Ryan Browne – The Creative Mind behind God Hates Astronauts & Bedlam

Ryan Browne is quickly becoming one of the hottest comic artists around. During the early stages of his career he knew that in order to make an impact in the comic industry, he had to take action- and that is exactly what Ryan did by creating his own comic, entirely from scratch,  titled “God Hates Astronauts.”

I want to take the time to personally thank Ryan for fitting this interview into his busy schedule. Ryan mentioned that he just got done with the latest Bedlam issue before finding some spare time to answer these questions – So without further wait, here is a mini interview with Ryan Browne:

How did you get started in the comic industry? What advice can you give to someone looking for a way to get “their name” out there?

 R: I got into the industry by doing a comic called “God Hates Astronauts”. I had spent years and years doing super hero portfolio pieces that would only briefly be considered by editors at Marvel and DC. I took me a long time to realize that if I wanted to work in comics, I needed to make comics—not waste my time on drawing five pages of Batman punching a criminal over and over.

So yeah, with God Hates Astronauts I handled everything down to the lettering and then I self published and put it online as a free web-comic.

After years of punching people in the face with my comic it finally found an audience which then lead to getting hired on books like Manhattan Projects and Bedlam. It also helped that the Kickstarter to God Hates Astronauts The Completely Complete Edition ended up being such success, but that really just worked out because I spent so long building my fan base with the web-comic.

God Hates Astronauts CoverSpread Ryan Browne

 

Bedlam is one of my favorite new comics and I look forward to reading it every month. You are taking over for Riley Rossmo starting with issue 7 – How are you going to make sure that Bedlam remains true to the first 6 issues but still add your own “flair” to it?

 

R: For those that are familiar with my work on Manhattan Projects and GHA, you will obviously see that Bedlam isn’t exactly a natural fit for me—OR SO YOU THINK!!!

Actually among my first professional work was a horror comic for Devil’s Due Publishing called “The Haunted Caves”.  This book was a tremendously horrible piece of filth that featured no actual haunting and absolutely no caves.  But anyways, I have a strong love for horror films and comics and so working my style towards what Riley was doing before is actually not that big of a stretch for me. Since I was taking over the world that he created I tried my best to use his style and drawing tools as a starting point. It’s not the same as Riley’s work, but I lives in the same universe for sure. You’ll see, trust me on this.

 

Can you give us an insight into what the future may hold for Bedlam?

R: Violence and psychological horror! What else?

 

The sneak peek that Nick Spencer posted on his Tumbler looks amazing – Where does your inspiration for Bedlam come from?

 R: For me it comes for trying to start where Riley left off and then bringing in some influences that I think are appropriate like the work of Bill Sienkiewicz and Sean Phillips. My work is a little more space and form based than Riley’s so it will have a different feel in that sense, but I’m trying my best to bring in his scratchy, creepy and expressive style.

 

The artwork simply looks amazing – How can fans purchase some original artwork from you?

R: You can purchase artwork from Bedlam as soon as the issue drops in stores. It is available through Cadence Comic Art.

 

Can you provide us with any other sneak peeks from upcoming issues?

R: Sure! Here’s some stuff!

Bedlam Madder Red Ryan Browne (3)

Bedlam Madder Red Ryan Browne Bedlam Madder Red Ryan Browne (1) Bedlam Madder Red Ryan Browne (2)

 Who are some of the people you’d want to work with during your career?

R: There are a lot of amazing artists out there that I would love to collaborate with as well as writers. Zander Cannon and I have been developing a story for years and hopefully we will find some time in the future.

 

 Pitarra Pinup Ryan Browne

Where can fans see you this year – Will you be at any comic cons?

R: Yeah! My next show is the Cherry Capitol Con! After that, is Heroes Con, then Cincy Con, Wizard World Ohio, and New York Con.

 

Do you collect anything? What is your most prized possession? 

R: I’m starting to build up a pretty good original art collection. My favorite piece has to be my original Geof Darrow drawing of Rusty and Big Guy Vs. The Shaolin Cowboy.

 

What is something the world does not know about you?

R:I was a guest on the Montel Williams Show.

 

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

R:Hopefully still in Chicago and gainfully employed. Fingers crossed!

 

Again, I want to thank Ryan for taking time to do this interview – Make sure to check out ALL the links below and check out his God Hates Astronauts if you haven’t done so already!

Website: God Hates Astronauts

Blog: Ryan Browne

Twitter: @ryanbrowneart

Facebook: Ryan Browne

Comic Art: LINK

 

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