Adam Sward
Creative Position:
Illustrator
Contact Info:
pulpheretic@gmail.com

FAVORITE COMIC BOOK:
Growing up:
The Maxx
and now:
The Goon
The 1 Superpower you want:
I dunno. Flying would be cool, I guess.
Location:
Minneapolis, MN
Website(s):
www.swarddraws.com
www.facebook.com/swarddraws
www.patreon.com/swarddraws
Instagram: @swarddraws

Your Credits:
Wrong About Everything (Writer and Artist)
Electric Hangover (Writer and Artist)
Big Black Boots (Writer and Artist)
My Awful Mouth (Writer and Artist)
Meth Wolf Presents… (Artist)
Robbies Big Adventures (Artist)
Doofus 2 Death (Artist)
The Evangelists (Artist)

The7Deadly   Questions

are here bet you wish your name was Adam Sword now don’t you?

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What is your proudest creation?
Thus far, probably ELECTRIC HANGOVER. It was the first narrative-based comic I created, after primarily working solely as the artist on other peoples projects. And while Big Black Boots came out before that, it was mostly a collection of shorter dark humor pieces, structured around the sales technique I learned from Douglas Paszkiewicz, whose book Arsenic Lullaby was a huge influence on me in the earlier years of my career in comics. ELECTRIC HANGOVER combines a lot of my favorite things about comics; sci-fi, the occult, slice-of-life stories. Despite its fantastical nature, the core of the book is centered on the relationships of the characters.

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What Indie comic book Title are you currently a huge fan of?
I’m always interested in what Doug is doing with Arsenic Lullaby and its off-shoot titles. Ryan Kelly self publishes a book call Funrama when he’s not busy doing other awesome stuff; big fan of that one.
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What has been your favorite project to work on and why?
Oh jeez, that’s tough. Generally speaking, I just like to work. There are really enjoyable parts to most projects. If pressured, the series of posters I did for the Uptown Theatre in Minneapolis was a lot of fun. There was total freedom to do my own version of the movie posters, and as a long-time film buff, that was an absolute blast. Meth Wolf Presents… also stands out as a hugely enjoyable project. The writer of that series is pretty much my favorite person to work with; we have a really solid shared vocabulary relating to the creative process, and a similar view of what comics can and should be.
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Is sexuality focused on too much in comic books?
I don’t think its focused on too much; its a valid part of any characters identity. That being said, I think that the the rampant over-sexualization of women in comics is an issue, and creates a somewhat hostile and misogynistic environment that isn’t exactly welcoming to people that fall outside of a heterocentric world view. It extends further into the general level of diversity in comics; even when major companies alter the sexuality, gender, or race of major characters, the stories are still generally being told and illustrated by straight white dudes. And while it may seem like its done with good intentions, it comes off a bit as pandering or some sort of sales technique; ultimately disingenuous.

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Do you think fan art is law breaking or is it simply what the fans want?
I don’t think it’s an either/or question. Copyright and Intellectual Property laws aren’t as straight forward as one would hope, but generally as seen for sale in the artists alleys of any comic convention; yes, that fan art is breaking the law. If you don’t outright own the character, or have an legit license to use them, you are breaking the law by selling artwork of them. The parody/homage argument is a tough one to argue in court, by what I’ve read, and it rarely seems to fall on the side of the artist claiming it.

That being said, it does very much seem like it’s what the fans want. And its a rough spot to be in as an artist. Regardless of how much effort of skill or hours of dedication I may put in to my own stories and characters, a drawing of Wolverine or Deadpool or whatever always seems to pull people in a lot quicker. I think there is a comfort level that people seek out; a logic that’s centered on the idea of “well if they can do right by my favorite character, then maybe the stuff they do on their own time might also be good.” But the fact that a lot of major companies don’t bring down the hammer on I.P. thieves isn’t hard to rationalize; the amount of money they are losing is negligible when compared to the effect of the theft. It simply reinforces the idea that outside of the major companies and their flagship, spandex clad characters, there simply ISN’T anything else to American comics. And the artist that participate in fan-art, while they might receive an immediate return on their efforts, are really just hamstringing themselves in the long run.
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If you won the lottery and could buy an character you hat just to kill them who would it be and why THEM?
Ugh. It’s a long list. I have a hard time believing that rehashing a character that’s been around for 50+ years is a more worthwhile contribution to the medium than a legitimately new story. And to be honest, killing off a character like Batman or whatever wouldn’t really solve the problem. They’d stick some new person in the cowl and keep right on going. The fact that Wolverine’s been dead for like a year now certainly hasn’t stopped anyone from continuing to make Wolverine books. Death in comics is rarely, if ever, the end of a major character. It’s annoying and lazy.
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What is a mistake you made in your early years that yan can teach other to stay away  form ?
Always work with a contract. If anyone is resistant in any way to the use of a contract, you are wasting your time with someone that, at least on a subconscious level, is already planning to exploit you or screw you over. Start off with small print-runs if you are self-publishing; the worst that can happen is that you have do a second printing, which is much preferable to sitting on boxes and boxes of books you can’t seem to sell. Beware of people asking you to work for free; you can work on your own projects for free, and in the modern age, its unlikely any “exposure” that they may be offering is beyond the reach of something you can do yourself. Don’t make stuff you wouldn’t want to read, unless it pays really, really well.
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Well Adam you did not need a sword your wit did just fine so  have a single paragraph to tell us why we should become fans and what you are working on now :

“I’m honestly not a huge fan of the hard-sell. The idea that the artist should have to sell themselves and not their work is an aspect of modern entertainment that constantly tugs at my nerves. Simply put, I don’t think there is a should or shouldn’t. If you like the work, if it speaks to you or causes a reaction that you find compelling, then you’ll be a fan, and it’s not my place to decide that. If you don’t dig the work, no harm and no foul; best of luck to ya in your search for the stuff you DO like. And if you are still reading after all that, feel free to check out my website, www.swarddraws.com. There is a store section. Just saying…”