• …
  • About
  • Vampire Month Alumni
  • World Book Night

Lurking Musings

~ Musings of a newly published writer

Lurking Musings

Tag Archives: Graphic Novel

[Vampire Month] Interview with Isabella Favilli

08 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings, Vampire Month

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ann Rice, Bites, Dracula, Fine art, graphic designer, Graphic Novel, guest posts, Interviews, Isabella Favilli, Last of the Blood, Lestat, Ninfa Hayes, Photography, Vampire Month, Vampires


Here we have an interview with Isabella Favilli, a former graphic designer turned fine artist turned photography editor turned graphic novel artist…

1) What is the first thing you remember drawing or painting?
A horse, I was four and everyone was kinda impressed, my mom still has it.Isabella
2) When did you first think you might be able to make a living as an artist?
When I was choosing my high school at fourteen, the idea was to become a graphic designer but after graduating after 5 years I realized that it was not the kind of art I loved the most; Fine Art was more what I loved and althought I was not quite sure I could make a living out of it, I still loved to paint and draw, but it stayed as a hobby for a long time, there was not much work to be found back in Italy.

3) What would you consider to be your greatest strength as an artist? What about your greatest weakness? How do you overcome this weakness?
My greatest strength is something I have been told more than realized myself.
People often tell me that the people (fantasy or real) that I make a portrait of have eyes with a soul, they can communicate real emotions, which I think it is a good thing.
My weakness? I sometimes think I might not be anything special to stand out.
As for how I overcome my weakness, I try to listen to my heart and how it feels when I look at my art work, and I also listen to what other people feel about my work, see if they receive the message I was trying to put into it; sometimes we are our worse critic, but what’s more important to me is that my work makes someone feel something, even if it isn’t what I was trying to say, any interpretation is as valid.

Figurative Art is a bit like music, it can take people to their personal place and it does not matter if it is not the same as the one that inspired the artist, once it is out, it’s for everyone to see in it what they like. It’s not good to be stuck to your own interpretation.

Petrov

Petrov

4) Tell us about the places where you have lived. Have you ever derived any inspiration from your home or from anywhere you have visited?
I was born in Rome, Italy and lived there till i was twenty six, when I moved in Manchester, and after I had my daughter in 2009, I moved in Yorkshire.
I have visited many regions in Italy, Tuscany is one of my favourite and I spent a very long time in it, I found Prague very inspiring and Paris. I particularly enjoyed seeing The Impressionists in Jeux De Paume in Paris, because together with Caravaggio they are my favourite painters.
Being born in Rome has surely given me an input when it comes to the variety of Art I got to see live, but my favourite subjects are people more than places; I have however painted a scene which was inspired by ancient roman ruins, it is still one of my favourite paintings and my best friend has proudly hanged it in her living room, when I look at it I can almost smell the air of my home town.

5) What would you consider to be your greatest influence and inspiration?
I find my heart’s darkest places to be the greatest influence, pouring that darkness out has often helped me overcome the toughest times of my life.

6) What appeals to you about Vampires?
The are beautiful, immortal and merciless but some humanity still lingers in them. I like that battle behind their eyes: between their hunger and their feelings.

7) What do you think is the attraction for Vampires? Why are they such a popular topic?
I think there is something very erotic in them, and that battle I was talking about is often present in us humans. The instinct of our nature often battles against our feelings or our society conventions. I see my own struggles in them sometimes, I am sure many others do to.kiSS
And just imagine, being immortal and powerful, with great power of seduction, I think there is a lot to be attracted to.

8) In a fight between all the greatest Vampires of fiction, who do you think would come out on top?
Lestat: no one has killed him yet. He has been burnt, switched body, taken to Hell, taken to Heaven, loved, killed… he is around, as glorious as he has ever been.

9) What about in some other contest such as sexiness or dress sense? Who would win that one?
Dracula, from the movie Dracula 2000 by Wes Craven. I
have never seen a sexier vampire than the Dracula that walks in the Virgin
Store  in Dracula 2000. Gerard Butler totally got the sexiness of his character, even the Scottish accent suits him! Ok, I do have bias in this case tho…
Gary Oldman also did an amazing job as Dracula, the moment in the movie that he introduces himself to Mina is a total swoon, it is also my favourite Dracula movie, I have seen it more times that I can count and know it by heart.

 

10) How well do you think one of your characters would fare against the winner(s) of the above?
I am afraid my characters would not stand a chance between the most powerful and the most ancient vampire, but then again they would probably be willing victims. I think my characters secretly dream to be Lestat or Dracula’s eternal companion.

11) Tell us about your latest work.
It’s a vampire kiss, only the mouths are visible, are they gonna bite? Are they gonna kiss? There is a suspension there, open to everyone’s fantasy.

I also drew the characters from a novel called The Last Of The Blood, they don’t look particularly vampirish, but they are none the less vampires. I liked the story, written by Ninfa Hayes, and felt inspired.

[Vampire Month] Isabella Favilli – Artwork for Bites

04 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings, Vampire Month

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bites, graphic designer, Graphic Novel, Isabella Favilli, Last of the Blood, Ninfa Hayes, Vampire Month, Vampires


The theme of Vampires is inevitably going to include some elements of the past so it is fitting that this third Vampire month includes links back to some of the previous ones. Not only has Isabella Favilli, today’s guest post contributor, already had some of her work featured on this blog but her most recent collaboration has been with Ninfa Hayes, one of our Vampire Month Alumni.

Isabella has been working on the artwork for a graphic novel adaptation of Last of the Blood, one of the two novellas Ninfa published under the title of ‘Bites‘.

kiSS

Last of the Blood follows the story of Damon, a soldier who becomes a Vampire and his long journey through history to the modern day. The following are some character shots Isabella has done in preparation for the graphic novel.

Damon, hero of Last of the Blood

Damon, hero of Last of the Blood

 

Lavinia

Lavinia

 

Petrov

Petrov

Nataliya

Nataliya

If you have read Last of the Blood then these characters will be familiar to you already. If you have not then I shall not spoil anything by revealing any plot secrets about the story or the characters. Suffice to say that the novella is worth a read and I am sure the graphic novel adaptation will also be of value.

Look out later in the week for more from Isabella…

 

 

 

 

Assault or Attrition – An interview with Blake Northcott

24 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Arena Mode, Assault or Attrition, Blake Northcott, Comicbookgirl19, dystopias, Graphic Novel, indie writers, Internet trolls, Kickstarter, Mark McKenna, misogynism, Self Publishing, Steve McNiven, Superhero


Today we are VERY lucky to have an interview with Blake Northcott, who some may remember as @ComicBookGrrl on Twitter but who has now emerged as Canada’s hot new writing talent. Her previous novels – Vs reality, Relapse and Arena Mode – hit bestseller lists on Amazon in the US and UK and her latest offering, Assault or Attrition, is already fully funded through a Kickstarter campaign.blake-northcott-author

Assault or Attrition, another hybrid of the traditional novel format and the graphic novel like Arena Mode, has seen Northcott work with some promising collaborators such as Steve McNiven (Guardians  of the Galaxy, Civil War, Uncanny Avengers) and Mark McKenna (Star  Wars: Old Republic, Justice League, Combat Jacks) as well as COMICBOOKGIRL19 (The Comic Book Girl 19 Show) among others and is set in the same dystopian superhero continuity as Arena Mode. We talked to her about her work, the trend for self publishing via Kickstarter and the perils of online misogynism.

D.A Lascelles: You’ve done really well in the last few years, seeming to effortlessly hit bestseller lists on Amazon with your books (Arena Mode #1 in Amazon UK). How much of that was luck and how much was due to hard work?

Blake Northcott: That is a funny question. I don’t think anyone gets anywhere without hard work, but maybe there is an element of luck in there, too? Sometimes there is a ‘right place, right time’ event that kind of comes along, and maybe the people in the UK just really wanted to read a book about superheroes?

Either way I’m grateful!

blake-northcott-jon-roc-upchurchDL: Assault or Attrition is part of the same continuity as Arena Mode. What is the underlying story of these two novels?

BN: Arena Mode is more ‘world building’ – it sets up a universe in 2041 where the economy has kinda gone to hell, and superheroes just happen to exist. It follows a lifelong underachiever, Matthew Moxon, though some big challenges.

The story, if I had to sum it up, would be ‘Marvel and DC collides with The Hunger Games’, although that’s pretty simplistic. There’s more to it than that…at least I think there is?

Assault or Attrition deals with the fallout from the first book, and it’s heading in a completely different direction.

 DL: You talk about Arena Mode and Assault or Attrition being a blending of novels and graphic novels. Why did you choose to follow that route rather than opt for one or the other?

BN: Because I love both genres, and always wanted to do a hybrid of sorts – this was my happy medium. I get to write a novel, but have a comic book flavor by adding some artwork, without the need to make one person commit to an entire 22-page issue along with an inker, colorer and all that.

DL: Assault or Attrition has garnered a lot of support from some quite big names in comic art. Are you surprised at this? What was it like working with these people?

BN:  I’m surprised every day!

Working with some heavyweights from Marvel and DC is very humbling. They’re so talented and I’m learning so much from them. They’re all nice….well, one of them is a dick. You know who you are.

That was a joke. Sort of.

DL: Kickstarter seems to be the ‘in thing’ for self published writers looking to fund their writing.  Could you describe your experiences with this method? How do you see the use of this method developing in the future? 

BN: I see a lot of huge publishers elbowing their way into the space at the moment, but that was inevitable. I would like to see it stay kind of ‘indie’, for people who can’t find a home with a major publisher, but there’s no way to keep the sharks out the little pond, it seems – once they see the potential for profit they’ll jump in.

But overall, it’s still a pretty fair marketplace. My experience is that I can get exposure to a new audience that would not normally have seen my books, in a way that simply isn’t possible on Amazon, or anywhere else.

Plus selling a physical book on Amazon is so cost-prohibitive that there is almost no upside to it. Kickstarter allows me to produce a high-quality book, printed in America, and add all sorts of bells and whistles to the packages so people get more for their money.

DL: Self publishing: self inflicted modern vanity press or a way for talented writers to get unusual ideas with a niche market out there?logo2

BN: Self publishing is the ultimate raw material. It’s a lump of clay, and you make whatever you want out of it.

I’m a dorky Canadian woman who does sci-fi/superhero books with comic book art in them. That’s what I’ve made out of it so far, and every single writer does their own unique thing with the platform.

DL: There has been a lot of strife on social media over the ‘fake geek girl’ scandal and a whole host of issues surrounding the sexism in geekdom – specifically in the gaming industry. What is your stance on this? Is Geekdom becoming more enlightened over time or reverting back to more misogynistic roots? How do you think this issue can be tackled?

BN: I think that the trolls can be far more easily dealt with by ignoring them.

That sounds simplistic, but really, the whole ‘You’re a fake geek girl!’ thing can be crushed by just not letting the trolls voice their stupid opinions. There are a handful of dicks out there, but most people aren’t sexist or mean – they just want to engage and share what they love.

And I love debates and opposing opinions – that’s what an open discussion is all about – but when someone is being intentionally rude or aggressive, I block or unfriend  them, and delete their post immediately. It’s that easy. I don’t get all upset and make a big thing about it – I just get rid of them and move on.

Let’s face it – 99% of people are pretty cool. But there is always gonna be that one jackass who wants to screw up the party for everyone. Instead of letting that dick become the center of attention, let’s just move past him and discuss awesome stuff.

***

Assault or Attrition has, at the time of writing, exceeded its funding goal on Kickstarter and so should very soon be available to buy or download. However, the Kickstarter is still open so you can hop on and claim some of the rewards.

You can find out more about Blake on her Facebook and Twitter accounts or read more of her thoughts in one of her regular Man Cave Daily articles.

Assault or attrition cover

Twitter Updates

  • Just entered the Mirror competition on @PurplePort #photo #competition #PurplePort purpleport.com/competition/vi… #NSFW 2 weeks ago
  • Just entered the Dance competition on @PurplePort #photo #competition #PurplePort purpleport.com/competition/vi… 3 weeks ago
  • Interview: Gillian Polack #SFF #fiction #amwriting dalascelles.co.uk/2021/01/19/int… 1 month ago
  • Blending the Con dalascelles.co.uk/2021/01/19/ble… 1 month ago
  • The Elementals: Russell A Smith interview. #knoxpublishing #theelementals dalascelles.co.uk/2021/01/06/the… 1 month ago
Follow @areteus

Like me on Facebook

Like me on Facebook

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join the Lurkers

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,000 other followers

Recent Posts

  • Interview: Gillian Polack
  • Blending the Con
  • The Elementals: Russell A Smith interview.
  • New Year Dog
  • The Elementals: Heather Young Nicols interview

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
    To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy