GAMMON:  My art style would probably best fit in the cartoony/comic category. Growing up I read a lot of comic books, MAD & Cracked Magazines, and spent as much time as possible watching cartoons and drawing and tracing comics. It’s really tough to pinpoint my influences over the years, but right now, since you asked, I’d probably say the strongest influences over the years is a combination of Garbage Pail Kids, Al Jaffee, Geof Darrow, Mike Allred, and a slew of random 80’s and 90’s comic artists too vast to mention.

SKUMMBEAST:  Share a bit about your history with TMNT, and tell a bit about why you chose this character and decided to interpret it this way.

GAMMON:  I remember the first time I saw TMNT. A friend had an early issue from Mirage in his stack of comic books. Funny enough, I don’t remember any specifics of the issue outside of the cover showing the turtles in ‘cool’ poses. My real relationship with the turtles probably came along when the cartoon debuted.  Me and my brother watched the show daily. The first initial episodes were always my favorite. The characters seemed tougher, were drawn better, and the animation was better quality. Much of the show was silly, but that didn’t really stop me from watching it. The toys always showcased a bunch of goofy over-the-top characters. Some were better than others.

One character who I thought was lame, and didn’t get his fair shake, was Tattoo. I never knew about him in the comic or the cartoon, but this guy is supposed to be a gigantic sumo wrestler covered in tattoos that come to life. His toy made him look like a goofy yellow guy in underwear with some of the lamest accessories a TMNT toy could have – stickers. My version of Tattoo takes the concept and makes him more intimidating. Give the guy a huge body, beef up his chain bracelets, and cover him from head to toe with tattoos. The finishing touch is the inclusion of his lil’ pet chihuahua, Inky.

SKUMMBEAST:  Which was your favourite of the four Turtles?

GAMMON:  It’s a tough one but I think it’s a toss-up between Raphael and Donatello. Raphael’s snarky smart-ass tough personality was appealing, but Donatello had the bo staff. A giant stick to beat down foot soldiers. Give Raphael a bo staff and you’ve got the perfect Turtle.

See original SKUMMBEAST interview and artwork RIGHT HERE.