Aaron Alexovich



A little while ago Mr. A posted a confession, followed by an offer: anybody who wanted an interview and had a place to post it was more than welcome to e-mail him some questions. Being the good little fandweeb I am, I went ahead and did so.

To those of you that missed my Kimmie66 review from a few weeks past, I'll give you a bit of a more detail Aaron A mini-bio.


"Born the year Elvis died" (Coincidence, conspiracy or reincarnation? Dude's got sideburns.). CalArts rejecter. Tim Burton enthusiast and spookycute lover. Former animation drone for Nickelodeon and Discovery Kids. Author-artist of webcomic turned published comic Serenity Rose, with part 2 of the story coming along. Lucifer inker, Fables penciller, and MINX artist. Married recently, where unscheduled entertainment was provided by a sperm whale, a giant squid and a siamese cat.

Now, onto the interview.



Q1: Something usually draws us to what we do, be it person, object or event. What drew you towards drawing comics?

My Dad is the reason I became an artist. He was an animator and art director for Encyclopedia Britannica for many, many years, so I pretty much surrounded with that stuff my whole life. Mostly cartoons and sci-fi stuff, not a lot of what you'd call "high-brow" art, I guess. I used to spend a disturbing amount of time poring over old Jack Kirby and EC comics my Dad showed me when I was little, so that's probably why I went that route, eventually. My first comic book work was actually a Star Trek spoof ("Star Blech," I believe) I scribbled out on construction paper as a Christmas present for him one year. Captain James T. SMIRK was the hero, I believe.



Q2: Your stories tend to have a bit of fantasy in them, but the characters are pretty realistic and easy to relate to. Is any of your stuff related to real-life events or people?

I don't think fantasy works unless it's grounded in realistic characters. People will go along with the wildest ideas as long as the emotions and behavioral observations seem true. I mean, that's how all storytelling works, isn't it? The fun comes from thinking "Would I behave like this person in this situation? Would anyone?" There weren't any specific people or events in my life that inspired Serenity Rose Vol. 1, though (Vol. 2 is a different story). Serenity's personality is kinda-sorta autobiographical, in the sense that she's, y'know, quiet, terrified of social interaction, wants to do something great but isn't sure how, etc., but I think that's usually the way it is with authors and their main characters. Even if they specifically don't want it to be that way.



Q3: Some artists will take on projects doing magazine covers, CD booklets, films... Would you ever consider branching out into something outside comics?

Well, I did work in animation for a couple of years, doing character designs, mostly. It was kind of fun, but ultimately, I think I'm happiest telling my own stories, my own way, in my own home, on my own time. That's what you get from indie comic book work, y'know? What you don't get is money, unfortunately, but I'm working on that.



Q4: What books, music or movies (or anything else) do you consider made you the person you are today?

The Nightmare Before Christmas was pretty clearly a big influence on me. All of Tim Burton's films were, really, but that one in particular. It was sort of the beginning of the whole "spookycute" aesthetic I've been playing with all through my career so far. And it's not all about looks, either... the whole "threatening things made unthreatening" motif in his films is really important to me. I know it sounds kind of silly, but you know, it's honestly a very, very difficult thing to convince yourself it's okay to be strange (and that it's usually the un-strange ones you need to watch). Especially when you're a kid. Watching Tim Burton's films is like repeating a mantra.



Q5: Do you have any suggestions or warnings to those of us who aspire to be comic writers and/or artists?

Once you start getting paid work, make sure you find time to work on something that's totally, 100% your own. Even if no one will ever see it. The worst thing you can do is give every hour of every day and every drop of your artistic talent to someone else. It's a mental health thing.



So a thank you to Mr. A for granting me my first interview.




Links:
-heartshapedskull Aaron A's webpage
-Aaron A's LJ
-Serenity Rose Volume 1: Working Through the Negativity
-Confessions of a Blabbermouth Written by Mike and Louise Carey
-Kimmie66


Other interviews:
-Shuffleboil
-Erik Amill on DeviantART
-Terminus
-William's Bloody Hell



--Exit