Comicsgirl

Tonya Kay is already a real-life superheroine — she’s an actress, a stage performer, a raw vegan, a chaos magician, an athlete and activist — so it’s really no surprise she’s making the leap to comics, too. After being a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Superhero?, this versatile personality gained a following of comic fans who will probably be delighted to see her in the upcoming November issue of Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose.

Kay is a sweetheart so it’s no surprised she happily answered the questions I e-mailed to her.

Comicsgirl: You’ve been involved with several comics-related projects since Who Wants to Be a Superhero? Have you always been a comics fan? Are there any comics you read regularly?

Tonya Kay: Do comic strips count? My favorite is Garfield. Now who’s the geek of geeks? I learned to draw that cat and gave mine a new character name an personality. His own adventures. You see, my Garfield was different though because he wore a bow tie and had no mouth. Call it: style.

CG: How did your appearances in Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose come about?

TK: Conventions are almost cosmic intentional communities. Magickal meetings are mishapped upon and families are formed with afore strangers. I met a photographer from Germany named Steffan Volkmer when I was appearing at San Diego Comic Con in 2008. He followed my work and we kept in touch. The real life action hero things I do in my career and spare time include whip cracking, knife throwing, fire dance … you know, the fun stuff the other girls don’t do! Well, I had just modeled for LA photographer Dave Klingsick of Day Bright Studio with some weaponry my talented Hollywood film blacksmith friend, Dave Baker of Hollywood Combat Center forged. Seeing my recent broadsword warrior shoot, Steffan was inspired to introduce me to the owner of Broadsword Comics, saying we might be a tight fit. I sent one of the photos to Jim Balent and to my astonishment, he responded right away saying he was familiar with my character on Stan Lee’s original season of Who Wants to Be A Superhero? and more specifically, appreciated that I was open about my lifestyle, wearing a small upside-down pentagram around my neck on national television. Then Jim said he’d like to feature me this year!

I hardly knew what was in store for me at that point. Working with Jim Balent has become a powerful and fulfilling ritual! Through the year I’ve gotten to know Jim and his wife/business partner, Holly GoLightly and what extraordinary human beings, artists and business people they are. I’ve reference modeled for my character, offered personal life experiences for storylining, written a Chaos spell for the comic and have had much of my modeling work published as well. In July, I experienced a full circle, when Jim invited me to appear at the Broadsword Comic booth with him and Holly at San Diego Comic Con 2009. There I got to see Jim’s rendering of the cover of Issue #59 starring me! I almost fainted when I saw myself featured on the cover of the Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose comic. I also got to interact with fans, meet new friends and Steffan, the man who originally introduced Jim and I, even arrived to officially complete the circle – conventions really are cosmic intentional communities!

CG: Do you have any other comic-related projects on the horizon?

TK: I am available for comic reference modeling. I’m a real life action hero! And if you would like to see my heroism in action, look for me playing a reoccurring role on Comedy Central’s Secret Girlfriend this fall. Secret Girlfriend is a new series airing in the time slot right after South Park. I will be playing Cassidy, the lesbian burlesque dancer who beats up boys. I will be cracking whips, throwing knives, and grinding sparks off my metal warrior bikini – no kidding! I hope to continue combining my acting talents and action skills in unique roles like this. And I hope to continue modeling for comic artists, like Jim Balent.

CG: I think one of the most awesome things about you is that you’re a raw vegan. How did you get started on that path? Do you have any recommendations for someone who wants to pursue it?

TK: I’ve been vegetarian for 25 years, 15 of which were vegan and the past 7 raw vegan. I got started on the raw vegan path, specifically, when I decided that I was one of the animals I wanted to take care of. Basically, I had been taking care of all the other animals and hadn’t discovered yet what it was really like to be a healthy human animal! If there is anything on this earth that makes a real super hero, it’s eating straight from nature. She’s never wrong and I don’t question her. I am fit, emotionally and athletically, I am connected to the seasons and can process higher levels of stress without problem, the people whom are drawn to me reflect the care I give myself — it is definitely worth working into your life as well.

For virgins who wish to experience a little of the raw vegan goodness, I’d suggest working in more and more raw food (how else?). What I mean is, I don’t suggest going 100% raw vegan over nite. Heck, if you look at my progression through dietary change, you could say it took me over two decades to make the transition from vegetarian to raw vegan. The good news is, you can work a smoothie in as your breakfast, 3 pieces of hand fruit in as your snacks, and a phat salad instead of your pasta or rice at nite and … for virgins, that IS increasing their raw food and they WILL feel a difference.

The difference just might be so easy and so rewarding that you decided to work more in in another six months. You started out as 40% raw and within 2 years you might find yourself at 70% without really having felt like you’ve made any changes at all.

Make raw friends now. Even if it is just on the internet at first. Get to know the community and how supportive it is. Make some easy recipes. Soon you’ll be the one inspiring people around you.

My first hero was Popeye, by the way. He said, “I YAM what I YAM”, dated a woman named Olive Oil, cared for a child called Sweet Pea and ate spinach to get those hulky forearms. He’s still my hero.

CG: And finally, any advice for girls or women who want to also be real-life superheroines?

It’s the perfect time to be a woman and I wouldn’t trade it for the world! Not long ago, women weren’t allowed to attend University. As recent as my own mother’s youth, girls sports weren’t an option in the school curriculum. And today, women control 53% of the nation’s wealth! We’ve come a long way in a short period of time, grrls, and that’s not only because it’s right and it’s fair, but because our feminine energies are needed, now more than ever to balance out a structured civilization that got way out of hand. Over the years, women have learned a lot from our magnificent men. And now I see men thirsting to learn from us. Do not hold back, ladies. It is our diplomacy, ability to communicate, compassion for nature and sensuality that is being called upon to “save the world.” We are all heroes and heroines when we balance our male and female energies.

I have an unstoppable performance career. I am a female business owner. I am a green role-model, fitness expert and animal activist. I am a fun friend, good neighbor and devoted Lover. I do not feel like anything is holding me back and I’m going all the way. All I have to say to other girls and women who are budding real-life superheroes is … welcome aboard – we value you!

A colorist’s contribution to comics is often overlooked, so it’s always awesome when one gets recognized for his or her talent. That’s the case with Eisner- and Harvey-winning colorist Laura Martin. Her artistic background and eye for color has added depth and emotions to titles such as Astonishing X-Men, Planetary and many more. She was picked by Dave Stevens to recolor his work for The Complete Rocketeer, due out next month from IDW Publishing.

Martin was kind enough to answer my questions via e-mail before her upcoming appearance at Baltimore Comic-Con.

Comicsgirl: How did you first get into comics? Was there a title that initially inspired you?

Laura Martin: I was in college studying graphic design, hoping that I’d land a job in the art department of some theme park in Orlando. I was working nights at Kinko’s, and made friends with several hardcore comics geeks there. I’d read comics off and on, but these guys reintroduced me to them. One of them was my friend Ian Hannin, who answered a talent search in the back of a Wildstorm comic. He got the job, and convinced me that I should pursue comics as well. I changed all of my senior projects to comics-related stuff and, as soon as I graduated, I headed for San Diego to join Wildstorm.

During that year when my friends immersed me in comics (1994 to 1995), I began absorbing every title I could that had the “Image style” of coloring. So my biggest inspirations were WildCATs, Wetworks, Witchblade, and Cyberforce. I very much wanted to be a part of that magic.

CG: While I’m sure every project is different, what’s your typical work process?

LM: Typically, I’ll start by receiving scans of the pages from the editor, along with the script. I’ll take a look through the book and see if there’s anything that requires clarification, such as characters I’m not familiar with or settings that might have been established earlier. The next step is to flat the page. Essentially, this is where each object on the page is filled in with a flat color, so that it is separated from adjacent shapes. The result is kind of like old-style comic strips or animation. I’ll often hire a flatter to do this part, so that I can concentrate on the rendering.

The color choices that my flatters choose are not necessarily my color choices, so when I get the flatted page back from them, I’ll go through and choose the colors that I want on the page. This helps me to establish a color scheme to set the mood for the scene. This step moves straight into the rendering step, which is where I add highlights and shadows to give the objects dimensionality, depth and focus.

When the page is finished, I’ll send a jpeg to the editor and the penciler for any possible corrections. Notes come back, I make any necessary changes, and I trap the page (kind of a difficult process to describe, but essentially, trapping is a system to make sure the page prints correctly) and send the final file back to the editor.

Regardless of what kind of art I’m coloring, or how I adjust my technique to compliment the art, these steps are constant throughout every page.

On average, I color about three to four pages a day. This can change drastically depending on the art; the more detailed it is, or the more rendering I have to do, the longer it takes. The time I spend on each page also changes drastically based on the deadline. When a book’s gotta go out, it’s gotta go out, and I gotta color fast!

CG: How much freedom do you have when it comes to coloring?

LM: It depends on the penciler. Some pencilers are very hands-on, and I’m happy to accommodate their requests, while others just let me do my thing. I like having an open line of communication with the colors, because ultimately, the book is a collaborative effort.

CG: While you’ve already worked on some of the biggest titles and creators in comics, do you have a dream project?

LM: I’m pretty sure I just did my dream project — recoloring all of Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer. I mean, it doesn’t get any better than that, and it really was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I wouldn’t mind revisiting The Authority one day; I’ve always had a soft spot for those characters. And I’m just a tiny bit jealous of Chris Sotomayor for getting to color Pet Avengers!

CG: Is there anyone at Baltimore Comic-Con you’re looking forward to seeing?

LM: It would be lovely to see old friends I haven’t seen in a while, like JG Jones and Tom Raney, and to meet people I’ve worked with but never met, like Doug Braithwaite. I hope I get a chance to get out from behind the table a bit — I tend to stay put most of the show, but really, I need to walk around this time! This is my first Baltimore Con so I have to check it out.

See Laura Martin this weekend at the Gaijin Studios table — #2108 — at Baltimore Comic-Con. Find out more about her and her work online at Gaijin Studios and at her blog.

As an accomplished cover artist, Jo Chen‘s work is the first thing readers see when picking up issues of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 among other titles. But Chen, who has been working in the comic book industry since she was a teenager, has also created video game box art as well as her own comics (most notably The Other Side of the Mirror, published in the U.S. by Tokyopop) and more.

Chen will be appearing at Baltimore Comic-Con on Oct. 10-11 and was awesome enough to answer my questions about her work through e-mail.

Comicsgirl: You’re probably best known for your covers for Dark Horse’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 series, a comic that seems to have brought in a lot of readers who probably weren’t comic fans before. How much responsibility do you feel to the fans of the TV series?

Jo Chen: Well the responsibility really flows down from Joss thru Scott Allie and Dark Horse to Georges, Karl and me. My part of that responsibility is to ensure that the covers are recognizable enough and compelling enough to entice the fans of the TV series, who are not necessarily comic book readers, to slip between the covers of an issue and take the ride. My guess is that the fans of the show know the characters (and the actors that portray them) and their voices so well and simply project those things onto the pages while reading. As a result, they accept that the books are indeed an extension of the television series. It’s hard not to do. So, to get people to trust/take a chance on the books is part of my job with the cover art.

CG: I love the glimpse into your creative process that you offered with your tutorial on Dark Horse’s site. While I’m sure it varies from project to project, what kind of direction are you initially given for each cover? How much freedom do you have?

JC: It depends. Most of the time, the writer of the arc, Joss or the Dark Horse editors, who already know what is in the script before I do, have definite ideas about what elements he/she/they want to see on the cover and I work to create that within that framework. It’s easy enough to ask for people drinking yak butter tea on top of a submarine that is wedged on in mountain peak with beasties roaming the grasslands underneath and another to attempt to work in all of those elements into a sound and attractive composition while still keeping the players recognizable. Whew! So, that is where my skills as an illustrator enter the picture (composition).

Conversely, there are instances when whatever is being asked for just doesn’t work. Sometimes, it’s too many elements to include; sometimes it’s the angle, etc. When this happens, I communicate that the idea isn’t working and that the concept needs to be modified or rethought entirely. That happened on one of my Runaways covers. It was a cover to feature Cloak & Dagger (Runaways #9) in a kind of split screen thing with Cloak on one side and Dagger on the other. The finished cover simply didn’t look right and I told them that it would be better to just have Cloak with the NYC skyline in the background. I can’t recall if this has happened on any of the Buffy covers. I think it has but I can’t recall right now which one.

CG: You’ve been in the comic industry for a number of years, both in the U.S. and Asia. What changes have you noticed since you first started?

JC: Not too many. I’m not really an industry-observer. Oh, I mean I hear when Disney acquires Marvel and things like that but I really don’t keep an ear to the ground for details of what is hot, what is now out of favor, what changes are afoot. I’m more acquainted with what is happening in Taiwan because there are fewer players and many of my closest friends still work and struggle there so I hear more. Sorry, that is a lame answer but there it is.

CG: While you’re probably best known for your covers, you have created your own comic, The Other Side of the Mirror. Do you have any more plans for your own comics in the future?

JC: Sure. As I’ve stated previously elsewhere, I love doing interiors and telling stories. It’s just that it is so time consuming that with kids and the workload I currently have, I can’t even entertain the idea of creating interiors for an ongoing series. The Buffy short “Always Darkest” was me getting to put my toes back into the water and splash around a little It felt good to do and I’m glad that it came off as well as it did. I will state that after its publication, I did receive an increased number of email messages suggesting that I should draw a Buffy one-shot from cover to cover and while that is both intriguing and flattering, it is simply too much work for me at the moment. I must sound like such a wimp given the crushing monthly deadlines met by Georges Jeanty, Karl Moline, Adam Warren and other interior artists I know and have worked with. But for me, right now, I simply cannot consider it. When I do venture into panel territory, it is to create some short story interiors for myself and friends’ doujin. That helps keep the rust scraped off.

CG: Is there anyone at Baltimore Comic-Con that you’re looking forward to meeting?

JC: Well, I hope to meet with Scott Allie who will be there and with C.B. Cebulski who may or may not be there. Both are editors/former editors and people I consider friends. I don’t get to cross paths with them very often in person so it’s nice to see them. As far as others whom I’ve not met or whose work I like, there are many on the list. So, when I get a break from my table, I will be moseying up and down the aisles like everybody else rubbernecking at great artwork.

See Jo Chen at Baltimore Comic-Con on Oct. 10-11. On Oct. 10, she will be apart of the Dark Horse Comics Buffy Season 8 Panel at 2:30 p.m. On Oct. 11, hear her discuss her work during Spotlight on Jo Chen at 12:30 p.m.