Rich Koslowski is the master of a wonderful array of comics and graphic novels. Right from the beginning, he had great passion for comics, which he articulated as his ‘first love’. To this day he has produced twenty five 3 Geeks comics, 4 trade paperbacks, and had The 3 Geeks as a backup feature in the popular Dork Tower series by John Kovalic. In a maxim to the budding artists he says, that if motivational spirit is not present in oneself then one must ‘not even attempt to get into this field’... scroll down to see more,
1. May we have the honor of knowing your source of inspiration?
Rich: I’m inspired by many different things. Thoughts and ideas are constantly flooding my mind. It can be as simple as sitting in a restaurant eating and my meal gives me a notion or it can be a more emotional inspiration like when I’m looking into my daughter’s face as she lays peacefully sleeping in her bed.
But they never stop–the ideas. They’re constant and the inspiration is varied.
2. While working on one of your famous book, ‘The King’, you met with an accident that left you with a severe eye injury. How did you try to cope up with it and what is the situation presently?
Rich: Yes, while working on THE KING I suffered a very severe eye injury while playing basketball (I always wear and advocate protective eyewear now!) that left me with a severe and permanent case of double-vision. I went to several doctors and no one could help me. But they kept sending me up the ladder until, finally, I went to a specialist who eventually operated on the OTHER eye to compensate for the damage in the injured eye. He essentially damaged the good eye to match the bad eye!!! Needless to say, I was terrified when he told me the plan, but after 8 months of Hell not being able to see I was ready to try anything. The headaches, fatigue, and sleeping 14-16 hours a day as a result had me very depressed and losing hope for my vision. Coping with the injury was extremely difficult. My wife and daughter gave me a lot of strength.
The operation worked! It did take a few months for the eyes to adjust and my vision will never be the same but I am at about 90% of what it was. I only suffer occasional eye fatigue now.
3. How did you enter into the world of Archie Comics? And who is your favorite Archie character?
Rich: I got into Archie Comics in a very strange way. I was working in the animation field as a storyboard artist on a variety of shows. One of them was the new Sonic The Hedgehog cartoon. It was the people over at Sega who mentioned to Archie that they liked the work we (me and Art Mawhinney, Sonic penciller) were doing on Sonic and thought we should be doing the comic Archie had just started publishing. And, there you have it! A few months later Art was pencilling the comic and I was his Inker. Since then (14 years) I’ve worked on just about every title and Inked thousands of pages.
My favorite Archie character would probably be Jughead. I find him to be the most interesting. He’s always good for a solid laugh and he never changes...he stays the course!
4. We would like to know your all time favorite work with respect to all your projects?
Rich: My favorite work that I’ve done?...Boy, that’s a very tough question. It’s usually the one I’m currently working on. But if I had to look back and pick a single favorite issue or story I’d probably pick my graphic novel THREE FINGERS or the 3 GEEKS story arc in issues 10 and 11 where my character Allen loses his soul and Keith and Jim have to save him...in very typical 3 GEEKS fashion...that is to say absurd, over-the-top humorous situational madcap comedy.
5. You’ve had varied careers as a book illustrator and a writer, in addition to creating comics. How has been the journey up till now?
Rich: The journey I’ve had as a writer and an illustrator has been very challenging at times and very rewarding at times. It’s a very difficult and competitive business. And all too often people have this expectation that we artists just love what we do SO MUCH that we’re willing to do it for nothing. That for some reason we shouldn’t always be paid anything–or next to nothing–for what we do. It’s hard to understand. And it doesn’t always help that there are so many eager up-and-coming artists looking for a chance to break into the business that they will work for free. Sometimes publishers take advantage of artists because of this and it’s a shame.
But, all that being said, I have had some success in this tough business and I’m grateful for that I work very hard and pride myself on always coming through and delivering my best possible effort. Hopefully all the hard work pays off. That’s all I can hope for. I’ll keep at it until it does.
6. If you could sit on the shoulders of readers and reviewers, how would you tell them to regard your work?
Rich: If I could sit on their shoulders I’d probably break their back! I’m fairly large–206 pounds (all muscle, though!). Seriously, though, I’d probably ask them to try and appreciate the originality and subtle story structure I try very hard to create. I’d also hope they appreciate the effort I put into the artwork. I fully realize that I am not the best artist in comics, but I think I do a pretty good job. I always, ALWAYS give my best effort on my books. I’d just hope that when they’re reading my work they see this.
7. Do you have story ideas for other cartoon characters? If yes, then your potential targets gonna be?
Rich: I have so many ideas for so many different stories and characters that it will be impossible to get to them all in one lifetime. My hopes are that in my time as an artist I create dozens of memorable stories and characters for a wide audience of readers. I like covering all the age ranges from young children to the older more mature readers.
What and when I produce whatever I produce depends on my mood at the time and whatever story I currently am the most excited about. I just wish I had more time.
8. What are the other comic companies, you have worked for?
Rich: A few of the comic and animation companies I’ve worked for are ARCHIE COMICS, 3 FINGER PRINTS (my own publishing company) TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS, IMAGE COMICS, SABAN, DIC, ANIMAGINATION, PUBLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL, BONGO (SIMPSONS), DARK HORSE, INKWORKS (FAMILY GUY), and I’m currently writing for MARVEL COMICS for their upcoming MCP (MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS) which will debut this September! I’m also illustrating a fantastic book called BB WOLF& THE 3 L.P.S written by newcomer Johnnie Arnold. It’s a fabulous story and my artwork is probably the best thing I’ve done to date.
ALSO! My newest self-published book, THE LIST, will be hitting the stands in days!
Please visit my website RichKoslowski.com to see some of the books I’ve done.
9. Rich, what are your other interests besides your work? How are you able to snatch out time for other things? I would appreciate if you’d share your working and lifestyle with us.
Rich: Besides working in the comics/graphic novels/books field I am also a voracious reader of books, off course. I’ve been an avid reader and collector since I was 5 or 6 years old. I also enjoy music, movies, exercising, baseball, basketball, weightlifting, running, and traveling as much as possible. I enjoy fine food, too! And I spend the majority of my time playing with my 5-year-old daughter.
Finding the time to “snatch out time for other things” is very difficult. I seem to be a slave to my work at times. But, as the old saying goes, “All work and no play makes Jack (or Rich in this case) a dull boy!” So I make the time to exercise and enjoy time with my family and friends. Otherwise, the alternative is to go crazy (or “crazier” in my case).
Since, I work out of my home the work’s always there so I work a lot. BUT since I’m self-employed I can choose the hours I work...when I work. Sometimes I work in the morning, sometimes at night, sometimes both! But the flexibility is the key. If my daughter has a gymnastics class in the middle of the day, not a problem, I can adjust my schedule which is very nice.
But, basically, I work a lot, I eat, I sleep. Watch some TV, listen to some music. Play with my daughter. Go out to restaurants often, and try and make time for myself to enjoy the things I like as well. I’m very active. But there’s no real structure, per se...It’s pretty chaotic and random.
I always seem to get things done though...and on time!
10. Looking at the industry itself, what advice would you give to people trying to break in as you have?
Rich: My advice is that you should have a very high level of perseverance if you’re planning on breaking into the publishing field. You need talent off course, but you’ve got to be tough, too! And you have to work hard, very, very hard. Be honest with yourself...if you are not capable of working extremely hard–if you’re not able to motivate yourself–do not . I’ve seen many very talented artists who just can’t seem to make it in this business, and, quite frankly, it’s all-too-often been because they couldn’t seem to motivate themselves to work hard enough. Self-motivation is a rare thing. If you’ve got it you’ve got a chance! And the talent, off course. You have to have lots of both.
11. Finally, we would like to have your thoughts on the Instablogs News Network and all its related sites. Which one is your favorite?
Rich: I must confess that I don’t do much surfing of the web. No time! I’m baffled by how so many people seem to have so much time surfing the web sometimes. But I do try and visit sites related to my work and since being contacted by you I have enjoyed visiting Instablogs, a very well-organized and entertaining site. I plan on visiting more and more now that you’ve introduced me to it!
A few questions in quick succession:
1. Describe yourself in one word.
Rich: Irresistible!
2. The world of comics is an art or industry?
Rich: Both! It has to be both. To function properly and sustain itself you have to make money at it otherwise it would cease to exist. And it has to be art...that is what it is.
3. If you would have been a cartoon character, you would have been?
Rich: Oh that’s an easy one...SUPERMAN!
4. Who is the most important person in your life?
Rich: Our daughter, Stella. She’s my joy and inspires me every day of my life (when not driving me crazy).
5. What would you like to accomplish in life that you haven’t yet?
Rich: I want very much to leave something behind, a legacy. You only get one life and I want mine to matter. My hope is that my works will be read by many generations. That and that my daughter lives a wonderful life. I pray for her happiness every day.
6. What’s your greatest artistic ambition?
Rich: I dream of having a “best seller” off course. And I also dream of seeing one of my stories make it to the “big screen” some day. I think I’ve got a few ideas that would translate very well into film. That would be a very cool thing indeed.
Before signing off, I’d like to thank Rich for taking time out to do an interview with us, it is greatly appreciated. Also, I’d like to wish him success for all his future endeavors.
