Q: Please tell us about your books -- what do new readers need to know? Where can we find more information about your books?
Lex: Kid Beowulf is an action-adventure, mythological mash-up, graphic novel series. Inspired by the epic poem Beowulf it follows the adventures of 12-year-old twin brothers Beowulf and Grendel as they travel across the world and meet fellow epic heroes therein. It’s ideal for middle-grade readers and combines all the things I love: mythology, history, and classic cartooning. There are currently four books in the series and several short stories which are all available on my website www.kidbeowulf.com
Q: What inspires you to write?
Lex: I’ve always been fascinated by world mythology, specifically those stories found in epic poems like Beowulf, Gilgamesh, or The Odyssey. I have read and reread those stories multiple times and I always find something new to discover. Kid Beowulf is a way for me to have conversations with those texts and hopefully inspire young readers to discover them for themselves.
Q: What drew you to make comics?
Lex: I grew up reading comic strips and collecting comic books and have always been enthralled with the art form. It’s fun, incredibly versatile, and immediately accessible…until you start to make your own and then you discover how hard it is to make good comics. That said, it’s a storytelling language that I’m comfortable with and the more stories I do, the better I get – it’s satisfying to see the progress on the page.
Q: Please tell us about your creative process -- how do you go about writing and illustrating?
Lex: I work in very deliberate phases. Once I’ve settled on the story and done all my reading and research I begin writing a script, almost like a screenplay. I write faster than I draw, so it’s an opportunity for my “writer self” to tell my “drawing self” what to do. It also saves time as I work out storytelling problems.
Once the script is ready I do small, rough thumbnail drawings of the page to figure out blocking and pacing and then I get to penciling. From this point on each phase: penciling, inking, coloring, lettering, gets done in 10—20 page batches in an attempt to keep production moving forward. I do have a colorist, but all other aspects I do myself so it does take some time. I’m also editing and refining the story with each phase, improving dialogue or coming up with new gags. I like to try and keep things spontaneous when I’m drawing so the script is a starting point but not something I’m slavish to. A 200 page graphic novel can take a couple of years to do, but most of that extra time is eaten by a day job too.
Q: What advice do you have for young comics-makers?
Lex: Start now, but start small. Don’t start your career with a multi-book epic of 200 pages each. Instead, begin with a five or ten page short story. Get used to completing something small and work you way up. It’s sort of like weight-lifting, you don’t start with the 45lb dumbbell, you start with 15lbs, get good at the form, and then work your way up. Making comics is a marathon so start training now!