Interviews with comics creators are like the special features on DVDs. I love hearing about creative influences and the hard work it takes to bring an idea to life. Lucky for me, WWAC provides these comic special features without having to purchase an extended edition. Enjoy these interviews from the past!
On January 11, 2013, Liz interviewed Princeless author Jeremy Whitley,
When I initially describe Jeremy Whitley’s Princeless (Action Lab Comics) to people, I explain it as if we got to continue seeing the adventures of Princess Elizabeth from Robert Munsch’s The Paper Bag Princess. That story, published in 1980, was quite a feminist gold standard for the time: the young princess rescues her prince, and then when he tells her that she needs to be more feminine, she tells him he’s not that nice after all and goes off on her own.
With Princeless‘s main protagonist, Princess Adrienne, we meet a young princess who has been locked away in a tower by her parents and is being guarded by a dragon. Her father wants a suitor worthy enough to slay the dragon to marry her. But Adrienne finds a sword under her bed and, with the help of her female pet dragon, Sparky, she escapes the tower and sets off to save her seven sisters, all of whom are also locked in separate towers.
On her way, she meets the first-ever girl blacksmith, a half-dwarf half-human named Bedalia. We then get a scene that so simply and concisely explains the double standard of the problem of the sexy female warrior and the strong male warrior that one might wonder how this book didn’t come out before 2012.
Princeless, also illustrated by M. Goodwin, was named the Best Limited Series of 2012 by Graphic Policy; garnered numerous awards, including the Glyph Award for Story of the Year, Best Writer and Best Female Character; and has been nominated for two Eisner Awards for Best Single Issue and Best Publication for Kids.
I got the chance to chat with Whitley recently and here’s what he had to say about the book, who inspired Princess Adrienne and why stories about girls who get to have their adventures matter.
1. I understand that you wrote this book, in part, for your daughter. What did you see that she was missing or lacking in the comic market? Why did you want to change that for her? READ MORE
Interview with webcomic Perpetual Flux authors on January 10, 2014,
Perpetual Flux is a webcomic by Julie Olson and Kat Haynes, running since February 2012. The art catches the eye and invites the reader to enter a horrific story about blood-drinking creatures, death and mystery. The world they constructed is full of fantasy and steampunk references, the plot gets the reader turning pages frantically.
Carolina Mello: Can you introduce the plot to new readers?
Julie and Kat: Welcome to the world of Perpetual Flux, where vampires and creatures from dark lore lurk and prey upon humanity. In the late 19th century England, Vanessa Clarke, a convicted, but spritely felon, has unwittingly been thrust back from the grave and into the path of mankind’s only fighting force against evil, the Purgers. Agents Briggs, a gentleman past his prime, and Edric, a mysterious man who recovers from any injury, will take her on a journey discovering the truth to her second chance at life as well as the mysteries of the weakening threads that separate two worlds.
CM: In comics, it’s common to have one writer and one artist. In Perpetual Flux, though, you mix things up without losing story or visual consistency. How does it work for you? READ MORE
Also on January 10, 2014, an interview with Amelia Cole co-writers,
If you haven’t been reading Amelia Cole you don’t know what you’re missing out on! This fun, all ages comic full of magic and dragons features a really down to earth female lead and great adventure. I’d like to welcome the awesome co-writers of Amelia Cole— D.J. Kirkbride and Adam P. Knave! Introduce yourselves, guys.
DJK: I’m D.J., co-writer and co-creator of AMELIA COLE. I’m also the tallest member of the team, so if anyone needs to reach something on a high shelf, I’m the one to help…unless there’s a step ladder or something available, so, in that case, I’d not be needed.
APK: I’m, Adam, the other co-writer and one of the other co-creators, with D.J. and Nick Brokenshire (the artist) of AMELIA COLE. I am not that tall, but I do own both a ladder and a step ladder, just in case D.J. is ever busy. Though, honestly, I hate heights, so I do despise having to climb ladders. This actually put an end to my career in theatre, no lie. I couldn’t do lighting rigs because they involved too much “way up there” for me to ever feel comfortable or work at the proper speeds. D.J. did you know I almost was a lighting tech, before I switched to foley arts instead and then fell out of that, too?
DJK: I knew none of this, Adam, but we need to keep you off ladders. Don’t worry about me being busy, because I’m never too busy to help a friend reach high things.
LG: Tell us a little bit about your book Amelia Cole. READ MORE
