Q&A with Hector Manzon

Which piece in your gallery is your favorite and why?

I have always loved Simone Bianchi's style. So naturally, my favorite at this time, is an oversized Wolverine in Astonishing X-Men costume, ready to attack, who I believe is Sabretooth. Love the cover quality of this and perspective of Wolverine attacking.

Please tell us a little about yourself.

I am a physician and I have a busy practice, but during my free time, I like to draw. I remember when I was younger, I drew superheroes a lot, but just did not pursue this any further since I truly wanted to be a doctor. I remember though during anatomy classes in medical school, I enjoyed looking at Frank Netter's Anatomy and Gray's Anatomy (yes this is real) books and just seeing how these painters drew the human anatomy were astonishing. It was then I realized that I do love art in different ways even though I am more objective now in how my mind operates due to my profession.

How long have you been collecting comic art and what prompted you to start?

I have been collecting comics since I was probably 13, and I received my first X-men comic (Uncanny X-Men 277) for my birthday then and I remember instantly loving the art (Wolverine and Gambit fighting on the cover). This was Chris Claremont/Jim Lee run and I collected almost all titles X-related then. Then Alan Davis took over in the 90s along with Adam Kubert and instantly fell in love with that style. I also remember Chris Bachalo and was blown away with his art style. These were followed by Grant Morrison and again loved the way Frank Quitely drew Wolverine. I stopped collecting for a while after that, and picked everything back in Astonishing X-Men with Whedon/Cassaday and the last comic book I picked up was the Ellis/Bianchi series for Astonishing. I was training and in residency so I had very little time to pick up books then. I haven't picked up comics again, but definitely trying to get more OA from my favorite artists.

How do you display/store your collection at home?

I have everything framed in museum glass, same borders and matte for everything since I like uniformity. I pretty much just get original pieces I have commissioned from my favorite artists and not published original art.

What are your top five most wanted original pages or commissions?

I just started collecting original art recently, so my favorites at this time are from more modern artists such as Simone Bianchi, David Palumbo, Dan Dos Santos. Recently acquired a Brian Haberlin commission which I am really happy about adding to my collection. I am also a big fan of Adam Kubert and Alan Davis, so I am hoping to get more pieces from them. Also looking for more pieces from Chris Bachalo, Frank Quitely and John Cassaday.