Meet a Local Comic Book Artist: A Chat with Sean Damien Hill

by Mike Rhode

On September 16, 2023, comic book artist Sean Damien Hill was signing his new X-Men collection at Fantom Comics. He chatted with a small crowd for about an hour, discussing the business of comics, his influences, and how he worked. I thoroughly enjoyed it and bought the Bishop comic, as well as the DC Blood Syndicate collection that he had work in. Hill said he works a full time job, is a father, and does his comic work late in the evening. He also talked about being influenced by bodybuilders when it came to drawing superheroes. I appreciate him taking the time to answer our usual questions.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

I think I can describe it as super hero and fantasy illustration. At least those are my biggest influences in my work.

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

I’ve gone back forth on digital and traditional, depending on  the project I’m doing. But right now I’m experimenting with doing digital thumbnails, printing it on Bristol board and going traditional from there.

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

I was born and raised in Washington DC. Petworth is actually my old neighborhood.

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

Nowadays I live in Alexandria Virginia. I’ve been there for about 8 years now. I like it here though it is a bit quieter lol.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

Well I had a mentor I met in elementary school, his name is Kofi Tyus and he is an artist that taught classes around the city back then. He also did a lot of cartooning for independent publications around the city at the time, along with doing them for his own greeting card business.  He was teaching a comics and cartooning class when my school art teacher introduced me to him because she knew I was hugely into comics. He helped us make our own comic that he actually printed and would  help us sell them to our friends, families or neighbors.

Who are your influences?

That is an pretty big list but from very young I used to read through my mom's books and two of my favorite were Stephen King's The Stand with art from Bernie Wrightson and Milton’s Paradise Lost with all the amazing artwork from Gustave Dore. My grandfather and mom were into comics and they introduced me to a lot of books at the time. Artist like Will Eisner and Jim Lee stick out, though I’m sure not many link those two names together as an influence too often. Right now artists like Mshindo Kuumba, Ivan Reis, a dozen others really have a big influence on me.

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change? Or rather, how are you hoping your career will develop?

Looking back I think I would have made my own book first before doing any freelance stuff, and tell my own stories. Freelancing can be fun, as it does allow you to add your voice to an already-made world and [you can enjoy] seeing how it looks with you playing around in that world. But making my own thing has always been on my mind. One of these days I gotta do it.

What work are you best-known for?

I think for right now it might be for Bishop War College for Marvel Comics.  

What work are you most proud of?

It’s between three books that I still feel pretty proud of: The Hated with David Walker; Dark History of Okemus with TJ Sterling and Isnana the Were-spider: Drums of the Ogunm with Greg Elyse.

Those are all Indy titles though.

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

I hope to continue to do a lot more black-centric characters in the indies and continue to work for Marvel and DC. I’d love to do some X-men stuff again and for DC I’d love a shot at a Bat family character. Hopefully I get myself together and do my own thing too.

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

I don’t want to say I never have a block, but sometimes I wonder if it’s just me being too hard on myself about what I should produce. I firmly believe in every artist there’s 100 bad drawings and you gotta get through them to get the good ones. So I kinda just take it easy on myself, go ahead and work through all my trash ideas and play with them until I get something that works.

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

It’s gonna be interesting for sure, right now  I’m seeing a small influx of Indy creators being picked by Marvel and DC more and more. And a lot of more established creators going into business for themselves. This tends to happen in comics a lot but it looks like we’re having another small wave  happening now. I think crowd funding for Indy comics will continue to scale up; it’s starting to look like the best business model Indy comics has ever had. In the past the success of an Indy publisher would be to push themselves until they can  mimic the business and distribution model of established publishers, but it’s got its own way now to build and sell to an audience and overall I think that’s great for comics.

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

So I am absolutely terrible at attending cons. But I have been sneaking into Blerdcon over in Alexandria in recent years to sign books with creators I’ve worked with there like TJ over at Rae comics and Isnana the Were-spider with Greg Elyse. I haven’t been to Awesome con in awhile and I’d love to see Baltimore Comic Con again.

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

I’m usually buying a lot more Indy stuff lately, I think the most recent think I got was a book called Crescent City Monsters from Dreamfury Comics. I’m also looking to get the collected edition of Fall of X too pretty soon. Sadly I don’t get as much time to read as much as I used too.

What's your favorite thing about DC?

I think DC has the benefits of a small town, but in a metropolitan city. I’ve had friends I’ve known here since I was a kid and I would still run into them sometimes now, even though we’ve both moved in different places of the city probably several times over. There’s a strong sense of community here if you willing to invest in it. Plus we have THE best looking city flag in the nation.

Least favorite?

The Metro, it tough when you slogan is “getting back to good” it’s like your openly advertising your bad.

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

For me it’s either the Lincoln Memorial or the Washington Monument, I’ve always love the monument. My wife and I had our engagement photos there.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

I think everyone in DC should experience Ben’s Chilli Bowl at least once, even if you're visiting but I don’t have an absolutely favorite place though.

Do you have a website or blog?

Yes, my website is www.seandamienhill.com [ed note: some original art from Bishop is for sale on his site]

 

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Jonathan Roth, a Children's Book Graphic Novelist

Roth with Beep (courtesy of Roth)

by Mike Rhode

Jonathan Roth appeared recently at the Politics and Prose flagship for the second book in his Rover and Speck series. Rover and Speck are sentient planetary rovers (Rover is the one from NASA, while Speck's origin is a mystery) that meet on a Mars-like planet and then explore a water world in their second book which came out recently. After having his own event that morning, Roth came back for Roz Chast's talk and Bruce Guthrie introduced the two of us. Roth's children's book bio can be found on his website.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

I write and illustrate almost solely for kids these days. My first graphic novel series, Rover and Speck, came out in 2022, with another book just released and book 3 slated for 2024. I’ve also created chapter books and picture books.

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

I do rough planning and character design in pencil first, but the finished art for my graphic novels is rendered and colored digitally.

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

I was born in Detroit, too young to remember the first step on the moon, but I was alive for it.

Why are you in Washington (aka Rockville) now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?

Though we first settled in Ellicott City in the late 90s, so my wife could go to acupuncture school, we moved to Montgomery County when I got a job teaching elementary art here in ‘99. We’ve been in Rockville most of that time, for the past 10+ years in Twinbrook. 

When and why did you live in Zaire and the Virgin Islands?

I deferred college a year to live in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) to join my father and his wife (remarried) who were high school teachers at the American School of Kinshasa. They later taught on St. Croix, so I dropped what I was doing (not much) to spend a year there too.
 

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

Like so many others, I started by copying characters in comic books and strips as early as 5 years old. But by the time I went to art school (Cooper Union), I was of course, like my peers, too serious an artiste to draw cartoons. But shortly after graduating I knew I wanted to write and draw above all, with a humorous bent, and my path back to cartooning (and then children’s books) was natural and fun.

Who are your influences?

Though I was addicted to Marvel and DC as a kid, I don’t see much lasting influence there. My cartoonist’s heart was mostly shaped by newspaper strips like Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes and Doonesbury. Works such as the early Star Wars movies and the Hitchhiker’s Guide books certainly taught me a lot about longer narration and humorous voice. The Simpsons, too.

Roth at Politics and Prose; photo courtesy of Bruce Guthrie 

Tell us about your alt cartoonist days in Charlottesville and other newspapers please.

In the mid to late 90s, I had hundreds of strips published by weeklies and magazines such as the C-Ville Weekly in Charlottesville (a weekly strip for a couple years), Communities Magazine and the occasional acceptance in the Funny Times and similar. But the tone of these strips was much gentler than edgy, and I don’t think the alt-scene was where I belonged. I really yearned to do more mainstream newspapers and began submitting to the syndicates. United was briefly interested in one strip, but it never went anywhere. At the same time, I was also developing my interest in writing for children, which is the path I eventually took.

Roth at Politics and Prose; photo courtesy of Bruce Guthrie 

Where did you get the idea to do a book series about planetary rovers?

I’ve followed Mars landers and rovers since I was a kid, but didn’t have an idea to make them characters until 2019, when I saw that the long-lived Opportunity rover had ‘died’ after an unprecedented 14 years on the Martian surface (it was supposed to last about 3 months, ha!) I immediately had an idea about another rover finding a fictional Oppy and bringing it back to ‘life’. Thus Rover and Speck were born!

 How did you pitch it, since you would be a new graphic novelist? Was it on the strength of your previous children's book series?

My agent did the pitching, so I don’t know all the details. Because so many publishers are looking for good graphic novels now, I doubt my chapter book series had much sway either way. This one sold as an initial three-book series. Book one takes place on a rocky world. Book two is set on a water planet. And, for the first time in kid’s sci-fi that I know about, book three will take place within the cloud layers of a gas giant! I wanted to try something especially unusual for that one.

Will we learn more about Speck's origins?

Not in book 3. But maybe if there are more books down the line!

The rovers are obviously not possible to engineer yet, in spite of AI advances. Beyond the alien life such as rock creatures, is the science in your books accurate?

Maybe a wee bit more accurate than Star Trek, haha! I do try to make the specifics more plausible than fantastical, but the more factual science connections are peppered throughout in the ‘Fun Science Facts.’

How do you decide which science panels to include?

There are cool, interesting facts about all aspects of nature, but I try to tie these panels into pertinent things happening at that point in the story. My editor usually has good suggestions around these too.

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

Roth at Politics and Prose; photo courtesy of Bruce Guthrie 

My first agent, who was shopping my middle-grade novels around almost 15 years ago but knew about my comics background, wondered if I could do comics for kids. For some reason I wasn’t thinking in those terms yet, though if I was, I could have possibly been on the ground floor of the current kid’s graphic novel boom (I met Andy Runton at SPX around then, and books like his Owly were definitely spinning gears in my head).

What work are you best-known for?

For my work an art teacher! I mean, I teach 500+ kids a week, each student body continually replenished for 25 years. In the wider world, my Beep and Bob chapter book series is probably still the best known of my kid’s books. 

What work are you most proud of?

It’s such a longshot getting any work traditionally published in children’s books these days, so I’m grateful for all my books. If I’m proud of anything it’s my perseverance, because that’s been the key.

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

Another graphic novel series. And more picture books. No lack of ideas! Just time…

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

Go for a walk or bike ride. Most of my ideas come to me while not in the chair (though sitting and composing is the only way to work them out). Active bodies are active brains!

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

So bright, people will be wearing shades! Not likely me, but someone.

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

I’ve been attending the Small Press Expo for about 20 years, since back when it was in a hotel in Bethesda (now at the Mariott convention center closer to me). Anyone into comics, especially those beyond superhero, should definitely go! I attend occasional other cons, but most of the events I attend and/or appear at are book festivals: the Gaithersburg Book Festival, Fall for the Book, the Chesapeake Children’s Book Festival and more.

Roth at Politics and Prose; photo courtesy of Bruce Guthrie 

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

Just about all the kidlit and adult comics I read can be found in good indie bookstores, like Politics and Prose (where, in the last week alone, I attended talks by creators as diverse as Stephen Pastis and Roz Chast; I also spoke there too, smiley face). Sadly there are no indies in Rockville (boo!), but the new People’s Book in Takoma Park has a cool comics selection, and I’ll travel to NoVa for Bards Alley, Scrawl, One More Page or Hooray for Books (why is NoVa so much better than MoCo this way? Discuss). And MoCo Libraries has built a great collection.

What's your favorite thing about DC?

That I can ride all the way from Rockville to the Mall on beautiful bike trails (Rock Creek Trail, Capital Crescent, C and O) to visit some of the best museums in the world. For free!

Least favorite?

That there’s such a profound equity/wealth gap.

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

The National Gallery is my happy place. Great Falls is a spectacular outdoor spot.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

I’m boring about dining. The Silver Diner is our main bag.

Roth at Politics and Prose; photo courtesy of Bruce Guthrie 

Do you have a website or blog?

www.beepandbob.com

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

Such a strange, surreal time! Fortunately we found a way to keep schools (and teaching jobs) going during the pandemic, so for me it was more of a mental than financial hardship. I wrote and sold a book in 20-21, and my series has survived, so I’m grateful there. Plus somehow I still haven’t had Covid myself! But with all we should have learned, I’m worried we aren’t going to be prepared for the next pandemic.

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Athena Naylor

 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. Athena Naylor has been mentioned here before, but it was good to meet her in person and ask for an interview.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

Mostly autobiographical comics–I like to find thoughtful stories in the mundane moments of life.

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

Mainly pen and ink– I’ll typically sketch everything with a blue pencil, ink directly over that, and then get rid of the blue lines in photoshop once everything is scanned in. Occasionally I’ll add some digital flat colors/shading, or paint my comics with watercolors. In general I’m more comfortable with drawing traditionally, I still find it immensely satisfying (and more portable when

I’m on the go)

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

Early ‘90s– I was born in Boston but grew up in Wisconsin.

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

I came to Washington to get my master’s in Art History at GWU. By graduation I had established a great support network of friends and have been sticking around ever since. I also appreciate that it’s easy to visit SPX living here, and I’ve been really grateful that I’ve been able to make comics friends in the area (participating in the Storybox Comics Fair this summer is a testament to those local connections)

How did you get into the Washington Post's Lily webcomics feature? How many strips did you do for them? How was your experience in working with a major newspaper?

A mutual friend put me in touch with one of the former art directors at the Lily back in late 2018. I pitched a few comic ideas and one of them got picked up (a comic discussing the then-new Netflix series Sex Education.) A few years later in 2021 I pitched again and got in. I would have loved to do more work for The Lily, but unfortunately it recently got discontinued as its own separate project. Comics features are going to be folded into other sections of the Washington Post-- maybe one day I'll manage to draw something for another offset of the newspaper. My experience was good. At the time I was overjoyed to get paid to draw a comic for a newspaper. It was also a valuable learning experience as a self-published artist who was not used to having anyone else have a say in my artistic decisions. Drawing for a major publication meant I needed to adhere to certain style and color guidelines that I previously never considered. Having various editors pick apart my work was also a little daunting, but in the long run I learned a lot about how to prioritize readability and accessibility into the design of comics/graphics meant for a wide audience.

I’d always been baffled by people who wanted kids. Then my friend got pregnant. in The Lily

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

Honestly I’ve been drawing narrative art in some form ever since I was a little kid. I went to a liberal arts school and majored in art (with a focus in drawing and painting), but most of my early comics “training” was self-taught. The most specialized education I’ve probably had is that in the summer of 2015 I went to a week-long graphic novel workshop at CCS (the Center for Cartoon Studies)

Who are your influences?

I take inspiration from many places. I certainly have a lot of favorite cartoonists (Eleanor Davis, Jillian Tamaki, Kate Beaton… a lot of the artists I found online when I was a teenager were women cartoonists who are now rightfully well established). But I’m also influenced a lot by the books I read and the movies/TV shows I watch.

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

I wish I had been more cognizant in my college years of how anxiety was inhibiting my ability to confidently pursue art as a career path. I knew I wanted to make comics but was timid and self-deprecating of both my work and my interests. I wish I could go back and assure myself of the validity of my creative goals! But really I try not to ruminate too hard on “what ifs–” I’ve learned there’s not a lot of utility in those thoughts.

What work are you best-known for?

Haha, I have no idea– online I’m probably most known for my series of diary comics that I call “Dailies.” 

What work are you most proud of?

The work I’m most proud of is a comic I did in 2019 called “The Checkout Counter,” which meditates on workplace flirtation through the lens of art history. 

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

“The Checkout Counter” is the longest comic I’ve done to date and I’m eager to work on more long-form comics again. I have a ton of stories I want to illustrate about working in a public museum in my early twenties, and I’m currently researching my late Greek grandmother’s life in the hopes that that may turn into some kind of comic one day about interconnected family histories.

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

Take a walk, rest, socialize– pretty much anything other than write or draw. If I’m in a rut it usually means my creative meter is running empty in some capacity and I need to fill it up by experiencing something new or revitalizing.

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

I love meeting fellow cartoonists, but a common refrain when we discuss the field is that there is no sustainable way to make comics as a career (unless you get really lucky or have some means of financial support, whether that’s from family or a partner or whatever). I would love to see publishers actually support creators in a way that ensures artists don’t break themselves trying to meet deadlines while finding outside gigs to supplement their income. I don’t know if that’s an attainable goal for the near future. But it would be great to see any kind of improvement happen in that way.

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

Most recently I attended Storybox Comics Fair, and in the past I’ve tabled at DC Zinefest and DC Art Book Fair (which unfortunately hasn’t been offered since 2019). I’ve enjoyed tabling them all! It’s nice to participate at local fairs because you meet local creators who you can catch up with year after year. You also immediately have something in common with the people who visit your table because you all live in the same area.

What's your favorite thing about DC?

The fact that I can get around without a car– the metro has its issues but compared to other places I’ve been it’s pretty convenient, and DC is a small enough city that a lot of places are walkable. I also love that I can casually pop into exhibits at the mall without the pressure to stay for a certain amount of time to “get my money’s worth” since the museums are free.

Least favorite?

The traffic, getting crushed during rush hour on the metro, the horrible humidity in the summer.

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

Depends on what they’re interested in! I’ve had good luck taking both friends and family to the Hirshhorn.

Do you have a website or blog?

Yes– my website is athenanaylor.com, and you can find more work on instagram @athena.naylor
 
How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected you, personally and professionally? (Pre-covid, Naylor wrote about the arts for The DC Line, including two stories on cartooning.)

Honestly it’s been hard to regain the pre-pandemic momentum I had before quarantine. At the end of 2019 I had just made “The Checkout Counter” and felt prepared to continue pursuing longer work, but then the pandemic hit and priorities shifted. It definitely affected how I navigate life both personally and professionally, but in ways that are difficult to articulate. It’s also hard to say because I entered my 30’s in 2021, so I don’t know which changes in attitude and lifestyle may be caused by the pandemic and which are just a product of growing older. Things are just different, as they should be after something like a global pandemic!

Meet an Upcoming Graphic Novelist: A Chat with Brigitta Blair

by Mike Rhode

I recently met Brigitta at an Arlington County Library event and was glad to hear that she had a graphic novel coming out... in 2027! Since that's right around the corner, we sent her our usual questions. They came back with few of her own slipped in (a good sign IMHO).

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

I’m an author-illustrator that makes slice-of-life, memoir, and fantasy graphic novels. I typically write about identity and disability, but have been known to throw in a nerdy reference or pun.

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

I work on an iPad Pro in Clip Studio Paint to make the art and design the pages. I also use Scrivener for plotting/scripting and InDesign for lettering. If I have a location I know my character will be at a lot, I’ll 3D model it in SketchUp or Blender. One of the perks to working in tech outside of comics is I have a rolodex of software knowledge, which has been really helpful with my graphic novel process!

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

I was born in 1993 in NOVA (Northern Virginia).

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

Mostly self-taught, although I’ve taken some online graphic novel and writing courses over the years. The OC Studio Arts “Graphic Novels 101” course was a game-changer for me, so I always try to recommend that one for people starting out!

Have you always worked in comics?

I haven’t! For most of my career, I’ve worked in tech. Everything from being a UI Tech Artist for a video game company, teaching coding workshops at makerspaces, to working at an augmented reality Escape Room. Experiences fuel my desire to create, so I’m very thankful to have gotten the opportunity to learn a lot of different things at some wonderful companies.

Working in tech has also greatly increased my productivity for making graphic novels. If something is taking me too long to do, I’ll figure out a way to make the process and software more ethically efficient. For example, I could never find a Scrivener template I liked to write my manuscript with, so I made the Scrivener Standard Comic Script template alongside Steenz and Camilla Zhang.

What's CRAMMING (Little Brown, 2027) about? How did you get a contract for it - do you have an agent, or did you pitch it directly?

CRAMMING is a story about trying to fit in when you feel like you don’t. It follows a middle school girl named Ari who navigates the challenges of fitting into school, sports, family, and a scoliosis brace.
I got my agent, the incredible Chelsea Eberly, through a Twitter Pitch! During one of the #DVPit (diversity pitch) events where agents “like” pitches on Twitter posts that they want to see more of, I got a request from my agent to submit to her. During the agent offer call, our synergy was off the charts, so much that we came up with an idea for a new book…which ended up becoming my debut graphic novel, CRAMMING!

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

More slice-of-life, fantasy, queer, and disability-focused graphic novels please! I’d also love to do more speaking events, particularly at hospitals or schools. Working on more accessible videos games would also be pretty neat.

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

I usually take a break, do research by reading other books, or watch documentaries (especially historical ones). Consuming stories helps me come up with stories, so I try to absorb as much I can when I’m not creating. Brainstorming with my critique group, agent, editor, or partner also greatly helps.

What do you think will be the future of publishing?

The pandemic has been a huge shift in the publishing industry. With the push to remote work, we’ve seen a lot of agencies/publishers become more tech-friendly, flexible, and diverse. We’ve also seen recent changes in publishing with the success of the Harper Collins Strike, the rejection of Penguin Random House’s acquisition of Simon and Schuster, the emergence of AI tools, book banning, and changes in Barnes and Nobles policies.

In general, I see graphic novels growing. More graphic novel film and TV show adaptations such as Heartstopper, Nimona, and American Born Chinese means more money for the publishing industry. I also see technology playing a larger role in creating graphic novels (especially when it comes to expediting processes) and more diversity throughout publishing at all levels. The results from book banning and AI class action lawsuits could also present shifts in the industry. We’re already starting to see AI clauses in publishing contracts, and I’m sure that’s going to grow with the technology.

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

All the above and more! My favorite local cons are MAGFest and Small Press Expo. As a gamer and a video game developer, MAGFest has a special place in my heart. Not only does it have one of the biggest arcades I’ve ever been to, but the indie game and music scene is booming there!

What comic books do you read regularly or recommend?

I read a lot of fantasy, queer romance, school dramas, historical fiction, and experimental indie graphic novels; basically, what I like to make is what I like to read! Ones that came out in the past few years that I usually recommend are The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang, It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood, and Salt Magic by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock. I also adore manga and could gush over the paneling in Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama all day.

What's your favorite thing about DC?

The food (especially brunch)! Also, the height cap on the buildings makes the city feel really open and clean which I love. Can’t go wrong with the Cherry Blossom season, various music venues, architecture, or the rich diverse culture either!

Least favorite?

Late night public transit solo. Be careful, folks!

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

Depends on the interest of the person, but the Hirshhorn, Artechouse, and the Smithsonian are some of my favorites.

How about a favorite local restaurant?

Oooh I have a lot! Founding Farmer’s is my favorite brunch place. If you want a cute cafe with amazing drinks/food, Tryst in Adam’s Morgan is lovely. I’m also a big fan of Busboys and Poets and Kramers; can’t go wrong with a restaurant-bookstore!

Do you have a website or blog?

I do! My website is https://brigittablair.com/ . I blog about my experiences in publishing there along with posting updates on my book and portfolio. I’m also active on Twitter, Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky at @brigittablair.

Where can we get your book?

It’s not available yet, but you can add it on Goodreads! Adding books you’re interested in on Goodreads really helps authors because it lets the publishers know there’s interest. Keep a lookout for CRAMMING in 2027!

Chatting with Sam Kidlet: "I wanted to go big for charity, and my first thought was Galactus"

by Mike Rhode

I've known Sam Kidlet (a nom de pen) for years, since she's been part of her family's comic and children's books creative team. I usually see them at Baltimore Comic Con and catch up, but COVID and then my shorter visits to the Con have screwed that up. But I saw Sam the other day at a local bookstore though, and heard that she'd done a successful piece for the annual Heroes Con auction. She agreed (with her parents' approval) to answer our usual questions.

 What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

A little of everything; I know If I want to pursue comics, I won't have as much time to draw for myself so I try to draw a little bit of everything now. I used to love drawing horror, the more creepy and spine-tingling the better, but being the daughter of a children's book author and creating kids comics myself, I needed to let up a little bit. I try to draw things that will challenge me, and work on concepts that will allow me to grow. I'm not great at drawing women, so every once in a while I'll attempt to draw a woman. I'm not great at stuff geared towards kids, so every once in a while I'll try to draw something all ages. So, a little bit of everything. I get bored drawing the same things really easily. 

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

 

99% of the time I use pen and ink to draw and use markers to color. I don't like drawing digitally, but I'm trying to practice with inking digitally, so I don't completely shut myself off from it. Whenever I work on a Hippofartamus issue, (a comic series my dad and I work on together), he pencils, then I ink and most of the time, color. We both work on the story. I always use Clip Studio to color. 

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

 

I was born in the mid-2000's in a hospital around DC. 

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

 

My mom is a fed, so it's more convenient to stay in the DMV, and we're where we are now until I graduate, as then there isn't a school district we have to think about. I'm in Springfield now, but I absolutely want to stay in the DMV or right outside of it when I can get my own place. 

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

 

Practice! Not to be a cliche. I was lucky to grow up with a dad that loved comics and conventions, and when he took me with him, I probably subconsciously picked up a love for it. As we kept showing up, we made more artist friends and I learned from them, so conventions are probably my most significant part of my learning. I only took one art class in middle school and hated it. As far as education goes, I soaked up as much as I could with videos of artists drawing and kept watching those over and over. I worked with my dad on our series and he taught me a lot about art and the process of creating through that as well. 

Who are your influences?

 

Basically the whole art community. I look up to Brian Stelfreeze because he's mentored me for a while now and believed in me when I could barely draw a smiley face. He inspired me to leave a good impact, because I still remember how welcomed I felt when he was teaching me. I look up to Cat Staggs and Amanda Deibert, because they're great people, but also because for every 10 men in comics I've met, there is 1 woman creator. They help me put those doubts away about entering a male-dominated industry, but I also have Kelly Sue DeConnick to thank for that, as an influence and a friend. The love and support that comic fans show at cons inspire me to be a better person and be a better influence for younger artists. Then there's my family, who are all artists in their own right. It's definitely an amalgamation.  

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

 

Comics is a bucket list job. I'd love to work on Daredevil and Joker one day, but I also want to work on some movies. I'm really fascinated by cinematography and I'd love to mash those two interests together.  

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

 

I start to think about what I haven't drawn. I try to think about what angles I can play around with, what concepts, what characters, and if it's just not working out, I try to take a deep breath and switch papers. Sometimes I get wrapped up in needing to draw something, but sometimes it can just be the piece of paper. A strange way to describe it is to say that the paper is intimidating, because you've tried and tried to draw on it, but all you see is eraser shavings. If switching the paper and drawing a lot looser doesn't work and I'm already frustrated, I'll put my art stuff away and chill for the rest of the night, and try a different approach tomorrow. Usually the more frustrated I get the less productive I am.  

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

 

I have no idea. I don't know enough about paper comics or web comics to even hazard a guess as to where were headed, but as for creating can definitely see more artists switching to online programs and interfaces to draw.

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

 

We don't really do any local shows anymore, really only signings at local comic shops, mostly in Virginia. We go to Fairfax CC sometimes, though. We went to Awesome Con a couple times, it was fun but not one of our main shows. Our constant show is Baltimore Comic Con. 

 

We're also  at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. I'm really excited to come back this year. Heroes will be the first convention after I graduate, so I'm really happy that it comes right afterward, kind of as a personal celebration. For last year's Heroes Con  auction, I wanted to go big for charity, and my first thought was Galactus. It took me around 2 months or so to finish. I did a 19x24 drawing done with primarily Prismacolor markers and a white paint pen. At the auction, it went for $775. The folks at Heroes last year put a spotlight on me, and I still don't believe I thanked them enough; I'm excited to come back and do my best make them proud.

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

 

I don't get around to reading comics as much anymore with school, everything I read is almost religiously for school, but Daredevil, especially Zdarsky and Hawthorne's run was an instant love for me. As for shops, Comic Logic in Ashburn, VA has been our shop for a few years now. It's almost like a second home, and they're creeping up to eight years with no signs of slowing down, so we're all happy our favorite shop is here to stay! 

What's your favorite thing about DC?

 

The food. Especially Burrito Brothers next door to the Library of Congress. And the Children's Hospital. I needed a small surgery a little while ago and they're the greatest people on the planet. They take great care of you, I owe them a debt of gratitude for making a shaky time for me a lot easier to navigate. They're great folk. 

Least favorite?

 

The amount of times you need to fill up your metro card, drives me up the wall. Driving and parking isn't fun either, I'm not a fan of real-life Mario Kart. 

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

 

The Museum of American History was a favorite of mine when I was a kid. I also really loved going to the National Museum of African American History. I'd definitely recommend those out of pure entertainment and importance of what those sites hold. 

How about a favorite local restaurant?

 

Jaleos is my favorite out of what I tried. It's been a while, but I'd love to go back. 

Do you have a website or blog?

 

I used to! I had a blog called "Kidlet Korner" on Tumblr, and my dad started posting my drawings on there when I was around 7 or 8, then switched to essays on current events when I was going through a writing phase. It's been inactive since 2017, though. My current website is samkidlet.com, but at the moment it's just bare bones with upcoming appearances and art.

 

How did COVID-19 affect you?

 

Around January 2020, my mental health started to collapse. My well-being as a whole slipped out from under me, and I was too scared to draw, I think the last time I drew was in November of '19. I don't know how I worked up the courage, but I eventually started drawing again, and I still remember the date: 6/26/2020. Being a full time student in the worst of the pandemic and quarantine, meant it didn't affect me too much professionally. Unlike other artists, I was lucky to not have the pressure of relying on my art to pay the bills. Personally, Covid taught me a lot about myself and healing in general. Professionally, I struggled with seeing myself as an artist in the future, but I kept asking myself, "would I be satisfied with the work I've put in and out, and satisfied with my life if I don't become an artist, if I stopped?" So I kept drawing.