Mauro Mandalari

Why did you take the choice of becoming a comic artist?

I’ve always drawn since I was a child, I spent a lot of time with a pencil in my right hand and a rubber in the other one. When I was about 9 years old, I used to watching the awesome Spiderman cartoon. It was almost a ritual every afternoon after doing my homework. I remember that one day I went to a library and I saw a beautiful Spiderman comic book, so I asked my Daddy to buy it for me. I opened it and I said : “ Wow… I want to draw beautiful comics like this too!”

What kind of stuff do you like drawing most?

I really like drawing comics, and it’s a good thing, given that it’s my job! But I also like spending my time in character design, maybe in the future I would like working as a character designer too, it should be funny!

What kind of comics do you like reading most?

I read a lot of stuff, I do like superhero comics, graphic novels, manga… I have no prejudice, if it’s a good work, it’s OK for me. I firmly believe that you could learn something reading anything. “Everyone you will ever meet, knows something that you don’t!” It’s the same for artists, it’s always good having a look at everything, even stuff you dislike. You always could learn something.

What does it means for you having an artistic job?

Having an artistic job means you will never stop studying and it’s great because it’s a very challenging job, but sometimes you could feel frustrated, because you want to be a better artist. When I feel in this way I usually take a look to my past drawings and see how much I’ve improved since the day I started working, and I assure to myself I’ll be a stronger artist if I don’t stop drawing.