Illustrator Michael Boeckelmann Re-Animates NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES with His Fresh VHS Imprint Anubis Video, and Plans to Unleash Another Slab of Analog Excellence this Weekend at SEVERED 2014 with SLAUGHTER OF THE RATS!
Cultivating his tenebrous and trenchant style through an early entry into the comic world, illustrator extraordinaire Michael Boeckelmann has now endeavored to take his art from the page-turning pulp of comics and into the magnetic munching heads of your VCR. Along with the analog assistance of fresh VHS stalwarts King of the Witches, Boeckelmann’s Anubis Video has already unleashed one re-animated slab of cult excess, with another all ready to unreel at this weekend’s Severed Short Film night and HVHSCU Convention. Armed with an acute nostalgia for the glory days of our favorite format and an adept imagination for rendering excellent analog encasement, Mike invites you to scrape off that stink of DVD and bathe in the analog appreciation of Anubis Video…
You’ve also been doing some art for other VHS releases. Can you spill the beans on what they are just yet… or?
Well, I’ve pretty much been exclusive for King of the Witches… not that I wouldn’t work for other companies, but I’ve had past experiences working with people where they haggle you with money. I’m loyal to people that treat me good, and I’ve really enjoyed working for them. For Severed I have 2 covers for KOTW. One is HAXAN, and the other is Liam and Evan Makrogiannis’ DEVIL MOON. Of Course there’s SLAUGHTER OF THE RATS and I’m doing an exclusive KOTW cover for a special 1/1 tape.
growing up and had a chance to experience so many good horror films. It was always killer to find a new video store and just seeing all the titles and discovering new flicks left a lasting impression on me. I just love the packaging, oversized art… plus, DVDs stink... they scratch so easily. I never had to return a tape to a video store… DVD is a whole other story.
HVSCU>. There’s a bigger opportunity to collect, trade, and connect with other cool people but there’s also the bad that comes with it. I’m not a fan of the negativity or other people creating pages to trash companies and individuals.
Okay, and now for some fun ones! What’s your favorite / least favorite thing to draw?
Anytime I get to do occult themes, demons, monsters, etc. those are the jobs I enjoy most. Least favorite is buildings and cars. Buildings are tedious and I need to really brush up on drawing vehicles. A lot of artists tend to have problems with vehicles.
There he is! MB in the flesh lookin' mean and serene.
LM: Tell us a little bit about yourself, Michael. What’s the trajectory of your creative history, and your art? MB: I broke into comics right out of high school, in late 93, I believe? It was for a local company here in St. Louis. From there I launched a new company and book in the late 90’s with another VHS cover artist Tim Tyler. The book was called Stain and we had a little bit of success with it and some bad luck as well and it was over within two years. From there I had some major wrist surgery in 2002, had to learn to draw again and I would say from about 2007 / 08 up until now I’ve been working on re-launching Stain and I’ve spent the last year and a half doing VHS art primarily for King of the Witches and Uneasy Archive and have also been a regular at Virus Comix doing covers, pinups, and pages for my good artist and friend Ju Gomez on a book called Viral.
A most excellent comic cover executed by Mike. Drawin' the eyeballin' callin', mang!
Your illustrations rip, dude. Who are some of your influences, and whose stuff are you looking at now that’s dropping your jaw? Thanks, Josh. There’s many to list, but I would say my major influences are Alfred Alcala, Virgil Finlay, Reed Crandall, John Totleben, Tim Vigil, Neal Adams, Kazuma Kaneko and Pablo Marcos. As far as guys right now that amaze me, Marco Rudy is really incredible. J.H. Williams III, Phil Jimenez, Jesus Saiz and Jomar Bulda. Hell, I look at Tim Vigil’s recent work and I’m always stunned at what he’s doing. He’s on a whole other level; it’s really disappointing to me that the comic industry has black balled him. He deserves so much more recognition as a modern master.
A Tim and Joe Vigil cover, inked by Mike. I'd hang out here.
A rendition of the unseeing sea-faring dead from the hand of Mike, as it appeared on the cover of the Anubis release. Groovy, man.
The gutsy and grisly art for the upcoming analog assault from Anubis Video premiering this weekend at Severed. That flesh is SCREAMIN!
Can you tell us a little bit about the charity auction you did for a special NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES tape? I did a special 1 / 1 cover to help a pretty cool little rescue group in North Carolina, The Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary. Blind Cat - Blind Dead… it kind of went hand in hand. We raised $150 which helped one of their cats with chemo treatments. I’m big into animal rescue and stray and feral cat rescue. My fiancé and I helped a local group earlier this year called Tenth Life, as well. I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I can do something to help others and one of my goals with each release is to do a special charity auction for an organization. I would challenge more companies out there to do the same and find someone to help or give back to.
Some sick-as-shit pen shredding from Mike for the KOTW VHS release of DEVIL MOON. Crazy Rad.
What is it about the VHS format that does it for you, Michael? Why do you want to put movies on tape again? It’s the nostalgia factor for me. I was fortunate to have quite a few Mom and Pop video stores
Another flesh-shreddin' illustration from Mike for the KOTW VHS release of LONG PIGS. Dig it.
What are your thoughts on the resurgence in VHS love, and the community that’s developed from it? The community for the most part has been great. Earl Kess really created something special
A preview illustration for Mike's upcoming collaboration on the film THE HOUSE OF EVIL.
Some raw-as-hell artwork for a special edition of KOTW's PARTY LEVITATION. Watch out now!
What’s next for you, Mike? You already have another ANUBIS title in the works? It’s going to be a busy summer. The next Anubis release is titled BLOOD OF THE YETI. It will be ready in a few months and I’ll be announcing more soon. Outside of that, I’m wrapping up the finishing touches to my own book Stain Resurrected which is a horror anthology title, and I’m contributing the most I ever had to Viral issue # 4. I’m also doing a special comic for Massilisano Cerchi’s THE HOUSE OF EVIL. That book and film will be killer. I get to draw some really cool creatures. I love the fact I can work between comic and VHS: my two passions combined! Anything else you’d like to shout out to all the Tapeheads eyeballin’ the blog? Just thanks for taking the time to read this and check out Anubis. It’s great to have a community like this that continues to grow. There’s a lot of great people out there in it. You have a younger generation catching up and getting into it, too, and it’s been great to see… and also I want to thank you, Josh, for doing Lunchmeat and giving us collectors a groovy magazine and site to read where we can discover so many new tapes and companies.Hey, it’s my pleasure, man! It truly is amazing to see all of the Tapeheads emerge and converge on a daily basis, and you can bet your Allied Artists side-loading copy of THE SORCERERS that you can stay tuned to every aspect of Lunchmeat Land to keep you analog updated on all things VHS past and present… And you know this, MANNNN. And one other thing you should know is to groove on over to Anubis Video’s Official Facebook page to give them some love and stay in stride with all of their analog endeavors. I can’t wait to see which tape they pull from the tomb next.
Groove and Groove and DEATHHHH AN DOOOOOOM.
Josh Schafer