Creating Comics: Looking to Real Life

“I’m almost always inspired by real life, real people, real cultures, real animals, places, etc. none of my characters are based on any specific person I know or have met, they’re mostly made up from scratch with some elements, some altered, some unchanged, from people I’ve met, all mixed around. “

“But in terms of her personality, world view, specific hang-ups and afflictions and all that kind of stuff, she’s me,” Alexovich said. “Nothing else in her world is based on anything in particular. It’s just sort of a blend of people I know, places I’ve been, movies I’ve seen, styles I like. The usual mix of things.”

“I’m a fan of animal stories like Aesop’s Fables or Wind in the Willows. And I’m also a fan of medieval and fantasy stories and storytelling. So the concept grew out of those loves,” Petersen said in an email. “A few of the main characters are based on traits of my friends, that way I already know how to write the dynamics between the characters.”

The comics of today are receiving more mainstream appeal than those of the early 20^th century, and it is confounding most people. A common mistake of the 80’s and 90’s was that in order to be taken seriously, comics needed to deal with serious subject matter. This led to an influx of uber-violent and sex exploiting titles that many readers, and publishers, wish to forget.

The true appeal of good comics today comes from the creators, who take their characters seriously as people, rather than vehicles for violence or sex.

“I’m almost always inspired by real life, real people, real cultures, real animals, places, etc. none of my characters are based on any specific person I know or have met,” Ross Campbell, the creator of “Wet Moon” said in an email. “They’re mostly made up from scratch with some elements, some altered, some unchanged, from people I’ve met, all mixed around.

“Sometimes [situations are] loosely based on real events experienced by me or friends or people I read about, but they all have their roots in real life,” Campbell said.

Campbell’s Wet Moon tells the story of a group of friends living in the fictional college town of Wet Moon in the American Southeast.

“With Wet Moon I wanted to do a story without a plot in the traditional sense,” Campbell said.  “A really American slice-of-life thing with types of characters and situations you don’t see very often in fiction, and then have some weird possibly-paranormal stuff in there since I can’t resist that sort of thing.”

Aaron Alexovich has a similar model with his story, “Serenity Rose,” which also deals with supernatural elements. What makes the series unique though is its focus on the title character in particular.

Aaron Alexovich's self portrait. Taken from his website.

“It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but Serenity is pretty much a self-portrait. A psychological self-portrait. I know I’m not actually a 4 foot, 10 inch woman who can fly around and conjure monstrous green ponies with my mind. At least, I think I know that,” Alexovich said in an email.

“But in terms of her personality, world view, specific hang-ups and afflictions and all that kind of stuff, she’s me,” Alexovich said. “Nothing else in her world is based on anything in particular. It’s just sort of a blend of people I know, places I’ve been, movies I’ve seen, styles I like. The usual mix of things.”

This blend of personal touch added to bizarre scenarios works well for Campbell and Alexovich, who have received positive reviews for their work.

David Petersen's picture. Taken from his blog.

Not all successful comics have to be too serious to be good though, take for example David Petersen’s “Mouse Guard.” the story of a group of talking mice in a medieval setting fighting towering snakes and crabs. Despite the premise, there is some connection to the real world.

“I’m a fan of animal stories like Aesop’s Fables or Wind in the Willows. And I’m also a fan of medieval and fantasy stories and storytelling. So the concept grew out of those loves,” Petersen said in an email.  “A few of the main characters are based on traits of my friends, that way I already know how to write the dynamics between the characters.”

The results have been remarkable. ForeWord Magazine gave “Winter 1152,” Petersen’s first official foray into comics, the bronze medal in the Graphic Novel category.

As comics are becoming more accepted by the mainstream, creators and businessmen alike are trying to cash in and find out what makes them so successful. If they did try to replicate more of real life in comic books, then what’s the appeal?

“I’m really inspired by the weirder aspects of life, stuff not involving humans, like weird animals and weird natural phenomena, whether it’s earthly or the crazy stuff in outer space,” Campbell said. “I haven’t done any stories incorporating much of anything like that, yet!”