Introducing Mark Torres: Talent With A Quirky Twist

Pic by Roi Francisco

Young, hip, arty and cool. Artist Mark Torres seems the kind to party with the right crowd, and yet stays awake just enough to finish his art projects.

If one has visited his deviantart gallery page, you would have found an interesting mix of traditional and digital art-styles, with a kind of twisted playfulness to his interpretation of subjects. For instance, Red Dot Diva appreciated the almost impressionistic, evil-snicker behind "Joke-tober". Go check it out.

To help folks get to know more about Mark Torres before he arrives here on March 9 -10, Red Dot Diva got him to answer a few of her nosy questions via email:

Red Dot Diva: When was the first time you got involved with drawing for comics professionally? And how did you get that particular gig?
Mark: I started doing a few strips for a local digest-sized humor comics/mag in the veins of Mad round 2005. If memory serves me right, I picked up a copy of their book, enjoyed it, figured I wanted to contribute, sent them a sample, and was fortunate they liked it enough to ask me aboard. It was a fun gig, and really played much to my love of cartooning.

Red Dot Diva: Have you been to Singapore before?
Mark: Yes, this will actually be my 3rd time in the Lion City. Funny story, my first trip there, was me, being a graphic designer by profession, checking out for possible opportunities. Picked up some, but good thing I told myself to come back and give it deeper thought. That's when I got an invitation from Rick Remender (“Marvel's Uncanny X-Force”, “Venom”) to contribute for his Fear Agent book by Dark Horse, and things just kept rolling from there.

Red Dot Diva: How do you compare the art scene here with the Philippines? 
Mark: I honestly can't say much regarding the scene there since I haven't experienced much of it, but I think judging by attending STGCC 2010 that there's really a big interest on art in all its forms. I've corresponded to some of the Singapore-based artists to do something during my visit, I keep teasing them with a Drink and Draw activity. I think that's gonna be wild. Haha!

Red Dot Diva: Give us some teasers about "Infestation 2: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and what fans should expect from this volume.
Mark: “Infestation 2” is IDW's sort of sequel to last year's successful big crossover event (the previous dealt with the threat of zombies rampaging thru various titles and realities), and this time we're fighting off against Lovecraftian terrors. I'm collaborating with multi-talented writer Tristan Jones, as we take the Turtles to ancient horrors deep below. Being a big fan of the original TMNT Mirage books, as well as HP Lovecraft, this project really is a big dream come true for me.

Mark adds that he is eager to meet his friends and fans while he is here.

"First off, a big thank you to Da Boss Alwyn and the entire Invasion! crew for setting up the party, and to all you awesome folks there for the tremendous support and kindness. Much appreciated, and we'll be rocking it out in a few days. Hope you guys celebrate with us on the event, we got lots of fun stuff in store. Cheers to all!"

Rock out, indeed!

Don't miss meeting Mark Torres at Invasion on March 9 and 10! (Time still TBC.)

There are goodies available during the event, and there is a viral poster treasure hunt one can take part in. Read more about it in a previous blog post right here!

-------------

Remember to check out Mark Torres' deviantart page!

And for more details of Mark's visit at Invasion! Comics' FB event page!