INTERVIEW: So Much to See in Jessi Sheron’s The Sea in You

The blue, ocean-like eyes of a monstrously beautiful mermaid

Lured into the ocean by the hypnotic melodies of a mythical creature, 15-year-old Corinth finds herself swept away in the most unlikely friendship. Reimagining The Little Mermaid fairy tale with a properly terrifying sea creature and a relationship that goes far deeper than yearning from a distance, Jessi Sheron makes us a part of her world with The Sea in You, crowdfunding now on Iron Circus Comics.

“Corinth was just trying to clean up the beach; she never expected to meet a mermaid, let alone be nearly drowned by one. But before long Corinth and mermaid Skylla grow closer through a cautious exchange of stories, gifts, jokes, and sign language. Mermaids, it turns out, eat people — but however terrifying Skylla may look, she’s a little younger, a little smaller, and perhaps a little too soft for all that. Bewitched by Corinth and their growing bond, she learns about all the best things in life on land: books, burgers, donuts, and this strange chattering human sound called laughter. But a storm is brewing – both at sea and in Corinth’s increasingly dangerous relationship with her obsessively jealous boyfriend – and a magical bargain may be the only thing that can save her, at a tremendous cost.”

Which versions of The Little Mermaid fairy tale have piqued your interest the most?

The obvious answer is probably the Disney animation version, which was the first movie I ever saw in theaters at 2 years old. My parents said I sat in rapt silent attention the entire time, I think maybe I imprinted on it like a duckling!

But the biggest influence is definitely the Hans Christian Andersen version. It has such intense longing and heartbreak it got into my head and never left. When I read it, she feels so real, I feel like I can feel Andersen’s emotions through the words, like he’s personally reading his innermost thoughts to me. It’s so raw and open. I also was influenced by a lesser-known story Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. About a water spirit who marries a human knight, it also ends tragically. Mermaids almost never get a break in these stories! Poor little mermaids. When I read those stories I want to be their friend and help them. That informed a lot of my imagination on The Sea in You.

Another big influence was more deadly legends: I love the mermaids in Japanese tales, or deadly sirens in Greek myth. The mix of beauty and danger is so fun!

Communication — or lack thereof — is one of the key elements of The Little Mermaid. Why was it so important to you to make American Sign Language (ASL) such a prominent part of the story?

One thing I wanted to do was make sure my mermaid could express herself. I remember reading stories as a kid and wondering why no one helped her learn to write or communicate somehow! If she could have explained, if someone had tried to UNDERSTAND, would things turn out differently? But communication isn’t just being ABLE to express yourself—it’s a two-way street, and someone has to be willing to take in what you are saying. I started imagining a mermaid doing sign language and I wanted to draw her very badly! I’m glad I did. Corinth and Skylla bond by their mutual desire to understand one another, even through gaps in experience.

My sister is actually an ASL interpreter who works with children, so she inspired me as well. I wanted to show it in the form of comics! ASL is communicating visually with words, and so is comics, I felt like it fit together so well. I’m learning on my own, but I’m very slow at it! I’m making an effort to practice more. Besides that, I think it’s just good to show ASL! It should be normal and common to see everywhere! Lots of people communicate this way!

Who is Corinth to you? Is she inspired by anyone in your life?

Is it too cliché to say she’s based off of my teenage self? I think she’s cooler and nicer than I ever was though!

I was a teenage goth with few friends, I was lonely a lot and didn’t always have an easy time with others. I often felt like I was “messing up” normal social interactions and would berate myself alone like Corinth does.

I tried to give her a lot of my personal insecurities and fears, but also I made her a little aspirational to me. I would like to be someone like her, kind and brave and caring.
Someone in passing that people might see as weak, but you get these hints of her inner strength and I want the audience to cheer for her when she shows how she can shine.

She’s not actually weak at all, she’s just being brought down by someone.

The relationship between Corinth and Skylla is often juxtaposed against her relationship with her narcissistic boyfriend, Seth. Why do you think it’s important to offer this juxtaposition?

I wanted to show how normal emotional abuse is, and how it can make you feel confused and unsure of yourself. Often you wonder, “am I actually doing something wrong? Maybe I deserve to be treated this way!” and if you have no outside example, it just seems every day.

Like getting used to a physical pain, but when the pain stops, you realize it wasn’t okay, and you needed help the whole time. Corinth is with someone who doesn’t value her emotional well-being, but also tricks her a lot into thinking HE DOES. But when she’s with Skylla, who actually treasures her, she starts to wonder about things. Like a light shining in the dark.

Tell us about the design for Skylla. Why did you choose to step away from the typical mermaid imagery?

For me, a lot of fun of character design is how far I can push something while sticking to the original idea. I wanted to make a beautiful mermaid, roughly the size of a human girl, but I wanted her to also be completely unique to me. She was very fun for me in that regard.

Because the story is about loving someone different from yourself, I thought “If Skylla is different from a human, let’s make her VERY different!” I wanted her to look like she really belonged in the sea: she’s covered in scales, she’s not mammalian at all, 100% a fish, dramatic slashes of gills on her face and neck.

Her coloring is based off of the kind of camouflage real fish have to disguise themselves in aquatic lighting, her teeth are all sharp because she’s a carnivore, her eyes are based on fish in the deepest part of the abyssopelagic zone in the sea. I was imagining a mermaid you would see and have NO DOUBTS she’s not just a girl in a costume. A mermaid that would make you shocked and delighted to see.

Fashion plays a vibrant role for the characters. What is your relationship with fashion design? How did you come up with the looks for each of the characters?

I LOVE FASHION. I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC for 2 years for illustration. When I work, I regularly play fashion runways or designer competition shows. Art that you can wear on your body is such a fun method of personal expression.

For character design, you can really show a lot of who someone is in their manner of dress. But also it’s just purely fun and delightful for me. I feel such a thrill drawing waves of fabric and lace. I love adding sequins and glitter to a page. It’s such bliss. I also can dress my characters in designs I couldn’t possibly sew myself, or inspired by outfits I could never afford. It’s my self-indulgent treat. I’m also influenced by lots of other fashion comics, such as “Smile Down the Runway,” “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure,” “The Girl in Dior,” and “Paradise Kiss.”

Fashion and comics are a match made in heaven!

When I dress each character I try to really imagine who they are and what they would want. Every person has a different way of feeling beautiful. Corinth being a goth tends towards the dark, which contrasts Skylla’s brightness, but doesn’t clash with it. When I draw them I think “these two belong together, a set.” Corinth I dress however I would have wanted to dress when I was her age—I wasn’t as brave as her though! Her facial piercings are my favorite thing about her design, she’s small and rounded and cute, but she has these pretty scary facial piercings, you’d have to be brave to try them out! It’s a little hint about who she really is.


Learn more about Sheron and The Sea in You at Iron Circus Comics.

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Wendy Browne

Wendy Browne

Publisher, mother, geek, executive assistant sith, gamer, writer, lazy succubus, blogger, bibliophile. Not necessarily in that order.

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