1. How did you get involved with SLG and "Nightmares & Fairy Tales"? Why do you think they picked you for the book?

Serena Valentino contacted me about becoming the new artist for the series; she saw my work through the editor of SLG. I had dropped off a sample of my work a year before and the editor, Jennifer, held onto it and when a new artist was needed for the series she passed along my work to Serena who then contacted me right away. Serena was always really enthusiastic about my art and having me onboard, I think she really likes how I draw the characters and how I tell a story.

2. You been quoted as saying "I am very excited to be the new artist for Nightmares and Fairytales, I've followed the book since it first...I was huge fan to begin with..." As a fan, what do you like about the book?

I love it! I picked up the first issue with FSC as the artist and it was the synergy between the manga styling and the premise for the issues that attracted me at once. I have such a fondness for writers that reinvent classic stories, who think outside the normal box of literature or simply the expected. To me the series success and what made me a fan of the book, was using brilliant ideas with an artist that wasn't afraid to take risks. You see the first two volumes of the series and each story is told with such energy by both Serena and FSC, you just fall in love with that duo. I really like Scrambly's work as well. He continued the series using really gothic themes that remind me of old etchings. Couple that with Serena's new storytelling and it's a success! To be part of this series means so much to me. I've always wanted to draw those stories, so imagine my shock when I get an email from one of my favorite writers!

3. How are you going about drawing the book? Are you following down the artistic path laid down by Fsc and Crab Scrambly or are you doing things differently? Are you merging their art styles and yours for the book?

Every artist has their style and as much as I love the art of FSC and Crab Scrambly, there's no way for me to merge their styles and my own. I'm definitely using what both of them have drawn as a starting point, using that path is essential to keeping the fan base happy, no artist should betray the fan's trust by ignoring the foundations of the series. I think what are unique about each artist are their interpretations of the characters and story, so I'm doing my best to draw the book using FSC's initial character drawings as a basis for the book, but I'm definitely staying true to my own style. Hopefully people will like what I've done and support my own interpretations.

4. Did you do research for the book. Read fairy tales, watch scary movies,stay in a haunted house?

A funny thing, I didn't have to do too much research because I'm already a huge fan of fairytales as it is! In fact Serena asked me what my favorite fairytale was and that's why we're doing Sleeping Beauty. I've always loved that story and the characters so it's really fun to draw a story that is twisting my favorite classic tale. As far as watching scary movies, I am not a fan of horrors, seeing blood and guts on screen doesn't do it for me, but reading a scary novel is a whole other ball game! My imagination is dark enough to outdo any movie out there. I'm a huge believer in the things that go bump in the night, the unexplained, just ask me about the one-eyed yeti someday!

5. How has it been working with Serena Valentino? How much creative input do you get on the comic?

Working with Serena has been a real treat! She is such a wonderful person and though I've never met her in person we get along really well and I have to say that she's been a true inspiration to me. She and I work symbiotically, she is always very considerate in how she chooses to tell the story and also how to write it so that it will work well for me. So we try to be as cohesive as possible so we both get the best out of the book.

6. On the SLG website, part of the description of the new NF issue they say "This issue Nightmares & Fairy Tales returns to the manga-inspired visual style with the introduction of new series artist Camilla d'Errico." Do feel that a "manga" look is part of the book? Do you feel this "manga" look is a part of your appeal as an artist? Would you call it maybe "type
casting"?

I love that people are referring to my art as manga because that is exactly what I'm going for. My greatest compliment was have my artwork mistaken as that of a Japanese man's, to me that means that I've really nailed the styling! I think a big part of the book is manga, yes. I think in its black and white format its the perfect fit, especially because of Gwen, some of her expressions just wouldn't be the same if they were drawn in another style.

7. Nightmare & Fairy Tales has bit of a "Dark" tone to it. With the trend of "Gothic Comics" from the likes of Jhonen Vasquez and Roman Dirge, what do you think makes NF stand out among that ack? Is that not a fair comparison to make?

I don't think that Serena's "gothic" makes fun of horror quite like any of the other books out there. She balances the horror aspect with rich characters and very three-dimensional worlds. Serena's stories are very heartfelt, she takes a story and pushes the readers emotions from laughter to shock with a lot of imagery in mind. A lot of comics in the gothic genre tend to either take horror too seriously or focus solely on the terror of it or they make a mockery of it. Serena doesn't do that. She twists our perspective and offers us a different look than what we're used to. She uses the "horror" aspect very intelligently, it's not about blood and guts, but more about shocking us.

8. What are the tools that you used to work on the comic? Did you use pencil and ink? Pure PC ad Photoshop? What is the technical details about your artwork?

I don't pencil my work, I use pen and ink. I used to do the steps of penciling it out and then going over with inks, but I found that erasing all the extra bit of line work really hurt the drawings. It's that imperfection in the drawing that makes it expressive, so taking that away renders my line work dull and flat. To add in the tones I use Photoshop, though I've always wanted to use traditional toning, maybe one day I'll get a chance to use it!

9. I saw the cover to Issue 19# and I have to say it's quite good. Part of what I thought was really good was the use of color. Considering the interior is in black and white, if you had a choice would you want to do the book in color or b&w? Or do you think b&W does something for the
book that color couldn't?

I've had a lot of people comment on them and mistake them for watercolors, but that's all colored digitally in Photoshop. Its hard to say which would be better color or no color, color adds a lot to a book but sometimes it can take away the essence of the line work and the story. Personally, I like that the interior isn't in color, to me a manga should be pure and remain black and white with toning. To me this story is best told as is, if you were to put in color it might take away from the reader identifying with the words and simply rely on the coloring to tell you how to react. Serena's words are colorful enough!

10. Can you give a hint of what's upcoming for Nightmares & Fairy Tales?

I think that's a question best left to Serena, she is after all, the mastermind behind these wonderful tales! But I will say this, the next fairytales that we will be doing are going to be very entertaining, a lot more on the horror side than what I've done in the past.