A Little Phantom Warm Up This Morning.

A little Phantom warm up this morning.

Tom Mankiewicz is the Bill Finger of Superman: The Movie.

Is it really impossible to write a good Superman movie?

mario puzo did it.

Q+A: Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg

Linework NW is at its heart a gathering of remarkable creators, editors, illustrators, cartoonists, and publishers who represent some of the best work that is being produced in these mediums today.

Each day from now until the show we are going to be highlighting the amazingcreators of Linework NW in a series of short interviews. Today’s Q+A, conducted by Kinoko Evans, will be spotlighting artist Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg.

What is your absolute go to, favorite thing to draw? I think it would have to be a tie between monsters and cats.  I have these little tubular, nose-less, liquid-armed and toothy monster-people that I’ve been drawing for a few years, and generally when I sit down to doodle they are the first thing that comes out onto the page.  All cats are great to draw but I’m particularly fond of the squishy-faced Persian kind.

What are your favorite mark making tools? What’s a new medium you’d love to try? I love the Pentel Pocket Brush.  It took me a while to get the hang of it but now I really enjoy all the variety of marks I can make with it: differing line widths, fluid lines, deep blacks and scratchy dry brush looks.  Next to that would be Rapidograph pens.  I’d love to give inking with nibs a try–that, and coloring more with gouache.  

Do you keep a sketchbook? Do you draw when you travel? I do keep a sketchbook!  It usually winds up being equal parts drawing and writing, and in general the pages alternate between the two–drawings (mostly inked) on one side of a page, writing on the other.  My sketchbooks are a repository for a lot of things: journaling, lesson planning (I also teach comics-making to kids), thumbnailing, drawing from life, and creating little one page quickie comics.  I drew all of my “30 til 30” diary comics in my sketchbook, partially to make the project feel more loose and casual.  And yes, I do draw a lot when I travel.  My family lives in New York City, and when I visit them I like to take time to walk around different neighborhoods sketching buildings, street scenes, subway stations–the things that make the environment.

What is your latest project? Right now I’m working on a medium-length comic (approximately 60 pages total) called “Middle.”  It’s about two best friends–sixth graders named Rachel and Allison–and their experience of going to a dance for the first time. The comic takes place over the course of one day, and as the story goes on it becomes clear that their friendship is likely about to undergo a change.  I wanted to explore all the ways it can feel terrifying and exciting to be that age, right on the verge of adolescence, and what that looks like in regards to close female friendship.  I also wanted to capture the look of the type of sprawling suburbia I grew up in.  There’s been a whole lot of photo reference searching for strip malls and split level houses and the like.  "Middle" is also a bit of a warm up for me–I definitely see a future for these characters in a longer work, and this is helping me to get a feel for them.  

at Tranquility Base

Dudes are emerging.