Well 2013 is TRANSFORMing into a new year so what better way to celebrate than with a great artist from the Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye comic series. My last artist interview of 2013 is with the talented comic colorist Josh Burcham. Most of you will know his work from the Transformer comics, but others may know him as the colorist for the new Samurai Jack series that is also published by IDW. So sit back, relax, and enjoy my interview with Josh Burcham.
1. Who are you and where are you from?
Well, my name’s Josh Burcham and i’ve been working as a comic book colorist/artist for going on 10 years now, and i’m based out of the state of Oregon
2. When did you discover your art style?
To be honest I think i’m still discovering it! Its kind of been an evolving thing but I guess I started seeing a distinct evolution in my drawing style 10 years ago! [I just had to check my deviantart page to find out! Pretty crazy seeing that earlier stuff!] Thats about when I remember making a point in my mind to not really be bound to just what I see other people do. Or maybe thats not the best way to phrase it because I DID take a lot of influence from some other artists back then, but thats when I decided that its okay to be unique and to be yourself. The stuff that other people do, or the more “mainstream” stuff thats out there is fine and all but i’m a distinct and unique individual so why be afraid of letting my artwork reflect that as well.
3. I love your artwork with Transformers; do you have a favorite issue or panel?
Ah, thank you! Boy, after working on Transformers comics for 10 years I think its really pretty hard to nail down one single image as a favorite. I can probably look back at every project i’ve worked on and find a favorite or something I was most proud of. I guess, to take it in a more broader sense, I think the project i’ve been having the most fun on, Transformers-wise, has been the More Than Meets The Eye ongoing series. Its definitely a little bit of a departure style-wise than most of the Transformers stuff i’ve worked on before. I guess its been a bit like what I said in regards to style in the last question. I’ve just decided to be a bit more brave in wanting to step outside of the box people see Transformers art/coloring in and I guess not so much TRY to be unique, but allow myself to be a bit more “me.”
4. What inspired you to become an artist for a living?
Hard to say I guess! I’m not really sure if there was one defining moment where I decided that this is something i’m going to fight to pursue or anything like that. It just all kind of serendipidously happened! I had always been “artistic” most my life, drawing and stuff like that. When the internet came around and message boards became a thing I got into the whole Transformers Fan Art scene because it was just kind of naturally where I went to; putting together two things, in Transformers and art, that I really enjoyed. Growing up I had zero interest in comics. Never liked em. Never liked the art, and never cared to read them. It wasnt until the Dreamwave TF books launched and I saw some of that flashy fancy new artwork that I figured it might be worth checking out. Really, since I didnt “know” comic books I hadnt realized that THIS is what comic books looked like or COULD look like. After that stuff had come out and I learned a little more about the process of comics I discovered that the type of stuff I was doing for fun these people were getting paid to do in comics! And so I found a way to get in contact with some people, went back and forth a little bit as I strived to improve my artwork, and eventually got my first professional comics gig working on Transformers. Pretty surreal stuff really. I’m STILL not even sure its sunken in quite yet!
5. Where can my readers see your art?
Well you can find my artwork on the shelves of your local comic shop in the forms of Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye and in Samurai Jack comic books! Online you can find me on quite a few different places!
dcjosh.deviantart.com/
www.dcjosh.com/
@jcburcham on twitter
dcjosh.tumblr.com/
6. Do you have anything you would like to promote right now?
I guess the most immediate thing are the Samurai Jack comic books from IDW Publishing! I’ve been on a little bit of a break from Transformers since Dark Cybertron’s been rolling out [see what I did there?].
If anybody reading this is in the Pacific Northwest area of the US you can come see me at Wizard World Portland come January 24-26 in Portland, Oregon and also, most likely, at Botcon this year as well!
7. Since you are known for your work in the Transformers universe, if you could have created a Transformer of your own what would be his name and what would he transform into?
See the great thing about being an uber-fan is I’ve had this question answered for about 10 years now, haha. My own personal fan character way back then was named “Xero” and he transformed into a kind of hover/attack jet kind of thing! Cant be an aerial alt. mode!
8. What are your plans for the future?
Well I cant say that I have too many big plans lined up just yet! Hopefully You can still see me coloring on Transformers: MTMTE. I’d like to maybe even draw an issue, should the fates ever allow it! I guess when it all comes down to it my plan is to stay employed doing the thing I love to do, and I guess to do that I’ll need all of YOUR guys’ support to do that. So a big THANK YOU to everyone who’s been reading and enjoying my work!
