Richard: Why did you produce the "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World!" lithograph print?

Mark Sparacio: I was contacted by Marc Patten, of Destination Entertainment and told that "the Cheerleader" from NBC TV's Heroes, Hayden Panetteire was to be a special guest at the New York Comic Con. They were thinking of doing a charity litho as part of her appearance and would I be interested in doing it. I said, "Absolutely!" At first, I did a painting that had Hayden in a cheerleader outfit, but NBC squashed it, even though the proceeds were going to charity. So, I did the Hayden Panetteire litho for the charity, Heroes Initiative. I am thrilled to have done the painting and to be able to help what I think is a great charity.

Richard: How did you end up doing the Liberty Girl cover art?

Mark: I met Heroic Publishing's publisher, creator and writer of Liberty Girl, Dennis Mallonee at San Diego Comic Con International, in July of 2005. At that time he saw my paintings and asked me if I'd like to do a cover for his flagship book, Flare. I did the cover to Flare #32. At the same time he thought I'd make a good cover artist for his yet to be released comic, Liberty Girl. He also offered to me to do the interior sequential art as well for Liberty Girl. More about that later.

Richard: Do you prefer drawing the female form?

Mark: I very much enjoy drawing the female figure and I am having a blast drawing super heroines, although I do enjoy drawing male superheroes as well.

Richard: How did you learn how to draw?

Mark: Probably like most kids did, by studying from the great masters, Eisner, Fine, Crandell, Raboy, Kirby, Steranko, Adams, etc. Later, I attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Richard: Why do you like drawing?

Mark: I've always liked to create things and drawing came a bit more easily than say, sculpting.

Richard: Do you have a favorite character you like drawing?

Mark: I'm enjoying drawing all of them, although I'd have to say Liberty Girl is probably in the lead.

Richard: Is there any character that you'd like to draw that you haven't?

Mark: I'd like to do Jim Starlin's version of Warlock. As a kid I really enjoyed Warlock, Pip the Troll, Gamora and Thanos and I'd love to do something with them eventually.

Richard: Where does your inspiration come from?

Mark: Most of my inspiration comes from my family. My wife Erin, my two sons and both the Sparacio and Dwyer families have been very supportive of my whole endeavor as a comic book artist. I really love what I do for a living and feel that I am very fortunate to be able to do so.

Richard: Have you had any weird requests for commissions?

Mark: Oooooh yes, I have! I guess the fact that I can draw and paint realistically brings out some of the more "interesting" requests from people, most of which cannot be discussed in a family forum and ALL of which I did not accept.

Richard:. What do you think of the state of the comic industry today?

Mark: Well, as most collectors, fans and professionals know, the industry is not like it was in the roaring nineties. As in most industries, comics are cyclical. However, I do think that the industry is in an upturn cycle and it's getting stronger.

Richard: Have you or would you like to illustrate an entire comic book?

Mark: When I was first approached about penciling an entire comic book, I really didn't think I could do it. I hadn't done any sequential work since I was in Will Eisner's sequential art class at The School of Visual Arts. But, I was prodded into it by Ken Lillie-Paetz for his short-lived book, Elsinore. For issue #4, I did a double page spread, treating it like it was a montage illustration. Then I was given four pages of sequential storytelling, also for issue #4. I figured out a process that worked and I enjoyed doing it. I then penciled the entire issue of Elsinore #5. I really had a great time doing that, but unfortunately, due to personal problems, Ken had to put Elsinore on indefinite hiatus.

Then came Liberty Girl. I started penciling Liberty Girl with issue #1. I've completed issues #2 and #3. Issue #3 should be on sale March 28th. With issue #4 and #5, I was allowed to co-plot the story and have it dialoged by my good friend, Richard Martin. Heroic Publishing has also asked me to do a three issue mini-series featuring The Huntsman. Again, I'll be co-plotting, penciling the interiors and doing painted covers, with Richard Martin dialoging this story as well. I am very excited about these stories and I am very grateful that Heroic Publishing is giving me the opportunity to be so involved with the development and direction of what I feel are two very cool characters, Liberty Girl and The Huntsman. You can check out Heroic Publishing's website at: www.heroicpub.com

There are also some discussions in the works with Marvel about me penciling a mini-series written by another good friend of mine, Billy Tucci. Thanks to Bill, I painted over his pencils for the Heroes for Hire covers at Marvel.

Richard: What comics did you read as a child and do you read now?

Mark: I read everything as a kid. Comics were a lot cheaper then and I had various newspaper routes and lawn cutting jobs, so I could literally buy everything. As a kid I worked my ass off, so I could afford all the comics that I was collecting. Like I mentioned before, I read Warlock, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Captain Marvel, Spiderman, Avengers, Batman, Superman, Mr. Miracle, New Gods, Green Lantern, Teen Titans and Warlord, just to name a few. Now, I try to read anything I can get my hands on, especially anything that I might work on.

Richard: How can someone contact you?

Mark: Anybody who'd like to contact me can take a look at my website: www.marksparacio.com or e-mail me at marksparacio@aol.com

Richard: Any final words of wisdom?

Mark: Thank you Richard for allowing me to speak to your audience. I appreciate everybody taking the time to read this interview. I am having a blast working in the comics industry and feel that I really haven't hit my stride yet. It's been quite an adjustment in my style, going from advertising illustration to comics. I think better work is ahead of me and I am truly excited by all the possibilities. Oh, and if you are ever at a convention that I am appearing at (my events schedule is on my website), please stop by and say, "Hi!"