Photo of Jen Wang by Ye Rin Mok
Jen Wang is a cartoonist, author and illustrator from Los Angeles and is the creator behind Koko Be Good and co-author of the New York Times Bestselling graphic novel In Real Life with Cory Doctorow. Her latest book, The Prince and the Dressmaker, hit shelves on February 13th, 2018.
The Prince and the Dressmaker revolves around Prince Sebastian as he searches for a bride―or rather, his parents are strong arming him into finding one. However, Sebastian has a secret life: at night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia―the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!
Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances―one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means she has to stay a secret forever. It’s a romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family.
We met up with Jen after a book signing at Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle.
LC: I wanted to talk a little bit about your protagonist and why you chose to make him exist outside of the heteronormative, cookie cutter, sort of hero. What was your reason for making him fluid?
JW: I think I just felt like…for a while I was looking for a story that would be like a positive Disney movie romantic comedy. Then I wanted to make sure it was a little more contemporary that felt a little queer. I had the idea of a character that would have this clear passion that people could relate to, even if they didn’t have a gender variant identity themselves. If you understand that Sebastian is into fashion and big dresses, that could be something anyone could relate to.
LC: You both wrote and illustrated the book, correct?
JW: Yes!
LC: Was it a conscious decision to make Sebastian unconventionally handsome compared to romcom heartthrobs?
JW: Yeah! I mean, the character is a teenager and I wanted him to look like a teenager. I didn’t want him to be super handsome or too adult looking or too sexy. Not that a teenager can’t be sexy, haha. I wanted to show the version of yourself when you’re still trying to figure out who you are. There’s a lot of recognition in a character who looks like someone you can relate to. I feel like most people seem themselves as conventional looking. The only thing I wanted to make sure to do was to give Sebastian a prominent facial feature . There’s so many costume changes; I didn’t want people to lose the character in a room full of ballgowns.
LC: How did you choose the time period for the book?
JW: The book takes place in the late 19th century and I wanted a time frame that would be sort of old-timey with people in corsets and horse drawn carriages. At the same time, I wanted there to be an emergence of technology. The 19th century had both of those things for me.
LC: Did you pull from any fashion designers as inspiration for your costume designs?
JW: I did research on clothing from the time period. I looked at a lot of historical cosplay costumers online, particularly accessories. There’s a ton of resources for that. The rest I tried to make a bit more modern like something people would wear now.
LC: Was it important for you to make the story accessible in every way, versus something that was more queer or adult?
JW: You know, I wanted to make a book that I could read at 13 or 14. It was always the intention, I think. I didn’t really know that much at that age other than what cartoons I liked and what fantasy books I loved.
LC: When you were a teenager, were there any properties that felt accessible to you?
JW: I was really into anime and manga, which I discovered in middle school and high school. I had a friend who was Japanese who had a lot of that stuff. That was before you could find it at the library or in bookstores, haha. It’s actually how I got into comics in general. The thing that was the most influential to me was Revolutionary Girl Utena. I think you can see some overlapping themes in my stuff. It was the first thing I ever read that was queer and unabashedly feminine. I’d never read comics like that before. That was very influential to me.
LC: As someone who also got into comics through manga, I don’t think there was anywhere near the representation you see in that medium as far as the genres of stories you could experience.
JW: There was so much more aimed at teenage girls! I felt completely ignored by American publishers.
LC: I wanted to ask a little about the relationship Sebastian has with his parents. Was that something you drew from real life experiences or just something you wanted Sebastian to go through?
JW: It was something I wanted to have in the book. My parents have always been supportitve of me, but I did ultimately want his parents to accept him despite where they start off. People can change and overlook those prejudices for someone they love.
LC: Is there a comic out that you would like to recommend? Perhaps something recent that might be overlooked?
JW: I really enjoyed Spinning. It reminded so much of how it was like to be a teenager. It felt very real.
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The Prince and the Dressmaker is available wherever graphic novels are sold near you!
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Faith Erin Hicks is a Canadian writer and artist. She worked in the animation industry for several years before transitioning into writing and drawing comics full time in 2008. Originally, her webcomics were “for fun” while in college, but eventually published her first work, Zombies Calling (SLG Publishing), in 2007. Since then, she has published a number of other graphic novels, including The War at Ellsmere (SLG), Friends with Boys (First Second Books), and The Adventures of Superhero Girl (Dark Horse Comics), which won her an Eisner in 2014.
Her latest work debuted at Emerald City Comic Con, a story about an unlikely friendship called The Nameless City.
L: The first work of yours I was exposed to was Adventures of Superhero Girl, which was so lighthearted and fun among gritty tales and space westerns from all of the indie publications. Did you have a hard time finding an audience for your work?
FEH: Honestly, no, and that was the surprising thing. I agree with you that right now there is a focus on realism, especially in superhero comics. The success of Superhero Girl has been astonishing to me. I made it for myself, since it’s basically my take on superheroes and I wanted to have fun with the tropes of the genre. I wanted this character to be…I don’t know, I see myself in her. She has this thing that she really loves. She loves the idea of being a superhero, she wants to be a superhero, but she’s young and inexperienced and struggling to do that well. I ended up putting the comic online and was just shocked by the response online and it was cool that people found it funny. I feel like now, there’s nothing wrong with wanting something gritty, but I definitely think there’s an audience and place for this lighter fare, with things out there like Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. It’s so much fun! People really like that kind of thing, and they’re hungry for it, so no, no problem finding an audience!
L: I actually use The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl to sell Adventures of Superhero Girl in my store, like if people need something else to read along those veins! When you first started out, was the comics industry alienating at all?
FEH: No, absolutely not! Comics have been really good to me. It’s been incredibly welcoming and now that I’m a published writer, I feel like I have a voice in comics. The Nameless City is my eleventh book, and it’s been a positive experience.
L: And you do comics full-time now, right?
FEH: I’ve been doing them full-time since 2008, so it’s been eight whole years!
L: What kind of schedule do you keep, or is just a matter of getting yourself motivated to write whenever?
FEH: I definitely keep a schedule, where I work six days a week and keep regular hours. I wake up, exercise, and try to be at my desk by a certain hour, take a break for lunch. I had an intense schedule the last eight months or so finishing up the second Nameless City book, and just worked crazy hours. I absolutely recommend to anyone trying to do comics full-time to keep a schedule. It’s important for your well-being and mental health.
L: Did you do everything yourself, from writing to drawing to coloring?
FEH: I didn’t do the coloring myself, because I’m really slow and I would much rather work with someone who actually knows what they’re doing! – laughs-
L: How do you layout your books,like do you storyboard first, or write your script and then thumbnail it? How does your process work?
FEH: I do both actually. I do thumbnails and I do my script by hand. I fill a spiral notebook with thumbnails and very rough dialogue and then I go type it up and give it to my editor. Once it’s approved, I start pencilling and inking.
L: Do you have a project in the future that pushes you out of your comfort zone and challenges you in a different way?
FEH: The Nameless City is that for me! It’s a fantasy world that’s historically based. It was based on my interest in 13th century China and it’s a story with a lot of challenging themes. There’s this city that’s a place of conflict with strife and racism and I wanted to deal with those issues in a way that was thoughtful and challenging. Hopefully I did! We will see what readers and reviewers say!
L: As far as your work on adaptations, for instance, The Last of Us: American Dreams, did you get to play the game prior to working on the story?
FEH: I did not, because the game was not yet finished! What I was given when I started working with the game’s writer, he basically gave me the script. I got to know the story and the characters, but yeah, it wasn’t quite finished, and what actually happened, he brought in this character that we’d created for the comic into the game’s narrative, which was really wonderful. I definitely got to be privy to NaughtyDog’s creative process. I have since played it and it is super scary though. I’m a total chicken when it comes to horror. It was a rough one to get through, even though my favorite game of all time is Resident Evil 4 for some reason.
L: Do you have a favorite thing to draw, whether it’s something you doodle or otherwise?
FEH: You’re going to laugh at this, but my favorite thing to draw is people having deep emotions. I love the scenes in any of my graphic novels where people are going through a lot of emotions, right? I really like drawing people in the middle of huge emotional breakdowns. For me, the best way to convey emotions is to decompress a scene and give characters time to react and act it out on a page, so it’s like…I have a joke. When I do a graphic novel it’s like 250 pages long and you get 50 pages of plot and 200 pages of people staring at each other. – laughs-
L: Are you ever conscious of inserting yourself into your stories?
FEH: I’ve drawn myself and my friends in the background of a couple of scenes, like in Nothing Could Possibly Go Wrong, there’s a crowd scene at a robotics competition and I drew all of my friends in one scene. I do it so I don’t have to come up with designing characters!
L: My last question is what are you currently reading that you would recommend?
FEH: I have con brain at the moment, but I just finished the fourth trade of Ms. Marvel. Oh my gosh, I’m completely blanking! Oh! I’m reading this manga called A Silent Voice, that is so good and will break your heart. I’m really into that series, and I think it’s amazing.
Be sure to check out The Nameless City, which is now in local comic shops everywhere! It’s an amazing story and worth your money!
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Camilla d’Errico is an urban contemporary painter, illustrator, character creator and comic artist residing in Vancouver, Canada. With roots in comics, Camilla’s work is seen on toys, clothes, accessories and more. She has been published by Random House/Watson Guptill books, Boom! Studios, Image Comics, IDW, Dark Horse Comics and more, with self-publishing roots for her literature-inspired series, Tanpopo. Camilla has distinguished herself as one of the breakthrough artists in Pop Surrealism’s New Figurative movement through her ability to seamlessly weave manga and western styles with surrealist elements, wrapping it together with an extensive emotional palette. Camilla’s unique style bridges cultural and geographical boundaries, working with creative partners Hasbro, Disney, Mattel, Coastal and more, while remaining totally relevant to today’s varied audience. Ever the prolific artist, Camilla lives the double life of comic artist/creator and New Brow painter, while expanding her horizons to include fashion, music, merchandise and designer toys.
I sat down with Camilla during a brief moment of down time during Emerald City Comic Con, literally seated on this gorgeous, vintage looking, re-upholstered chair printed with her art.
L: Wow, this is just…beautiful. These chairs are for sale?
CD: Yeah, I would like to do two a year! I was talking to Rubbish Rehab, a local company that makes them, and this is the first time we’ve had them available at the show. They sold so fast, and we had people ask to do more, and I’d love to bring more vintage chairs, and have them every year from now on.
L: Would you do different styles of chair?
CD: All styles. They did a throne for me, and it was the nicest thing. I wish I had a promotional photo seated in it.
L: All of you art has this sort of wide-eyed doll-like appearance. Is this something you pulled from yourself? Now that I’ve seen you in person, I can see you in these!
CD: Oh, really? That’s so funny. You’re making me blush! No, I’ve had people say that I look like my art, which I think is a huge compliment, cause they’re like, big doe-eyed adorable girls! I do have big eyes, but you know, the only time I realized I had big eyes was when I went to Taipei and the people there would tell me!
L: Do you use yourself as a model?
CD: Noooo, no, no. Not at all. Actually, I try to avoid getting photographed or recorded or even like, mirrors. I’m just not…I just try to see the world around me, I don’t actually look at myself, like for inspiration.
L: I noticed you’ve done some fantasy art, some anime inspired art, is there a favorite genre for you?
Paint Catcher
CD: I definitely like the melting colors right now. I finished work for my solo show and I melted so many colors into these multiple paintings…I can’t get enough, I can’t stop. I’m completely inspired by seeing different colors blending together, or just in contrast! Seeing color with weight, um, it’s just part of my obsession with wanting to eat color, which you can’t cause it’s toxic, ha ha. It totally looks like candy. These girls are like the fantasy I want, they get to experience and taste melting color.
L: So, you use traditional mediums when painting! I don’t know why I thought you did it all digital. Do you prefer oil, or acrylic?
CD: I use oils AND acrylics. There’s also this brand I use called Holbein Duo and it’s oil paint you can blend with water. It’s unbelievable.
L: How do you determine your color palette? Is it dependable on the subject, or the individual piece?
CD: I’m always going for bright. I try to blend it, so that it’s in contrast. I’ll have my muted colors and then mix the rich and vibrant. If I try to do it all vibrant, it gets lost. You don’t know where to focus the eye, but if you use, like, the Paint Catcher, there’s lots of pinks and reds and her face is really muted. I try to keep it a good balance. I love hearing people’s interpretations of my art.
L: I know you’ve done some comic art for different publishers, but would you be interested in taking on one of the younger heroes from Marvel or DC?
CD: I’ve done SOME superhero stuff, but I haven’t been asked to do any lately. If Marvel was like, “Hey, let’s see your version of Spider-Gwen,” I would be like heck yeah! Spider-Gwen is right up my alley. I would die.
L: What other projects do you have in the works, aside from your upcoming show?
CD: In July, I’m debuting my very first adult coloring book! I’m so excited!!
L: How have your fan experiences been? Are there any particular memorable encounters?
CD: Yeah! People overwhelm me when they bring me presents, or tell me stories of how my art has affected them, and I have these two fans that are just the cutest. They are from Costa Rica and they bring me these chocolates and coffee. I’m always like, “YOU GUYS ARE THE ABSOLUTE BEST!” Two years ago at San Diego Comic Con, we did this Zombie Escape run together. It was amazing and I…I left them behind. Oh my God, I totally left them for dead! – laughs- It was so high intensity. There’s dozens of zombies, and army guys. I had to leave them behind. I felt so bad even though it’s like, the apocalypse.
L: You did what you had to do. It was a people eat people world!! Let’s talk about about the expansion of your art into various other merchandise. You mentioned elsewhere that your dream is to make clothes, and it looks like you’ve brought that dream to fruition!
CD: Goldbubble and Nuvango carry my stuff!! I would love to do a lolita dress. I would do the coolest lolita dress!! I would just love to do high fashion too, THAT’s my real dream project. The scarves we just put out are just beautiful. Every year I try to branch out and do something different, so I don’t know. Maybe next year I will actually get to do runway dresses. How cool would that be?
L: It sounds like it’d be pretty cool! I just noticed you did a Sailor Moon piece, and I’m curious as to what you enjoy or gravitate towards personally.
CD: In my personal life, oh man, I am super obsessed with anything supernatural, especially vampires. I wish I was vampire, and like if you ever meet a vampire, let me know. I would so turn to the dark side, which would go against my color palette, but you know, whatever! I love all of that. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts…all of it. I would turn my husband because we said, “Til death do us part.”
L: That is hilarious! Since we are out of time, how do you get yourself in the mood to draw? Do you find yourself inspired and immediately go to put it on paper?
CD: Well, it depends. Usually if I’m on a deadline, I put on audiobooks, like Harry Potter, or Driving Mr. Dead, an awesome vampire book by the way, and I’ll get my latte going. I’ll just start drawing and create.
Rainbow Children and Pop Painting are the latest books of art from Camilla, and are both now available on her website! If you’re local to Los Angeles, her solo show at Corey Helford Gallery opens April 23rd!
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