interview with MICHAEL-CHRISTOPHER

this weekend at 7, THE PARTY, i will be featuring a comic book theme. it should be a pretty hot party considering this weekend is the 4th of july. i decided to reach out to my good pal, michael-christopher. he's an amazing illustrator and novelist. check out my interview with him.

1. So you've traveled and lived in a couple of cities. which cities have you lived in and which one was your favorite and why?
That's a hard question. Most of my travel has been work-related so I've never really had the chance to get out and about like I want to. Most times I'm in town for a Black pride so I end up only in the places events are happening. The cities I'd love to explore more extensively are Los Angeles, Chicago and London, and I see myself settling for good in the ATL.

2. When did you first get the idea to do your series "Living The Life"?
When I was laid off from my job as a graphic designer at a small publishing company that was sold to McMillan. Belasco saw some of my drawings and inspired me to publish my own book. He saw some nudes and told me I could be successful doing what he does, but my erotic stories had too much conscience to them and we all know that wouldn't work!

3. How long have you been drawing?
I have been drawing since I was a crumb-snatchin' rug rat! I started out drawing PEANUTS characters when I was about 3 or 4, then I would draw THE FLINTSTONES and other Hanna-Barbara cartoons from the television. Those are my most significant cartooning influences.

4. Most of your characters have toned or muscular bodies, has the body conscience of the gay community embraced your work?
You know, I get a lot of flack for that, but it really comes from drawing super-heroes and studying anatomy since junior high. My thing is drawing people and part of the thrill for me as a "creator" is to build someone, muscle by muscle. Drawing someone's arm as two straight parallel lines is just no fun! But, in the interest of realism, I have been more careful about how I draw my characters. KURTIS, for instance, is not supposed to be anywhere near buffed. HANK is thick, but not as muscular as ANDRE or KHALID. I've looked back at issue #1 and thought, "dang, they're diesel!"

5. Have you ever illustrated porn, like for your own collection?
Being fascinated by anatomy, I have drawn plenty of nudes, but very little "porn." I have some of what I call "sensual art," drawings of people together in intimate moments, but rarely sexual acts. When I draw, my objective is to create something beautiful, and I have yet to see someone look beautiful with a d*** in their mouth!

6. Would you like to see your books come to life, meaning animation? is something like that in the works?
Animation, no. Live action, YES! And there IS a finished LIVING THE LIFE screenplay. I'ma leave it at that.

7. What's next for michael-christopher?
Well, I have been working a lot of HIV-Prevention comics and campaigns, I'm on the Executive Committee for the White Attire Affair benefit here in Washington, DC. I'm working on syndication for LIVING THE LIFE and other writing projects. I'm sure many of you reading are saying, "you NEED to be working on issue #7!" That's in the works, too...

check out more from michael-christopher at [ www.livedlife.com ]