|
First Books - Felipe Smith's MBQ |
|
|
|
|
Written by Caleb Monroe
|
|
Monday, 11 December 2006 |
One of my guests last week was Hope Donovan, editor of this year’s Rising Stars of Manga competition/anthology. She mentioned some of the winners of previous Rising Stars, including Felipe Smith, creator of MBQ. Which worked out as a great set-up for me, because this week’s interview is with none other than…
Felipe Smith, creator of MBQ!
This is the first installment of a feature here at Making Good that I’m calling "First Books,” where I’ll be interviewing creators who are currently putting out their first book, seeing what impact it’s had on their lives, how they got to where they are, and where they want to go from there. Hopefully there will be some lessons to be learned and encouragements to be had.
Felipe is one of the most passionate comic creators I've ever met, and was a natural choice for this week's column. In addition to writing MBQ, Felipe does all the art as well.
When did you first start making comics?
I first started making comics when I was 12. I didn’t start selling my comics until I was 15. That’s when I self-published my first comic, Da LPL Bros. Haha. I sold it to people at my high school in Buenos Aires, and to anyone else who could spare one dollar.
What were some of your early influences, and what are some of your current influences?
I loved an Argentine comic book called El Cazador. It came out whenever its 4 authors felt like putting it out, and it was really popular. It was violent, full of grotesque scenes, foul language, and sex; and it was hilarious.
I then found out that El Cazador had been inspired by the drawing style of Simon Bisley. Once I discovered the “Biz’s” work, there was no turning back. I wanted to do hand painted comics just like Bisley! His art was extremely expressive, colorful, and gritty. I couldn’t get enough! I also followed the work of some of the mainstream American comic book artists at the time; mainly Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane and Frank Miller. But nobody could touch the BIZ. Haha
I’m currently following the work of Japanese comic book artists: Yamamoto Hideo (Ichi the Killer, Homunculus), Morita Masanori (Roku de nashi Blues), Tanaka Akio (Shamo), Hamori Takashi (Gorio), Inoue Takehiko (Slam Dunk, Vagabond, Real) and Tajima Akiuji (Psycho).
MBQ is the first full book of your own, right?
Yes. MBQ is my first series.
How did it come to be?
I entered Tokyopop’s annual “Rising Stars of Manga” contest and placed second. The first place winner in the contest is given a 3-book publishing deal. They decided to give me one as well.
I just recently did several interviews on the subject of short comics, including one with Hope Donovan, editor of this year's Rising Stars of Manga. As a creator, do you have any specific advice to other creators about making short-form comics for something like RSOM?
I’d advise creators to do 2 things:
The first would be to write about something they know, something they are familiar with. The setting and characters in their story don’t need to be real, but the struggle they’re involved in and their actions should be inspired by something the author has experienced or knows much about. Doing so will make your story personal and unique.
The second thing I would advise is to approach short stories as if describing a moment or single idea, rather than a full chain of events. It’s better to express one interesting idea successfully than to express many remarkable ones poorly, due to page restriction. (If you read my previous two columns, you’ll see that this seems to be recurring advice on the subject. –Caleb)
What’s the best part about having a book of your own in stores?
I’m not yet quite sure what the best part of having a book in stores is. My book is rarely ever in stores. Haha.
The best part about being published is being able to reach out to an audience through your work. I don’t have a very long reach, yet. But I’m working on it.
Is it like you expected?
It is what I expected; a challenge, an ongoing brawl for recognition. Getting published is the first step; the next one is working hard to get the word out and spread my stories across the globe!
IT’S MBQ TIME!!
Has MBQ opened any other doors for you? Can you give an example?
Publishing MBQ has given me the opportunity to meet other artists, and readers who share my views on comics; people who want to see variety in genre, and more personal stories that stray from the mainstream. I’d like to meet as many of these people as possible, they are the future of comics, and the saviors of this unfortunately debilitated industry.
For creators who are like you and have their first or second project already out there, being published, what advice can you share about promoting their work and getting it into the hands of readers?
Use the Internet, guys! Haha! You know what to do. Join an online community and spread the word!
Would you say you spend more time creating MBQ, or promoting it?
I probably spend more time promoting than creating. Haha. That’s because I even promote when I ride the bus or go grocery shopping. I carry MBQ flyers on me wherever I go.
You’re working on the third volume of MBQ right now. Has the experience of producing two 100+-page books before this one taught you any lessons or changed the way you approach the work at all?
Ha! 100 +??
Both volumes 1 and 2 of MBQ are well over 200 pages!!
RECOGNIZE!!! Haha
The more you do, the more you learn. The way I approach my work hasn’t really changed dramatically. I have learned, though, (through practice) different ways to approach page layout and pacing in a story. I’m still learning; I hope I never stop.
Can you describe your creative process, from first idea to completed pages? As a writer/artist, at what stage to you work out plot? Pacing? Dialogue?
The first thing I work on is the general message or idea I’m trying to convey through my story; my overall message to the reader.
Once that’s determined, I come up with a cast of characters that will help put a story in motion to convey my “message”.
I start with the end of my story. I need to know how the story ends, BEFORE I know the beginning. This way I can be sure the story will be solid, and that I won’t get lost somewhere along the way, not knowing were to take it.
Once the end of the story is concrete, I lay out a set of events from beginning to end.
I then write a script for the story, sometimes dialogue is decided at this stage, other times it is done while working the thumbnails for the finished pages.
I draw thumbnails for each chapter, specifying word balloon placement, and dialogue.
The following stage is drawing and inking the final pages. I also draw the word balloons - they are part of the art and are not added in later.
Once the pages are scanned and toned digitally (I do my tones on Photoshop), the dialogue from the script is added into the balloons, the completed pages are placed in an Indesign document, and they are ready to be sent to the printer.
Where would you like your comic career to be a year from now?
I would like to be doing exactly what I am doing right now, with my books being more readily available in stores.
Where would you like to see your comic career five years from now?
Five years from know; I would like to still be writing and drawing my own stories.
What would you say is the #1 mistake you see aspiring comic creators making?
I’m not sure if it’s a mistake or not; but I see so many creators wanting to draw and write stories about characters who have already been established years ago by a different creator. I wish more creators were hell bent on writing their OWN stories and drawing their OWN characters. If that happened, I believe we’d enjoy a greater variety in stories and art styles, we’d have multiple genres to choose from and, more importantly, we’d see a boost in comic book readership.
What’s the best advice you could give someone looking to break into the industry?
Work hard, strive to do something different, and always keep your skills up.
What advice would you share with other aspiring comic creators about balancing comics with other aspects of their life, like family or friends?
There is no balance! Haha. When you gotta create, you gotta CREATE!
More seriously, If you’re LUCKY, your family and friends understand how important your work is to you; and they’re happy to spend time with you when you can tear yourself away from your desk. To avoid any compromising situations, it is best to explain to your loved ones how passionate you are about what you do. Once that is clear, you can get to work, worry-free!
Any final advice on the life or craft of writing in general?
Have fun, and more importantly, make sure you like what you do; if it becomes your career, you’ll be doing a lot of it, for a long time.
Do you have any current or upcoming projects you want to plug?
I’m featured in Mangaka America: Manga by America’s Hottest Artists. It’s a beautiful full-color 148-page book, featuring art and manga tutorials by:
Amy Kim Ganter,
Christy Lijewski,
Corey Lewis,
Jared Hodges,
Jesse Philips,
Lindsay Cibos,
M. Alice LeGrow,
Ms. Shatia Hamilton,
Rivkah,
Svetlana Chmakova,
Tania del Rio,
and ME!
Also, if you haven’t yet, please check out Volumes 1 and 2 of MBQ, out in stores NOW! If you’d like to see more of my work, videos, or MBQ-related news, please visit me at:
http://www.felipesmith.com
or add me as your buddy at:
http://www.myspace.com/felipesmith
Thank you, Felipe!
For those of you who are curious, Felipe's winning entry appeared in Rising Stars of Manga Volume 3. Be sure to stop by the Making Good discussion thread and share your thoughts on this week's column.
Ground Floor
Ground Floor is a column-within-a-column here at Making Good where I will be developing a brand new comic, from scratch to publication, right before your very eyes.
The downside of creating a comic right before your very eyes is that not everything is exciting or quick. There are some weeks on any project where nothing happens, and this has been one of those weeks.
Caleb
Monroe bought Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #16 when he was
11 years old and it was all over after that. You can learn some more
about him here.
|
|
