I started reading Shutter when it first debuted just three issues ago. I wasn't sure what I was getting into but the imagery had me hooked and I desperately wanted to know more about it. Shutter has achieve amazing success in just three releases with both issue 2 & 3 completely sold out at the distribution level as of this week. I was able to chat with the amazing artist who's illuminated this exciting adventure story. Leila del Duca is a Montana resident who's current work includes The Pantheon Project and Deadskins. She has also self published a collection of short comics entitled The Fox Witch and Other Tales. Here is what she had to say about Shutter.
TFQ: I couldn't help but notice how you are able to seamlessly transition between artistic styles. I notice that the style changes when stories that trail off from the central plot. Could you tell me a bit about the significance behind this?
Leila: Team Shutter chose to switch up art styles for a couple different reasons. Firstly, it makes the storytelling a bit clearer. Readers recognize a certain style for flashback scenes, as well as for the present, so it helps the reader follow the story better. We switch up the style yet again for the first two pages in Shutter #3. This was an obvious Richard Scary tribute, so we went for a more simplified style to pay homage, but to also indicate to readers that it's another deviation from our main story. You'll see another style shift in issue 4 as well! Another reason for the style changes is that I love drawing different variations on my own style. Joe knows this, and enjoys seeing it in other comics, so he's been utilizing our mutual interest in varying styles and incorporating it into Shutter.
TFQ: Some of the characters in the story resemble characters I grew up seeing in animation and film in the 90's. For example Kate's little cat-clock side kick, the tic-toc-like robot character is issue 2 and chubby cat character in the very beginning of issue 3 who is strikingly similar to Richard Scarry's Busy World characters. Is this intentional?
Leila: Yes, they are all intentional! Joe's putting a lot of references into Shutter from pop culture, entertainment, and literature that he's liked over the years. They are different takes on things we've admired and been inspired by during our lives. This comic is our imagination playground, and we're doing whatever we want with it, and we want to have these crazy things in it.
TFQ: One of the reasons this story is so appealing to myself and other readers, has to do with it's imagery. The gorey page in the middle of issue 3 was a departure from the implied violence in the first two issues which brings a new seriousness to the story. How do you feel about bringing gore into this story and what led you to your illustration decisions?
Leila: I feel like the violence is necessary to show just how seriously dangerous Kate's situation is. Kate's very reluctant to be violent and she's very protective over the few people she loves in this world. Things are going to keep getting worse and worse, and Kate will be effected by them. She'll grow significantly as a character, and the gory, sad things that happen shove her in directions she doesn't want to go, and we get to see how she deals with the good and bad of everything that's happening to her.
For more information about Leila's work, please visit http://www.leiladelduca.com/
Visit your local comic book retailer to get your copies of Shutter!
No comments:
Post a Comment