1. What initially drew you to comics?
I was planning to be an actor, but got very sick right after college. While recovering, I found comics were a way to use more of what interested me — drawing, storytelling, developing all the details of characters — and I could do it with minimal budget and complete control. Now I act on paper.
2. Please tell us about any recent title you'd like to showcase.
My newest is Little Monarchs — a naturalist science fiction book appropriate for kids (the publisher says middle grade). A 10 year old girl and a scientist follow the monarch migration years after solar radiation has wiped out most mammal life. Nature’s reclaiming what man built. They make medicine from the monarchs’ wing scales, and it allows them to survive and travel in daylight. Their ultimate goal is to create a vaccine to share with others, but it’s a hard road. Lots of danger, survivalism, and plenty of humor.
I’ve put more work into Little Monarchs than anything else I’ve made (or will ever make, probably). The art wasn’t the hardest part, but it is all done by hand — watercolors, lettering, everything — to root it further to the natural world.
3. What do comics allow you to do as a storyteller?
It just allows you to be a creative control freak! At their best, comics let a single creator express his/her art in more ways than any other medium.
4. Please tell us about your creative process.
I try to start with where I’m at in life. I choose something personal, then apply it to my work. I don’t get very far until I start drafting script. After that, I lay everything out, text and art, and refine further. Once I have a book that works, I essentially redraw it as final art. Sometimes surprises happen as I go, but it’s a pretty deliberate process.
5. Where can we find out more about your work?
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