Like I said last week, this has been a weird year. This one started in January as well… They usually don’t take 10 plus months. My apologies to my valued readers (hello all 3 of you) for the unexpected hiatus… it has been quite the panini.
So, after all my apologies… here we go.
This week I get the pleasure of asking artist and comic book creator, K. Lynn Smith 20 Questions. I met the wonderful Ms Smith a few years ago at a comic book convention, the Cincinnati Comic Expo in, unsurprisingly enough, Cincinnati, Ohio. At that convention I bought her Plume Omnibus and was floored by the work. Amazing work. I would pay good money to have her teach me how to draw mouths and noses with as much liveliness and character as she puts in her drawings. Seriously, she creates amazing work and because of that, I have had the pleasure of backing a few of her Kickstarters. So, sit back, relax and find out how awesome K Lynn Smith is in these 20 Questions.
My first career was as a cartographer, so the idea of “place” and how someone is influenced by their geographic story is near and dear to me. For example, I was born in Oklahoma and was moved to Alabama when I was really young. My formative years were spent in Alabama and I left the state when I went to college in Northeast Ohio. After graduating from undergrad, I moved to Columbus, Ohio and set roots with my family there. I have been in Columbus ever since. Question 1: what is your geographic story?
Man, I wish I had a better geographic story, other than I was born in one part of Michigan and moved to another part in Michigan, but that’s just how the mitten-shaped cookie crumbles. I grew up in the small town of Stockbridge, where people drove their tractors to school, and then moved off to Grand Rapids for college. After I graduated, I packed up my things and my student debt, and bought a house with my then-boyfriend-now-husband in the historical town of Mason (where--fun fact--Hugh Jackman’s 2011 "Real Steel” was filmed).
And even after all my traveling, with all those odd places this weird comic career takes me, Michigan feels the most like home. Though that devotion wavers every winter. Go figure.
Columbus, Ohio is most definitely my home now, but since I grew up in Alabama, I don’t have that weird Michigan rivalry bullshit (even though there was a shooting skirmish between Michiganders and Ohioans for Toledo of all places). I do dislike the winters here and the bi-polar/multiple personality disorder weather that lives from August to June.
Question 2: Comic book work is a weird beast and the convention circuit (in whatever form it will eventually come back in) requires stupid amounts of travel. What conventions do you miss the most?
All of them. I miss them all. But the ones I truly miss are New York Comic Con and Planet Comicon in Kansas City. I hope that one day we can return to some sort of normalcy and get these conventions back on track. Never thought I’d yearn for horrible convention food, weird smells and those terribly hard chairs, but dammit, I’d take it all just to see people again, fans and peers alike.
I have never been to any of the bigger cons. I imagine they are both great and terrifying. I actually have only really been to the Cinci cons and one or 2 of the Wizard World Columbus ones. I think my overall dislike of people gets in the way of con culture for me.
It is now a moment, that I know you have been dreading.
Question 3: Cake or Pie, which specific kind and why?
Long sigh. I knew this one was coming and for DAYS, I’ve thought about this. I’ve dug deep, Scott. I’ve dug deep into my soul and I think I’ve found the answer. It’s pie. More specifically, Apple Crisp Pie, my mother’s recipe. She makes it every holiday or when she wants to bribe me for something. Sweet, tart filling, with a thick, crumbly crust. It’s delicious.
I know it is hard to believe, but I really don't want these 20 Questions to be stressful, so I apologize for making you choose. You are allowed to love cake as well. I have found that most people who "love cake," actually just like to use cake as a frosting delivery system. So, I often question the cake people to see if it is just the frosting or if the actual cake innards (the sponge as the “Great British Bakeoff” [“Great British Baking Show “to all my Commonwealth peeps]) actually plays a part in their decision. Sometimes the cake could be replaced by a spoon.
The pie does sound delicious though. I hope your mom has shared the recipe with you and that you give it a go.
Question 4: Is there a food that you cannot help but eat if it is offered? For me it is street tacos of the pork, beef, chicken or shrimp variety (I do not like the fish tacos), if someone offers me a street taco, I will most likely eat it. If I have to buy them, so be it, Imma eat six.
Mozzarella sticks. Hands down. I’m a sucker for deep fried cheese. Though, I could seriously be swayed by a street taco too.
I get the appeal of deep fried cheese, but I have never really loved mozzarella sticks. I know this is a failing on my part, because "deep fried cheese."
So, when I was 5, I drew this jet fighter and actually drew the pilot's head in the cockpit. The other 5 year olds around me were astonished at the raw drawing power I brought to bear on that flight helmet. They basically put me on their tiny 5 year old shoulders and paraded me around the kids' space in that church like I was a new god bestowing my gifts upon them. I realized in the basement of a church at 5 years old that I didn't just enjoy drawing, I was good at it. Question 5: When did you know that drawing was a real thing for you and not just something you enjoyed?
Congrats on your raw drawing power! For me, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing. While kids were outside doing whatever kids do outside, I was watching my animated VHS tapes on repeat, surrounded by my paper and markers. But I think the moment when I realized I was an artist was in middle school, when the Principal asked me to draw a mural on the gym wall. For a week, I got to skip class and paint some very copyrighted Disney scene across a ten foot wall. It was fun and massively rewarding.
But of course, around the same time, I got in trouble for selling commissions to my fellow students, so there were a few mixed signals.
That is amazing. One should not get in trouble for selling commissions, even in middle school.
Question 6: Is "comic book artist" your primary job? Or do you have to have a different "day job" to pay the bills while working on books?
Yep, it’s my primary job, which had been easier with comic conventions, but I’m still getting by thanks to Kickstarter, commissions and the gradual growth of my Patreon. I’m so very grateful for it too. I’ve worked the nine-to-five office jobs, wore pencil skirts and used a ‘phone voice’ all week. And while the benefits were great, I wasn’t really allowed to ’step out of the box’. Creating comics has been the best thing to happen to me.
That is great. The work-a-day life can definitely be a grind. I would love to be independently wealthy and not have to worry about where money was going to materialize form. I would probably do something significantly more creative day in and day out.
Question 7: Would you ever want to draw on an established mainstream title? and what book do you think your style would lend itself to best?
I’m not entirely sure. I’m having so much drawing my own worlds and my own characters. When you draw for someone else, you have to work with an established formula, sometimes even getting lost in an assembly line. But that all being said, I would never turn down a Gargoyles comic series; it was my favorite animated series growing up.
I could easily see you doing a Gargoyles comic book. You would be amazing at that. I could also see you on some kind of Green Lantern Corps book. I could see that subject matter working well with your fun style and would love to see how you illustrated the ring effects.
Question 8: outside of other comic book artists (every artist has those), what would you say are the biggest influences on your work?
Animation is a huge influence. I grew up on Disney and Don Bluth, and of course anything Miyazaki. I would say film/tv in general is a huge inspiration, for art and for writing. If I’m feeling stuck, I’ll go on the hunt for a good story.
I do lend a lot of credit to Avatar: the Last Airbender for Plume’s style, with a dash of Kim Possible. My art is a cocktail of animated shows from the 2000s.
One of the reasons I love your work is the animated quality to it. your shapes and silhouettes are dynamic and easy to read.
Speaking of animation, I think my daughter has watched Avatar: The Last Airbender about 7 times straight through on repeat in the last 3 months and The Legend of Korra about 3 times. Question 9: During this COVID "lock-down" do you find yourself watching and consuming things that you are familiar with more or less than consuming new content?
A little bit of both, I would say, though I lean more toward the familiar simply for nostalgia’s sake, and for the fact that I tend to watch movies and television while drawing. Currently rewatching Schitt’s Creek, because everyone on that show is a treasure.
I also love watching play-throughs on YouTube while working. They are of games that I’ve already played, like Uncharted, Last of Us, and Red Dead Redemption, but I get to experience their amazing story over again AND I can get my work done. I love me some video games.
I haven't really been playing games in the past 10 years. Everything is so twitchy and fast that my inexperienced self cannot keep up. I wish I could do first person shooters or some other kinds of games, but I haven't exercised those fast twitch muscles so much so that I honestly feel a strong barrier of entry into modern gaming.
Question 10: Fill in the blanks: I find that I am mostly _______. Others think that I am mostly _______.
I find that I am mostly still learning and figuring things out. Others think I am mostly a person who has their shit together. Spoiler: I don’t. I really, really don’t.
I am reminded of Mikey Neuman's delightful T-Shirt and catch phrase from his channel "FilmJoy"
"No one knows what they're doing."
It's as good a mantra as anything.
Here comes the deceptively simple, yet profoundly difficult question.
Question 11: Are you happy? (mostly, I understand there are ups and downs on the regular)
Y’know, truthfully, I am happy, despite the ever-loving dumpster fire of the past year. It has put things into perspective, it has showed me my true ride-or-die relationships, and it has made me appreciate the life I have. And though not every day is something to celebrate, I find some distant enjoyment in the struggle, because the successes and the accomplishments that come from it are all the more sweeter.
Happiness is an interesting thing. Most people are generally happy when they stop and look at it. It is remarkable when there is just a little bit of introspection many of the negatives tend to lose importance.
speaking of happiness... Question 12: what was the last thing you saw that gave you a bit of happiness?
I received a message from one of my readers this morning, who gushed over my latest book. Those types of messages truly give me joy and the fuel to keep on creating.
I imagine that would be an amazing thing. I have never really created content to the point of someone gushing over it. I need to do that.
Triskaidekaphobia time... Question 13: Do you have any superstitions or rituals in your life? It doesn't have to be anything so mainstream as avoiding the 13th floor in a building, it can be something as simple as needing cream in your coffee before you can start drawing.
Every morning, I grab my cup of coffee and make a check list of things I’d like to accomplish that day. Without a list, I cannot function. It has become my ritual. And that high I get when I check off an item? Heavenly.
Ooooh, changing a “to do” list into a “to done” list is a great feeling.
Question 14: what is one thing you hope that 2021 will bring into your life?
Besides conventions, of course, and the general feeling of safety in a public setting, I'm hoping 2021 brings in new opportunities. There are some metaphorical lines out in the water and I’m hoping for a bite soon. I love what I do, and to expand on that, both in skill and experience, would be absolutely amazing. I know, it’s a bit cryptic, but can’t say too much more than that.
I love cryptic struff. Cryptic stuff means potentially big things on the horizon. I want nothing more for you than big things on the horizon.
Question 15: Have you gotten or have you planned on when you are getting your COVID-19 vaccination? (Editor’s note: Wow! this question was asked in March)
I have yet to get the vaccine. I’m checking every day for appointments, so hoping soon.... HA! Literally after sending this email I got scheduled for my first dose.
With how slow I am at conducting this interview (I truly do apologize for how long this has taken), you will most likely have had both doses and the 14 days occurring to maximum efficacy before we even get to question 17.
Question 16: If you could have dinner with any three people, living or dead, what would you have for dinner?
What would I have for dinner, not with whom I'd eat? I’d have to say Japanese as my food of choice — sushi, miso, noodles, dumplings… Woof, my mouth is watering.
As for the people, living or dead, I think I would choose three people involved in true crime mysteries, where I could ask them what really happened once and for all. Like JonBenet Ramsey, Edgar Allen Poe and/or Jack the Ripper, to name some of the biggies.
Everyone always asks "who." I think sometimes it is more important to realize "what." With sushi, you are dealing with bite sized items that would encourage conversation, while still potentially having some formality to the event since there is so much tradition in how sushi is meant to be eaten. While the meal would be about potentially finding out answers to mysteries, it would be conducted with a little formality and lots of conversation. That's pretty interesting
Question 17: Is there a question you were expecting me to ask, that I have not?
Ha, not so much ‘expecting’, but we female creators do tend to get the “How does it feel to be a woman in the comic industry” a lot. I remember being at a show and a film crew was interviewing creators down our row. I listened in as my friends and peers (all guys) answered questions about their work, about their passions, but when it came to my turn, the first question was that dreadful question. What conversation should that spark? What answer were they looking for? Personally, I just wanted to answer questions on my own work, on my own passions, to keep it positive and fun. And I understand that these types of interviews, for the most part, are well intended, but at some point, we need to stop acting surprised there are women in this industry.
That question never makes any sense. You have only been able to experience the industry as a female… I am surprised you haven’t been asked how you stay so fit when you have to draw all the time or how you get all that drawing done when you have to vacuum, do the dishes, and cook.
Okay, it is time to flip the script. Question 18: do you have any questions for me?
If you had all the time in the world, what other hobby would you take on?
That is an excellent question. If I had the free time in the world, it would be painting minis or making dioramas. I love watching that on the YouTubes... that or cosplay... The amount of sanding necessary for cosplay is unnerving though.
Here we are at the penultimate question...
Question 19: What are you taking from these 20 Questions that you did not bring in with you?
What I’m taking from these questions is getting to know Mr. Scott Ryan-Hart a little more. :) Fun to chat, even if its over the interwebs.
This year has been weird. Let's finish this out!
You are too kind. As soon as things calm down from the panini, I will make it a mission to grab some of your wares at a con.
Question 20: What's next? Be as concrete or metaphorical, as long term or short term, and vague or precise as you want!
What’s next for me is continuing to create. I’m working on a new project currently, an exclusive comic for my Patreon people, as well as working on writing a novel. In addition to that, I’m hoping to travel again (if the world can get its shit together long enough to make that possible), whether that’s to the states I have yet to see or overseas (I have my eye on you, Iceland!). All in all, I’m looking forward to expanding my horizons in some form or another.
I saw that you were able to go to NYCC and actually be at a big con (again, this interview took 10+ months, yikes). That is amazing. Writing a book is hard, getting something published is even harder. I might need to have a conversation with you about that.
You are the absolute best.
So everyone buy K Lynn’s books. She is amazing. Give her a follow on IG, and Twitter. Check out her website and she’s got a Patreon that you should join to get cool stuff
Seriously, she draws real good, yo.
To recap:
K Lynn draws real good
I mean, like sooper good
I had to get a car last week
I did it via an online car sales thing
It was very odd buying a car on my phone without even taking it out for a drive
2017 Rav4 XLE that is blue
His name is “Robert” and that name should be pronounced with an outrageous French accent
Outrageous
“Hro-Bear’”
He is quite shiny and blue
I have been in a stabilizing boot for almost 3 weeks because of a heel spur
Heel spurs suck and now I need to get in a stretching program for my Achilles tendon
A Korean fried chicken place opened up around here
The youngest kiddo loves it
Have a great week everyone