:comic: Today we had a live interview in #CandC with ~Zorgia the creative mind behind the ~Wyliman comics.
Wyliman can be purchased on Indy planet. The Newest issue is #7.


Here is the log for the interview itself, as seen in the chat, as well as some highlights from the Q and A session!

Interview:

<misskittyoooo> Tell us a little about yourself?

<Zorgia> Alrighty. My name is Mario González. I was born and raised in Mexico. I been drawing my entire life i guess, i don't remember a time i wasn't drawing something. I think my school notebooks had more drawings than actual useful information. Formally, i've been doing comics for almost ten years now, having ~Wyliman as my flagship, as well as some other side works here and there--

<Zorgia> Like some work for a political magazine, newspapers and some antholiogies here and there.



<misskittyoooo> What made you decide that comics were what you want to do and what inspires your work?

<Zorgia> It was a weird transition. First i wanted to go into animation. As i kid i LOVED the Super Mario Bros. games, and when the TV shows kicked in, i just wanted to be the guy animating those things. When i was 11 or 12 years old, i stumbled across the work of Sergio Aragonés with his to spoofs of the mainstream comics "Destoys DC " and "Massacres Marvel", from that momen on i knew i wanted to do what this guy was doing--

<Zorgia> I got just amazed of someone doing in a style i was comfortable with drawing, making fun of the biggest heroes in comics. As well, the one that gave me a great deal of philosophy and art apreciation was Bill Watterson of the Calvin and Hobbes fames, he's the one responsible i lean towrads more to doing comic strips--
<Zorgia> My inspirations are many, but i think i can nail them down to 3 basics: Other comics of course, i'm always in the hunt of new stuff, specially independent comics, but some mainstreams now or then are good as well. Music is basic, i can't work without something playing in the background, specially of people that has broke the rules of that medium and created something original--

<Zorgia> And finally, life itself, you'll never run out of inspiration from it.




<misskittyoooo> Whats your favorite part/role of making comics?

<Zorgia> Well, i'm mostly a one band man, i write, draw, ink, letter and sometimes color my work. But i've lucky to come across some great talented and good people that had help me out, as for coloring some stuff, or doing some pin-ups for my comic and things like that. But specially, i want to give a shout out to ~SheZoom who is, first, an amazing friend (alongside with her husband, cheers guys!) and second, a great editor, she's the one that makes the English versions of my comic make sense--

<Zorgia> My favorite part is definately inking. I'm quite a loose penciller, i jsut try to doodle the main idea and leave it all to improvise while i'm inking. It takes me quite some time, but i enjoy the hell out of it, it's when the drawing really come to life and pop out the page. As the opposite, i hate lettering, specially hand lettering, it's an amazing pain in the ass.



<misskittyoooo> Are you self-published/online or do you work for a major comic label? Can you share some of your experiences with us?

<Zorgia> I self-publish my work an well as i put it online. My main goal is to get published by Dark Horse Comics some day, but the self-publish trip has been a fun one, specially now, thanks to the good folks at Ronin Studios that welcomed me to their team--

<Zorgia> Well, as experience, i can only say that giving up is not an option if you really want to do comics. I've been rejected i think by every publisher out there, But that never took me down, it dissapoints you a bit, but you need to keep rolling. And hey, self-publishing is always an option. there is an audience out there for the stuff you do, and there is someone out there that thinks you are the next Will Eisner (or whoever you admire the most), so at least there is ONE person thinking that than no one at all. So take a chance and go for it, get your work out there, is a wild fun ride.

<misskittyoooo> On a related side note readers: We'll have a Ronin Studios Q&A in #CandC 2pm PST on Sunday the 29th

<misskittyoooo> What mediums do you prefer to work with and why? What mediums/artists do you admire?

<Zorgia> I try to not the computer to much, i LOVE going traditional as far as i can, i just love the feel of having everything in your hads, and the thrill of screwing up and coming up with a creative way to make it look like you did NOT screw up something. I specially like to work with brushes, i just love how fluid and smooth the lines look--

<Zorgia> As i mentioned, i love comics, i like finding new people to admire, from the old school guys to all the new next heros coming up in the independent field. And also as i mentioned, i love music, it's a great deal of inspiration for me, most part of what gets me going is finding new music to get inpired from, and it's weird since both mediums are different, but it helps a lot---

<Zorgia> I think i can blame my work to 4 individuals: Sergio Aragonés, Bill Watterson, Dave Sim (& Gerhard) and Primus' front man, Les Claypool, this last one being, even as a musician, an amazing inpiration for my work.



<misskittyoooo> Do you still use reference material such as stock or from life for poses, buildings and other props and item when drawing out comics? How do you come up with the poses? Are you ever unsatisfied with your work or have an artist's block?

<Zorgia> Totally, i constantly use reference material, as much as i can retain an image in my head, or come up with some design for, let's say, a chair or a building, you still new good references for it. Google images is just the artist salvation that doesn't want to get up his/her as to see the world outside, heh---

<Zorgia> About the poses, i do use photos as well, but 95% of the time, i act myself the scenes, and not even infront of a mirrow, it comes a time that you know a body AND your body so well, you just need to stand and do a pose andyour brain will construct it perfectly. And it's an essential part of cartoony comics, that realy mostly on body language and facil expressions, sometimes i find myself doing the expression i'm drawing, and it's completly unconcious---

<Zorgia> I'm constantly unsatisfied with my work, but as Mexican cartoonist, Trino Camacho says, i'm doing the sketch of my best cartoon ever, so, until that cartoon arrives (if ever), i have a lot to screw up--

<Zorgia> About artist block, as everybody, i do ahve them. I try to ahve some work planned ahead, so when i ahve a block, i can still keep working on that stuff, but there are times you go into a complete blank, and the msot terryfing thing in the world is being infront the blank page, so i just put down my pencil, and go outside, or watch a movie or blow up my speakers with loud music, or something, whatever helps me get distracted of having an empty brain.

<misskittyoooo> Thats just great advise!

<misskittyoooo> Thats all the questions I have for you Mario, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with us. Everyone, Wyliman #7 is NOW for sale at Indyplanet We're going to open the floor now for some Q and A and chat with Mario.

Q&A Highlights

<vernavulpes> What is the color of your underwear actually? You got me curious now.
<Zorgia> Vernavulpes: Blueish, it got mixed up with some color clothes in the washer the other day, so i ahve a bunch of underwear in that color now.
<vernavulpes> So it was white originally?
<Themrock> collect black, then you never have this prob again. hint from housewife to housewife
<misskittyoooo> Thats what I do!




<misskittyoooo> Zorgia: How did you come up with your character?

<Zorgia> misskittyoooo: Haha, that's is some good question, ok, give me some time to write it down--
<Zorgia> misskittyoooo: Well, Wyliman came up as a need, really. but i actually came up with his pal, Mackenn, first. It was supposed to be a comic about life, pretty much as it is right now, and Wyliman was the dorky loser superhero of the town Mackenn lived in, as i started to do his origin, it jsut hitted me how much potential he had as a main leading character, so the tables got turned with the characters. Wyliman is basically first, what i saw in Sergio's work, the potential of parody to superheroes, and i kept him like that for quite some time---

<Zorgia> But when i started to really develope him on paper in a story, it turned out into this spoof and parody of life itself, with this metaphor of the hero we have inside all of us that we tend to hide, but with Wyliman, it's there, and it's human (even if it doesn't look like), but he took the risk to show it.
<Zorgia> misskittyoooo: As well, the whole comic is filled with this little subtle life metaphors, but as well, you don't lose anything if you don't get them, but i bet people do get them, even if they don't realize it conciously.




<Themrock> mario: The biggest challenge for us comic artists (at least for the men) is drawing women in our style and getting them right, without getting into pornographic or cute chliche. How have you made progress in drawing female character and what do you think of your women so far?

<Zorgia> Themrock: I think i've finally reached a point when i'm comfortable drawing women. Best thing to do, search some pictures of women on the internet (and hey, even nudie ones helps, not as a pervert, but some of these women have nice bodies and you get a better conception of how the anatomy is) and try to copy and do the bodies, of all shapes and forms. You know it man, it's all practice, but i understand your point.