IHCOYC XPICTOC FAQ

IHCOYC XPICTOC FAQ Wherever did you come up with the handle IHCOYC XPICTOC?

There is a well known fantasy artist called Chris(tos) Achilleos. This is Greek for "Christ Achilles." The handle was originally a tribute to him. "IHCOYC XPICTOC" is also another way to spell Yezukriis, the villain from my Unlimited Adventures creations.

How did you get started drawing?

Some years ago, there was a computer game called Unlimited Adventures, which allowed you to create and edit Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (tm) computer roleplaying games. You could add your own pictures to the game. I started drawing so that I could add my own pictures to these games. The games I created are called The Curse of Yezukriis; Yezukriis II: Goosed by the Geas; Yezukriis III: Lifestyles of the Lich and Famous; Yezukriis IV: Scandal at Guano Gate; and Masters of the Universe: The Smell of Fear.

Where did you get the idea to draw all of these ridiculous amazons and superheroines, anyways?

That's kinda wierd. I've always found the drawings in comic books to be rather sexy. So I started drawing them.

Well, what is it about them that you find so attractive?

Well, first, as it is well known, comic books are full of bondage themes. Now, my kink in this regard may be a bit different from the conventional one. Some people who like to see that stuff apparently want to see women humiliated. For me, the real thrill is to see them struggling but ultimately overcoming the villainous situations they find themselves in. Unlike so much other material, you can be confident that if one of my characters finds herself chained up or tied up, she will triumph in the end. So naturally, my heroines have to be super strong.

The other thing that draws me to this sort of material is the traditional stalwart virtue and wilfulness that defines these characters. The thought of them being placed in erotic situations, of having this square-jawed tension melting away, is a turn-on for me.

I'll bet you are one of those perverts who likes to wrestle women.

Nope. Never been attracted to that.

Drawing all of those muscles on women, I'll bet you're secretly or subconsciously gay.

Well, if it's subconscious, obviously I couldn't tell you even if I was. But if I got turned on at looking at naked men, I'd probably have noticed by now.

Come on! It's unnatural! No women in real life actually have muscles like that.

Actually, they do. I make a careful study of anatomy, and frequently refer to photographs of actual women. Of course, they're bodybuilders. But male bodybuilders are almost without exception used as the models for superheroes. Using women bodybuilders as models for women heroes strikes me as a blow for equality

But don't you exaggerate their muscularity? as well as other things?

Their muscles? no. Unlike some artists who draw muscular women, I do not deliberately exaggerate their muscles beyond the realm of possibility. I have learned, however, that if you are drawing such a muscular figure, you must exaggerate certain of their feminine attributes before Mr. or Ms. America will accept the drawing as being a female. I do typically give my drawings larger breasts to emphasize the fact that they are indeed women.

You're a sexist pig, then! You pander to the male gaze by objectifying women and exploiting their bodies!

Bullshit. If it is possible for any sort of erotic art to celebrate strong and powerful women, it surely seems to me that mine must qualify. I have no choice but to conclude that those who spout this tiresome and dated rhetoric are moved chiefly by hatred of the male sex and their inborn ways of relating to sexuality in general.

Who are some of your favourite artists and cartoonists?

Drawing barbariennes and heroines, you have to begin with Julie Bell, Frank Frazetta, Chris Achilleos, and Joe Jusko. I have always been a particular admirer of Motoki, the creator of Karate Girl (from Eros); Mike Collins, whose best known work seems to be on Justice League and Darkstars; and the early John Byrne. And I cannot forget Brad Gorby and Bill Black, to whose Femforce and AC Comics I owe so much inspiration.

But the biggest influence on me has to be the clean style of the Silver Age DC books, with artists like Kurt Schaffenberger, Carmine Infantino, Ross Andru, Don Heck, José Delbo, Curt Swan, and Dick Giordano. I am also a particular admirer of Wally Wood and Bill Everett.

Last, and perhaps the greatest: Matt Baker. He was a true genius, a true visionary.

Who are some characters you have created?

My first character that I did a series of pictures of was Maveth, once a princess of Carthage, who now battles her way through the monumental cruelty and barbaric splendours of classical antiquity. She was the star of my Sleepless in Carthage series of images. A more recent character I have created is Dragomirja, whom I originally created for my Unlimited Adventures adventure, The Curse of Yezukriis III: Lifestyles of the Lich and Famous

Another character is Carnivora, a jungle heroine, with purple hair and a leopardskin bikini she sometimes wears.

Where, apart from here, does your art appear?

My art has been featured on:

Diana the Valkyrie's commercial web site, which contains an archive of my works;

Sharon Best's Aurora Universe homepage;

The Wonder Woman page that used to be at best.com;

Robert Rhys's Ursa fiction page;

Skiboy's The Wild Side jungle girls page

To the extent that these web pages still exist, they can be accessed through my links menu.

What software do you use to create your pictures?

Corel Photo-Paint. I typically use Photo-Paint 3 to do my black and white line drawings, and then move up to Photo-Paint 7 to colour and shade them. Other programmes I use in the process are Poser 2, the figure drawing software; and Aztech's World Photo-Cube for historical reference photos to work into backgrounds.

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