We recently caught up with local comic artist Jamie Hibdon. This last year he interned for Fanatagraphics, has been featured on the repanleled blog, and has traveled to the Center for Cartoon Studies for portfolio day.  He is always working on various comic and illustration projects that you can see on his blog MC.Goodwin’sDoneFor, or on his Flicker page.

What are you working on now comics-wise?

Currently, I’m working on Lingua Franca, a series of strips centered around an extra-terrestrial named Uchu and his adventures on and off planet Earth. I usually confine myself to 4 or 6 panels with these strips, so I can create something a bit irreverent that is very focused on timing. This strip will be ongoing until I get bored or run out of ideas, and is ideal material to be distributed through mini-comics or zines. At the moment, it’s just a matter of accumulating material and finding a good format. Aside from that, there’s a Batman/Zorro story that’s been waiting for its finishing touches for some time, and three upcoming collaborative projects including a one-shot involving some pretty well known characters which I will be inking and co-writing with my cohort at Go For Red Lion, another series based in Columbia written by a good friend with art by me, and lastly a sort of wildcard project with Mary at 2 Smelly Kids That Like Each Other. After I get some headway on these projects, I’m going to venture briefly away from fantasy to work on a short story about deer hunting I just finished scripting. I’m also researching pretty heavily right now for a space story which I hope to submit to the Xeric foundation.

In addition to those projects, I recently submitted a Madman cover to Robert Goodin’s covered blog, and try to submit consistently to Smoke Signal, and plan to Hive and Electric Ant when I get some free time. Whether or not I get rejected, I like the pressure a deadline presents, because I’m a notorious procrastinator.

How’s your comic output been the last year? What’s helped or hindered your output?

It’s been pretty good. As I said before, I’m something of a procrastinator, and that is definitely a hindrance in most cases. Conversely, nothing gets me glued to the table like a little guilt over a period of inactivity. I suppose my love/hate relationship with my table is a hindrance, but I have been trying to maintain a one-page-per-day rate, but this usually means I knock out a few pages in a frantic jam session, then avoid my table like a one-night stand. Despite this, I have produced three short stories, and a number of Lingua Franca strips, in addition to various illustrations and unrelated strips. Also, I’ve been involved in various projects as purely a character designer and, as such, have pages and pages of designs all over the place. As always, it could be better, so I’m constantly trying to develop a good work habit, some kind of constant rhythm. I’ve moved three times in the last year which definitely interrupts that flow, and since I’m doing all this for fun, I have to work part-time to pay rent and afford supplies. This breaks up my rhythm, too, but also makes me miss my table.

Excitement over experimentation definitely drives production for me, and I used to spend lots of time deliberating over page layout, number of panels, size and shape of panels, etc. I was very attracted to the layouts of artists like Jim Mahfood or Paul Pope, but I read in an interview with Alex Toth that page layouts were something he battled with constantly, until he drew inspiration from the newspaper strips of the day, and started working with a more formulaic layout. He professed that working within the confines of a consistent number and size of panels made him grow as a draftsman and develop his sequencing. This inspired me to take another look at older strips. When you don’t have to worry about designing a new layout with every page, but must find a way to make your story fit within the preset confines, suddenly you can be focused on just the sequencing and timing, much akin to working with a specific form in poetry, which is not to say it becomes easier, but presents a different challenge. In addition, I can prepare a number of pages in advance, so there’s less of a break between pages. However, not every story is necessarily suited to this format, but I think forcing myself to work in a formula will help me develop a more intuitive sense of layout, and that is definitely a help. I spend so much more time thinking about the story and art than I do actually drawing.

Read any good comics, webcomics, or graphic novels lately?

I just read a chunk of Daytripper by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, Brubaker and Phillip’s Incognito second arc, David Lapham’s Murder Me Dead, Arukawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist, and I wait patiently for Jeff Smith’s RASL, which I think is one of the smartest comics being written today. But, I’m kind of a science nerd. I also just read Dash Shaw’s Bottomless Belly Button, Tardi’s Arctic Marauder, and picked up the first collection of Maakies. Online, I keep up with Superhero Girl, Hark! A Vagrant, re-reading Achewood, and have been really digging Gary Lister’s Morgana of the Borgs. That’s just off the top of my head, but reading is definitely a distraction from working. I have to limit my visits to the public library, because I have no self-control.

How about other media anything good you like lately? (video, music, books, etc.)

In addition to reading the manga, I have been trying to catch up with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I find the animation to be just as good as the former series, and its pacing and character development is much improved. I recently watched Derrick Comedy’s Mystery Team, and Duncan Jones’ Moon. I don’t read as much prose as I used to, but that will change in the summer. I think the last book I finished was Murakami Haruki’s Kafka on the Shore. Aside from my recent Sinatra kick, I’ve been playing music by my friend Ryan Drane a lot recently, but hip-hop is probably my most consistent drawing music.

You interned at Fantagraphics Books last summer. Did that experience change your perception of the comics industry?

Yeah, I realized that it’s on one hand a much more expansive community, with a number of facets and genres that even avid fans are somewhat unaware of, and all much more tight knit that I once thought. Like a huge extended family, where everyone knows everyone else, and some people are closer than others are, and maybe there are some feuds. Working with Fanta was eye-opening, also, because I realized how much great work is supported by little else but love and maybe caffeine. As a kid, I sort of imagined that Marvel and DC were these huge buildings with dozens and dozens of staff members, and I carried this pre-conception with me into adulthood. I realized that most places are more like Fantagraphics than not, which is a relatively small staff rubbing elbows in a house-like factory. I thought I worked hard on my own stories, but in the Fanta staff, I met and observed people passionately working to bring stories they loved into as many hands as possible. And at the end of the day, after seeing the painstaking process of publishing comics and books, not unlike an assembly line, the love for and allure of comics was still present.

Mick Beyers started his webcomic Buster Drake in April and has been busy posting updates three days a week. Beyers took some time from his schedule to answer some questions for us.

What are you working on now comics-wise?

So, besides desperately trying to keep up with my web-comic, which isn’t working out as well as I had hoped, I’m working on a ten-page story for an anthology being put together by an online group. I’m also trying to write up a second web-comic, one that I wouldn’t draw.  Buster Drake is more of a learning project, I don’t have any specific goals with it, but this second project is much more of a vanity thing that I’m excited about, and want to say something with.

How’s your comic output been the last year? What’s helped or hindered your output?

Considering that the year before my output was zero, it’s gone up immeasurably.  The three things that have helped the most are, in order of occurrence, not necessarily importance, the last 24-Hour Comic Day, finding the ICCW online community, and the Webcomics Weekly Podcast.

This was my second 24 Hour Comic, and learning from my numerous mistakes the first year, I went into the event with a solid plan of what I wanted to do, and then watched it all fall apart. It taught me that I hate doing backgrounds, and that a full page is way too much real estate for my artistic inclinations.  A strip I can handle.  Its small, compact, and after you do the figure work, there’s not much room left for backgrounds.

ICCW is a social networking site I stumbled upon last September maybe, maybe earlier or later than that, I have no idea.  But it was started by some guy in Kansas City, and about five or six months after he started it up, it’d already put out one anthology, and had a good start on a couple of more.  Being on the site everyday, and constantly chatting with the people there, served as a constant reinforcement to keep drawing.  Left to my own devices, I have no self-motivation.

Through ICCW someone pointed me to Webcomics Weekly, and the podcast has become something of a self-help tape for me.  I’ve listened to all of them, and then I listen to all of them again.  And it was listening to those podcasts on endless repeat that I decided to do something with the Buster Drake strips I had already completed, instead of just letting them gather dust.

Read any good comics, webcomics, or graphic novels lately?

Comicswise, the only thing I’ve been reading in addition to my regular Superman stuff, is Hellboy.  I really dig the mythology of it, and Mignola’s art.  I’ve noticed that the more Hellboy I read, the more black I try to put into my own strip.  And I’m nowhere near as good as Mignola.

How about other media anything good you like lately? (video, music, books, etc.)

Dashiell Hammet has been a recent obsession of mine, and some non-fiction books mainly pertaining to space travel. Hammet’s work is just so easy to read and so devilishly entertaining.  I’ll be sad when I finish his work.  The other thing that’s been peaking my interest lately is games.  I’m not by a nature a gamer, and I don’t really like to game a whole lot, but as a story-telling and entertainment medium, I would love to make a game.  I think it would be an incredibly effective way to add layers to stories and content, and engage readers into the work.  There’s a freeware program (www.blender.org,) that I’ve used on various occasions to create backgrounds and elements for my comics, that also has game creation ability.  I’m slowly but surely delving into that mine, with hopes of making something someday.

What inspired you to start Buster Drake as a webcomic?

I did originally conceive Buster as a Daily strip, and submitted it to the Tribune.  But it was very earlier, and I was understandably rejected.  I reworked it with the intent of submitting it again, but it would be so much work to draw 6 strips a week, I really don’t want to work that hard at it.  And I didn’t just want it to sit there doing nothing.  So between the peer pressure at ICCW and the ‘can-do’ attitude I cultivated from the Webcomics Weekly podcast, I decided, why the hell not?

When he’s not busy being a graphic designer/illustrator, Gary Lister is churning out the panels for his Web comic Morganna of the Borgs. We got a chance to interview Gary to find out what it’s been like starting a new Web comic.

What are you working on now comics-wise?

I am working on my own webcomic — Morganna of the Borgs Its a story of a young woman who finds herself suddenly and very unexpectedly the only person capable of saving Earth from an alien invasion.

How’s your comic output been the last year? What’s helped or hindered your output?

Being the first year, its still kind of in development — trying to get a stable schedule going. I’ve had a couple of format changes from single panel black & white posts to full page, full color posts. I’m in need of a new computer/design setup so this past month MOTB has been on hold while I knock out some pay illustration work. MOTB will be back on track the first week of November as I make the transition from pencil/ink/scan to 100% digitally created comics.

Read any good comics, webcomics, or graphic novels lately?

I was born and raised a Marvel Comics guy so I try to stay up on the Marvel Universe. As for webcomics — I dig Eerie Cuties and Menage a 3 by Gisele Lagace and Sean Wang’s Runners Universe is fantastic too.

How about other media anything good you like lately? (video, music, books, etc.)

While I work, I always have some tunes playing — mostly hard rock/heavy metal. I’m really digging the return of Alice In Chains, Megadeth’s new album ‘Endgame’ is also killer. My new favorite book is ‘The DC Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics’ by Freddie E. Williams II. tons of great information.

What inspired you to create Morganna of the Borgs?

Long story very, very short — a reoccurring doodle turned into an idea which turned into a story. Eventually, the tools, time and talent all came together to make it happen! Its a lot of work but its fun and very exciting to watch this “doodle” turn into something very solid.

1. What are you working on now comics-wise?

I’m working on a series of sequential comics, right now.  I fell upon the style during the last 24 hour comic.  Typically I try to do a stream of consciousness  kind of thing for the event, and four of the pages ended up being Drowning Girl.  So the second one, the one I’m working on right now, in the series is about a little girl who is given the stars and the moon.

I’ve also been working on a bunch of short zombie comics with various artists.  For the Revenants collection, I wrote the shorts and Katy R, David Cobb, and Andrew Kapellush worked on the art.  This collection was the first time I really, truly delved into the act of writing comics, and I really loved it.  Katy and I are going to, hopefully, continue collaborating on zombie comics.

I know zombies are a little… done… but I think that any medium where we get to explore a human response to our fears of the unknown and the “other”.

2. How’s your comic output been the last year? What’s helped or hindered
your output?

It’s been drastically different.  I’ve been writing a lot more and working more on completion, rather than frittering around (see: every project I’ve ever started and not completed).  I think this has caused my output to be a higher quality.  I’ve also been trying to learn to color my comics with The Gimp, an open-source contemporary of Adobe Photoshop.

Drowning Girl was available at Rockbottom’s counter, for free.  I’m not sure if they’re still in-stock.  The final version of Revenants will be available as soon as I have time to print it out.  Packing and moving really takes it out of a girl.

3. Read any good comics, webcomics, or graphic novels lately?

As far as webcomics, I have my old standards: Questionable Content, Scary Go Round, Diesel Sweeties, Dinosaur Comics; recently, I’m really into Kate Beaton’s Hark! A Vagrant!, and Warren Ellis & Paul Duffield’s FreakAngels. I really enjoyed the end of Y: The Last Man, and all the graphic novels the Hernandez Brother’s put out. Sloth was particularly awesome.  I practically salivate when I see new Love and Rockets compilations on the shelf.

4. How about other media anything good you like lately? (video, music,
books, etc.)

I can’t tell you how much I loved the Wonder Woman movie.  I was skeptical of Keri Russel voicing Wonder Woman (and who wouldn’t be, after Lucy Lawless’ job in New Frontier?) but she did a stand-up job; Nathan Fillion was a perfect Steve Trevor.  The story was good, and the art was strong and clean.  Although, beware the “digital copy” WB offers with the DVD, though.  It’s… annoying.

5. You are fond of tattoos. How do they relate to the comic world inyour view?

The cop-out answer: Art, baby!  On a personal level, my best friend, Katy R, is a tattoo artist in Columbia.  She brings the stylized composition of her profession into dynamic panels with such flair, I couldn’t ask for a better artist.  On top of creating amazing designs, and redesigning comic panels for tattoos, she also collaborates with me, quite a bit.  We’ve known each other since we were tweenies, and have the same morbid affection for killing off main characters and ending the world. Also, she tattoos a damn good Wonder Woman pin-up.

1. What are you working on now comics-wise?

I’m inking the second page of Keeley: Comic Hero Extraordinaire #4. It’s a lot of fun to draw because it starts with all-out buttkickery.

2. How’s your comic output been the last year? What’s helped or hindered your output?

I barely remember what I did two months ago! My dissertation research has taken most of my time, and rightly so. I do the most work at and around the monthly [Midmococo] meeting. In fact, I’m inking this page so I can show it off and start pencilling page 3 this coming Sunday!

3. Read any good comics/graphic novels lately?

I got the first Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes tome, with the original stories from the 50′s and 60′s. It is h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s. I’ve never read anything Silver Age and I’m wallowing in it now. I like how Luthor makes a communicator to speak through time out of radio parts in prison, but when he attempts to call the Legion of Super-Villains in the future, they’re unavailable because they’re in prison too! It makes sense and no sense at the same time. And then Hitler shows up and switches bodies with Superboy.

4. How about other media anything good you like lately? (video, music, books, etc.)

I just played Professor Layton and the Curious Village on the DS. It’s a neat puzzle collection in a charming little story. And now I constantly think “this reminds me of a puzzle, m’boy!” I also just rewatched Superman Returns and Casino Royale. They’re both as good as I remember, but Kevin Spacey’s “Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryptonite!” literally made me cringe.

5. The setting for your comic is where you live (Columbia MO). Any thoughts behind that approach?

Living in a certain location for so long, it develops its own character. Think Frank Miller’s work, but dial it waaaaay down. Living in the setting of my comic is also advantageous when I need references for backgrounds. I’ve been bad though: I’ve never actually been to the Cosmo Skate Park. I drew that part of issue 3 when I was out of town and I used photos I found on Flickr as a loose reference.

Dan Magee is the creator of Bad Guy High, which is featured on the Drunk Duck webcomics website. He’s also done quite a few illustrations for the Maneater during his college years. We decided to throw some questions his way before he graduates from MU this month

1. What are you working on now comics-wise?

For the past five years I’ve been working on my webcomic Bad Guy High. It’s a project that I keep very close to my heart and I want to see it through to the end. Unlike most web and print comics I don’t plan on doing it indefinitely. I have a very specific course of events and ending all planned out, and I won’t give up on Bad Guy High till I reach it. After college I eventually plan on doing a semi autobiographical graphic novel based around the rocky love life I’ve had here at school. I’m just narcissistic enough to believe it might actually be interesting.

2. How’s your comic output been the last year? What’s helped or hindered your output?

Since this is my last year it was really important that I focused on school in order to graduate, so updating the comic has been slow. Though I never stopped altogether. I update when I can, and just recently I’ve managed to again meet a three times a week schedule, which I can hopefully maintain for a while before becoming too busy again. Outside of the comic though, I’m still always drawing something. I draw every day of my life. No matter how busy I get I always find the time to get some drawing done. I think that’s something all artists should aspire to do. Make art every day. Even if it’s not something you’d want to show off or showcase, you should still always be working on something. In regards to the comic I just don’t always have the time to scan and color it digitally.

3. Read any good comic books, webcomics, graphic novels lately?

I’ve recently fallen in love with the webcomic: “Girls with Slingshots” by Danielle Corsetto. It’s very clever and you can tell she’s a very traditionally talented artist who uses a stylized model design for her characters that she thoughtfully crafted over a period of time. She’s a good example of having a strong foundation in classic art values and then abstracting that. A lot of artists try and do that the other way around. It’s also refreshing to read a comic written from a female perspective that’s both believable, and not alienating to a male-reader.

4. How about other media … anything good you like lately? (video, music, books, etc.)

I’ve been enjoying the heck out of “Batman: the Brave and the Bold” lately. I think doing a more fun and adventure-oriented Batman is exactly what the character needed in animation. Another show I really like is “Spectacular Spider-man”. I haven’t been able to catch the second season, but Spectacular Spider-man has been incredibly enjoyable. The story line is written to pay homage to all of the best previous Spider-man interpretations while still doing it’s own thing. The design work done by Sean “Cheeks” Galloway is also very impressive. He uses a style that defies traditional animation design work, and yet still distinguishes himself from other designers like Bruce Timm or Jeff Matsuda.

5. You draw fairly fast. How did that come about? Any tips to help others improve their drawing speed?

I draw every day. Whenever there’s paper in front of me I have to draw on it. A piece of plain white paper drives me insane; I have a compulsion to draw whenever I can. So after a lifetime of that, I guess I’ve developed the ability to draw pretty quick. But that’s not necessarily something you should aim for. It’s good to meet deadlines, but you shouldn’t sacrifice skill or quality for speed. If you need the extra time to make something really great, then take your time.

However, if you are looking to draw faster, then just draw more. It’ll never hurt to get more practice, and it’ll help you as an artist at the same time as it helps your speed. Understanding what it is you’re trying to draw will enable you to draw it that much quicker. Artists are always looking for short cuts around things, I know because I’m guilty of it too, but at the end of the day it’s the fundamental skills that will see you through any hurdles you may encounter.

We’ve wanted to feature Emily Warren on the site for a while, but we didn’t catch her before she moved from Jeff City to Los Angeles last November. Recently she was kind enough to answer some questions from us, so we can still count her as a mid-Missourian creator for the moment, right?

A little background on Emily: She broke into the comics business after graduating from the Illinois Institute of Art in 2007 and making some connections at a Wizard World Chicago. She’s worked as a cover artist & colorist for several mainstream comics including Grimm Fairy Tales, Big Hero 6, X-men – First Class, and Secret Invasion. You can see more of her art at her Frozen Lilacs website.

What are you working on now comics-wise?

Right now I’m working on coloring the upcoming Cloak and Dagger mini, and a 3 issue one shot of Incredible Hercules.

How’s your comic output been the last year? What’s helped or hindered your output?

Last year was actually my first year working in comics, so my output was higher toward the end of the year. At the beginning of the year, I was very slow and still trying to adjust to a schedule. Working at home can be both relaxing and distracting. The biggest help to me is having something on in the background to keep me focused and at my computer. Also, a steady supply of caffeine if I’m deadlining. Last year I worked on Big Hero 6, Secret Invasion, and some covers for Jay Company Comics.

Read any good comics/graphic novels lately?

The most recent thing I’ve read was Watchmen. I know, I’m so behind, but I wanted to be ready for the movie- and it was amazing. I really enjoyed the book AND the movie. Other than that I usually read manga, recently read Suppli and After School Nightmare.

How about other media … anything good you like lately? (video, music, books, etc.)

I’d say right now my big thing is the Watchmen movie. Ever since I read it I’d been dying to see the movie and I thought they pulled it off really well. Other than that I’ve been listening to a lot of Muse and Nightwish (as usual). As always I’m keeping up anxiously with Lost and the Office, and I’ve gone back to re-watching a little Sailor Moon. I’m a giant nerd!

Any advise for Mid-Missourians trying to break into the comics business?

Unfortunately there isn’t a lot around Mid-Missouri to help break into comics- the closest comic con is Wizard World Chicago, I believe, and that’s where I first broke into comics. Most of it is freelance so you can work from anywhere, but you need those connections to actually make it in. Post your art online, take it to conventions, go to the portfolio reviews. Whatever art you want to do make sure you have examples of it- like if you want to do sequentials, you’ll need to show sequentials. If nothing comes of it, keep trying, keep working on your portfolio and improving. But you’re definitely gonna have to go to a convention to seek out people in the comic industry!

Our next Midmococo featured creator is J.B. Winter who recently self-published Izzy Challenge #5, an ambitious comic jam with contributions from fifty artists from every state in the US. You can see samples from the book and order your own copy for a buck at his store.

What are you working on now comics-wise?

I’ve just finished up the 50 States Jam, and I’m still promoting that a bit at the moment. After that I need to pick up a story I’ve abandoned for a while and see if I can fit it into Noodle #3.

How’s your comic output been the last year? What’s helped or hindered your output?

My output has been fairly lousy. The 50 States Jam would occasionally take some time, but the “occasional” aspect of the project really wore on me after a while. It was a bunch of stopping and starting, and I wasn’t able to work on my other projects effectively. I enjoyed doing the jams, but I think it’ll be good to concentrate on a project where the pace of it is essentially up to me again.

Read any good comics/graphic novels lately?

I liked Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan. It’s by an artist who’s from the illustrion side of the art world, but unlike most illustrators who try to make comics, she really does a decent job. I like her style of art, but the writing and pacing is also equally interesting. She currently has a weekly serial running in the New York Times Magazine that’s also pretty good.

How about other media … anything good you like lately? (video, music, books, etc.)

I really latched on to the webcomics weekly podcast this year, and I also recommend the book that they put out called How to Make Webcomics. Some of the material that they cover is fairly basic, but some of it is pretty useful. What I love the most about their approach is that you get four different opinions on how to create things. Most “how to” books are from one cartoonist or a cartoonist team, but these guys are all independently successful artists. Their backgrounds are all fairly different too, so you get a lot of different perspectives on how to look at things. While I’m probably not going to create a webcomic, I think a lof of what they talk about applies to cartoonists in general.

You are always working on comic jams. What got you into that type of collaboration?

I picked jams up from other comic artists I hung out with, but I wasn’t that into them at first. I think I got excited about jams when I started getting some interesting jam endings from other artists that I would have never come up with. Comic artists can be real control freaks, and I found that jams are a way of loosening up that control and getting things out of yourself and other artists that wouldn’t exist otherwise.

What are you working on now comics-wise?

Not a whole lot at the moment. My online comic, if then else, has been on hiatus for a little over a year while the ending’s being worked out. Once the basic outline and first two storylines are written (and at least 100 pizzas have been consumed during the process), the comic will return.

In the meantime, there’s a lot of sketching going on. I really ought to start a sketch blog one of these days.

How’s your comic output been the last year? What’s helped or hindered your output?

Output has been fairly low. A few comics were contributed to the Evil Overlords United; however, my online persona’s involvement was the primary reason. The main hinderence right now is motivation – my free time has been devoted to other activities recently. That and artist’s block. You know, the vicious, unfeeling, nine-eyed creature that lurks at the back of one’s imagination waiting intently for an innocent idea to devour. Does anyone have the number of a good exterminator?

Read any good comics/graphic novels lately?

Nothing in print since I rely heavily on a diet of sweet, sugary webcomics (and have the fillings to prove it). Sequential Art is a really fun slice-of-life-with-sci-fi piece that never fails to entertain. The characters are a little one-sided, but that’s part of the fun.

Minus is colorfully illustrated and reawakens the imagination many of us had as children.

Dresden Codak is another outstanding webcomic. It begins innocently enough as an exploration of a young girl interested in science and quickly evolves to encompass several philosophical issues as well. The most recent storyline involving HOB has been most engaging.

How about other media … anything good you like lately? (video, music, books, etc.)

The new Indiana Jones movie looks interesting (I have yet to see it) – I’m hoping Lucas didn’t repeat his Star Wars prequel mistakes.

I picked up Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon again recently and enjoyed as much as the first time. It’s one of those books that makes you think a little bit and look outside the box concerning many situations. It is a little political, though, seeing as it was written during Nixon’s presidency.

Every week a few friends and I gather to watch anime. Of what we’re watching, I’m enjoying Black Lagoon most of all. It’s gritty and cold but full of excitement.

What’s the best thing you like about creating webcomics?

You know, I got into webcomics as a way of emulation. But as time passed it became more about the people in the community. There are some really interesting (and fun!) webcomic artists out there that aren’t afraid to be themselves. Since it’s an internet community, occasional drama and jerks are in the mix; however, you have to take the good with the bad. The community is supportive, will help you grow in what you desire to do and generally can be a good shoulder to lean on if the case warrants it.

Our next Midmococo featured creator is Ladydark who’s been hard at work redrawing early issues of her book Broken Glass.

What are you working on now comics-wise?

“The same thing we do every night, Pinky … try to take over the world.” ^.^ Well, the webcomic world, anyway. I’ve been telling the same story, Broken Glass, since I first put it on the web in 2003. While I have the storyline completely plotted, graphic art is a very slow medium to work in! Unfortunately, as I become a better artist, it seems to take longer and longer to finish each page as well. But I have over 300 pages of story up and growing.

How’s your comic output been the last year? What’s helped or hindered your output?

Output over the last couple of years has been really sparse but for happy reasons! Meeting your future husband and then getting married is time consuming! >^.^< For the end of 2007 and going into 2008, I’ve picked up the pace again. I have also taken on the rather megalithian task of redrawing the old pages of Broken Glass, in color and with the better skillz I’ve developed since beginning the enterprise. I really do feel now that I’ve finally reached a point where I can portray the characters and the scenes more like I see them in my head. I’m trying for two pages a week, but am not always able to meet that generally due to work. That would account for hindrances. What helps is having a clear plate without other stresses to get in the way of feeling creative.

Read any good comics/graphic novels lately?

Sadly, no. Not lately. We swing by the comic shop once a week to see what’s new, but I can’t say that there’s been anything recently that I thought was so stellar I’d have to recommend it. Old standbys are still excellent and in the webcomic world I haven’t stumbled across any new gems but there are some old standby titles that I follow that continue to put out suburb quality. Still, I can recommend all the webcomics on my link page! No Rest For the Wicked and Order of the Stick come instantly to mind.

How about other media … anything good you like lately? (video, music, books, etc.)

Resident Evil: Extinction was pretty good in the way of movies. I’ve recently discovered Christopher Moore as an author. His humor is sometimes off, sometimes on, but when it’s on it’s hilarious! I definitely recommend You Suck to anyone who needs a chuckle!

You are redrawing some of your previous work … Would you recommend other artists do this? Why or why not?

Personally, I redraw old work because I don’t feel I need to chronicle my learning curve; but then, I don’t keep a diary either. What concerns me is the finished product; what the story looks like. That’s the reason why I’m making it in the first place. My husband, faub over at the webcomic Fallen Angels Used Books, rather likes having a record of the path he’s taken to get to where he is now, but then the reason he is making a webcomic is to sharpen his drawing skills and get in practice. Having said that, even he has begun a process of editing, trimming, and redrawing where necessary, I think mostly because he feels his very early issues need some clarification.

So I guess whether I’d recommend it to others depends on what their motives are for doing the comic in the first place. If it’s to have the best story possible, then yes, I would definitely suggest redrawing a shaky start. I wouldn’t suggest doing it right away, though. Wait until you’ve really improved rather than starting just when you think you have! I have actually redrawn both issue one and issue two once before, and am beginning a third time. I don’t mind that I did it before because my beginning efforts were very bad, especially because I was just learning how to work electronically. I’ve made some very bad beginner’s boo boos in figuring out that process. In issue three, for instance, I was adding speech balloons in Word, then printing the page and rescanning it. This was not successful, to say the least, and that issue most certainly needs to be redraw due to those technical problems!

I would like to add as a note that I’m happing with the plotting and scripting of the earlier issues and won’t be changing the story other than perhaps to add a scene here or there. I believe very strongly in knowing where the story is ultimately ending before making the first mark on the first page of the first issue. It makes for a smoothly paced plot and leaves so much leeway for foreshadowing! And I do love to foreshadow.