Atomcyber the Atombomb
French illustrator and humble gentleman of exquisite taste
Honored samurai, ruthless ronin, wayward vagabonds, shadowy ninja and helpless villagers... welcome.
Opening Volley
My love for comic illustrations from the 80s (especially that found in the pages of Heavy Metal Magazine, 2000AD and Epic Illustrated) knows no bounds. Perhaps it’s just “older guy” nostalgia, but we all have our preferences, so I’m not going to begrudge anyone a love. When the synthwave tsunami was riding high in the early 20-teens, I grabbed my boogie board (who am I fooling, I can’t surf) and skimmed like fool I am. And plowed right into French illustrator and comic artist, Atomcyber.
Main Event
I discovered Atomcyber on Twitter when synthwave musician Ace Buchannon posted the art to his (then) newest single, “Magenta Nights“.
The colors, the flash, the neon, the sensuality... it was perfect. Frazetta, Moebius, Sorayama, Bisley (yes, the 90s, I know) — these are the names I geeked out to when I was in high school/university. They were the Picassos and Rembrandts of the comic world, when I couldn’t stand stepping into a brick and mortar museum. I remember staring at their covers and art for hours, flipping through the pages over and over, wishing I could put a single page frame on my wall as easily as a Nagel. Dreams of strong, intelligent, “exotic” women thriving in glitzy, fast future worlds (I’m a scifi man; not so much fantasy) sent my pulse through the roof. I still find that sexy beyond words.
Atomcyber’s cover sent my brain into a nostalgic headspin I don’t wish to recover from. I’m not interested in “bringing back” days that only really existed in my mind, I’m simply interested in capturing the feel that that art created in my personal headspace. Thankfully, Atomcyber was kind enough to friend me on social media. He’s a gentle soul (and a gentleman), a tad shy if I may be honest, but that’s what really makes him so approachable; his affability creating a layer of personality to his work.
It should be understood that Atomcyber is not a native English speaker, yet he went to great lengths to provide us with this great interview. (THANKS, ATOMCYBER!) It is 99.9% unedited.
First, can you tell us a little about yourself? Where your from or anything about you you don't mind sharing?
Hi! I'm a self-taught artist from France. I always have been fascinated by illustrations of SF and fantasy I stumbled upon when I was young, and I have always drawn and later sculpted clay, but I didn't go to an art school and I made other things before this point I'm here now. After high school, I was a joiner (a woodworker like carpenter or cabinet maker, you make stuff from raw wood, you build, install windows and stairs, doors, parquet floor etc. My favorite tool is my Japanese saw!! ^^) for around 8 years, then I go back to school to become a restorer of sculptures (in wood, stone, plaster, marble, etc.). It's a job that I did for about 12 years as a freelance worker and just left a few months ago. I worked as an artist at the same time for about 4 or 5 years.
I've got no qualms about stating that your work is Heavy Metal or Epic Illustrated quality. (Apologies if you or those who don't feel those are great publications.) Top notch work. Stunning and awe-inspiring. What or who are your influences?
Thank you so much, I don't think I am at the level yet, but I'm doing my best!
Young, the various fantasy/SF illustrations for RPG stuff (Brom, Frazetta, Vallejo,...) and cover artwork of SF books by Caza, was something very important. I was also struck by French comics I read at school (Thorgal, La quête de l'oiseau du temps, and a lot of others) and some Japanese anime I saw (Cat's Eye, and others).
Older, I get into more "classical" stuff, I learned anatomy (still learning ^^') and Michelangelo was my god with also Greek sculptures. Parallelly, (maybe a bit sooner), I read some SF comics like Metabarons for example. I discover also of course among other things, Ghost in the Shell of Mamoru Oshii, which had a very big impact too.
You do a lot of strong muscular women with swords or cybernetics. Do you consider them your mainstay?
It's maybe something a bit strange, but it crosses all that I love and I enjoy in art generally and in the way I had to learn it. It resumes in some way my art journey and influences I guess, and it also allows me to not go in too much cliché stuff probably. For cybernetics and relations with machines, my joiner past has probably some things to tell also.
You've done a lot of album cover work for synthwave artists and others. How did you get into doing that?
There are around 7 or 8 years, I had the project to draw an SF comics book. But at this time I was into sculptures and baroque music (I build myself a viola da gamba, which I played a bit) and that didn't fit the mood I needed as music for drawing. I listen to a lot of music when I draw, and I had already noticed when I was younger that for me, it influences a lot the drawing in progress. I discover the synthwave scene at this time with the BO of Hotline Miami 2, and I didn't do my SF comics project which was not really enough matured but started to illustrate synthwave music which really spoke to me at this time, and tried digital painting for the first time.
You have a self published comic called Starseed. Tell us a bit about that -- the story, the characters, the genre...
Starseed is the second issue of my self-published Fanzine called "Silence". The concept is simple: no words, no colors, just drawings. The goal was at first to create a place for my weird stories with only drawings because I don't very like dialogues which often, in my opinion, ruins mood, etc. which is more important to me and to be able to be published anyway in the way I wanted. I have to do it all myself, it's really tricky, but I'm happy anyway to do all the packages myself, customs declarations, etc... really a new world.
For Starseed itself, the point was to make something about solitude, and desert (as finally in #1) but also with some hope (in a weird way), a kind of desperate tale or mystical mission all of this, on an erotic but also dramatic and dark way packed with an SF and fantasy touch at the same time. I pretty much like the tale aspect always a bit cruel and often more visceral than logic.
It's really an accomplishment for me to have been able to do it, from random sketches and ideas to printed shipped comics (even to Japan ;D!).
Is there anything else you would like to add in closing? Anything at all that you would like to let readers know that hasn't been covered?
Want first to thank you for this interview and for your continued support!
I hope the artistic journey will be still possible even with AI. I left my job just before it pops... I really haven't imagined this, and it makes things a bit more scary and precarious, but well for now, hope is with me, I'm working on my #3 for Silence, which will be more ambitious than the previous ones, can't wait to show it when ready!
Again, THANKS, AC! You’re aces!
Contact or follow Atomcyber at your favorite social media outlet:
https://bio.link/atomcyber — incl. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Artgram, and Big Cartel (where you can purchase his latest comic work!).
We never meet without parting
Next issue... A hodge-podge of craziness.
Until then!
Made in DNA
Very cool interview, I just ordered the “Mothership” zine on the Bigcartel page. Interesting perspective on text/dialogue in comics (I’d probably think the same thing if I could draw that well).
This is so cool! I often listen to darksynth and other kinds of synth since it helps me fall in my specific Starshatter frame of mind.