At ComicAttack.net we love to highlight a diverse selection of independent creators and content. To that end, we’ve connect with some of the talent making waves over at Tapas Media. The web publisher prides itself on providing creators with the tools to successfully develop their imaginative worlds and engage with one of the largest media communities online. In this interview with the creator known to the community as Kan, we discuss inspiration, aspirations, and how the Tapas platform helped make Ultramarine Weather and Happiness Theory successful ongoing series.
ComicAttack: For those of our audience who aren’t familiar with the Tapas Media platform, or your work specifically, how would you describe the kind of stories you like to create?
Kan: I really like writing stories where reality is interrupted by magic, or something otherworldly. They’re usually calm things with an undercurrent of danger in them, and more character-driven than action-based. I have two long-form stories right now–Ultramarine Weather and Happiness Theory.
Ultramarine is a supernatural drama about weather and magic. It takes place in 1974 on a fictional island chain where the weather is the same every day, to the minute. Until, during the usual afternoon storm, childhood friends Atlas and Jo rescue a washed up witch who claims he’s missing memories. From there, the routine days and weather suddenly begin to change. UW is a free to read comic that I’ve been posting almost every Sunday since 2015 and is 9 chapters deep now.
Happiness Theory is a Tapas Original/Exclusive, which means it’s pay to read, but the first 6 episodes are free! It’s a sci-fi romance about a woman named Camilla who is struggling through a divorce when she meets an extraterrestrial artist studying human art. Through a series of varying emotional encounters, she becomes his muse and he works to translate her feelings into art. Neither of them stops to think of what this first contact means for the universe until the consequences of their escapism finally start catching up with them.
CA: What is your background as a creator? Are you formally trained as a writer or artist, and do you feel having a strong academic foundation in either discipline is essential for producing creator-owned content?
Kan: I was a fine arts major before transferring to SCAD, and I have a degree in sequential illustration, but I feel like I really struggled with parts of it. I wasn’t mentally there a lot of the time, and the things I made never felt like my own. On the other hand, art school got me into the habit of working quickly and meeting deadlines. So, while I do think it’s important to learn the basics and have some discipline, I don’t think school is necessarily essential for creator-owned projects. In the end, it still boils down to you and your own creative drive.
CA: When did you first begin writing? What influences, personal or from media, have you drawn on in developing your content for Tapas?
Kan: I’ve been writing comics since, oh man, 4th grade? But it was all just for my own entertainment. I didn’t seriously think I could make it a career until halfway through university. As far as influences go, I read a lot of manga as a kid– standard Jump comics stuff, Osamu Tezuka, and Katsuhiro Otomo. I don’t know how much of that shows in my work but I do know personal obsessions and experiences have had a direct influence. Weather, the ocean, music, good and bad life experiences, and places I’ve lived. Simple stuff like that probably has the biggest influence.
CA: What made you decide to handle the art yourself, versus collaborating with a dedicated artist so you could focus on narrative?
Kan: Drawing is my favorite part of the comic making process, so as long as I can still hold a pen, I really don’t want to give away the most fun part to someone else. Now that I think about it, I actually haven’t considered collaborating before! I’m so focused on getting the story out of my head and into images, that I often forget I’m technically writing it as well. It’s so weird…I don’t think of myself as a writer at all.
CA: What inspired your aesthetic approach for Ultramarine Weather? And Happiness Theory?
Kan: As far as the setting goes, they’re both fictional towns based on places I’ve spent a lot of time in, and in Ultramarine especially I wanted to capture that nostalgia just for my own enjoyment. If we’re talking about stylistic choices though, I just did what felt right for me. I do a lot of things based on feeling, so when I have to explain it, I don’t know what to say.
CA: What attracted you to Tapas? Was it more about the platform and logistics, or the community?
Kan: I actually don’t remember what first got me to post Ultramarine Weather on Tapas back in 2015. I just know that as soon as I started posting there, the community and staff were incredibly supportive. It really motivated me to work harder! Things have been hard in my personal life recently, but even with inconsistent schedules, the community there has been really kind and understanding.
CA: Are you looking forward to creating more stories or are Ultramarine Weather and Happiness Theory the stories you prefer to build on exclusively?
Kan: Most definitely making more stories! I have 5 that are in various states of development, but I know I’ll continue to make comics until I can no longer hold a pen.
CA: Have you considered branching out into print, or even developing your series as an independent film or for television?
Kan: I have self-published in print since 2009 and it’s still my favorite media, even if my reach is limited to online stores and conventions. I don’t know much about film or television production, but I think I would die (of happiness, and maybe shock) if something of mine was ever translated into that industry.
CA: Is there any creator, in any medium, that would be your ideal collaboration?
Kan: If it’s an ideal collab, it doesn’t need to be realistic, right? I really like Wes Anderson movies. I feel like that kind of off-beat style is how I’d most like to see my stories translated into film.
CA: Just to wrap up, as a kind of personal touch for our audience:
What are you reading?
Kan: Dungeon Meshi by Kui Ryoko! It’s so good!!
What are you watching?
Kan: Jurassic Park. I don’t think that needs a recommendation but I’m kind of always watching it.
What are you listening to?
Kan: Too many things, but here’s a few– ELO, Bloc Party, Shiina Ringo/Tokyo Jihen, Eve
Kan currently has over 27,000 subscribers for ongoing series Ultramarine Weather and Happiness Theory. You can find Kan’s web content on the Tapas Media website, here.
UPDATED 12/1/2018
Christian Davenport
cable201@comicattack.net
