1. How did you involved with House of Parlance? Also how did you get involved with the Avril Lavigne manga?
I knew House of Parlance through my connections to Sophia Books, a local store that did a book launch for me. This is a small world after all, and that red string of fate connected us, I guess. They approached me about doing a sequel to my graphic book, The Fallen, but then surprised me when they offered me a chance to draw a manga for Avril. At first I was taken aback, my work has never been so mainstream before and I didn't know if the story would be something I could draw.
The people of Parlance were so wonderful and enthusiastic about my work and this project that I felt we could make this into something truly amazing.
2. Mr. Dysart stated it was your pitch was chosen for the manga. What was
your inspiration for the pitch?
It was so important to me to do a story that had substance and meaning. My biggest fear was that we'd end up with a story that was all about marketing a celebrity, that the story would be cheesy and no one could relate to it.
It occurred to me that Avril isn't this one identity; she is the sum of what we make of her. Some people don't like her music or her image, while others adore her, and yet who is Avril? I don't think anyone but her friends and family could answer that, so I wanted to
explore a story that would show Avril for who she is to one person, Hanna, and what relationship she would have with her, how does one fan see Avril? That was the inspiration. My initial idea was much darker and based on having Avril as an influence and not actually have her appear in the story, which of course wouldn't really flow with a book that was supposed to be all about Avril Lavigne.
When I create a story it all comes from one place, the protagonist, I base everything on that particular character, so that character has to be very well developed. My inspiration for the plot and protagonist came from my younger sister actually. There was a time when she seemed so misunderstood and I never knew what she was thinking; she seemed so closed off from her family. She'll kill me for telling you that, of course she's grown up now and nothing like she used to be, but when she was 13 it was a strange phase she went through and part of me always wanted to explore that. I wanted to model Hanna after her, I'm not sure how similar the two are now, but initially I wanted to develop a character that no one understood, a beautiful girl that was always angry or sad. So here you have me trying to psychoanalyze my sister while trying to come up with a story for a popular celebrity, Avril Lavigne.
Joshua swooped in and really helped to make the story sing! We incorporated parts of his other pitches into this story to give it even more drama and depth to the characters and the storyline. The demon came from my initial idea, he had to be in the story, I couldn't draw it without him, but I have to say Joshua certainly made that little guy into one of the most memorable creatures I've come across.
3. How much input or direction did Avril Lavigne have on the manga?
Avril had some opinions that were passed along to me through the chain of commands, I didn't hear from her personally. She approved everything and I was told she was very enthusiastic about the project, so for the most part she agreed with what we were doing and it flowed really well because of that. I think Avril appreciated our direction and how we used her image and personality with the story and characters.
4. How much of Avril Lavigne is in this story? Did you interview her or do research on her to make sure the manga was reflective of Avril Lavigne?
Though I never did interview Avril, I was always given a lot of input about her through her manager and House of Parlance. I did a lot of research on Avril, I have folders of images and files on her because I wanted to make sure that I really toke her image into account. She has a huge fan base and if I'm going to do a book featuring her I'd better get it right. Of course I did take some liberties here and there so I could properly translate a real person into a 2 dimensional character.
5. How was the creation process in creating the manga? Was there a lot of editorial input on the creation of the manga?
They basically let us do our thing uninterrupted. There will always be editing comments, I wanted Hana to look younger, but alas, that was a no go! And you have to respect the publishers and the people in charge they know what they are talking about. This project had a lot more creative freedom than I would have expected, so much creative freedom, especially considering it was for Avril Lavigne, was surprising.
6. Are you a fan of Avril Lavigne and her music?
I'm more of a Tom Waits fan, I like very exotic music and I tend to stay away from mainstream artists.
However, I do like her music and I like Avril's image. I think amongst all the female singers her age, she really stands out and has a different perspective so I can appreciate that. And honestly who hasn't rocked out to Skaterboy at least once?
7. Do you have any upcoming project you wish to mention and/or hype?
I am really excited about my upcoming issue of Nightmares and Fairytales with SlaverLabourGraphics. I will be the new artist for the series and my first issue is coming out in April. I'm very enthused about this title because its one of my longtime favorite series. Go to slgpublishing.com to see a preview of the cover. Serena Valentino is a fantastic writer and I am proud to be working with her, just wait until you read her wonderful work, twisted fairytales!
Also, I have my first creator owned manga, coming out this year called BURN. This has been an ongoing project for a few years now and its publication means the world to me. Its a post apocalyptic story, there is angst and torment, its something I am tremendously proud of. Arcana Studios is publishing it, so you can go to arcanastudios.com, or visit qewpublishing.com. My longtime friend Quenton Shaw, the CEO, brought together the BURN crew so I have to give him credit for that, without him I doubt BURN would ever see a shelf.
8. Is there any advice or tips you can give for aspiring comic creators trying to make it in the industry?
John Buscema before he passed away and its something that has stayed with me over the years gave me advice once. He told me, you'll never make money with comics, and you’ll only succeed in this business if you are passionate about it. I see so many kids and artists come and go, it’s rare that they actually stick with it. I've been doing this for decades and I'm not rich. So if your heart and soul is in it then you'll make it, but if you don't then your better off finding a job that will actually pay you.
This comic business is about passion, without it you'll never succeed.
I hope that those people who are passionate about manga and comics will one day meet an amazing artist like John Buscema and be as inspired by them as I was.
I am proud to stand beside my work and this project. The creative team put so much of themselves into making this book and it’s not fair to judge it so harshly without having read it first. I know that there will always be initial impressions and cynicism regarding celebrities and branching into popular media, but this project isn't a soulless marketing tool. I never wanted to have people think that, it’s why Joshua and I created it with truly dark and lonely themes, so those that appreciate Avril's individuality could appreciate this story. By all means we are entitled to our opinions, so if you want to express yourselves go for it! Just try to have an educated opinion based on the actual work and not just a short write up that couldn't possibly encapsulate a 30-chapter story in only 3 lines. It wasn't easy doing this book; there was a lot of blood and sweat that went into making it, so I really hope that people give it a chance.
Let me put your minds at ease, this story is not a hero book, Avril doesn't swoop in with a cape and tights and make everything right...if you only knew what we had in store for you, you would weep at having thought us a bubblegum pop team!
Cheers!
Camilla
