I recently had the pleasure of talking with Michael Wm. Kaluta, one of the masters of the comic and fantasy art field, about his lifelong path to becoming a better artist. Michael is perhaps best known for his lush, detailed line work. He has handled numerous comic and book illustration projects, including the creation of The Shadow comic book, and he formed the artists’ commune The Studio in Manhattan along with Barry Windsor-Smith, Jeff Jones, and Bernie Wrightson.
I interviewed him because his latest book-length project—illustrating Elric: In the Dream Realms—publishes this week. We recalled meeting author Michael Moorcock in a hotel tea room the last time Moorcock visited New York. I asked Kaluta whether any memories stood out from that occasion.
“Of course,” he said, “The man is a Giant… even when sitting down. He is ‘wreathed in Power’ as Tolkien might have put it… Having tea with Michael Moorcock, for me, was like stepping into a story (the venue certainly helped: the dining room near Washington Square had a feeling of being designed for an episode of “Upstairs/Downstairs”). I found myself ‘poised,’ as opposed to ‘sitting,’ like an interested cat, while Michael told his stories: day-to-day experiences, mixed with tales from afar… It was sort of magical.”
For lots more from Michael Wm. Kaluta, including more art samples from Elric: In the Dream Realms, read on after the jump!
