It’s not often that we get the privilege of collaborating with an artist like Mike Sutfin, but when we do, it’s not only a treat for our fans, but also for us (who get the opportunity to pick his brain a tiny bit). Known for his work with toys (mainly Kaiju), illustrations for Magic the Gathering and Mountain Dew’s Green Label art series, and a little movie franchise called Star Wars, Mike and his designs for products ranging from shoes to skate decks are truly one of a kind.

But how does a man who comes up with wicked awesome stuff get his creative juices flowing to create such gnarly beasts? Like many youths, Sutfin was exposed to comics at an early age, which would inspire him down the road to turn his skills into paychecks and eventually a career.

But what kind of comics would inspire a man whose bread and butter looks like this? He cites Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Punisher. It’s interesting to see the contrast between his influences and his work, because the outcome is superbly darker than the original seeds that infested his young mind.

As a young adult, Sutfin attended North Illinois University, where he was lucky to have as mentor professor and comic biz expert Mark A. Nelson, who has worked with both DC and Marvel Comics. Their relationship blossomed to the point that Sutfin would hang out with his teacher more than anyone during his latter years at NIU, while working together on projects and being best bros.

While comics were dominant in his life, Sutfin was also drawn to music – mainly, to the call of the axe. For a brief time, he and his friends started a band called Charles Bronson, who despite being inactive since 1997, continues to have a worldwide following. Charles Bronson, for those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of experiencing them, were a powerviolence band that sounded like this. They were also closely associated with the militant straightedge movement during a time when hardcore needed unity. Back then, Sutfin was more into the punk rock subculture, and also attributes video games and skateboarding to his later success as an artist.

At one point, Pushead, who was then making skateboard designs, was asked to do artwork for one of Sutfin’s other bands, The Killers (no, not the ones all over MTV). From then on, the two would become pen pals. Over time, they also became friends in real life, which encouraged Sutfin to pursue his artistic career.

“Music & Art share comparable traits, so they can surely influence each other,” said Sutfin. “Music can invoke new art concepts to bubble up in a subliminal way. The right song/band can provide ample energy & have a powerful effect,” he added.

The synergy between music and art has always been a strong driving force here at Мишка. Rarely does a season or design go by that doesn’t in some way draw its influence from a band, a song or even just album artwork. Like Sutfin, the brand recognizes the power and influence music has on our lives and work, and those of our fans. This is what drew us to working with Sutfin for the Spring season.

For a long while now, we toyed with the idea of doing a graphic in a Stoner Metal vein – a Gorgon king holding court on his throne. We knew Sutfin was the right person to bring the graphic to light, and he whipped us up something really awesome in his unmistakable style that makes us feel all warm and tingly when we see it. Inspired partially by some of his earlier work and also by our own concept, it features a regal Gorgon along with a harlequin Cyco Simon and female guards by his side.

Rock Tsar is part of our Spring 2011 graphic tee collection, and will surely please plenty of our headbanger faithful. Printed on white, black and teal tie-dye tees, each graphic also features glow-in-the-dark ink for added awesomeness.

- Spartak