Hotshow Showcase: Lars Brown

Two words: North World. Two more words: Lars Brown. Lars is an amazing comic artist, dragging you into his work with monstrous force as he casually cuts down comic monster after comic monster. Recently he started Northworld: the Kailee Chronicles and it's proving to be just as amazing as the first story arc.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background and how you got into this field? 

I’m not sure I ever wanted to be an artist exactly, there was a definite time after reading The Chronicles of Narnia that I very much wanted to be a writer. I always drew though, and around that time (grade school) I became friends with Kiel West who really got me to be drawing, especially comics. It’s very common for kids to only draw single panel pages, like storybooks, but Kiel got me thinking in sequentials early. Not very clearly, of course, but it paved the way. But instead of drawing comics I only wrote, prose and eventually scripts, for years. I always doodled, but didn’t really get started on comics until College. Strangely enough by the time I’d finished 22 pages and put it together as a book I met Doug TenNapel who pushed me to draw constantly and go to San Diego Comic-Con, that was 2005 and so far it’s paid off.

Now, the moment I knew I was an artist was in 2008 when I was partway through the second North World book. I was drawing on break at work and sat down and drew a large, half page panel of the character Kailee spinning with her arms out in Conrad’s childhood bedroom. It just flowed right out and in 20 minutes I’d gone from a blank, white square to a room with sense of history and characters living and breathing in it. I looked at it with the minute to spare before break was over and thought “well there it is, I guess I can do this.”

Can you tell us about some your projects you're working on? What are your favorite genres to work in?

I keep imagining that I love sci-fi and can write it, but I’ve only made about one short story in the genre. I keep coming up with the most awful, cliched stuff. FLCL was a big inspiration in college but I never managed to make anything close. So I just keep doing North World, I’m on the fourth book but it’s the start of a new, long story about the wizard Kailee.

I’ve written more fantasy than anything, and it’s a great genre, you can get away with anything and it can be very fun and liberating but only if you set it up very seriously and have an idea of laws within the world. Its like a garden on top of a high pinnacle, once you set up a wall children can play and throw themselves around without fear of falling off the side.

What are some of your inspirations that influenced your work?

Doug TenNapel has been a big influence for years, I got the first issue of his book Gear back in 1998 and it seemed to tell me that I could make characters be very expressive and malleable. The other big one is Bryan Lee O’Malley, I got into his work around 2003 or so, right before Lost at Sea came out. Then the first Scott Pilgrim came out and it was so crazy and messy and amazingly inspiring. Those are the big comics influences, but I pillage everything artwise, I’m constantly looking over Bone and Hellboy and One Piece looking at how the artists do everything. Their inking techniques, the composition, how trees and rocks are drawn.

Is there an underlying message or theme that you have in your work? What is it you want the audience to get out of your work?

There’s a few. My first goal is always to entertain, and while I strive to clearly include classic themes I never seem to quite get them in very cleanly. I do tend to veer toward the heroic, getting characters to stand up and fight against something deadly for the benefit of others.

Can you tell us a bit about your creative process? What are some challenges you face when you're creating?

I get some ideas that take a long time to cook and others that just tumble out and become stories in short time. I always seem to be trying some other method for every story I start working on. I’m hoping the next story line will be five books and I’ve been trying to set up a story line that can really unfold as I go. Instead of trying to figure out every little detail I’ll figure out the end then work towards it but keep a bit of room to play around in without painting myself into the corner with a noose hanging from the ceiling. I’ll let you know how it works out in five years when I’m done.

Then I write the script and work on the thumbs as I complete the pages. I’m always revising just about everything, the only things that remains constant are the general idea of where I’m going and the ending. It can sometimes get very frustrating in the middle, unless I come up with some great idea that fits in perfectly.

What are some dreams that you have for your work?

Media empire and a series of movies that wins more awards than Lord of the Rings and books that stick around like the Lord of the Rings books. These are dreams, right? I’m fine with whatever, the one thing I can control is making books and I enjoy that the most. I know people are reading them, and I’m always pleasantly surprised that they enjoy reading them. Every person that comes up to me and says they enjoy my book is a thrill “Really, my book? Success!”

What do you think about the publishing industry vs. self-publishing?

I am very happy working with Oni Press, I like the people and I like letting them deal with the intricacies of getting the books into stores. If someone can do self-publishing more power to them, but at some point you get big enough and you need to hire people and run it like a business. I think I could do the business part okay, but I’d rather just draw.

What do you think about the comic scene currently?

There are some great things, it’s amazing to see the heights that Scott Pilgrim has hit, there’s always a fresh webcomic popping up and the internet is such a fertile ground of artists.  There seems to be a lot of freedom for anyone to do anything as long as they’re willing to do the work. I don’t know if it’s ever been a great time to make comics as a living, but it is the best time to make comics because you love making stories. Even if the book market collapses and every publisher closes up shop artists will be able to make their work and share stories somehow.

 

RAPID FIRE ROUND:

When you're in an artblock you: Play video games until I hate myself and then draw really fast to catch up
Your greatest fear: Someone will find the awful fantasy novel I wrote in High School
Something you've always wanted to do but haven't: Play a barre chord on my guitar, my fingers don’t bend that way!
Favorite book/movie/comic: Pride and Prejudice/ Royal Tenenbaums/ Orion by Masamune Shirow
Your darkest secret: My first comic was a combination of Dracula and War of the Worlds, I’m sorry!

You can find more of Lar's work on his LJ and his catch up with him on his Twitter.