Meet the creative team behind our all-new anthology project, Tales from The Cave, featuring three fresh short stories plucked from the Mad Cave pumpkin patch by Mad Cave Studios’ 2022 Talent Search winners!
We had the chance to sit down and chat with each contributor about their contributions to the anthology, their inspirations, and more!
Check out our interview below with the illustrator behind the Nottingham: The Witch of Winter Hill, Shane Connery Volk, below:
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself!
Shane: I am a full time creator! I am the co-creator and artist of Nottingham, as well as the singer and co-songwriter of Canadian Rock band – One Bad Son (www.onebadson.com). I also write stories (announcement on that coming soon!), and love acting. I generally follow whatever creative path I am being taken down at any given time. You can find me on IG at @shaneconneryvolk, and @artofscv. You can also follow my Patreon at patreon.com/shaneconneryvolk. My website has links to all my other socials – www.shaneconneryvolk.com.
Q: What is your contribution to Tales From The Cave?
Shane: My contribution is drawing a kick-ass Nottingham story full of snow, witches, foul play, and general Medieval upheaval.
Q: Which Nottingham character would you say you resonate with the most?
Shane: Probably Gisbourne’s dog. No matter what chaos is happening, or who’s in charge, he’s just hanging out and taking naps. He’s not concerned about political intrigue, just snacks.
Q: What does your creative process look like, and where do you draw inspiration from?
Shane: Inspiration comes from all around me. Movies, music, comics (of course). I have a stack of books beside my drawing table with some of my favourite artist’s work. From Bill Sienkiewiewicz to Jason Shawn Alexander. I look to them not only for inspiration, but to see how they solve problems, how they work out compositions, panel layouts, etc. From there I just let the story and the pen guide me. Art is a process of reduction, a process of letting go. I am in a constant state of trying to do less and communicate more (though that may not always be easy to see in my art haha).
Q: As a winner of Mad Cave Studios’ annual Talent Search, do you have any advice to aspiring creatives?
Shane: My best advice is to just get going. Get your ideas and your work out there. People can’t get to know you if they can’t see what you do. No matter how much practice you get in, there is no substitute for the learning curve of creating something for other people to see. For aspiring comic artists – it is SO important to learn to draw story. Write your own stories, or find comic scripts to draw, then get to work! Mad Cave’s talent search is a one of a kind opportunity to do just that. Don’t wait. Just enter. If you don’t win this year, get better and enter again next year. Never let fear hold you back. Ever.
Q: Any projects or events on the horizon that we should be looking out for?
Shane: Right now, I’m giving everything I’ve got to Nottingham Vol. 3. It’s the end of mine and David’s run on Nottingham and trust me – we’re going out with a bang! I have some other VERY exciting comic news that will get announced soon, and also new music coming this fall! It’s all systems go, and all art ALL THE TIME!
TALES FROM THE CAVE
Writers: David Hazan, Keith Frady, and Rachel Pinnelas
Artists: Shane Connery Volk, Riccardo Cecchi, and Marco Pelandra
Colorists: Luca Romano, Marco Tortella, and Marcello Iozzoli
Letterers: Justin Birch, Renato Quiroga and Andriy Lukin
Synopsis: Just in time for Halloween, Mad Cave Studios is proud to present readers three treats: a spooky Nottingham story from Hazan, Volk, Romano, and Birch; a Battlecats “tail” featuring teenage felines tempting fate; and a Hunt. Kill. Repeat. battle over technology.
Fans of all three worlds are given “pumpkin” to talk about with stories crafted by MCS Talent Search winners from past to present.!
Be sure to check out the Nottingham side-story, The Witch of Winter Hill, by author David Hazan, artist Shane Connery Volk, colorist Luca Romano, and letterer Justin Birch in Tales From the Cave, available September 27th, 2023!
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