I interviewed Der-Shing Helmer about his online graphic novel,
The Meek, the story of a young girl who will make decisions that influence the fate of the world. We talked about the dark and fantastic world of The Meek, and how the real world is not far different from it in some respects.
LT: Tell us about the premise behind The Meek.
DH: The Meek is basically my way of asking “what’s the point?”
I know that sounds a little bit vague, but I’m sure we’ve all had those days when all the news is bad news and you start thinking in terms of “Get born, go to work, die.” At its most general, the comic is just my roundabout way of trying to answer that question. Or it could be construed as a giant excuse to draw monsters and all the other stuff I like.
LT: How did you come up with the main character, Angora?
DH: I created Angora while in the throes of middle school, so she is very much the way I was back then… moody, impulsive, lacking in most
social graces, but basically on the way to becoming a good person and
learning responsibility (does not reflect the way I actually turned
out, haha).
LT: How are the societal problems in your story relevant to the real world?
DH: Their problems are pretty much a mirror of the ones in my world (at least). There is racism, there is substance abuse, religious persecution and homophobia, and shunning of the poor and disabled.
I try to present the issues with more than an “oh no, they are victims” kind of way that I really hate reading in other comics or media.
The characters grow, groups fluctuate with power and there is that
incessant march towards a better life that I really value in today’s
society.
LT: I love Angora’s look. How did you think of green hair?
DH: Her hair was originally green because of the anime influence in my
life at the time but thankfully there is now a “reasonable” explanation for it.
LT: Tell us a little about the creation process behind your graphic
novel. Do you come up with words or pictures first?
DH: I come up with the story first, then the pictures, then the words.
Since most of the words are in dialogue format I try to put that in
last… usually the visual situation is the fist thing your eye
happens upon on the page, and its the first thing I personally look
at. I like to act out all my scenes before or while I’m drawing them
(to get the speech a bit more natural) so that always comes last for
me.
LT: What are your long term goals for Angora and your cast of characters?
DH: Well, Angora is going to be going through a really unique rite of
passage I guess, haha. Actually, so will the other characters. There
are three main arcs to start out with, we’re on the second one right
now. Eventually they will tie together and head for the finish, but
that will not be for a long while.
LT: In your blog you joke that you’ve been working on this project
longer than might be “healthy”. What would you be doing if you
weren’t?
DH: Oh god, I don’t even know.
LT: What stories, comics or art continues to inspire you?
DH: I get most of my inspiration from my friends online, both in the work
they do and the work they introduce me to.
My biggest comic influences have been the inking in Jeff Smith’s Bone, the comic works of Johane Matte, and the general art of Barbucci and Canepa’s SkyDoll . I was just pointed at Wendling by a friend of mine and now I am pulling out my hair trying to figure out how to get my art up to that standard. If self-torture is what inspiration is, I guess I’m pretty inspired, haha…
LT: What source of inspiration do you think people would find very unlikely?
DH: I really like looking at stucco. I have that popcorn texture on the
ceiling where I live and I get a lot of good ideas by picking out
shapes from it. I also like watching nature videos and reading random
things that catch my eye at the library. I’ve learned a lot about
different subjects just in the course of researching for the comic,
which is nice.
LT: Do you read any paper comics?
DH: I actually don’t read a lot of paper comics (because they are expensive and I am cheap). Usually I’ll only read something if someone gives it to me. To learn how to do comics I don’t tend to read other comics, I like instead to research my drawing straight from the source (video or static pictures), and learn composition from film. My paneling is pretty straightforward so I don’t do much research in that area.
LT: Do you have plans for other projects as well?
DH: I always have a few things floating around, but recent time
constraints make it difficult for me to get to them. I have another
comic series called Snowball in Hell,and a planned short comic
about bats. And I just had a great idea the other day but I’m going to
let it incubate a bit longer before I talk about it .
LT: Is there anything you’d like to add?
DH: To those of you who have giant projects, just keep going! And make it as good as you can. Having real kids is all well and good, but sometimes in the course of making this comic I feel like I’ve given birth to a whole world, and it is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.
See Der-Shing’s graphic novel at www.meekcomic.com
©2009 Lori Titus
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Tags: The Meek
