpting? I'm assuming you could be sculpting lawn gnomes and busts of Abraham Lincoln if you wanted to--what brought you into the fantasy/sf/comics field?

Sam: I actually started out trying to break into comics as a penciller. I tried for about three years before it became financially impossible to keep it up. I finally gave up on the drawing and started sculpting for a living. I just naturally gravitated to comics work since that's where a lot of my interests are.

SJ: So, you like comics?

Sam: Oh yeah! I've been into comics since I was a kid. I read a lot of the X-titles, Crimson, Danger Girl, Hellboy, Steampunk, Tellos and a lot of others that I can't think of right now. I also pick up anything that looks cool.

SJ: How closely do you usually work with the artist/creator of a character you're sculpting? Any who you particularly enjoy working with? Any problems dealing with creators?

Sam: It really depends on the artist. Some I've worked with really closely. For example, I actually flew out to J. Scott Campbell's to put the finishing touches on the Abbey Chase statue. It helps out a tremendous amount to be able to sit down with the creator and go over the details of a piece. I've really enjoyed working with the vast majority of the creators so far.

SJ: What process does a sculpture or toy go through from conception to finished product?

Sam: Well, I start with a wire armature and build a rough form on the wire. After that I spend a lot of time just tweaking the surface details

SJ: A lot of sculptures and toys seem to show up much later than originally due. Is there some particular part of the process that causes hold-ups, or is it just a lot of little stuff adding up?

Sam: Most of the delays come about after the sculpture gets to the factory. There are always little things that come up along the way, but most come near the end of the process.

SJ: Larry Elmore once said that he really enjoyed painting beautiful women and weird little critters. From your work, it seems that at least the first part of the statement applies to you (and maybe the second, if you count Mike Myers as a "weird little critter"). Is this true, or do you just tend to get that kind of job?

Sam: I really enjoy doing just about anything. I started out sculpting women and I sort of got stuck with it.

SJ: I've heard that you are (or at least were, for a while) big in Japan. Care to explain?

Sam: The Japanese are really big into sculpture, whether it's model kits or action figures. I'm really not even sure how they figured out who I was, but some Japanese reporters requested an interview at a show a few years ago. Since then I've seen myself in a couple of Japanese magazines, although I have no earthly idea what they're saying about me.

SJ: What kind of projects do you have in the pipeline?

Sam: It's a surprise.

SJ: Any characters you'd really like to sculpt, but haven't yet?

Sam: I'd love to work with Chris Bacchalo on Steampunk.

SJ: Do you have time for one more question?

Sam: No.