Get Graphic: Man vs. Monster! The Art of Bigfoot Frankenstein!
Jan 24, 2022
Art by Vernon Smith
Interview by Troy-Jeffrey Allen
The Frankenstein family strikes again!
You heard me right. If you thought the story of Mary Shelley's gothic horror novel concluded then, not only are you ignoring The Bride of Frankenstein, but you haven't discovered the latest installment in the saga, Bigfoot Frankenstein (FEB221117)!
Am I talking absolute madness? Or is this Actionlab tale of monsters, rednecks, justice, vengeance, and love just what the grave-robbing doctor ordered? I'll let you decide in the following interview with artist Vernon Smith...
Troy-Jeffrey Allen: Firstly, who are you and where do you hail from?
Vernon Smith: My name is Vernon Smith and I am from New Orleans, Louisiana.
TJA: How did you get into comic books as a fan?
VS: As a kid, I mostly read and drew comic strips. Instead of comic books I usually just had books that collected those strips. I didn’t get into comic books until around seventh or eighth grade, but when I did, two of the first things I picked up were Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen (a friend of my parents was into comics and he pointed me in the right direction). I soon discovered three local comic shops that I went to every weekend, picking up both current comics and a bunch of silver age stuff as well. My stepdad had some old Adventure Comics that I loved, so I quickly got into Legion Of Superheroes. Especially the Giffen/Gordon/Bierbaum run! I LOVED those! This was also around the time of the Tim Burton Batman movies, so I got wayyy into Batman. And, of course, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which would eventually lead me to make my own comics later in life.
TJA: How did you get into comic books as a professional?
VS: I was writing and drawing my own comic books in high school. Sometimes on my own and sometimes with my buddy Paul. Several years later, I became friends with local DC and Marvel artist Derec Donovan, which reignited my love and interest in comics. So I thought I should try to get on with DC and Marvel (as if it was that easy), build up an audience, and then propose my own ideas to those companies (as if THAT was also that easy!). I ran into Paul, told him my idea, and he handed me the Cerebus Guide To Self-Publishing. I recognized Cerebus from an old Ninja Turtles comic, so I figured this guy knew what he was talking about. That got me deep into indie comics and eventually, in 2008, I self-published The Adventures Of Dexter Breakfast through Diamond. I did some more books through Diamond and Kickstarter and eventually spent a few years doing children’s books. About 4 years ago I got back into making comics, became Facebook friends with Bigfoot Frankenstein writer Mark Bertolini, he told me about his idea for the book and I was hooked instantly!
TJA: Tell us the story of Bigfoot Frankenstein. What’s it about?
VS: It’s the story of the great-great-great-whole lotta greats-great-grandson of Dr. Frankenstein. One day he’s hiking through the woods, stumbles upon a pile of dead Bigfoots, stitches parts of them together, harnesses the power of lightning, and creates a new best pal. The two hit the road in a hearse and try to figure out who’s killing all the Bigfeet! Along the way, they fight The Boogeyman, giant wolf-spiders, super-powered hillbillies, and even meet a few love interests! It’s an action-adventure book with comedy thrown in to show it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Plus there are some pretty amazing pinups by some pretty amazing artists!
TJA: Tell us about the main character Bigfoot Frankenstein. How did you go about designing this monster?
VS: Well, he’s made up of several different creatures, yet he has no memories from any of them, but he did retain the ability to speak clear and perfect English. And that conflicts with a feral rage that pops up whenever he’s in battle. Oh, and he also has a dry sense of humor which sometimes surfaces at the worst times. And he can somehow track the people who killed all the Bigfeet (because they stole Bigfoot blood). I think that pretty much covers "BigFrank."
VS: I went about designing him based roughly on some of Mark’s ideas. I wanted to show the Frankenstein part of him but I didn’t want him to be too busy looking. My first sketch of him, which is the one I sent you (above), kinda failed at that. I initially had him too short, with too many stitches, and a big ol’ head. He also originally had neck bolts on the first few pages of the first issue but I got tired of drawing those so I just phased them out.
TJA: What tools do you use to create?
VS: The cover and first eight pages were drawn traditionally - pencil and ink on Bristol paper. Then I switched to digital pencil and inks in Procreate on an iPad Pro. And I love it!
TJA: What’s next for you?
VS: I just finished the first issue of a YA Cyberpunk mini-series called Tanya Bionic that I’m shopping around to publishers. I’ll be Lettering a comic for Scout Comics called Strange Case (also written by Mark Bertolini) which will be put out through their all-ages Scout imprint. I’d also love to do anything with Star Trek, Ninja Turtles, or My Little Pony, of course!
The BIGFOOT FRANKENSTEIN collected edition (FEB221117) hits comic shops on April 16, 2022.
If you want to discover more of Vernon's work, be sure to follow him on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, deviantArt, and VernonDraws.com.
Check out more art below.
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Troy-Jeffrey Allen is the producer and co-host of PREVIEWSworld Weekly. He is also the Consumer Marketing Manager for Geppi Family Enterprises. Troy's comics work includes MF DOOM: All Caps, Public Enemy's Apocalpyse '91, the Glyph Award-nominated Fight of the Century, the Harvey Award-nominated District Comics, and the Ringo Award-nominated Magic Bullet.