ComicsDC: indy comics

Showing posts with label indy comics. Show all posts

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Lee Strawberry

by Mike Rhode

StoryBox Comics Fair, organized by Adam Griffiths, was held recently in a brewery in Silver Spring, MD. Along with some stalwarts of the DC Conspiracy, I met some local cartoonists new to me. Lee Strawberry (aka Ashley Sowell) attended in a eye-catching pink booth, and agreed to answer our usual questions.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

I make slice of life comics about mental health, emotions, and bubble tea!

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

I use Procreate, an ipad app. I highly recommend it!

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

I was born in the late 90s!

Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?

I grew up in Alexandria, and moved closer to Dulles airport.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

I have a BFA in art and visual technology, with a new media focus.

Who are your influences?

I’m not sure, I watched a lot of Cartoon Network growing up, but my current style doesn’t reflect that as much as it used to.

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

I would try and archive my comics properly, right now they just live on my iPad and the only reason I know the date I made them is from when I posted them on Instagram. If I ever expand to host my comics on its own site, it’ll be a bit of a headache to get all my old comics on there!

What work are you best-known for?

I make a lot of animations and mashups, and those get pretty popular. I like to mix different songs together to change the meaning of them, I think it’s silly!

What work are you most proud of?

I made a tutorial on how to draw black people, I made it to encourage inclusivity within the online art space. It inspired a lot of beginner artists to expand and try new things by including black features within their artwork!

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

I want to make more physical comics, right now my stuff is mainly on Instagram, I just want to branch out and have my work be more tangible.

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

I do something completely different. Right now I’m in a bit of a rut, so I decided to start a full color animation project.

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

There’s so much potential for comics, I’m not sure where it’d go at the moment.

What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, or others? Any comments about attending them?

This year I went to:

Eaglecon Jr. - Fredericksburg, VA - September 16, 2023

Fairfax Comic Con - Chantilly, VA - August 26-27 2023

Storybox Comics Fair - Silver Spring, MD - August 12 2023

Cosplay World - Richmond VA - August 5-6 2023

Otakon - Washington, DC - July 28-30 2023

Awesome Con - Washington, DC - June 16-18 2023

Tidewater Comic Con - Virginia Beach, VA - May 20-21 2023

Garden Gnome Zine Fair - Lynchburg, VA - April 22 2023

Big Lick Comic Con NOVA: Chantilly, VA - April 15-16, 2023

Capital Art Book Fair: Eastern Market North Hall - April 1-2 2023

I’m not sure where to start with the cons I’ve been to, each one is a brand new experience! I recently started making comics about my convention adventures, that I hope to make into a comic book in the future.

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

I really like collecting zines, I go as an attendee or tabler to events like Small Press Expo, Richmond Zine Fest, etc. to collect more zines. The most recent zine I’ve really liked is called Kid Internet by Shannon Spence. It’s a really colorful zine, and has some nostalgic aspects to it as well!

What's your favorite thing about DC?

The metro system is amazing, It’s always on time and the app is super useful.

Least favorite?

The traffic is hell. I’d rather take the metro into DC!

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

The Natural History museum is fun! I haven’t been in a while but it’s so cool, I’ll have to go again soon.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

Jinya! It’s a ramen bar in the DMV area that has a reeeally good non alcoholic strawberry lychee drink that I love so much!

Do you have a website or blog?

Yes!

https://Leestrawberry.com

How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected you, personally and professionally?

I think it gave me more time to sit inside and focus on making art.

I don’t go out with friends as often as I used to, but my friend circle has also changed so it could be that as well.

Friday, March 11, 2022

Reid Muoio's Stag, his second pandemic-time comic, is out

I last talked to Reid Muoio in September of 2020, but yesterday the mailman brought copies of his new comic book. I reached out to him to ask about it, and he says, “stag” is the second of three comics I am self publishing during the pandemic. The first was “a d.c. punk” (2020) — simple remembrances from the old punk rock days. The second is “stag” (2021) — a love story in three parts: boy alone, boy meets girl, boy alone again. With luck the third will be “squirt” (2022) — a coming of age story set in the pleistocene age. Am about to send that one to the printer. All are 8 1/2” x 11”, 20 pages including front and back covers, black and white, except for two color pages in “stag.” I am partially colorblind. Might do something crazy for the cover of “squirt.” Am giving away approximately 200 copies of each and hope to somehow sell the remaining 300 at $10 to cover printing costs. My email address is muoiocomix@gmail.com .

Front cover of Stag


Page from Stag

Reid provided me with extra copies which will be going to the comics libraries in LoC, MSU, and OSU.

Page from Squirt

Tuesday, April 06, 2021

Meet a Local Comics Writer: A Chat with Matt Kund

by Mike Rhode

Recently I went to my first comics signing since the pandemic started. Matt Kund and Brett Murphy were at Fantom Comics on Dupont Circle for a few hours. I chatted briefly, bought their comics, took a couple of photos, and asked them for an interview. Here's Matt answering our usual questions.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

I’m mainly a writer, I do draw a little and soon I am drawing my first story for an anthology I am part of.

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

Mostly know I am digital, I love working in Procreate on my iPad, I never thought I would be a digital artist, but that’s mostly want I use now.

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

I was born in the 1970s in Washington DC.

Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?

My day job is with the Federal Government. I live in the Maryland now.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

I have taken two classes in comics writing from Comics Experiences and on coloring class at Comic Experience as well.

Who are your influences?

My influences - writing wise Jonathan Hickman is my biggest current influence. I would love to be able to craft stories and world build like him

I grew up on 80s Marvel Comics, GI Joe and Spiderman

I love Mike Zeck's Marvel covers.

Lee Weeks is my favorite all time, with Sean Gordon Murphy more currently.

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

Get an early start, I did get serious about trying to make comics till my 30s.

What work are you best-known for?

I would think maybe my comic “Digital Forever” a sci-fi comic about a digitally-designed afterlife program.

What work are you most proud of?

A mini comic I did with call “RX-tiction” with my art and podcasting partner Noah Ray. I was our first project together that lead to a bunch of future project and friendship built around art/movies and comics, and we told a zombie story with a twist I don’t think anyone else has tried.

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

I am currently working on a book called “Metal Eagle”, that I’m excited about. Pitched as "Atomic Blonde" meets "This is Spinal Tap."

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

I don’t have a lot of writer's block. I have written something every day for the last 1,500 plus days. I was really influenced by "The War of Art" by Stephen Pressfield were he talks about not waiting for the muse, setting down each day and being ready for the muse.

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

Hopefully as writer, but I would love to have a Jeff Lemire-like career, writing a bunch of books, and maybe doing the art on one.

What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, or others? Any comments about attending them?

Yeah all 3 of those, and Heroes Con in North Carolina.

What's your favorite thing about DC?

I zipped over to the Art Gallery or the Portrait Gallery on my lunch (when I go into the office). It’s a great outing to get inspired to want to make things.

Least favorite?

Tourist not understanding the unwritten law of the escalators, walking on the left and standing is on the right.

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

National Portrait Gallery, it’s hardly ever crowded and so much fun to see the art!

Do you have a website or blog?

I have a website MattKund.com, I haven't worked on it lately I was trying for a time to detail the trails and tribulation of trying to break into comics as writer. Hopefully I get back to it.

I have a Gumroad site to buy my comics - https://gumroad.com/forevercomics

Twitter @MKund
Instagram @MAK0876
Facebook Pages https://www.facebook.com/digitalforevercomic/ and https://www.facebook.com/ConstructingComic/

How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected you, personally and professionally?

I haven’t tabled in a year at a con. But I have been able to Kickstart comic books as a publisher -“Dino Thrashers” and as a writer - “The Reset” and a few anthology stories. I run a meet-up group called DMV Indie Comics Creators and since March of 2020 we moved those to Zoom from in person meetings.

Tell us more about your new company, Forever Comics Publishing, your comic from it, and your Kickstarter campaign.

Forever Comics is a small publishing company I formed for my stories. And there is now an imprint mainly to handle sci-fi stories under Ageless Press, with the other co-founder Brett Murphy, who had started Legacy Comics, which is now the horror imprint under Ageless Press.

Forever Comics as published - "Digital Forever," "Multi - Larceny" and "The Reset" (via Kickstarter) and "RX-tiction," "Life Cycle" and "Orryx Mini Comics" with Noah Ray.

Matt, can you tell us about your Constructing ComicsPodcast?

Constructing Comics Podcast is a podcast I do with Noah Ray. It started off as a page-design podcast (which we still do from time to time). We do reviews of current releases, but we have found a good groove interviewing indie creators and some bigger names at DC and Marvel Comics.

What comic books do you read regularly or recommend? Is Fantom your local store?

Hickmen’s X books, and Pax Romain; Mister Miracle; Anything by Brubaker and Phillips.

Yes, Fantom is my local store, I have been with them since Union Station, but since Covid, I have moved to mail order, happy that I can still help them out and get my books during the pandemic.