Musings on Muses

Alex Hampl | Nov 12, 2013

Kate Upton & Bar Refaeli by Howard M. Shum

A couple weeks ago, Swim Daily discovered the work of Los Angeles-based comic artist Howard M. Shum. When Shum isn't illustrating for the likes of Star Wars, X-Men, The Simpsons or Aquaman, he finds inspiration in models. In addition to illustrating, Howard also writes and directs digital shorts, which can be viewed at www.howardshum.com and his YouTube channel. SD was intrigued by Shum's work, especially with the swimsuit models, so Extra Mustard's Andy Gray sent him some questions:

Swim Daily: What do you do for a living?

Howard Shum: I write and draw comic books.

SD: How long does it take you to do one of these drawings?

HS: It takes around 1-4 hours depending on the complication.

SD: Have you ever had contact with a model besides Twitter?

HS: I have pop culture articles and interviews in the back of my comics. A few years ago, Victoria's Secret invited me to cover an event they had in L.A. I got to photograph and interview Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio for my book "Gun Fu". I interviewed model-turned-actress Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad, Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23) for my book "Fusillade." My friend Kimberly Leemans was on America's Next Top Model. She's acted in a few of my comedy short films. Model Tasha Courtney is in my improv group and has also acted in my comedy shorts.

SD: Which models, actors, athletes or otherwise do you want to see in the Swimsuit Issue?

HS: I would like to see models Emily Ratajkowski, Gigi Hadid, Danielle Knudson and Cora Keegan.; actresses Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Jenna-Louise Coleman (Doctor Who), and Alexis Knapp (Project X, Pitch Perfect): athletes Gina Carano and Miesha Tate.