They had a great crowd apparently. It was still a line going out the door when I got there after lunch. Since before Covid, Fantom has been providing a complete set of FCBD comics for the Library of Congress; I've taken over collecting them. Here's a few shots I took.
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| She-Ra from Masters of the Universe |
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| Store co-owner Dave Bishop |
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| Erin Lisette, and her Incomplete Origins series and Baby Forest Spirit Plush |
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| Alex Lupp flanked by collaborators Erin Lisette and Jade Lee |
What type of
comic work or cartooning do you do?
I am a writer, although I have occasionally done some work (digitally) lettering comics.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?
Being
a writer it's probably easy to assume that most of my work is done on a
computer, but the initial phases of brainstorming and outlining are
often done by pen in a notebook. It's only later when the script begins
to take shape that I switch to a computer where it's much easier (and
quicker) to sift through the ideas and give them shape.
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| Sand art by Jade Lee |
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
I was born in 1987 in Bucharest, Romania.
Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?
I
came to the DC area in 2000, when I was 13 years old. Ever since my
life has pivoted around Washington, whether going to high school in
Arlington, VA, or
currently
being a professional (yes, day jobs are a
reality of comics work). Throughout the years, I've lived in both VA but
also MD, although somehow never in DC. This area is my home.
What is your
training and/or education in cartooning?
It's
all self-taught. Easy to say for a writer (I know!), however being
friends with comic artists, seeing their process and slowly absorbing as
much as possible has added up over the years. Outside of that, I read a
lot, and after seeing one or two example scripts in the back of comics,
I thought hey I should try that too!
That
said, the one invaluable experience I've had as a writer has been to
letter my own comics. Having to (literally) put the words over the art
myself was eye opening, and definitely helped me write better for the
finished page. I suppose there is something to the Marvel style of
comics writing, where dialogue is written after the art is done for each
page.
Who are your influences?
The very first comic script I wrote used a nine panel format, most easily recognized as that used by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons in Watchmen,
so it would be disingenuous not to recognize that influence. That said,
I am an avid consumer of books, comics, movies, television and anime
like Dragon Ball or Sailor Moon, and later Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, all of which left their mark in some way and certainly informed the world building of my current comic Sand.
Then when it comes to desert worlds, how can we not mention Frank
Herbert's Dune as well? it's all in there somewhere! Even the work of
(local legend) Carla Speed McNeil has had an influence on my world
building. Discovering and reading Finder about a decade ago was foundational!
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| Sand: Tale of Luc & San art by Jade Lee |
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
I
would have pursued learning to draw. The job of a writer in comics is
to be a good communicator. If you cannot convey your ideas to the artist
making them come alive, then you have failed. It's taken years to
better understand that side of the collaboration, and nothing could have
conveyed that better than having more hands-on experience myself. It
all just gives you more perspective, it's no surprise that the likes of
Keith Giffen, Becky Cloonan, Jeff Lemire, or even Grant Morrison are
either also known as artists or capable of drawing.
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| Sand art by Jade Lee |
What work are you best-known for?
Sand, which currently spans two issues, with more coming soon!
The story of Sand begins with a sibling rivalry between two twin deities that accidentally results in the creation of a world. This Tale of Luc & San is told in the first issue, which debuted all the way in 2017 at Small Press Expo (SPX), and was illustrated by Jade Lee.
This
world created by the twins is called Sand because of its vast deserts,
and is then explored in the succeeding issues. First in Of Wolf & Prey
we learn something about the pre-human world of fauna and flora. This
issue was illustrated by Erin Lisette, and debuted this year (also) at
SPX.
Another two issues, Eyes of Red and Twin Blades,
are planned for next year, and will cover later eras and the evolution
of the world from prehistoric to complex (human) societies. Eyes of Red is
currently being illustrated by Margaret Huey, and will tell the tale of
Kayla Red Eyes and her journey to discover the source of life on the
world of Sand. We're hoping to debut Eyes of Red in early 2024.
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| Windswept |
What work are you most proud of?
Definitely Sand, it's my most ambitious work to date. That said, a short comic I did several years ago, Windswept,
is very personal to my experience as an immigrant and roots in Romania,
and deserves a special mention. It was illustrated by Emily R. Gillis,
and initially featured in the Square City Anthology Sensus Obscura. It
can now be found on my website for free.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
Keeping this simple, I'd like to finish telling the tale of Sand.
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
I
go for a run. Whenever I'm stuck, the repetitive exercise always seems
to do the trick. I suppose it's like a form of meditation, your mind
clears, and then the ideas just come bursting out. Then it's just a
matter of having the discipline to write consistently so those ideas can
take shape and grow.
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| Sand art by Erin Lisette |
What do you think
will be the future of your field?
Comics
will never die, there is something essential about the combination of
written word and visual image which uniquely speaks to the human
imagination. However, how we consume comics is something that is
constantly changing. There is no one source of truth, whether it's the
mainstream of DC & Marvel, or webcomics, or alternative press, or
indie press, etc... If we can look beyond comics as an IP farm for
movies & television, there is always something exciting happening in
artist alleys or indie shows.
What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, or others? Any comments about attending them?
I've
attended or exhibited at many local shows, from the Small Press Expo to
Awesome Con, or Baltimore Comic-Con. Hard not to mention DC Zine Fest
or Baltimore's Hallow-Zine as well, where I've never exhibited, but
deserve mention for all the amazing local talent they feature. Comics is
a small community on the grand scale, and even with all its occasional
bumps and bruises, it's always heartwarming to be reminded we're all in
this together whenever we gather for a show or convention.
What comic books do you read regularly or recommend? Do you have a local store?
My
local store is Fantom Comics, I've been going there since 2010 when
they had a store at Pentagon City in Arlington. Their events and
community have been a lynch pin of my comics experience, and easily a
weekly highlight when I get my comics. What's your favorite thing about DC?
How cosmopolitan it is. Being an immigrant, I am never too far from reconnecting to my roots, or being able to connect to something entirely new. Living here it's easy to take the cultural diversity for granted, but it's unique and should be treasured.
Least favorite?
The gentrification, it's killing the city's identity.
What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?
The
National Gallery of Art, not just because of the art collections or
installations, but also their (free) screenings which vary from classic
art cinema to documentaries.
How about a favorite local restaurant?
Not
in DC, but Bob & Edith's in Arlington is a local staple, and the
best dang diner around (I'm not saying that because I grew up around
there or anything...)
Do you have a website or blog?
Where you can find my collaborators:
How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected you, personally and professionally?
COVID is a big reason why Sand has taken longer to produce. Everything just took longer. The time in quarantine was not a magical time to create, nor was it good for collaboration. The unique mental stress brought on by a world changing pandemic froze me and many others in a statis where creation was impossible. The ongoing risk of COVID remains a factor even as we've returned to comic shows in the past year. Losing several weeks while being sick with COVID last year was hard, both for the day job, but also in terms of staying on track with creative pursuits. If there is one silver lining, it's that work from home has become possible for some, and is (maybe) being normalized as an alternative work location. Having to balance a day job and creative pursuits by night is always hard, but becomes easier when work from home is a possibility -- just the time earned back by not having to commute alone is invaluable.
You mentioned your work in a Square City anthology. Were you a member of the Square City Comics co-op? If so can you tell us something about the group? Does it still exist?
I was, and in fact a member of the "Inner" Square (basically the leadership group). I took a step back in terms of my involvement in 2019, largely because I wanted to focus on my creative output. It was just too much to help organize activities, edit the anthologies (while having a day job) and then also write my own stuff. At the same time some of the original creators behind Square City left the area, or otherwise became less involved.
With the pandemic in 2020, especially how it affected comic shows, it became harder to keep in touch or have in person events in general. After all that, I'm really not sure about the status of Square City.
(editor's note: The Twitter group defined itself as "A collective of comic creators who meet in the DC Metro area." The group's Facebook page hasn't been updated since late 2018, and the same appears to be true for the Tumblr blog)
The trio appeared for the Sand series which Alex writes and Erin and Jade have drawn an issue of. I apparently missed them at SPX. Sand: Of Wolf and Prey is the new comic by Alex and Erin. The first issue was Sand: The Tale of Luc and San by Alex and Jade. Issue three is being planned. Erin and Alex will be at MICE next weekend.
