We contacted Kerry to talk about his work. The illustrator has reimagined classic Marvel and DC superheroes in some truly unexpected and hilarious scenarios. We wanted to find out what inspired Kerry to start creating these vintage-style covers. The artist shared with us: “I started creating parody art when I was a kid. I grew up in the country, with no museums or art classes available. The only time I saw art was in comic books, MAD magazine, Sunday comic strips, or advertising. I loved to draw, so I would create my own versions of these things. I guess I never stopped! When I want to create art it’s still influenced by my childhood. I suppose many other artists paint landscapes or such.”
MAD magazine, with which the artist collaborated, has a long history of satire and parody. We were wondering how working with such an iconic publication influenced Callen’s approach to humor and comic creation. We learned that: “I was actually doing very MAD-like work when I was asked to contribute the magazine. It was kind of a 'cart before the horse' thing. As I mentioned earlier, I saturated my kid-brain with comics and such. I would post gags online for fun, and MAD noticed it. I LOVED working for MAD. It felt a bit like a validation of the silly work I did.”
Kerry has worked with both well-known characters and created original ones. We were curious whether the illustrator finds more creative freedom in his independent projects or if established characters present a unique kind of challenge. The artist told us that both experiences are different: “It’s all about the starting point. When I’ve created my own characters, I started by looking at a blank piece of paper. Doing parodies is easier in its way. The starting point is the character’s existing history. I can either play into that, or go an opposite, unexpected direction.”
Lastly, we asked Callen if he could give us a sneak peek into any upcoming projects or concepts he’s working on. The illustrator said: “I’m currently working on something I’m not ready to talk about. For now, I’m happy to continue to draw superhero commissions for people. A piece is typically a single image, not a strip, but folks come up with the craziest ideas! It’s fun! Most of the work is posted my Instagram page.”
