​   I've been meaning to write an Indie creators series of articles that spotlight the many talented creators that are out there making comics against all odds and I feel deserve our attention. A few people have asked me "why would you give another artist a spotlight on your website? They're gonna take your readers!" My short answer is No they won't, my long answer is it ain't about me, it never was about me and it never will be about me; we're all in this together. Hopefully creators see me writing about them and their books and we'll get to know each other, hopefully become friends and hopefully help each other out. There's room for everyone. With that said, let's talk to the mega talented comic book artist and teacher Kristin Mehaffey!

When did you came up with the idea for “Girl of Smoke”?

Noticed that the smoke from cigarettes was like a little ghost. Like it was your soul leaving your body. The rest blossomed from there. 

What is the creative team behind your comic?

*waves*

What's the premise behind “Girl of Smoke”?

A girl made a deal with the devil, not for the powers, but because she is ready for her soul to be taken. Ten years later we pick up where she is now. 

How many issues do you have planned to produce?

It would probably be best as one whole graphic novel, around 150-200 pages. 

Is “Girl of Smoke” going to be a long running series or a mini-series?

Just a self contained story, but lord knows I already am thinking of a sequel it doesn’t need haha. 

Why self-publish?

DIY lets you have more control over the story, and then can serve as a portfolio for any more future work. ​

Me- When did you came up with the idea for Mighty Mascots?

Keith Gleason- The idea came to me from a t-shirt that had a group of cereal mascots hanging out together on it. The image struck me as something fun and cool, I didn't immediately think of it being a super hero book; but that's how it ended up. It's a love letter to Saturday Morning Cartoons and super hero team books from the eighties.

What is the creative team behind your comic?
 
I handle the storyline, script, and lettering of the book. Pencils and Inks are done by the massively talented Ian Waryanto and colors are done by the equally talented Anton Bandi.

I have to say, the book looks beautiful! What's the premise behind Mighty Mascots?

For people not familiar with this series, its about a bunch of cereal mascots who were brought to life by a 3D printing formula and have banded together as a super hero team.
​

   As you all know I've been shining a spotlight on many indie comic book creators I feel deserve more recognition than they currently get and whose body of work merits our attention. Some of these creators are writers, pencillers and today we're going to get to know a master colorist; one of my best friends, colleague and Truthful Comics brother Francisco J. Rivera! ​

​TC: When did you discovered comic books? Was it love at first read? 

As with anyone who is curious about this wonderful medium one would find magazines and books at local shops like supermarkets and pharmacies. In my early teenage years, Manuel and I discovered that a boutique happened to be selling comics and trading cards. And yes it was love at first sight.

TC: When you first started collecting, which books did you collect?

X-men comics were a big hit in the 90’s so X-men #1 had come out and was really exciting to start with the second series with Chris Claremont and Jim Lee. The industry was expanding quickly, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Jim Valentino really got my interest. Image comics had released their lineup of series made to appeal to all kinds of comic fans: Youngblood, The Savage Dragon, Spawn, and WildC.A.T.s offered science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor.

TC: Do you consider yourself a comic book reader, collector or both?

I became both since once you’ve dipped your toes you are hooked up to a whole new world of stories, ideas, and art that you never knew existed!

TC: Which is/are your favorite comic book character(s)?

Hands down, my favorite mutant is X-men’s Beast.

How did you get into computer coloring and/or coloring in general?

I had started to develop a passion at a very young age. Growing up as a kid that watched cartoons every chance I had, either with family or friends. I got the idea that someday I could be the one who would be drawing those same cartoons that I was watching. The Sunday comic strip would have been a fair start to spark the interest of any reader. Then as I started reading comic books I was captivated by colors and effects that artists gave characters making them come alive. As other people have tried painting their own drawings with crayons, colored pencils, watercolor, and other media. I got my first computer when I turned 18. It was 1997 Windows XP was a thing. my father just had got me a computer for college. Working around computers one will find that Windows Paint was the most accessible program to start testing your artistic aspirations.

TC: How would you weigh the importance of technical knowledge vs. aesthetic feel and experience for a colorist?

For my part, it requires patience, practice, and some level of artistic skill. Nowadays mostly coloring is done on computers. It is amazing what can be achieved. It is secondary but its as important to pencils and stories.

Why self-publish?

-I believe that each passing year the number of online readers is growing. There are a lot of people on the internet looking for new stuff, and this includes comic book lovers! We are in the digital age, after all; but I would love to have my work published in the traditional way. I am open to it, and in fact looking for publishers at the moment.

How do you separate from the thousands who publish your books every year?

​-As I said before, I'm also a movie lover. And one thing I miss sometimes, is more cinematic language in comics. With the exception of some masters such as Alan Moore and Garth Ennis, this kind of thing is mostly seen in Japanese manga. And that is exactly what is very present in my comics. Reading SOLO is like watching a NETFLIX series, if you know what I mean. ​

   I've been meaning to write an Indie creators series of articles that spotlight the many talented creators that are out there making comics against all odds and I feel deserve our attention. A few people have asked me "why would you give another artist a spotlight on your website? They're gonna take your readers!" My short answer is No they won't, my long answer is it ain't about me, it never was about me and it never will be about me; we're all in this together. Hopefully creators see me writing about them and their books and we'll get to know each other, hopefully become friends and hopefully help each other out. There's room for everyone. With that said, let's talk to the mega talented Kelley Leanne Harris, creator of Those Who Sleep. ​

   I've been meaning to write an Indie creators series of articles that spotlight the many talented creators that are out there making comics against all odds and I feel deserve our attention. A few people have asked me "why would you give another artist a spotlight on your website? They're gonna take your readers!" My short answer is No they won't, my long answer is it ain't about me, it never was about me and it never will be about me; we're all in this together. Hopefully creators see me writing about them and their books and we'll get to know each other, hopefully become friends and hopefully help each other out. There's room for everyone. With that said, let's talk to the mega talented Danny Jimenez, creator and artist of Gravestone! ​

When did you came up with the idea for Alpha?

​​I came with the idea when I was making character designs for a story, written by me within the local artist group known back then as Trinity; later known as Unity Artist Group. The story was based on Unity characters, but from those version's future, one of those stories and one of the characters' designs; Alpha was born. Of course, only based on the story; not copying any of those original characters. 

What is the creative team behind your comic?

I am the creator of the vast majority (if not all) the characters in our studio. Likewise, I've been the writer and many times, the artist and colorist as well. Silver Island has at our service great talents, artists and writers from here, from Puerto Rico, the United States, Spain, Arabia, Brazil, Korea, the Philippines, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela and many other Countries.

What's the premise behind Alpha?

Alpha is a character that obtains powers from a blue space rock, which is alive (within itself that is). There is an entity, it fuses with the human host and hence Alpha is born. The story involves fantastic elements, more based on science and aliens but following the genre of superheroes.
​

2020 edit:
I wanted to resurface this review I had done in 2015 of this graphic novel. It's still one of my all time favorite indie stories and if you ever run into it and you enjoy something a little different mixing slice of life, coming of age, and romance, you can give this review a read and check out the book if you have a chance! /end edit

​Last year my girlfriend discovered this huge blow-out sale at a Strand Books warehouse. They were moving the warehouse to another location and it was a treasure trove of goodies. Books, dvds, graphic novels, we ended up going twice and we got some great, GREAT, GREAT, well, you get the picture, deals.

On the last day of the sale, I was walking through one aisle, when the spine of this graphic novel caught my attention. The title said "Love Buzz".

Immediately, the Nirvana cover of that song which was published in their first album, Bleach, started playing in my head. I pull it out and saw this nice cover and the inset title saying A True Love Story.

I've always been a sucker for romantic comedies or "chick flicks". My tastes in comics and movies is very varied, and I rarely get to see romantic comedy graphic novels, which kind of shows me how comics, especially indie comics, have evolved since the 90s, where I probably never would've found a book like this.

I flipped through the pages and instantly fell in love with the beautifully expressive art of main artist of the book Michelle Silva. I put it in the basket with the rest of our loot, and ended up reading it during my daily subway commute.

Writer Len N. Wallace put out  a wonderful coming of age story with the on again off again relationship between the two main characters, Norm Raymer and Maggie Gunther. We see them and a cast of friends develop from those high school years all the way into college.

He does a great job as well integrating Norm's aspiration to be a comic book creator, where the art of Dave Tuney gives a fantastic visual and balance to the book in those few pages where Norm "drew" his comics.

As usual, I don't want to go too much into detail about the story, so that way if you decide to pick up the book yourself, you will still be able to enjoy the story spoiler free. All I can say is a quote from the book warning you all that this is not a story of true love, but a true love story.

The creative team obviously put in a lot of effort into this book, which was published in 2009, and I only wish I had known about this one a lot sooner, this one is definitely one of my all time favorite finds, and if you happen to run into this book, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
-Alvaro Cortes Jr ​