INTERVIEW: Anni K. on Transfusions

A young man with long black hair wearing a hoodie, glasses, and a lip ring stares up into the eyes of a vampire who has red hair, an undercut, bright blue eyes, and fangs.

Anni K. has been creating comics in some capacity since she was young. In 2010, she started her ongoing webcomic Transfusions, which tells the love story between media student Dylan and young vampire Joa. Here, Anni K. discusses getting her start in comics, her preference towards digital comics, and some of the ideas that have made their way into Transfusions.

Note: Interview responses have been lightly edited and some spoilers for Transfusions are discussed.

I know that you’ve been working on comics for a number of years and that you even did your master’s thesis on Finnish comic blogs. What initially got you so interested in wanting to create comics—were you always interested or was it something that developed as you got older?

I’ve enjoyed drawing ever since I could hold a pen in my hand. And I’ve read comics from a young age. Our family had the weekly Donald Duck comic book subscription that was very popular in Finland for decades. (Finnish people often say they learned to read from Donald Duck comics.) My dad also had some Peanuts comics that I read through many times.

I remember I drew my own comic in a notebook when I was around 11-12. It was a continuous story about a group of friends that I think I drew mostly for my own enjoyment but I let some of my friends read it too. I grew up in a very small town, we didn’t have a bookstore and the library was really small too, so the comics selection was very limited. There wasn’t much catered to girls or women, so it felt like comics were primarily for boys and men.

But when the internet became more accessible during my teenage years, I found manga and webcomics and realised I could become an actual comic creator too, and it became my dream and a goal to make my own webcomic.

You note on your site that you work primarily digitally with some traditional art mixed in by way of your sketchbook. Is working digitally just a particular preference you have? If so, what led to you working on your comics digitally?

Making comics digitally is just so much easier and faster. I don’t have to worry about making a mistake, or scanning and editing, or storing the physical pages. For my webcomics, I prefer the clean look I can achieve digitally. But I do also love traditionally made comics, they have their own vibe. I could make a shorter comic traditionally if it fits the mood of the comic better.

I think working digitally and traditionally utilize your creativity a bit differently, and that’s why I still have a sketchbook and I rarely doodle digitally. If I get tired of looking at the screen, switching to sketchbook, pencils, and watercolors helps me fight burnout.

 

A page from the webcomic Transfusions. Joa, a red-haired vampire, has bloody tears streaking down his face in several panels. Dylan, a man with long black hair hugs Joa in several panels as they talk.
A page from the Transfusions webcomic by Anni K.

Transfusions is one of your current projects and has been ongoing since 2010. Following the love story between Dylan and Joa, there’s a great mix of slice-of-life, romance, and drama! What were some of the original inspirations or ideas behind Transfusions? And have those ideas changed over the last decade of working on the comic?

I made a drawing of a guy kissing another guy on the neck and I posted it online with a comment “what does kiss on the neck mean again?” (Because kissing different body parts have different meanings) and someone commented “hi, I’m a vampire.” And that inspired me to create a story around these two guys, haha! I didn’t have any bigger idea for it, really. I just wanted to make a cute and cuddly feel good story, because those are the ones I enjoy myself. But I did make it a point for Transfusions to avoid some of the tropes that were very common in BL (web)comics back then that me and my friends had grown kind of tired of, like the lack of consent, the lack of communication, or miscommunication, love triangles, and jealousy. Not to say those types of comics were bad, but they very much dominated that space and I wanted to make something different.

Sure, the characters are not perfect but they do talk with each other a lot [and] check on what the other one is thinking or feeling. I love writing the banter during their intimate moments (also, I enjoyed making the first intimate moments between Joa and Dylan a bit awkward). Some readers found it a bit weird that Dylan wasn’t bothered by Joa’s feelings towards his previous partner, but others thought it was refreshing. I just think, while some conflict is maybe needed to make the story interesting, I’m personally tired of the trope of being jealous of feelings.

You can feel love towards multiple people, in different ways. Joa feels love and passion towards Dylan in this moment and they both know it, and the fact that Joa had these feelings, and still does, towards his ex doesn’t diminish his love for Dylan at all. He also loved his best friend tremendously, but in a different way. I guess that has become a more prominent theme of the story. As well as Dylan figuring out his sexuality and what he enjoys and what he’s comfortable with.

Joa, a red-haired man with a mohawk who is wearing a tank top and jeans, is featured in four comic panels alongside Jess, a woman with blond hair who is wearing a headband, very 80s-punk style jewelry and a leopard print tank top, They are in a kitchen, talking to each other.
A page from the Transfusions webcomic by Anni K.

Joa and Dylan’s story has been especially fun to follow over the years as a reader. One thing that I’ve really enjoyed has been the loving relationship that you’ve portrayed between them. What about their story do you enjoy the most as the creator?

I suppose it’s the fact that they trust each other. They know what the other one feels towards them. Of course there are bumps here and there but they get through them by talking and showing how they feel.

Joa is an open book and isn’t ashamed of anything, he encourages Dylan to express himself too. I also just love how smitten by Dylan Joa is and how cute he finds Dylan’s nerdiness.

Your supporting cast of characters bring a lot of life to the story as well. Do you have a favorite among the cast that you most like drawing or writing for?

When I started Transfusions I related to Dylan the most and he was the main focus, but lately I’ve vibed more with Joa. Thinking about his relationships with Dylan, with the people from when he was alive, with his sire and vampire family, they get me very emotional from time to time.

Thinking about the rest of the cast, I really like Mark, Joa’s best friend from his childhood. He’s just so cool and charming. I was so happy to finally share more about him in Joa’s backstory chapters. I love their friendship, it’s very special.

I do love Dylan’s friends Angie and Alf too. They’re fun, sensible and supportive.

While the main focus is around Joa and Dylan, there are some ongoing bits of the story that center around Joa’s past as a vampire. Without diving into spoilers, can you share anything about that part of the story?

Joa was never really happy with his sire and the rest of that family. He tolerated them, and most of them tolerated him. He hates Marcel, his sire, because he is an asshole, and he loves him because that’s how vampires feel towards their sire (whether they like it or not). And he’s also scared of him, because he is very powerful and dangerous.

Joa has always been a free spirit and still is in his undead afterlife, so when he saw an opportunity to escape his vampire family, he took it. And he knows he will have to spend the rest of his life to try and avoid it.

Marcel, maybe surprisingly, genuinely loves his “children”, but to him they are also something he owns. He’s not happy that one of them managed to run away, and he’s definitely not gonna let it slide. But he’s in no rush to find Joa and bring him home, he has all the time in the world. But if an opportunity presents itself…

A black-haired man holds up a digital camera. A red-haired man leans against his shoulder and looks at the camera's screen.
Transfusions webcomic panel by Anni K.

How has your creative process evolved over the years? Has working on Transfusions helped to define that process at all?

I feel like the process hasn’t changed much during this time. I’ve used cheap spiral grid notebooks to script the pages out since the beginning (I just started notebook #8). And the process of making the Transfusions pages is pretty simple, since there isn’t much details or colors. I haven’t had to streamline the process.

I’ve become very comfortable working in Photoshop, and my art and skills keep evolving all the time, I still figure out new ways to improve my storytelling. I do cringe a little whenever I look at the early pages, but it’s also nice to see how my art has transformed over the years. And many readers have told me it’s inspiring and encouraging to see the improvement throughout the comic.

I am pretty chaotic when it comes to scripting. Most of the story is in my head and I’m very bad at writing it down. I try to do better with my other webcomic, The Witch Door, but old habits die hard. I also think I’m maybe too comfortable with the simple look of Transfusions, so when I’d like to do more creative comic layouts with The Witch Door, I easily lean back to the… rigid style of Transfusions.

Lastly, what do you see for the future of your work?

Well, we are in the last half of Book 2 of Transfusions, which will be the end of the story, finally, lol! It will probably take me a few years to complete still, but I want to keep a veil of mystery over Transfusions‘ future.

To be honest, I’m not even sure what lies ahead for that comic when it’s finished.

I also have my other webcomic, The Witch Door, which is about halfway complete. I have ideas and plans for other comic projects, and I’m already thinking of a new webcomic after either of my current webcomics is finished. If only I had more time to work on everything, it’s a little frustrating to try to pick and choose what to focus on.

Transfusions (18+) is available to read online.

Advertisements
Paige Lyman

Paige Lyman

Paige Lyman is a freelance writer and journalist who covers culture and entertainment. She has contributed stories to Digital Trends, The New York Times, Wired, StarWars.com, Women Write About Comics, and more.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Close
Menu
WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com