At the Dallas Comic Con back in January, we had the opportunity to sit down with Terry Parr and get an interview out of him. We held off on posting it until we were closer to attending Staple! in Austin, Texas where Terry will be kind enough to share a table with us. Terry’s a talented individual with a sharp wit, a formidable artistic skill, and a Gamette for a girlfriend.

BGG: What was the first comic that you ever read?
Terry Parr: First real comic that I really read and enjoyed or first comic…?

BGG: Was that comic the reason you decided to start drawing or what was the reason you started drawing?
Terry Parr: Well, I’ve always drawn, probably since the second grade. I used to draw stuff like Snoopy and all that. But when Dragon’s Lair came around and I saw that, that was what I constantly drew all the time. And then around that time was when I started getting into Swamp Thing, like middle school, and then I kind of dropped out. I still drew but I didn’t really have a focus. I mostly drew Iron Maiden stuff. I drew Eddie all the time. I probably drew him for like two years straight. I was always the Iron Maiden guy. Even in my high school photos, I was wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt. But I started getting back into comics, right when conventions started up, and I was a huge Jim Lee fan. If you look at my old stuff, way back when, I drew just like Jim Lee. It was kind of sad. Right now, I’ve moved on.

BGG:It seems like you have a pretty free flowing style. You can go from some of your dark, gothic work right into the pin up styles. Is that something you’ve always been able to do or is that something that’s recent?
Terry Parr: I would like to say that I’ve done that all the time but I think it’s been the last couple of years. I try not to be classified by one style. I feel an artist has to grow. But I’m still improving on that and it’s pretty tiring.

BGG: When you sit down to draw do you know what style you’re going to use or does it just flow as you go?
Terry Parr: It can happen both ways. Sometimes I’ll have an idea in my head on how I want to approach it but then again, once I approach it, I’ll just bug and won’t do that, I’ll do something else. It just depends on the need. Most of it comes out the way I want, others I end up altering and changing. 

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On January 24th and 25th, 2009, the Busy Gamer Reckon Crew made a visit to the Richardson Civic Center to pay homage to the Dallas Comic Con. In typical Reckon Crew fashion, we arrived late, left early, and drank in between. But not before meeting and interviewing Thomas Jane of Punisher and The Mist fame and the very talented Terry Parr, artist and creator of Gemini Force. And somewhere during the chaos, we managed to admire the artwork of some of the very fine artists who attended the event.

No stranger to famous folk, the Dallas Comic Con has been gathering some of the most geek and fanboi worthy names in the business for the last eight years and 2009 was no exception to the rule. On hand for the event were James O’Barr, Tim Bradstreet, Cat Staggs, and Scott Harben, just to name a few. We wandered amongst the various artist tables, saying hello to some old favorites and learning the names of a few new ones.

Several vendors were on hand with merchandise to tempt our pocket books and none of the Reckon Crew escaped without at least a couple of purchases. And then there was the sweet, sweet swag to be had for those numbers who had made their way to the event. T-shirts and movie posters from The Punisher movies, My Sweet Valentine 3D, and the upcoming Coraline. There were even free comics if one was so inclined to grab a couple when making their way past the Lone Star Comics table.

It should, of course, be noted that the very lovely Amber Alert, one of our first Gamettes, was there to offset the Reckon Crew ugly with her good looks and gracious nature. She even suggested a locale for Saturday night’s festivities and managed to get Timothy Danger to dance, no small feat. Or perhaps, no small two left feat.

After everything was said and done, the beers were drank,  and some monstrous burritos had been consumed, the Reckon Crew left Dallas knowing that there was a new stop on our list of worthy events to visit when the next opportunity (August 29-30, in case you were curious) rolls around, the Dallas Comic Con.

 

Gritskrieg – End of Line

Landing at Wizard World Texas!

We here at Busy Gamer believe you only need 3 things in life. Games, Comics, and Chaos.

We dig it even more when we can combine the three. That’s exactly what we intend to do at one of our favorite annual stops: Wizard World Texas. Not only will we be spreading the message of fast gaming to the Texas Geek Faithful, we will also rub elbows with the creators of Gemini Force.

Gemini Force is an adrenaline packed comic which features two hot chicks and a robot sidekick. Admit it, even if I wrote nothing else about the book, you kind of want to check it out now. The trio does battle with assorted sci fi monsters and villains, and takes it’s cues from various early classic sci fi genres.

Artist Terry Parr (who is also responsible for experimental indie music project “The Terry Parr Experience???) and his new pin up book will be making it’s debut at Wizard World along with other goodies, as well as one of BusyGamer.com’s first models of 2008 Amber Alert (who is also a model for one of the characters in Gemini Force, because hey, if it’s Texas Sci Fi… you got to have Amber as your model).

You can find more about Gemini Force here at the website, or catch artist Terry Parr & Amber Alert over at booth #2220A at Wizard World in Arlington, Texas at the Convention Center.