The Hathor Legacy » Online Comics

20 on the 20th — Starline X. Hodge!

Maria — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:10:09 +0000

Sorry this is late, my loves! Starline was incredibly professional and easy to interview. I, on the other hand, am a massive flake.

Candi is an AWARD WINNING strip by Starline Hodge, one of the hottest young comics artists working right now. Candi is semi-autobiographical, and features a fascinating cast of characters, including a ferret engaged in an a battle of wits with some evil squirrels and the Sexy Police!

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1. One of the neato things about Candi is that all the characters’ skintones are different — in fact, there are many ethnicities represented, and even one incognito Latino. Was it important to you to have a multiethnic cast?

I don’t think it was something I was actively thinking about. A lot of the characters are based on people I knew in high school and college, and since I’m from Miami, most of the people I hung out with were from different ethnic backgrounds. It just kinda happened.

2. Are you still basing characters on people you know?

Yeah, sort of? The characters have all taken a life of their own that this point. But when I feel stuck, I think back to the original people I based them off of as a guide.

3. Have any of your “muses” ever gotten mad at you for using them as a character base? Some of them — like whoever Linda is based off of! — don’t come out looking very good.

I don’t think so. I know they are aware of the comic, but I doubt they read it. It was never their thing. I still keep in contact with a few of them. The girl who Linda is based off and I haven’t been on speaking terms in years though.

4. Hmmm. Is Candi semi-autobiographical, then? How closely does it mirror your life?

Yes. A lot of it is taken from my experiences from college. With some exaggerations. It’s why I understand some of the frustration people have with Candi, Alex and Linda right now. I’d go back in time and smack myself across the head too if I could. Although the comic has been going on for over 4 yrs now, it’s still just her and the cast’s freshman year. They’re still teenagers dealing with entering adulthood.

5. Candi has evolved a great deal stylistically — did its style evolution cause its plot evolution, or the other way around?

Most of the style evolution took place because I wanted to get away from the manga look, although I don’t think I’ve really succeeded with that. Heh. I guess that sort of thing will stick when your main character has pink hair. I’ve always sort of imagined the characters in a Disney-esque look. I’m always trying to experiment with that to keep it interesting. I don’t think it effects the story very much, I have various plot points mapped out for the whole comic. So regardless of how the style changes, the story should still get to where its going.

6. How far ahead do you plot the comic? Have any of the major plot points changed since you’ve started writing it?

Not very many of the plot points have changed. There’s one in particular with Chris (way way way into the future) that I keep flipping back forth with. I didn’t like his character at all at first, but he’s grown on me.

7. Will the ongoing ferret sub-plot ever be concluded?

Probably not. It’s too fun to draw. I like writing about them when I need the break from the angst/drama.

8. Will we ever know all the different animals’ allegiances??

Ha ha, is mostly Squirrels vs. The World. Or the college campus anyway. The University of Florida, which Candi’s campus is based off of, is swarming with squirrels. They get pretty bold around people too. Always plotting. I guess if any other creature would be on their side, it might be the raccoons… They just want food though.

9. What other web-comics have influenced you?

Octopus Pie, Penny & Aggie, It’s Walky / Shortpacked, Wapsi Square, and Questionable Content. (YAY! Check out Hathor’s earlier 20 on the 20^th interviews with Paul Taylor and T. Campbell!)

10. That’s quite a range of comics! In what ways have they influenced you?

It’s Walky was one of the first webcomics that I ever became a big fan of. I loved the character relationships and humor mixed with the surreal. QC & Wapsi have similar elements, so I was just drawn to them. Pablo’s art style is very cool. Meredith Gran’s storytelling in Octopus Pie is fantastic, and I like how each chapter is a self-contained story. I want to be able to write like that one day. Penny & Aggie’s art is amazing, and I’d hope to get as good as Gisele with drawing people. I have a long way to go.

11. How do you practice/continue to develop your skills as an artist and author?

I just try to sketch as often as possible and read different kinds of stories and comics. The more exposure I get to different styles and artists, the more I learn.

12. What is your relationship with your fanbase like? I know you’ve established things like a podcast, etc., to augment the strips themselves.

I’m pretty open with my fanbase. I try to answer emails when I get them (usually takes me a day or two to respond). I’m also always lurking around in the forums. I don’t like to say too much in there whenever they are discussing the strips or plot lines. I love to see what they have to say and if they guess right or not. The forum also helps me understand if my storylines are being interpreted clearly or not, and if I need make adjustments to the comic.

The podcast is mostly a side-project that my friend Kelly and I started for fun. It’s mostly us talking about our week and various topics in pop culture, news, tv shows, and of course comics. We haven’t updated it recently though, since our real-world jobs have kept us busier than usual.

13. Do fan questions/concerns ever change the storylines?

Not the main storylines themselves, but sometimes the focus might change from one character to the next based on some fan concerns/questions. For example, I recently wrote Linda’s backstory because I wanted to show the readers where some of her behaviors came from. I might have not done that before, but a few debates about her in the forums made me want to reveal more of her past.

14. Will we see something similar about Alex? He’s kind of awesome, but he’s a bit of a love him or hate him sort of character.

I’d like to, but Alex is pretty straightforward with his behavior and attitude. He hasn’t changed much from his younger-self. Very honest and logical, but not very good at dealing with emotions and emotional people.

15. Can you tell me a bit about LGBT issues/character in Candi? I know there is Trevor and Matt for LGBT identified characters… will we ever see a fancy pants LBT lady?

Trevor will eventually have to come out about his bi-sexuality to his parents, and hopefully Matt (and Laura) will be there to support him. He tends to piss off his friends often though, so we’ll just have to see how that goes. As for an LBT lady joining the cast one day… maybe.

16. How do you see Candi the character growing in the future?

She’s desperately trying to cling to her rose-colored view of the world right now, but that’s falling apart. Candi has a lot of growing up to do and needs to get over her naivety.

17. What is it like to do cross over series or be a guest artist for other series, like P&A?

It’s fun! T wrote the script, so it was great to try and get what he wanted to come across in the artwork. I wouldn’t mind doing it again.

18. Have you thought about bringing on a guest artist for a particular set of strips, or a storyline?

Not really, I’d never thought to ask anyone.

19. What other projects are you thinking about for the future?

I have a few ideas that I want to work on. I’d really like to take on a smaller project and write/draw a short complete story. However, it seems like every idea I’d like to work on turns into a very very long tale. One day I hope I can balance two comics at a time.

20. If there was one piece of advice you could give to a beginning webcomic artist, what would it be?

When you start posting strips, make sure you update when you say you will. Keep trying to improve your skills as much as possible. If you’re completely happy with your work, you’re not doing it right.

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20 on the 20th — An Interview with T. Campbell

Maria — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 06:18:29 +0000

Sorry for the brief hiatus, folks! Every piece of technology I brought with me on vacation died within 3 days of each other. . Thankfully, T. was totally awesome about that. Go Penny and Aggie!
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1. I first encountered your work via Penny and Aggie and Cool Cat Studio. One of the things I’ve noticed throughout the series you’ve been involved in has been that you have consistently awesome characters, particularly female ones. Where do you draw your inspiration for these characters?

I appreciate your enthusiasm, but if I start thinking of myself as “consistently awesome” then it’s likely I’ll soon become the opposite of that. Still, inspiration is easy, I think, so long as you train yourself to look for it. I might base a character on a friend or a real-life person. Very often, though, I’ll begin with an archetype and start working at them until they’ve got specific reasons to conform to their type, ways in which they diverge, et cetera. I suppose you could say I start with bad characters and work until they are less bad.

2. Do you begin your drafting with the character or with the plot?

With new series, I begin with the series concept. What is the story about? Fans is about science fiction, Rip and Teri about male-female relations, Penny and Aggie about teenage girlhood. Refine the concept until you’ve got an elevator pitch, which will give you a springboard for the series’ main, overall plot. Then switch to character development. Once the main characters are figured out, they’ll suggest shorter plots, which suggest new characters, and so on back and forth from there.

3. Have you ever been surprised by a new character or the evolution of a main character?

Well, constantly. The best examples are probably Alisin Worthington and Karen Duvall, who were supposed to be throwaway characters that didn’t last beyond one story, and Shanna Cochran, whose role wasn’t supposed to expand beyond “the girl who reminds the geeks that they are geeks.”

4. How does this process work with beginning with character archetypes?

The elevator pitch for Fans is “science fiction geeks have real science fiction adventures.” My early character notes followed from that pretty logically– even stereotypically, based on fan culture as it was ten years ago. “Okay, we’ve got the hacker, the cosplayer, the comics artist, the SCA girl, the idealistic leader and the token non-fan. And maybe a Goth.” Only then did we start adding the things that really made the characters interesting. Likewise, the basic idea of Penny and Aggie is “the prom queen and the class weirdo fight,” although it didn’t take us long to get bored with that “Tom and Jerry” relationship and start fooling around with it.
The advantage of this approach is that it makes the series easy to explain to people. They feel as if they know the characters already. The disadvantage is that the work sometimes gives the impression of being more poorly thought-out than it actually is. I’m gambling that we can hold their attention until we can say, “…but it’s so much more!”

5. You’ve worked with many artists over the years — how have their various drawing styles impacted your narrative style?

Jason Waltrip’s emphasis on clarity was a big help to me in the early days, because I am ambitious and sometimes that can make my stories unclear. Gisele Lagace’s sensuality allowed me to approach the topic of sex much more openly than I had in the past. Amy Mebberson’s energy let me flex my own penchant for exaggeration. I could give you dozens more examples, but the bottom line is that I’m blessed to have worked with so much talent. They’ve enhanced my strengths and compensated for my weaknesses. I’ve tried my best to do the same for them.

6. What are some of the challenges and benefits of long-distance collaboration?

It gets easier and easier to collaborate over long distances. I’ve worked with artists on four continents now.

The biggest challenge is that if you’re not careful, you can sometimes let issues that aren’t part of the immediate conversation fester. This is a problem in any collaboration, but more of one long-distance.

7. How do you combine your creative vision with that of your co-author/artist?
We take turns and I get to go first. I come up with a script, they draw it, then I see their drawings and those influence the next script.

8. I find the guest strips of P&A especially intriguing – why did you decide to do those particular stories as guest strips?
In general, when we do guest-art runs (which isn’t always entirely within our control), we look for alternative viewpoints to match the artists’ styles. So when we got Amy Mebberson, we showed a cleaner, more innocent side of our series’ villain. Randy Milholland is good at seeing ugliness and frustration, so with him we could explore the “omega wolves” of high school more believably.

9. It seems like you’re attempting to explore the entire ecosystem of a large high school. What cliques are you and Gisele planning to explore next?
We’ve already started to move in this direction. Penny and Aggie’s rivalry has subsided considerably, and the barriers that once divided their respective cliques are being swept away. That gives the members of their groups the opportunity to form new friendships. They might end up a superclique or they might end up as a community.

10. How do you handle the pacing of storylines? I noticed the the P&A forum-folk expressed a great deal of frustration with storylines like “Minjung” and “Dinner for Six“-at that time, you said that you wrote for the archives. How does that process impact your writing style?

The most obvious answer is that it makes things more complicated. My series tend to have more characters and longer-running plots than average, sometimes by a wide margin. There are always key moments that I’m trying to get to, some of them months or even years in the future.

Balancing short-term needs and long-term needs is tricky, especially since I think the webcomics audience’s attention span has shortened. I’m here for the audience, so I have to allow for that. But I’m a planner by nature.

11. You’ve mentioned that you have P&A plotted out far in advance, but that you’ve allowed particular elements (like younger sibs, etc) drop out at various points along the way. What factors impact these kinds of narrative evolution?

Divergences from the Grand Plan often happen either for spur-of-the-moment reasons, as a response to criticism, or from gut instinct. I felt guilty that I wasn’t writing any strips for Penny’s younger brother or Rikk’s younger sister, but I finally decided my subconscious was telling me that those characters shouldn’t exist. “The Popsicle War” was a big story with a lot of goals, but one of them was to redistribute the story attention so that Aggie got her share of the spotlight, per the readers’ requests.

12. Speaking of “The Popsicle War,” how closely do your fictive worlds match up with ours? “Popsicle War” seems to reflect growing trends towards Islamophobia seen since Barack Obama began running for President, and Fans! seems to sometimes grapple with issues related to organized religion and the institutional misuse of power.

Penny and Aggie matches up far more closely than Fans does. It’s set in Belleville, a fictional city, and sometimes creates fictional pop stars, but it’s essentially set in our world. (Mind you, every high school is different from every other.) Fans’ world is a strange goulash of our world, various science-fictional ideas, and a “what if” exercise stemming from the earlier plots. “What if a science fiction club saved the world repeatedly and publicly?” What would that do to pop culture, young people’s career aspirations, and homeland security?

But all fiction, even when it’s set in the future, is a way for us to grapple with the problems of the present. Rikk, Rumy and Ally’s public triple marriage is unlike anything in our world, but not completely unlike. And the geeks are running the asylum in lots of ways that barely seemed imaginable when I was a kid. The rise of Rikk’s crew makes a good metaphor for that.

13. P&A has a huge, diverse cast — can you talk a little bit about character construction? How do you create an interesting character?

Basic creation is covered above, I think. I was an actor in high school, and I think that Marlon Brando Method of getting into characters’ heads, effectively becoming them, is the best way to make sure they’re interesting. If they’re interesting to a writer, there’s a good chance they’ll be interesting to other people. And all writers are interested in themselves.

14. How do you handle issues of sexuality with an underage cast?

I’m more interested in honesty than anything else. In Penny and Aggie‘s early development, we were writing for the newspaper market, which is very sexually conservative. But I felt more and more disingenuous, writing about teenagers who mysteriously had almost no interest in sex. I think that since “Behind Closed Doors,” our portrayal’s been reasonably good.

It’s not often that I feel dirty about it, even though I am an adult writing about teens’ sex lives. I think that’s due to the Method acting– I become the characters, and once I become, say, Michelle, it feels totally natural to get naked with Stan.

15. I didn’t know you were writing for newspapers! How and why did you transition to a webcomic?

Penny and Aggie was a webcomic first, but we designed it for a transition to newspapers and submitted to each syndicate regularly. One syndicate came very close to accepting us– there was one slot open and we came in second. Both of us, Giz particularly, had dreams of the audience that syndication could bring us. But while we tried to break in, we were forced to censor ourselves as if already in the paper, just so our material would remain saleable.

More than a year after our start, we made a conscious decision to stop making it a “webcomic/prospective newspaper comic” and treated it as a webcomic exclusively. “Behind Closed Doors” followed shortly thereafter.

16. Neat – I think for me, that’s the chapter where Cyndi really popped out a character. It seems like she, Karen, and the Injustice Gang are extremely sexual – was that their original storyline, or did you have a back-up “Popsicle War” for if you had been picked up by a newspaper syndicate?

We knew that Karen was going to do something big against Penny, something involving Meg, Samantha and Charlotte. That was about as far as we had gotten then. To my mind, the characters didn’t change too much when we changed focuses, but our ability to show them changed tremendously. Readers “get” Karen and Marshall in ways that they really couldn’t when we were holding back.
17. What was your high school experience like?

I was nerdy and stuttery, awkward and afraid, but it was still a vast improvement over my K-8 experience. Most of my classmates seemed to like me, or at least put up with me. Creativity was rewarded by both peers and faculty. Most of the teachers were great, too. Between putting on plays, the literary magazine, the Science Fiction Club and classes I enjoyed, there was a lot to love about it.

18. Is there a character in P&A with whom you most identify?

Duane, the shy bookish nerd who’s a little too obsessed with letters and accomplished in nerdy things no one else cares about. Who knows why?

19. Is there a particular character in P&A that you find exceptionally difficult to write?

The pets. So I usually don’t.

20. What webcomics do you follow, or particularly admire?

I used to read tons to stay current in my field. That list is slowly shrinking now, and there are a lot of ‘em that I’m asking myself, “Why am I reading this, again?”

My favorites these days are Basic Instructions, Shortpacked, CRFH, anything by Kris Straub or Randy Milholland, Diesel Sweeties, Octopus Pie, Out There, Buck Godot, Girl Genius, Templar, Arizona, and xkcd.

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20 on the 20th — Gina Biggs from Red String

Maria — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:04:16 +0000

Gina is the talented artist/writer behind Red String. She’s also the founder of Strawberry Comics, an all female group of comic writers. Dark Horse publishing recently picked up Red String, and has published them in three volumes. On to the interview!

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1. What was it like to fund Strawberry Comics?

ANSWER: Expensive. Everything I do for Strawberry Comics is out of my own pocket and I am not a rich woman by any definition. Luckily with some of the projects, like Red String, I receive donations to help out (and Dark Horse publishing the printed version). Otherwise, funding all comes from commission work I do and sales of other books.

2. If a new writer/artist was interested in starting a comic, or in getting into publishing, what resources would you recommend to start?

ANSWER: First, I would recommend you step back and consider what you’re getting yourself into. Comics are an addiction and unless you’re very lucky, it takes a long time to establish yourself. You really have to be doing it for the love first and money maybe way later on. As for resources, I would say the internet is your best friend. There are tons of tutorials on creating comics and starting comic websites. Read them, study them, take the advice to heart.

3. What are the pros and cons of owning the publishing co. vs self-publishing?

ANSWER: I don’t see much of a difference except that since I am organizing and preparing books to send to a printer, selling and distributing the books, and trying to market, there is a LOT more work to do that if I was just my own comics. I think the work is worth it if I can get the word out on some really great female comic creators, though.

4. Do you view Strawberry Comics as just a project about your work, or as a way for other women comic creators to get exposure?
(...)
Read the rest of 20 on the 20th — Gina Biggs from Red String (1,693 words)

20 on the 20th — Featuring Paul Taylor from Wapsi Square!

Maria — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 07:00:40 +0000

This month, our 20 on the 20th Author is Paul Taylor from Wapsi Square. Taylor, an Iowa native, is the mind behind Wapsi Square. Wapsi Square is a slice of life comic centering on the adventures of Monica Villareal, a busty, short, and nerdy Latina, and the eclectic cast of characters that seem to be gathering in Wapsi. Monica’s life has been getting more and more complicated, since it seems like she might be at the center of a great cosmic mystery involving the Calendar Machine, the secrets of the Chimera, and her own burgeoning powers. So yes, it’s just a slice of life… that is, if your life involves magic, the Aztec god of alcohol, and a demonic barista!

Shelly and Monica Dancing

1. I understand that the character of Monica Villareal is based on an ex-girlfriend of yours. What’s it like writing the fantastical adventures of comic character originally based on a real girl?

A. Technically, she was a friend who happened to be female, we weren’t like boy-friend and girl-friend. While there’s parts of Monica’s personality that echoes Sonya, it was mostly how she didn’t fit the stereotypes of what one would think a girl shaped like that would be like that helped shape (no pun intended) Monica. I don’t think that I’d see Sonya quite as opinionated and neurotic as Monica comes across. Those are more traits that seem to have come from me. ^_^

2. Do many of your characters draw their inspiration from people you know in real life?

A. Shelly is loosely based on a gal I knew in college who was quite the muscle-butt and the most guy-like girly-girly I’ve even know. The character Phix is mostly inspired by my college Mythology professor, Lori Rackstraw. Kath is very loosely based on another college acquaintance who was in another one of my classes. Those are the only others that I can think of off hand that were directly inspired by others.

3. What challenges have you faced featuring such a multiethnic cast? How do you handle those kinds of characterizations in a black and white strip?

A. Crazy enough, that was something I didn’t set out really to do, creating a multiethnic cast. I just wanted people that felt like the type that would really exist in the world and these were the characters that took shape. I think I was influenced by the places that I have lived, CA and Minneapolis, and there is a wider ethnic mix, but it wasn’t a goal I set out with. Without actually having the luxury of having the comic in color, I try to include subtle ethnic facial features and clothes or props that help hint at a character’s ethnicity. Most of the time, it’s just mentioned and left at that.(...)
Read the rest of 20 on the 20th — Featuring Paul Taylor from Wapsi Square! (2,346 words)

Gina Biggs — Red String

Maria — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 05:06:57 +0000

Gina Biggs’ long-running Red String series (volumes one, two, and three are all available at Amazon) is reaching a climax. The series has been focusing on the trials and tribulations of three high school girls as they come to terms with their sexuality and burgeoning adulthood. While it’s drawn/plotted as a conventional manga, it’s far more than that. Miharu is bold, assertive, and the aggressor in her relationship with her soulmate Kazuo. Reika, the shy one, has been growing into a more confident young woman after a jerk from her school jilted her. What’s even cooler is that she did NOT fall into the arms of her grouchy, grumpy best friend Eiji, even though he seems to have feelings for her. Instead, she’s taking some time to work on herself. Fuuko has finally come out of the closet, and handled her “coming out” conversation with her first crush (the captain of the girl’s volleyball team) with well-earned poise. Plus, you’ve got to love that all the characters are drawn as Japanese, unlike in some other mangas or animes, where it’s blondes, blondes, blondes, and Brits every frickin’ where. I love that the colored versions of each girl shows different skin-tones, and that their various (dyed) hair-styles are treated as essential components of their characterization, not as a generic component of their ethnic hotness.

Finally, while the datin’-drama is fun, this is really a story about those friendships that sustain girls as they morph into young women. Miharu, Reika, and Fuuko’s friendship has been the series underlying driving force for a while now… they’ve been separated, but it’s been great to watch them start new friendships and work to maintain these life-preserving old ones.

I wanted to mention this comic because Miharu and Kazuo might be ramping things up very soon — and what’s great is that it’s Miharu who’s initiating their growing intimacy, and it’s Miharu who’s making sure they’ve got condoms. GO MIHARU! There’s totally going to be angst, but damn, chica, way to prove you’ve been thinking ahead.

http://redstring.strawberrycomics.com/index.html

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