I first stumbled across the work of Sajad Shah while perusing my feed on Instagram. On a very consistent basis, Shah would update his page and share his amazing art with his fans. I got a hold of him before New York Comic Con to set up an interview, but as many of you know, it was just so crazy there and we didn’t have the time. So, here we are a month and a half later; and Shah was kind enough to chat with me about what he does best.
Casey: First, let me say that this will probably be the only time that us little guys will get a chance to chat with you because I feel that you’re on the breaking point of your career. Your work is far and above some of the stuff I’ve seen, even in the majors like Marvel 
and DC; and at any moment I feel that you’re going to be picked up.
Sajad: Hey man thanks for the kind words ! Its always good to hear that people like the work. Its very motivating.
Casey: No problem, you deserve the praise my friend. So, whats it been like working as a Comic Artist?
Sajad: Its amazing man, I’m living my dream and I don’t wanna wake up.
Casey: It’s gotta be so great to love what you do and get paid for it at the same time. Let’s get into your work a bit. I know you spent some time on Brimstone and The Borderhounds, can you tell me about that comic and how you got started with it?
Sajad: Well Brimstone found me online and had this idea of making a book, he messaged me and I had never worked on anything before and I went in on the project with them. It’s a story about Brimstone and basically a border patrol for hell. I did a run with them and right now I’m just freelancing on a bunch of other projects.
Casey: Border Patrol for Hell sounds pretty interesting. I’ll have to check it out and see some of your early work. What’s it like 
working for the independent publishers, as opposed to say an IDW.
Sajad: Ive only had nothing but good experiences. I know some ppl tend to frown on the idea of “indie” publisher but its been fun and I’ve been able to find my niche.
Casey: You seem to be doing pretty well in the independent market I’d say. I just recently saw you at NYCC and you were working on Zindan, can you tell us a little bit about that project?
Sajad: I’m pretty excited about Zindan. It actually takes place during the Mughal Empire which is a huge part of world history that no one ever seems to talk about it. These people practically ruled half the planet. We took the true story of one of the kings and stemmed our own story from there. Its basically Prince of Persia meets Game of Thrones. I’m working with some great people and were not rushing anything at all, so the work will be good. I hope people check it out because we’ve gotten nothing but praise on it which is very satisfying.
Casey: That sounds really cool. Prince of Persia has always been one of the best vide-game series around, mixing that with Game of Thrones just sounds fantastic. As I mentioned before, I saw you at New York Comic Con, what’s it like going to these big conventions?
Sajad: It’s a blast! Before doing this as a profession, I had never actually been to a con. My first con I was behind the table right away. Its great to meet artists you’ve grown up with and actually have them see you as a peer. Still shake my head on that one.
Casey: I’m sure it’s pretty great to be seated near a Steve McNiven or Chris Claremont. Now, iff you were offered a major job to work 
on drawing just ONE character forever, who would it be and why?
Sajad: Ah, man thas a tough one. I don’t know how to name just one. I’ve always said my goal is to do a Batman book AND a Ninja Turtle book at some point! But I mean c’mon, I grew up on the X-Men, Justice League…Avengers… that’s a tough question.
Casey: Sorry to put you on the spot like that! I know it’s a lot to ask. I think Batman and The Ninja Turtles would be a great mashup! What’s the most rewarding part of begin a comic book artist?
Sajad: Being able to get all the creative juices outta your head!
Casey: It’s amazing that you do, us fans loving to see everything you put on paper. What advice can you give people who want to do what you do?
Sajad: Draw Draw and Draw some more. People ask me at shows all the time and I’m like, “Ok, when was last time you drew?” They’ll say a couple days ago… and that doesn’t work. I remember falling asleep at my drawin table from drawing so much. Its literally a way of life. You have to be honest with yourself and put in the time. Theres no shortcuts…
Casey: I think that’s great advice for someone who wants to get started and make it into a career. There’s a big difference between TALKING about doing something, and ACTUALLY doing it. What do you have coming up that we can get our readers excited about?
Sajad: I’m still penciling Zindan for the Roaring Sun studio and that will be an ongoing series. We’ve just launched issue 0 which you can get on line at www.thelastansaars.com or download on comixology for only 99 cents! On top of that, I’m working with a new studio called “Think Alike Productions” (you can read Chris’s review of their first issue of The Agency HERE), they’ve hired me to convert a few screenplays into a trade paperback. We should have that out sometime mid-2015. Meanwhile, I’ll be hitting the convention scene as well. Some new stops for me this year will be Atlantic City and Dubhai Comicon! Looking forward to that one!
Casey: Those all sound fantastic and I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!
Thanks a ton to Sajad Shah for chatting with us over here at DFAT. Make sure to LIKE his page on Facebook for the latest updates, follow him on the Twitters, and view all of his fantastic work on his Instagram!
