Get Graphic: Montos Creates The Ultimate Heavy Metal Supervillain
Jun 06, 2022
Art by Montos
Interview by Troy-Jeffrey Allen
Cover art by Björn Barends
Breaking Bad meets Green Lantern in the next chapter in the larger Heavy Metal universe! Entropy by Christopher Priest (Black Panther, Vampirella) and rising star Montos!
In the following "Get Graphic" interview, Entropy artist Montos takes you behind the madness that created Heavy Metal's ultimate super-villain!
Keep reading...
Who are you and where do you hail from?
My name is Osvaldo Pestana Montpeller but I sign my works as "Montos" for short. I started as an illustrator and graphic designer for the local publishing house, Ediciones Luminaria, in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. Then I worked as a press cartoonist for the local newspaper, Escambray. Although my great passion was always to make comics, making a living from this type of art in Cuba is impossible. It was through the benefits of the internet that I have been able to make my dream come true. I remember when I was 7 years old I saw for the first time a comic book (The Cross and the Switchblade, masterfully illustrated by Al Hartley) and I was smitten at first sight and it was clear to me that this is what I wanted to do when I grew up.
What can you tell us about the story behind ENTROPY?
The first thing to say is that I still have vertigo—the Entropy story is like going on a roller coaster ride! Working with Christopher Priest has been a blast! Personally, I feel it has been a great blessing and immense privilege to work with a living comic book legend like Priest. I have a good friend in Cuba who started reading comics with a story Priest wrote for Batman—from there he was hooked. When I told him I was working with Priest, he almost cried with emotion. His joy is mine now.
How did you become a fan of HEAVY METAL?
In Cuba there is no exposure to foreign comics, we only had access to national comics. By the time I was a child, comics had almost disappeared due to the collapse of the USSR in the 90s and its influence on Cuba's economy, which in practice served as its satellite. This is to say that I only learned about Heavy Metal when I began to discover the world of comics on the internet. Heavy Metal was for me a school of world references and an open door to the best of European comics above all.
How did you get into comics as a professional?
My first job as a professional was with a publisher called Graphic Illusions Comics, whose editor was Joseph Loeri. I have to say that Loeri's patience with me knew no limits. I didn't know what a splash page or a pin up was, plus I was constantly changing his scripts and always for the worse. Even so, I was able to finish a 6-issue miniseries called Intrepid. From there I jumped to Ape Entertainment, working on a couple of series with editor David Hedgecock, who I have to say helped me a lot every step of the way. Together we did the reboot of Poison Elves which really didn't last long. My greatest joy at Hedgecock's hand was working with Dan Abnett on a Twilight Imperium graphic novel recently. A job here and a job there until, just over 2 years ago, my family and I moved to Spain and everything changed. The main figure of the change was my current representative Luis Aramburu from Butxido Agency, who with his contacts has marked a before and after in my career. Christopher Priest, Jimmy Palmiotti, and even Neil Gaiman have been some of the big names I have been able to work with thanks to his good management.
What tools do you use to draw?
The first investment I made when we arrived in Spain was to buy a Huion '20 KAMVAS PRO, which is the one I use to this day. Now I do everything digital, and I use Corel Painter and Photoshop software. I use my laptop as an assistant monitor for reference while I draw on my tablet. I must say without fear of being wrong that the Huion has been the best investment of my career and one of the main factors for my work becoming really competitive.
What´s next for you?
I have a couple of projects ahead of me, including one with a publishing house that is coming on strong. We're all happy with the way we've been working so far and now we have a 100-page graphic novel coming up that I can't talk about yet. But it's extremely exciting.
On top of that, I'm making progress on a creator-owned property that a friend and I have been working on for a decade now. We plan to have it published by Image in the near future, God willing. It will be a saga made with all the love possible for the genre and art in general. Posmodernea is the title of the project.
Cover art by Björn Barends
If you want to discover more of Montos' work, be sure to follow him on Deviant Art and Instagram.
ENTROPY #1 (MAY221499) hits comic shops on July 6, 2022. It will be released monthly from Heavy Metal.
Keep an eye on PREVIEWSworld.com's Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram for more artist spotlights!
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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.
