Meet a Visiting Cartoonist: Gabriela Epstein (UPDATED!)

Self-portrait (all images from Gabriela's website)

 by Mike Rhode

Gabriela Epstein spoke recently about her 2023 graphic novel, Danny Phantom: A Glitch in Time at Fantom Comics. Unfortunately I missed the talk, which I'm told was great, but I did get there in time to buy signed books and ask about an interview. Gabriela obliged with both, and I think this fairly in-depth interview is a good introduction to her work, except for her animation career which I forgot to ask about (now corrected!). I thoroughly enjoyed her two most recent books, Invisible, and Danny Phantom and recommend them.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

So far, I’ve done adaptation work, graphic novel illustration and now some writing. Running the full gamut!

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

I draw everything digitally. The first several books I drew for Scholastic were drawn with an old Wacom Tablet and my laptop, but now I draw exclusively on my iPad. It mimics the feel of using a Cintiq at my old job and is a bit more portable.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

I was born April, 1993, in Pennsylvania.  Spent time in central PA and Philly growing up.

What neighborhood or area do you live in?

I live in Austin, TX, now.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

Technically speaking, I don’t have much. Although I studied at two art schools (PAFA and RISD), I never managed to snag a single comics course. All my comic making is self-taught.

That said, comics is an amalgamation of different skills like figure drawing, color theory, perspective, etc. so for those things I’d credit my two years at PAFA for giving me my fundamentals in drawing. All the digital tools I use now I taught myself via online tutorials artists would post on Tumblr and Twitter.

So how did you get into animation? 

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do until my final semester of school. I cobbled together a 2D character design portfolio in my final class (thanks, MJ!) and submitted it to every studio until I got a call-back from Powerhouse Animation.

What did you work on there?

I worked as a character and prop designer on the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Kid Danger.

Why did you leave for graphic novels?

I'd been getting recruited for lots of comic gigs while I was trying for a career in animation. I'd keep taking smaller ones just to create content, but as it turns out that just made more people think I was a cartoonist. I figured I should lean into that because the competition for jobs in animation is so tough there was no way I'd make it full time. At least, not without my body and soul intact.

Who are your influences?

My early comic influences were Todd Nauck (Young Justice, Teen Titans Go!) and Sean Galloway (Spider-man). Now I look a lot to Mitsuru Adachi (Cross Game) and Haruichi Furudate (Haikyuu!) for paneling and composition, and Satoru Noda (Golden Kamuy, Supinamarada!) for comedic drawing.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

I’d probably take a break before attending art school to get myself situated mental health-wise. I’ve learned the hard way that no matter where you go, you’re stuck with yourself. If you’re not happy foundationally, you’re not gonna get the full experience of whatever program or job you’ve got going on. I burnt myself out majorly, and that kind of work/life balance is simply unsustainable. I eventually did take a year off in 2015 and it was the best decision of my life. Helped me recenter and see what I actually wanted to do with my time rather than chase ghosts of what I could/should be.

What work are you best-known for?

Haha, probably my Baby-Sitters Club adaptations.

How did you get the job illustrating the Babysitter's Club graphic novels? 

I had been recruited for the book Invisible, which led to me signing on with my first agent back in 2018. In my talks with Scholastic, the opportunity to test for BSC came up and I gave it a shot. Considering that my predecessors were Raina and Gale, I didn’t think I had a good chance of getting the job, but I figured the testing would be valuable practice. I’ve learned so much from my experience working on that series—more than I can put into words.

How did it feel to follow Raina on that series?

I hadn’t read any of her work before signing on, so I went to the library and checked out all her books and read them all in one day. Her style is clear, concise, yet emotive. This is an extremely difficult skill to master, and something I greatly admire. She is a cartooning god, and I’m so humbled to learn and benefit from the creative decisions she made on the first four books of the series. 

Invisible, the book you illustrated with Christina Diaz Gonzalez, is the story of five Latin American school kids who are all from different Latino backgrounds. The story deals with racism, classicism, homelessness and the immigrant experience. How did you get this assignment?

Scholastic reached out to me and several other Latine artists to test for the project. Funny enough, I was originally going to decline because I am a white Latine and didn’t feel qualified to tell a legitimate Latine story. My mom (first gen Chilean immigrant) disabused me of that notion and encouraged me to at least test for the job.

For my test, I took a design pass at the core group of kids and illustrated several pages of comics based on a short test script I was given. Christina opted for my test, and we’ve stuck with my designs with little change.

Did you and Diaz Gonzalex work together, or was there an editor in between you?

Unfortunately, the project was a long game of telephone, haha. I would talk to my agent, who would talk to the editor, who would talk to Christina’s agent, who would talk to her. I think things would’ve moved much easier had we simply been allowed to do direct Zoom meetings. That said, Christina was very chill and graceful with all the changes I brought up to the story and potential designs for characters and locations, and for that I’m very grateful.

Was this just a job, or could you relate to the underlying story and issues?

Yes, I do connect with the characters’ struggles with identity and the unique experience of living with a parent/parents who are immigrants. There is a sense of otherness that is pervasive and isolating—one is not quite American, and yet I could never be thought of as Chilean, either. I think working on the story has made me more secure in my identity and much more aware of my own unique privileges within both worlds.

How was the book received? I was very impressed with it and enjoyed it.

The book has gotten many starred reviews and awards for which I’m grateful. However, those things don’t mean much to me in comparison to what it means for the kids who read it. As long as it helps kids feel like their experiences are validated, I consider the book to have been a worthwhile endeavor.

Additionally, I’m very happy with how the bilingual aspect of the lettering worked out and am hopeful this will be used for more ESL books in the future. [editor's note: When a character speaks in Spanish, it's shown first, and then in English in a second balloon. It works well. I don't know if it's colloquial to each character's country, but I would guess it is not.]

Danny Phantom wrap-around cover art

What work are you most proud of?

The Danny Phantom books. It was my first foray into writing, drawing and art directing all in one go, so they’re always gonna have a special place in my heart.

In your Fantom Comics talk, you spoke of your liking for the Danny Phantom animated series. Can you go into that a bit here?

I was a huge fan of the show since its premiere in 2004. I was just going through some old sketchbooks at my dad’s house and was blown away by the style change in my drawings before and after watching a season of Danny Phantom. I think a lot of the angularity of my style can be attributed to Stephen Silver’s designs on that show.

Danny Phantom was also my first foray into the fandom experience—lurking on forums, reading fanfiction and making fan art, so it would always be special to me in that sense. It’s been a comfort show I’ve rewatched many times and despite its extremely y2k humor, still holds up well!

How did you get this job? Did you pitch the publisher, or did they seek you out?

Abrams gave me a call to see if I’d be interested in illustrating a continuation of the series in comic form back in early 2020. I’d just published a charity Danny Phantom zine with some friends the year prior, so I think that may have had something to do with it, but I honestly don’t know. Looking back, a lot of my portfolio at the time was made up of Danny Phantom fan art, so that could’ve also been a factor.

Is this your first major writing assignment? How does that differ from illustrating someone else's script?

Yes! This was my first time being asked to write and draw a book for an existing IP. I was extremely nervous because I’d never written something that long before and hadn’t taken any formal classes in writing, either. To prepare, I read a few books on the subject and wrote some spec scripts for different shows to get the gist of writing out a full story.

That was the biggest hurdle for me. When I’m adapting books like the BSC, or illustrating for Invisible, I can make many edits and change the story for the better, but the bones of it are already in place. To start from scratch was more daunting, but the team at Abrams was very happy to walk me through everything. The nicest part was getting to draw it, too, so if I thought of better gags or more dramatic ways to stage a scene, I could just go ahead and do it without worrying if the writer would approve. That elasticity in the process made for a fun time!

 Is it the first of the series? Wikipedia says it is, but what is your plan / involvement?

Yes—right now I’m working on a sequel book that is due out in 2025. Future books would depend on how well it sells, but I would love to continue contributing to this franchise. I’ve got some story arcs in mind that would be nice to bring to fruition, so I have my fingers crossed. Even if that doesn’t come to pass, though, I’m so happy to have had this opportunity. It’s truly a dream come true!

What would you like to do or work on in the future?

I’ve wanted to make my own sports comic for years now, but for various reasons it has never felt like the right time. Hopefully that will change soon.  I want to make a hockey series! 

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

I take a break. Often, consuming other media can spark ideas to solve your own story solutions. Like, “Man, I forgot how much I hated how x show handled this topic. I’d do it this way!” and all of a sudden you’re running for your notebook with bits of ideas that can totally restructure your story.

What do you think will be the future of your field?

Hard to say, considering how unstable the entertainment industry is right now. I think the market for graphic novels will continue as is, if not get larger. With comics now being used more and more in educational settings, I can’t imagine they’d lose popularity.

That said, I don’t know how this will translate to the creation of said comics. Publishers are already expressing interest in AI, and the labor force that creates comics is already woefully underpaid—both contractors and salaried editors and designers. This post-Covid cloud economy is a shambles. Could this lead to a breaking point in labor relations within the publishing industry? One can only hope. As it is, the contractor model for graphic novel creation in the US is abysmal and only affords those with baked-in financial stability the freedom to create. That’s a recipe for a lot of books that look and sound the same.

What cons do you attend? Any comments about attending them?

I don’t attend cons too much. I would love to go to NYCC again, though, and SDCC if they’ll have me for Danny Phantom 2!

What comic books do you read regularly or recommend? Do you have a local store?

The current series I’m following are Witch Hat Atelier and Dungeon Meshi. I’m mostly discovering old comics for myself now. My favorite local comic shops in Austin are Dragon’s Lair and Tribe!

Do you have a website or blog?

I have a portfolio site where I will post the occasional events that I do. www.gre-art.com

Check Please! postcard art