Peblee: First of all, I would like to ask you about your childhood. You grew up in Keansburg, NJ, and you stated on your website that you were inspired by a local amusement park. Could you talk about the park, the feelings you recall; and could you tell us what other childhood haunts or experiences in your memory have influenced your work.

Tommy: Growing up in a resort town is never easy. I lived around the corner from the Keansburg amusement park and grew up listening to the rides that were closest to our house. I remember one ride that was my introduction to Metal. It was called The Hemilla, and that damn thing just went around and around, blasting rock the entire time. It was torture on school night because the park stayed open late.
The park gave a great deal to me when it comes to my work. I was always a people watcher, and so many of those poor folks wound up either zombies in Toe tags or villains in Gotham. But the thing that follows me from those days the most would be the park and the town in the winter. It was jumping all summer long but when the cold came to town all those people scattered. This left what I, as a troubled youth, saw as a ghost town. I loved it. There were so many buildings and scary looking rides that my imagination would run wild. I now have a cavern of memories stored in that space between my ears to pull from.

Peblee: Were you a reader of comic books as a child, or novels? If so what books did you particularly enjoy, and why?

Tommy: When I was child we used books to sit on as we watched TV. Sad but true, it was not until I was out of high school that I truly found a love for books. As for comics, I never read them. We were very poor, and I guess my parents were more concerned with putting food on the table. What brought me to love comics was Zorro! I could not get enough. Every movie, every TV show-- I was glued to the screen. When I couldn’t see the movie I went for the newspaper. Of course now I have to tell you about my Mom making me a Zorro costume that I refused to take off for about a month. Stop laughing, I was only nine.

Peblee: Are there any writers or artists that you have particularly admired or followed? How have they influenced your art?

Tommy: I would have to write a short novel to answer this completely, but we will just have to suffice with a long-winded answer. It is a shame to start a list when there are so many artists and writers that have molded me into what I am today. Naturally, you might expect to hear names Like Jack Kirby or Will Eisner, but for me they are just a few in the many I have humbly tried to learn from.
A boy came to my table at a con and said he loved the lighting I used in one of my books. He then asked what comic book I took it from. I smiled and said I learned to use lighting from Carravaggio, and sat at the feet of Rubens to try and understand how light and shadow work. When he spoke again I was horrified to hear him ask what comics they had done. If you do not know your past and the great men and women of the art world you will never truly know where you are going. I have been inspired by many, and try to learn every day from the artists of the past as well as those of today.

And now for a short list:
Arthur Rackham
Frank Frazetta
The entire EC Comics line up
Berni Wrightson
And so many more it’s scary!

As for writers:
Robert McCammon (read Swan Song!)
Stephen King
Nietzsche
Shel Silverstein

Peblee: You spoke about your father on your website, if it is not too personal I would like to ask what he felt and thought about your art in the past, and how he sees it now.

Tommy: My pop is so proud of me its frightening. But when I was out there starving trying to scrape two dimes together he was worried. Now he just brags.

Peblee: You have a real control of the motion and the weighting of presence of the characters you draw in relation to the scenes around them. How much of the art is influenced by what the writer wants vs. what you visualize in your mind?

Tommy: The magic trick we, as pencillers, try to do is see what the writer sees. At times it works like a charm, but sometimes it falls far short and you just try to do your best. My job is to take the written word and transform it into pictures that tell the story. I try to find the feeling that the writer is looking for and go for it.

Peblee: I have to mention the frames in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. I have seen issues 185-187, and the frames are amazing! When you are drawing each picture, do you already have the frames in mind, or do they come after?

Tommy: The panel borders are used to help with the over all feeling of the book. If this was a film I see them as the background music. I push the envelope of design to enhance the tone and setting of the work. They come to me at the same time as the figures because they work together in my mind.

Peblee: Speaking of Batman, we have a consensus here at NMM. We think that you and Ramos are the best thing to hit Bats in a long time. I know that the inker and colorist come in and fill in the white spots on the page, so who gets the glory for this heavy, dark, angry, Batman – you or Ramos?

Tommy: We both get the credit. I pencil in the art, and Rodney brings his magic to the page with his inks. As for the look of Batman, I see him as a being that is the darkness. He is the shadow criminals should fear.

Peblee: Did you have any initial misgivings about the Riddler’s makeover, and how much of his new appearance is straight-up Castillo? Also, is it hard to draw a scene like the father-son scene in 187?

Tommy: No misgivings whatsoever. I am a huge Riddler fan and was honored to get a chance to redesign him. It was tough as hell, and I handed in a ton of designs, going back and forth with his new look. The writer, Shane Macarthy, had a look in mind, but again, you have to take the written word and make it into an image. I hope he is well received and people give him a chance to show off his all his stuff.
As for that page, drawing something like that is never easy but necessary for the story.

Peblee: Which character other than Batman would you like to draw in the future?

Tommy: Zorro! And a Zombie Batman book!

Peblee: Similarly, what writer or inker would you like to work with in the future?

Tommy: This is tricky because I have a great many friends I would love to work with.

Peblee: Have you ever considered doing your own comic book series? What would be the focus?

Tommy: I would love to do my own book Hint! Hint, nudge, nudge! Whatever it is, it would be action horror.

Peblee: If you could destroy only one artist, who would it be?

Tommy: I would destroy that damn, dirty, rotten bastard, blank blankedy blank. Then I would go after his family with a sharp stick.

Peblee: What, if any, comics do you read now? Do you ever buy a book just for the artwork?

Tommy: I never get to read comics anymore, it sucks. I’m a huge comic geek going through withdrawals. All I get are the stories from fans and friends about all these great books I want to read. I buy books for the art all the time.

Peblee: Finally, what projects do the future hold?

Tommy: As I am writing this I am working on a Green Arrow project. As for the future I plan on taking over the world and making every Tuesday National “sit on a couch day and read comics Day!! ”. I think it will make for a better world.

Peblee: Thank you for your time Mr. Castillo. I hope that you are not infuriated by the length of this interview, and send dragons to tear my body to smithereens. You could send some of the buxom heroines instead. I could really use a back-rub.
Maybe this one really will end up with “and they all lived happily ever after.”

Tommy: Or “and they were horribly mauled by a two headed slimy green donkey dragon”