1. What initially drew you to comics?
My youngest uncle was a comic collector and I used to enter his room when I was a child visiting my grandma. He was reading all kinds of books: European albums, American comic-books. Thanks to him I discovered artists like Jack Kirby, Hergé, Moebius or John Buscema… I remember coloring with crayons a “Savage Sword of Conan” black and white magazine. Years later, I was caught by the Manga and Anime explosion of the 90s. I think this was the origin of my likes and obsessions. Anyway, since I can remember, I have been telling stories, writing and drawing. 2. Please tell us about Polar and any other titles/characters you’d like to share about.
Polar is obviously my most known work. It’s a collection of self-contained graphic novels in landscape format published by Dark Horse, you can read each one separately. The main character is the Black Kaiser, a legendary hitman, and the different books pay tribute to genres I love like crime, spies, revenge stories or even Spaghetti western. The book had an international projection thanks to the Netflix adaptation into a movie with Mads Mikkelsen as the Kaiser. Right now there is a sequel in development which will be titled “The Black Kaiser.”
My latest work is Until my Knuckles Bleed, a series I am writing, drawing and coloring for Behemoth. It’s the story of Gabin Hart, a formerly 90s superhero called Damager. He is older now and has a lot of medical issues and now works as a bouncer in a strip club managed by Russian mobs, and he is going to be involved in a crime story with others of his comrades of the old days. It’s a story mixing noir and superhero genres in the line of books I love like Powers or Gotham Central.
3. What do comics allow you to do as a creator?
Usually people compare comics with movies because they are visual mediums, and it’s true, but for me it’s something closer to the novels, because it’s a medium you can create a pure connection with another person. You don’t need a team, a cast or CGI effects, you can write and draw and show it to another human being. For me it’s some very personal and wonderful, this is because my favorite books are all made for one single person. Even when I am doing more light stories, you know, maybe a simple story with action and shots and punches, still looking for the awake that emotion. I think it’s something only comics can get in that way. 4. Where can we find more information about your work?
You can check my linktree where all my social media are linked (Instagram, twitter, facebook…)linktr.ee/victorsantoscomics I regularly publish a newsletter too, titled Broken English (brokenenglish.substack.com), where I write about my books but also about the creative process, the things I read and the movies I watch, and publish a totally free monthly digital comic story titled Ginger Revenges.
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