1. What do you see as the role of comics in literacy?
Graphic novels have always been an inherent part of my literacy landscape. I’ve had the chance to grow up with a “bookivor” mom (seriously, she starts having palpitations when her “to read pile” is less than 5 books) and a dad who’s passionate about graphic novels.
So, I think I integrated pretty early on, that graphic novels weren’t a genre but a fully-fledged medium of storytelling, and if I dare say, the best medium of story telling where I’m concerned. The dancing of words and art/illustrations together can create a unique experience. One that can entertain and educate but also one that can touch you to the point of bringing tears to your eyes. The intimacy of entering someone’s visual world with their words and story is an experience that I never get tired of.
As the amazing Gina Gagliano said: “A graphic novel on every bookshelf!”
A must. 2. Please tell us about your creative process. I’m very much character driven, so it is usually where the ideas for stories come from. I imagine characters and by exploring who they are, following them, and listening to them, I end up with a story in my hands. There’s usually a few scenes that I see vividly, scenes that I can replay in my head, word per word, then I connect these scenes together trying to go in the general direction I imagine the story going. When writing the outline of the plot, I sketch a lot, and I put some sort of image bank together to help me visualize places, outfits, etc.
When my synopsis is ready to go, and my editor is happy with it, I sketch everything on paper. My roughs are quite detailed, I sort of need to see facial expressions and little patterns. I usually draw with colored pencils, blue, purple or red. Then I scan every page, and ink and color them on my ipad, using Procreate. At the very end I use Photoshop to fix some coloring detail. 3. Please tell us where we can find out more about your work. You can see my work online, going to my website: www.esofii.com or by following me on Instagram @esofiii or Tumblr: esofii.tumblr.com or Twitter: @essoffi (not the platform I’m the most active on).
On bookshelves, you can find the Witches of Brooklyn and the Witches of Brooklyn: What the Hex?! (and soon more! :) published by Random House graphic. I also illustrated recently, a middle grade series called the Derby Daredevils, written by Kit Rosewater and published by Amulet Books. 4. Who are the artists and authors that influence you? At the top of the mountain, I will place André Franquin. I grew up reading his books, and I can still laugh out loud when reading Gaston Lagaffe. His talent is immense. Next to Andre Franquin I’ll place Terry Pratchett. He too can make me laugh so much. His imagination is simply incredible, and the Discworld series has a special place in my heart.
I am part of the “Club Dorothé” generation (it was a kid’s TV show that played on French TV in the 90s, and that was showing a lot of japanese anime). So as a child I was very fond of: Ranma ½, by Rumiko Takahashi, and Dragonball by Akira Toriyama, CreamyMami, the Magic Angel by Ito Kazunori and Yuuko Kitagawa, Cat’s Eye by Tsukasa Hojo, to name a few, that I’m sure had an influence on me.
Hayao Miyazaki’s movies and books as well, of course.
As for artists today, I love and admire the work of Claire Fauvel, Eleanor Davis, Jen wang, Penelope Bagieu, Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, Craig Thompson, Ronald Wimberly, Ananth Hirsh & Yuko Ota, Cyril Pedrosa, and so many, many more. We’re very lucky to live in a time when so many incredible graphic novels are made. There’s so much to discover.