@’s by SPIDER-MAN Artist
Humberto Ramos!!!
Russ Sheath here and I'm continuing my look at artists and creators who have convention season sketchbooks coming out, by chatting to a guy who's been a fan favourite at Marvel, Humberto Ramos.Humberto burst onto the scene in the 90's and quickly became renowned for his anime infused visuals with more than a hint of Ramos' own flare and hyper stylised pencils. Currently pencilling THE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN for Marvel, Ramos has a new sketchbook out this year and I spoke to him about his career and what fans can expect at Comic-Con.
RUSS SHEATH (RS): Humberto, for readers who may not be so familiar with your work, can you tell us how you broke into the industry and about a few of your career highlights?
HUMBERTO RAMOS (HR): I started back in 1992 working at Milestone Media drawing books like HARDWIRE and STATIC. That opened the door to DC Comics where I drew a STEEL Annual which gave me opportunity to jump into a couple fill in's on SUPERBOY and then the book that made it all happen, IMPULSE.
I drew IMPULSE for a couple years and from there it was an 'in and out' situation with Marvel and other companies like Wildstorm and Event Comics. Jim Lee then offered me a seat in his brand new imprint called 'Cliffhanger' along with my buddies Joe Madureira And J. Scott Campbell, I had a great 5 years run there and co-created books like CRIMSON and OUT THERE.When that era finished Marvel arrived like a dream come true and with that I got into books like WOLVERINE, X-MEN, RUNAWAYS and AVENGERS INITIATIVE. After 15 years of hard work I finally got to live my dream......I got to be the penciler on what to me is the most important book in the comic book industry...THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. My secret plan is to be there forever (laughs).
RS: Who were/are your influences?
HR: You name it.....I respect and admire all the comic book artists, I like some more than others, but I respect them all. In those terms I gotta say Art Adams, Joe Madureira, Canete, Sean Murphy and Olivier Coipel.RS: You've got a new sketchbook out for comic-con this year, what can you tell us about the book?
HR: Every year I attend to a lot of comic book conventions where I draw sketches and commissions for a lot of people, this sketchbook is a compilation of some of the nicest pieces I've done over the year, and includes some of the design process for not just SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN, but for all Marvel comics characters.
RS: Do you have any particular favorite pieces in the book? HR: I like the design process a lot, it was a lot of fun and I think i'll be lots of fun for people to see too.
RS: Can fans expect any Ramos related announcements at SDCC this year?
HR: Let's wait for SDCC :)
RS: You've been pencilling Spider-Man for a long time now, does doing a sketchbook and commission pieces let you work on characters you wouldn't usually draw and is that opportunity something you enjoy?
HR: Yes it does, and yes it's fun to draw other characters along the road. Some of them aren't Marvel related though. So yes, is cool for me and i hope is cool for the fans too.
RS: What else can fans find at your booth this year? HR: I'll have prints and books and an open sketch list every day. I'll be at booth 5565 by the G entrance.
RS: Will fans be able to buy the books if they can't make it to SDCC? How can they do that?
HR: There are bookstores who buy the sketchbooks all across the country and who ship out of the USA and I have a massive convention tour planned for the rest of 2014 too.
RS:With that in mind, lastly, how can fans follow you online and learn about your appearances?
HR: Facebook: ramos.Comic On twitter at @humberto_ramos On Instagram at Instagram: ramosland
RS: Humberto, thanks for talking to AICN!
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G
