ANDY SCIAZKO, ARTIST

1. Q: What kinds of thoughts went through your head when you were contacted to create art for Macabre Spirits’ Hell Is Not Mocked?
   A: I was unbelievably psyched! Everyone on the Macabre Spirits team made me feel right at home with this project. The way Buehlman unfolds his cursed tale of the Old West—careful but chaotic, like smoke billowing from a six shooter—is unforgettable and made my job all the more fun. 
   
   

2. Q: You have a distinct artistic style that drew the Macabre Spirits team to you - what has influenced it the most and how has it evolved over the course of your creative career?
   A: My style has always leaned into that ethereal flair of the artists I admired growing up like Stephen Gammell, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Dave McKean. There’s something dreamlike and almost unsettling about an illustration that has both a finished and unfinished quality, and I enjoy exploring that in-between. I think at this point of my career I’ve harnessed that into a much darker style of storytelling.
   
   

3. Q: How would you describe the role that horror has played in your life?
   A: As a kid I wasn’t really allowed to watch horror films, which is most likely why I ended up gravitating towards the genre. I consumed horror as much as I could, whether it was renting The Exorcist with friends or playing Silent Hill and Resident Evil with my brother. Contextualizing your own dread and fear of the unknown is such an important process of horror, and I enjoy creating the visual stepping stones of that journey for readers.
   
   

4. Q: Tell us about how either your art or your process is affected by external factors or how your art and process is an escape from external factors.
   A: Aside from horror films, music plays a major role in my process—especially live shows. While I enjoy a wide array of music, my primary go-to is hardcore and metal. The energy of those live performances is like a well I can tap into whenever I’m feeling creatively blocked.
   
   

5. Q: In your opinion, how is Macabre Spirits set apart from other products in the horror space and other products in the craft spirits space?
   A: I think what Macabre Spirits does very well is it embraces the horror community experience, capturing that nostalgia of swapping campfire ghost stories while sharing a drink with friends.
   
   

6. Q: Do you have a go-to cocktail - what is it and why is it your go-to?
   ALT Q: How do you take your whiskey?
   A: While it’s changed over the years, my go-to cocktail as of now is a gin martini with blue cheese stuffed olives because I get a little treat while I’m enjoying my drink haha. When it comes to whiskey, I do love having mine neat in a cold glass.

ANDY'S BIO:

Andy Sciazko is a San Francisco-based illustrator with a focus on the horror genre. He is best known for illustrating Nightmare Soup, a spiritual successor to 80's and 90's classics Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Goosebumps. His work dwells somewhere between the comical and macabre, grasping firmly at the strings of an unfinished terrible dream.