Should We Know You, Kalman Adrasofszky?

You would expect to remember a name like Kalman Andrasofszky; it’s not exactly “John Smith,” now is it? You’ve likely stopped to admire his work, if nothing else, on a cover at your LCS. But… who is he? Where have you seen his art before? Don’t worry, we’ll get to that. First and foremost, however, we’ll ask…

PoP!: Should we know you, Kalman Adrasofszky?

KA: Well, I’ve had long cover runs on ION, Checkmate and continue to do cover art for R.E.B.E.L..S. and the Marvel Universe Handbook Updates; I sometimes draw interiors too; and these days, I’m getting back into illustration in a big way, doing more cover work outside of comics and also some video game concept art.

PoP!: So basically… yes, we should know you. How did you get your start?

KA: I’ve been drawing professionally for 10 years now, the last 5 of which have been spent mostly on comics and comics related work. I live and work in Toronto, Canada and share a workspace with 4 other talented comic creators. For those that don’t know, Toronto is a city lousy with working comics talent. No one really knows why, something in the water supply maybe. But I’m best known (when I’m known at all) for being a cover artist.

PoP!: Something with which, I think it’s safe to say, you’ve had some success.

KA: Actually, I just heard the cover art for R.E.B.E.L.S. #5 got accepted into the Spectrum Annual and then, right on the heels of that, R.E.B.E.L.S Annual #1 – for which I drew a story and the cover – got nominated for an Eagle Award. It may seem immodest to mention that, but nothing like that has happened to me before, so allow me my moment please.

PoP!: Hey, we’re asking you to tell us why we should know you. I think a little immodesty is fair game. Now, you mention the R.E.B.E.L.S. Annual, and doing both interior and cover work. It’s funny, because your work on Dazzler is what caught my attention, wherein you do both.

KA: Dazzler is a one-shot from Marvel. My studiomate and all-around ninja, Ramon Perez worked on it with me, picking up my slack. The book was colored by Jim Charalampidis, who is possibly the best colorist I’ve ever met. We came up with a coloring style to imply stage lighting, and reflect the music-video feel that a book of this nature should have, and Jim cranked it to 11. You’ve never seen anything like this before.

The story is a love letter to Dazzler, and her long, varied history. It’s written by the #1 Dazzler fan in all the world, Jim McCann, and he’s brought her to life in a startlingly-new-yet-familiar way. While the book does address many elements of her past, there is no required reading to get what this story is about, it plays great, even if you’ve never read an issue of the classic series. (Like I hadn’t! But before you throw anything, I did read X-Men while she was on the team….)

People who’ve seen the cover keep asking me, so I’ll pre-empt the question. Yes, she’s in the silver disco gear. No, this is not a flashback story. Yes, there is a good, story-driven reason why she’s in them disco duds. You’ll just have to read it to find out what that is.

PoP!: It looks great, really. And let me just say, you draw a mean Galactus! (Want to know how or why Dazzler is fighting Galactus? Like the man said, check out the book!)

Where are some other places we may have seen your work, though?

KA: I drew and colored a little known series called iCandy for DC back in the day. More recently I drew NYX: No Way Home, and a few shorter stories featuring Captain America, Satana, and Mortis (Dazzler’s evil sister – who makes an appearance in the one-shot) I got my start in gaming, so I’ve done a lot of illustration work over the years for Dungeons & Dragons, Vampire, and the Star Wars RPG. For a few years there I was very involved in a line of games called D20 Modern.

PoP!: Well then, sounds like your work is all over the place. Where can people find you?

KA: You can find out more about me and my madness at www.iamkalman.com. I do take commissions, although I’m pretty backed up on my list at the moment. Also, I’ll be at Fan Expo here in Toronto at the end of the summer, and at NYCC in October.

PoP!: Well there you have it. Here’s hoping that, as you get back into illustration outside of comics, you still stick around the funnybooks and give us all a chance to get to know you.

Filed Under: Columns • Should We Know You?