mario ZUCCA An Interview with Lon Levin
Mario is an award-winning Illustrator. He’s spent the better part of the last two decades drawing and creating artwork out of his home studio in Philadelphia.
When did you first think about what you wanted to do as an adult? Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers, mentors? Probably my first exposure to illustration as a career was when I started reading comic books in grade school. I loved the art of Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, and Todd McFarlane and wanted to draw comics like those guys. My parents recognized early on that I had an aptitude for drawing, so they heavily encouraged me to pursue art, and I'll always be indebted to them for pushing me toward a career in art and not away from it.
What kind of kid were you? Where did you grow up? What were your influences? I grew up in a small town in Western Pennsylvania and had a pretty typical upbringing. Overall I like to think I was a pretty well-behaved kid. I spent so much time in my bedroom drawing comics that it mostly prevented me from going out and causing trouble. It wasn't until high school when my friends and I started getting our drivers licenses that I started to become a little more adventurous and rebellious. Comic books were a big influence and although I was never a great athlete, I started to discover my love of sports around middle school.
