I did this interview with Dana Tillusz of Comic Readers just after the publication of Machiavelli in SPX 2002.

Don MacDonald

by Dana Tillusz

Don MacDonald is a comics and portrait artist who lives and works in Boston, Massachusetts. He is currently working on a short detective story and continuing Machiavelli, a fictional biography of the Renaissance philosopher.

You can see his work, including his contribution to SPX 2002, at www.donmacdonald.com

CR: How did you get involved in creating comics and how long have you been doing them?

DM: I've been making art all my life. I've been involved in comics almost as long, either as a creator or a reader. I started drawing comics when I was only 13 or so, and I returned to them after a long hiatus in which I went to art school, worked as an illustrator, as a painter, as a computer animator, and as a portrait artist (which I still do.) It's actually a course I'd recommend to anyone because you pick up a lot that you would not have if your sole focus had been comics all along. But comics were always hovering at the edge of my vision, even as I was working on canvases and especially as started working in watercolor. I returned to making comics in 1996, when I first conceived of Machiavelli-- I painted a cover and an opening page. The idea lay dormant after that however.

CR: How did you get involved with SPX?

DM: I learned about it through The Comics Journal. I felt that the time was right for me to seriously start making comics again. I thought the anthology would be a good place to start. When I learned that the subject was biographical comics-- that sealed the deal.

CR: SPX 2002 focused on biographical strips: Who was your comic about and how did you go about researching your subject?

DM: When I learned the theme would be biographical comics, I felt like a slow pitch had just been lobbed into my wheelhouse. I knew it was time to get back to Machiavelli. He's at the crux of so many of my interests: art, history, philosophy. I have a real desire to make comics about these things. But I don't want to over-emphasize the philosophy-- enough books have covered that ground. I want to focus on the human elements of Machiavelli's story.

How did I research Machiavelli? I studied art, Italian, and art history in Italy (in 1993 and 1996) and it was there that I first came up with the idea for the story. Living in Florence especially gave me a feel for Machiavelli's environment. I also read most of his important works (especially. The Prince, The Discourses, and The Florentine Histories) and works about him by other authors: Strauss, de Grazia, and Viroli. Art History books and costume books were also useful for clothing reference.

CR: Did you find any interesting stories or facts about him that did not make it into your SPX comic?

DM: Tons. The six pages in SPX 2002 are actually the prologue to a larger book. I'm working on the first chapter now, in which Machiavelli enters public life. I'd like to release each chapter as I create them, and then collect the entire book at the end.

CR: Where else has your work appeared?

DM: I'm assuming you mean comic work. SPX 2002 is my published debut.

CR: What are you currently working on?

DM: Machiavelli and a hard-boiled detective story.

CR: What was your earliest exposure to comics?

DM: I think the first comics I ever read were the early Star Wars comics by Marvel. I first started reading regularly when I was about 12 or so, with G.I. Joe and the Claremont / Romita, Jr. X-Men. Spiegelman's Maus was my first exposure to comics that weren't fantasy-based, and it really changed my perception of comics and their ability to tell stories that were based in reality. Maus, more than anything else, I think, made me realize that comics were an effective medium for my stories.

CR: What inspires you to work in comics?

DM: I tried just about everything else, and never really felt "at home." I keep coming back to comics. My ambition as a 13-year-old was to make comics. I guess my gut instinct was right all along.

CR: What comics are you reading right now and which comic creators do you read the most often?

DM: Eddie Campbell, Alec: How to be an Artist; Chris Ware, Jimmy Corrigan; Mike Mignola's Hellboy books; anything by Eisner, especially The Dreamer.

CR: What does your mom wish you were doing instead of working in comics?

DM: She doesn't seem to mind, actually. She got used to the idea of having an artist son a long time ago.

Silly question...

CR: If you could choose any superpower what would it be and why?

DM: Ha! I haven't read super hero comics for a while, but I remember back in the day there was a character called Cipher, in The New Mutants. He could speak any language. I think they killed him, probably because he couldn't kick anyone's ass. I think that's a pretty cool power, though. To speak any language-- I'd prefer that to ass-whuppin'.