AN INTERVIEW WITH MARK YANKO, CONDUCTED BY DAVE DUTTON-FRASER

D D-F: How long have you been drawing pin-up/comic book art? 
 

MY: I've drawn comic book art since I was at least 8. A couple of years ago, my mother returned some drawings to me that she'd saved since the mid-60s, character designs featuring my own spins on the superheroes that were beginning to catch fire in Marvel Comics at the time. Derivative as hell, but you could still see the creative wheels starting to turn. These seem to be my earliest attempts at creating a personal fantasy world, which ends up a lifelong artistic avocation for so many of us. 
 

I still recall vividly what a thrill it was to get a postcard back from the Marvel offices, in response to those sketches. The "editors" - probably it was Flo Steinberg, or one of Stan Lee's other gal Fridays at the time - had even taken the time to scrawl a personal note, complimenting me on what an imagination I had. To a Marvel kid, this was like dying and going to heaven, thinking that either Stan or even Jack Kirby had taken note of what I'd done. This small act of kindness to a kid on the part of some unknown Marvel staffer is probably what planted the seed, and made me think that maybe I could work in the field as an adult. 
 

Most of my published comic book work has been as an inker and not as a pencil artist, though. I've worked for a handful of indie companies, including Innovation and Caliber. Never for the Big Two (Marvel and DC), though. 
 

I've created pinup and erotic art much of my adult life, most of it personal in nature. But I never really felt comfortable enough to share it, until a couple of years ago. Frankly, I wasn't sure anybody would be interested. 

 

D D-F: When did you first realize you could make something of a living from art and can you remember what that felt like? 
 

MY: I've never made a living from art. Creative endeavors have always tended to need financial reinforcement from a day job, the way it's played out. 

I've come to an understanding that this is probably a blessing in disguise, however. I have this sneaking suspicion that if I did art all day as my day job, I probably wouldn't want to draw for myself at all in the evenings, or on weekends . And if I didn't want to do that, like I'm doing so much of the time right now, I wouldn't have created any of the recent, personal work that others have written to say they've enjoyed. For that matter, I might not have a website. 

D D-F: Favourite models, comic books and other artists (answer one of 'em or all...and yes I plan to mention Wally Wood)? 
 

MY: There's certainly no shortage of feminine beauty in the world to be inspired by. There's definitely no dearth of it the internet. Two models I find myself returning to, though, are Alley Baggett and Kristen Muranaga. Like I'm fond of saying, Alley Baggett is pretty much what Sex looks like. At least for me. 

D D-F: What other art projects are you involved in (plug your band and other work here)? 
 

MY: I'm a songwriter, as well as a visual artist. Which is interesting, considering I don't play an instrument. What I usually do is come up with a set of song lyrics first, and then I concoct a melody in my head, often singing it note-for-note, or humming it to myself in the car, over and over, so I don't forget it. I'm told that Michael Jackson writes his songs the same way. 
 

Fortunately, I have two very good friends, Scott Barton and Kevin Dallas, who CAN play musical instruments, who lend me all the help I need to realize these musical ideas. The three of us are presently finishing up our first full-length CD of original songs. The CD will be titled, very simply, "Dark Victory."


 

D D-F: Is pin up art a dead form or do you see new venues for it?  
 

MY: I think it's as strong a form as any other. New pinup artists seem to be emerging constantly. I'm not a huge fan of the airbrush school, which seems to forsake personal expression for what tends to be commercial, glib, and surface-slick. I don't think anybody's topped the sheer pleasure of Petty's girls, and I don't think anyone will, if we're talking about pinup art being rendered with an airbrush. 
 

Modern pinup art is generally more interesting to me whenever there's some expression of whatever turns the artist on in the work. I'm pretty sure my own preoccupation with devil girls and vampire girls leaves me ripe for analysis, as far as this goes (LOL).
 

Unfortunately, the internet being the culture of entitlement that it sometimes seems to be, the frustrating thing about the popularity of the pin-up genre is that people tend to be more interested in it when they're not being asked to pay for it. And this is a shame. Kudos are always nice and appreciated, don't get me wrong. Still, the lack of much financial support at times really doesn't do much to help the artist to move forward in his career. Or to encourage the prioritizing of more artistic productivity. 

 

D D-F: Some of your work is explicit. What is your definition of "smut"?

MY: Smut isn't really a word I'm a comfortable with. Good for a laugh, but useless, mostly, as a descriptive term. I must admit I bristled recently when a woman used it to describe my Alley Baggett drawing, Queen. I was nonplussed by this, mostly because I consider Queen to be one of my more tasteful drawings, and certainly nothing misogynistic or explicit. Even if it does happen to show topless female nudity.

D D-F: Have you ever been accused as a pornographer and if so by who or whom?
 

MY: Aside from the above incident, and one or two others in a PC vein, not in so many words, or to my face. I suppose that's coming, though. (LOL) 
 

There's something of a peripheral question that begs to be asked in response to that question, however. And that would be, if I am a pornographer, is that necessarily something bad? And if it is, why is that so?
 

D D-F: What is in the future for Mark Yanko and his fans? 

MY: God only knows. I hope I get to do more drawings that I end up liking better than other drawings.

My secret dream project, believe it or not, is to write and illustrate a children's book some day, preferably featuring a chihuahua. 

D D-F: If you could be any animal in the world what animal would you be?
 

MY: I'd like to be Coony The Wonder Art Dog, our Sheltie. He's got a better schedule than mine. 

Mark Yanko wishes to thank Darren Taylor for the caricature portrait atop this page, and Dave Dutton-Fraser for the interview. Illustration Copyright Darren Taylor. Interview Copyright Mark Yanko and Dave Dutton-Fraser.