First Comics News: Geof, can you kindly tell our readers where and when you were born, where you grew up, and go to school?
Geof Isherwood: I was born Geoffrey Tolson Isherwood on December 4th, 1960, in Quantico, Virginia, as my father, Geoffrey Brian Isherwood, was serving his USMC duty as part of his ROTC following university in Boston, where my parents met. Once he was discharged, we moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where my mother’s side of the family is. My father improved his education with a Master’s Degree at the University of Delaware and a Doctorate at Rutgers. The family moved to Wilmington, then Dover, Delaware, where he was the high school principal for three years, before his job applications led to his acceptance at McGill University in Montreal. We moved there when I was ten. I completed high school at MacDonald High and continued at CEGEP John Abbott. The school system in Quebec is eleven years of high school, two years of Junior College (costs covered by the government), and three years of university. I then went to Concordia University in downtown Montreal, where I graduated with a BFA in Fine Arts.
1st: By the way, while First Comics News dot Com is a huge U.S. comics site, visited by comics buyers/ fans/ readers, publishers, and the media, I myself am Canadian, like you. I am in Nova Scotia. Although I understand that you were born in the United States. How old would you say you were when you first started drawing, and was this passion the direct result of your having discovered the existence and medium of comic books, early on? Also, how old were you when you first discovered comics, and when you started drawing?
Geof: I remember drawing from the age of four to five. Drawing a line across the paper, then cars and trucks on that line. I discovered cartoons then, too, reading the newspaper humor strips. I was particularly fond of Peanuts and The Wizard of Id. My cousins who lived next door and I read humor comics, too: Casper, Richie Rich, and so on, and I also loved cartoons on TV. Bugs Bunny and the gang, Coyote versus. Roadrunner, Speed Racer, and Ultraman show. But when they came on, I also watched the Spider-Man cartoon. I also discovered Mad Magazine soon after. I was getting a fully-rounded introduction to comics!
1st: When you first discovered comics, what titles and characters did you follow, and which were your favourites? Were your parents supportive of your hobby and your drawing, or not?
Geof: Ultimately, when I was nine to ten, I discovered superhero comics, and I liked Spider-Man and The Legion of Superheroes the most. Before long, when I was twelve, I would get my hands on every superhero comic I could. My allowance only stretched so far! I had a school friend who had a box of older Marvel titles, and he let me have a few of those. When I was fifteen, I worked for a comic book dealer, Max Seeley, who ran his business from downtown Montreal, so I got to see loads more comics there.
1st: Hmm. That name, Max Seeley, sounds familiar. If my memories are correct, I believe he had ads in a lot of comic books many decades ago, as a comics back issue dealer. I remember seeing them.
Geof: I preferred to be paid in comics instead of money, so I fleshed out my collection with books like The Neal Adams Avengers issues. My parents were fine with my drawing; they didn’t pay too much attention. They did want me to stick with the math/ science stream, figuring that was my best bet for a career. In terms of financial success, they were probably right! I could handle any courses; I was good at them all, but I was focused on comics. Thus, after my first year of CEGEP, they relented.
1st: For our readers, did you take any art courses at any time, and if so, where? Or, are you entirely or mostly self-taught?
Geof: I am primarily self-taught. I copied comic book artists across the board, trying to figure out how they were able to simplify complex human figures into comic book art, and also what looked good aesthetically, and what didn’t, to me. That’s a feel that is lacking for so many young artists, something I must have had an eye for, to start with. I recall from a young age liking certain shapes, forms, designs, and certain colors, and not others. I’m not just talking about the female form, here! It could be animals, cars, architecture, plants, etcetera. And, I kept working at it to understand how to draw what I was attracted to. In the long run, I realized you need to be interested in everything to draw comics or do concept art, because eventually, you have to draw a wide range of objects. It all matters. During high school, I discovered the work of The Studio artists: Michael Kaluta, Bernie Wrightson, Jeff Jones, and Barry Windsor-Smith. Smith. They all worked in unique ways, but more than anything, they inspired me to push myself to do more than standard work. I still go back to their work when I need a shot in the arm. 
After one year at John Abbott, I went west to Banff, Alberta, to take a six-week program of drawing and painting to gain credits, so I could return to John Abbott, switch to the Creative Arts Program, and still graduate after two years. I did what I could there, but it turned out most kids were sent to Banff to get out of the hair of their parents. I was pranked a lot and harassed, to the point where, by week five, I no longer stayed in my dorm room, but slept in the art studio, on the mattress models used for posing. My roommate gave his key to other kids so they could bug me nightly, as I found out later. Why me? I was kind of used to it anyway, from school. And that introverted kid was lured into the world of heroes and fantasy, because the real world wasn’t always so friendly. In the long run, I don’t know if any of them ever made a career for themselves, but I was determined to do so.
1st: Growing up as a kid, and even as a kid, I was a picked-on kid for the reason that I loved to read and to draw. So, I can certainly, absolutely relate to all this.
Geof: At university, everyone was doing abstract art: geometrics, swirls, splashes, and smears. I had no idea how to deal with that. I was doing figurative work. I asked one painting teacher, who amused himself by painting huge blow-ups of Penthouse Pet centerfolds, why I was doing figurative work when the trend was abstract. He told me it was because I could draw.
1st: You draw like a demon, Geof, meant in the very best possible way!
Geof: Next up, I learned some good things from my life drawing class, like, draw what you see, not what you think you see; but when I asked my professor about learning more anatomy, she said she couldn’t teach me anything, because I knew more than she did.
1st: That’s awesome!
Geof: I also had part-time jobs. I had to skip nearly an entire semester of drawing class to work. I did two large drawings: a crucifixion and a Greek myth piece I invented. The teacher gave me an A. That was nice of her!
1st: My guess is, you earned it, Geof. I always liked your art in zines and comics!
Geof: We had an art show, and I put up my drawings in the hallways. The next day, they had been stolen. Nobody else’s was. So, don’t leave your work lying around, folks!
1st: I’m sure you didn’t appreciate that at all, quite the opposite, of course! But, when you think of it another way, it’s got to be a huge compliment! Since you and I chatted in a private email earlier today, I now know that you and I are in the same age bracket. (I already knew you were a Canadian.) In fact, you mentioned to me that you are only slightly younger than myself, and that you will turn 65 soon. My birthday was in May, and I am there already. When I was a teenager, I recall seeing your work in comics fanzines, but I don’t recall all the titles. Can you tell me in which one you were first published? And also, other fanzines by titles that you were published in? Like you, my artwork was also published in several comics fanzine titles when I was younger (and one recently); additionally, in magazines, and in two Zorro books, the man in black with a mask, sword, hat, nd cape, from Bold Venture Press — my # 1 favourite fictional character of all time. If memory serves, and of course, please correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to remember that you also did some comics work. (paneled pages)In some fanzines, as well? If so, which ones would those be?
Geof: I did some work for Mark Shainblum’s ORION Magazine.
1st: Ah, yes, that’s right; I have those! And, of course, they, and he, are both Canadian.
Geof: Roger Broughton published a few things that I worked on.
1st: Roger Broughton was out of Quebec, and he published innumerable comics titles, under numerous comics companies’ titles, mostly reprints of Charlton (and) ACG comics; I have many of those Canadian reprints, but I recall also published at least some new titles with new stories and art, which I have as well. One of those is called Corbo.
Geof: Mostly, I was doing sample pages or stories that never got finished, and I got paid a small amount, if at all. That wasn’t a big deal. I was still focused on getting work at Marvel and DC.
1st: I read your Wikipedia entry, and it’s my understanding that you, too, are currently a Nova Scotian? Unless you have since moved, of course!
Geof: My wife, Manda, is from Nova Scotia. I’ve visited there many times, but not yet. We may move there! Who knows?
1st: When did your big break come, when you first broke into professional comic books as an illustrator, on what titles were those, and how old were you at the time? And when was that? I do understand that you have worked at both Marvel (numerous titles) as well as at DC Comics, Broadway Comics, and Nand BM Publishing. Skarwood Productions, and for Canadian publishers as well, in addition to being a storyboard artist for movies, you even taught advanced comic book, figure drawing, and concept art classes and workshops at Syn Studio Concept Art School, from 2010 to 2013, an industry-focused art school based in Montreal, Quebec. That is quite a resume!
Geof: I had visited Marvel and DC offices since the age of sixteen, but I was not ready yet. I met Marie Severin and Dave Cockrum that first time. They were very nice, they gave me tips, and invited me back when I got better. I would head down to NYC when I was eighteen, nineteen, twenty…. I was also in university. I wanted to get my degree, so I wasn’t in a hurry. And, I wasn’t good enough yet then, either. If I had gone to (Neal Adams’) Continuity Associates, for example, I could have started sooner, and picked up more skills doing assistant work, but I never did go there at all, ever! The main thing was, I didn’t want to start working seven days a week, swamped. Give me a couple of years… When I was eighteen, John Buscema came up to Montreal as a guest at a comics convention. He had a stack of original art for sale for $25 per page. I didn’t have money for a single one! Can you imagine what value they had later…
1st: Crazy value! Thousands of dollars a page, now!
Geof: I stood and watched him sketch for two hours. I remember nothing else about that day.
1st: I’m not surprised! I’d be mesmerized, watching that!
Geof: I asked him the best way to break into comics. I remember what he said like it was yesterday. “Pick your favorite artist, and swipe his style.” That’s direct for ya!
1st: It sure is! I remember when Bill Sienkiewicz was aping Neal Adams’ art style many, many decades ago, doing Moon Knight. Eventually, one of Sienkiewicz’s Batman illustrations ran as a cover for a prozine.
Geof: When I was twenty-one, just graduated, I headed back to New York, and got a short horror story in Bizarre Adventure #9.
1st: I’m guessing that you mean Marvel Previews # 9. Because that was the name of the title for many issues, a black and white magazine-sized comic. Only much later did the title change to ‘Bizarre Adventures’; they just continued the numbering from Marvel Previews to Bizarre Adventures when they changed the title.
Geof: Later, I drew a horror western for DC’s New Talent Showcase. First, I penciled it, then it was sent to me to ink. My visits seemed to finally be bearing fruit! However, after that, nada.
1st: Can you tell our readers and me the circumstances of when you first broke into comics, and starting with which title? Also, how did all that come about? I’d also like to ask the same question, regarding when you first started storyboarding for movies, if I may.
Geof: I got a job through a friend at a department store chain that’s long gone, Miracle Mart. I drew floor plans of renovations and standardized merchandise displays, so that every store would look the same; these were called plan-o-grams. I kept drawing sample pages. In the Spring of 1983, my girlfriend (and later wife, who lived until 2009), Sonja Skarstedt, a writer/ artist herself, took my job there, and I headed back to NYC, determined to stick it out instead of my usual whirlwind two-day trip. I stayed on Long Island at my aunt’s house, and if nothing came of it, I would return to Miracle Mart. I visited editors at Marvel and DC, many of whom knew me by then. Again, no one had work, so I headed up to Archie/Red Circle, where I met Rich Buckler, alone in his office, which was quite a difference from the big operations at the other companies. Rich was trying to get pencils finished on an issue of The Mighty Crusaders, so he gave me pages of his roughs, and I finished pencils over his roughs. Rich gave me a few tips, too. I found it was fairly easy to ddo y that point. I did this with him for three days. Then I got a call at my aunt’s house from Marvel. Ralph Macchio said he needed a fill-in on Daredevil. I called Rich to say what had happened, and he congratulated me. “Get to it! You’re in the door, kid!” We later worked on a Spider-Man story together, and many years later, we had some good conversations at comic conventions, before his passing. So, I took the LIRR into town and went up to see him. We discussed the Marvel Method, and away I went. I have no idea how confident he was in what I would do, but this was my Big Shot. I knew that one often gets one crack at a new job, but getting the second one was the trick. This was the Major Leagues. The Show. And, sitting down to draw, I felt I had to double my skill level to get it done well. I had plenty of inspiration from Frank Miller’s recent run, and I always loved the character, going back to the Gene Colan days. I turned in the job on time, which I knew was paramount. It went well enough that Ralph started assigning me more books: Power Man and Iron Fist, Dazzler. After three months, I could return to Montreal, as I was now getting regular work, and a series, soon to follow.
1st: Let me tell you a little quick story about Marvel’s Daredevil. He’s not only my # 1 favourite Marvel character by far, but I also own DD # 1, 1964, right up to the current issue in 2025; I have them all. Daredevil was also John Romita Sr’s favourite character, as well. I read many interviews with him, where he repeated that, time and again. End of story.
Geof: In terms of film, we jump ahead to 1999. The comic book industry had shrunk a lot, and most of the editors I had worked for had been fired by that time. Then Marvel dropped the Conan license, which was the last title I was working on. There were lots of artists out of work by that time, and no titles to move on to, except maybe some indie books. They didn’t pay as well or were very slow (paying), as I found out, over the next few years. I drew comics that were never published, even as I did get paid. So, film. Montreal was starting to become a city to could host larger productions. Battlefield Earth was coming to town. I hunted around for the production office, tried to find out who to call. If you’re not in that community, it’s nigh impossible. Eventually, I was able to find out that the Production Designer was interviewing local concept artists to work with him during pre-production. So, not storyboards. Through a fluke of timing, I was tacked on to the end of his list. I found out that a couple of artists already in the field went to Con University with me, Meinert, and Gunnar Hansen. So, I drove across town to an old military base and went upstairs to meet this man. I had no movie work to speak of. Knowing he wanted to see concept art, I brought comics with establishing shots of cities and such to show him. And so, I met Patrick Tatopolous, fresh from Independence Day and Godzilla ’98. He took one look at my comics and said, “I love you,u comic book guys! You can draw anything! You’re hired!” That began a three-month job that has led to every single other film job I have gotten through local film; it drew people who got to know me, then. I haven’t gone after other jobs since; they came to me, from concepts, to prop design, to set decoration (posters and paintings), to storyboards. I’ve been asked to invent scenes from nothing, or rewrite as I draft, to “save the movie” by filling plot holes and awkward endings. The value of the myriad of skills needed to draw comics became a large asset to have. But it really came down to developing a feel for dramatic structure, character development, and acting, and a continual study of what works on screen and on the page. I also taught at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario, for eight years, which sharpened my sense of story and drawing structure, as I had to break down the processes of creativity for students to help them understand how to train for positions in industry. Every experience has been valuable.
1st: I understand that you have a new comic book coming out soon from Dynamite Entertainment Comics, a sword and sorcery type of series entitled Fire and Ice: Nekron. I saw the illustrated ad for it in Dynamite Entertainment Comics’ Space Ghost, volume 2, # 5. The ad for Fire and Ice: Nekron listed Sarah Frazetta, presumably the daughter of the late, great Legend of sword and sorcery type paintings, Frank Frazetta (and former comic book artist, himself), as the writer of this comic book, and with yourself, of course, as the illustrator of same. Your Wikipedia lists this comic as a one-shot. I will definitely be buying this comic book; it looks fascinating! Could this comic ta into a series, later on, or does that depend on sales of the one-shot?
Geof: I met Sara Frazetta at a Conan panel at the San Diego Comic Con in 2024, and she first asked my wife, Amand, if I was available to work with her. I was in the middle of my two-part Conan story for Titan at the time. I was available, of course, and it has taken some time, but I was excited to do my small part to add to the Fire And Ice mythos and to collaborate with the Frazetta clan. From what I understand, the comic is a one-shot. The Fire and Ice series by Willingham and Manco picks up on Nekron’s story where this leaves off, so there isn’t a need for a second issue. Sara says she has plans for more tales based on her grandfather’s work, but nothing has been finalized yet, so all I can say is it’s tentative for now. I suppose that’s enough of a teaser!
1st: Well, that’s a great teaser, Geof!
Geof: Beyond that, I will be doing more film work next, as I am more involved in the story/ script process, before art jobs on a couple of projects. There are a couple of my own I have to assemble pitches for, from the stacks of material I already have. All to say I may have hit 65, but I’m not ready to retire just yet!
1st: Geof Isherwood, I’m a life-long fan! Thanks for this look into your life in comics, and, before, a look into your fanzine work! It’s been a great pleasure chatting with you! Thank you very much, and Cheers!
And, to our readers: Geof Isherwood’s own website – check it out – is at https://geoffreyisherwood.ca/
He also does commissioned art for fans! His rates for that are right on that website. Click on it, above!
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