Posts Tagged Middle Grade Graphic Novels

Author Spotlight: John Claude Bemis

By on July 31, 2026   /   Articles, Author Interviews   /   Leave a comment
John Claude Bemis

In today’s author spotlight, Landra Jennings chats with John Claude Bemis about the newest book in his novel series with illustrator Nicole Miles, Rodeo Hawkins and the Sons of Disaster: A Graphic Novel, published by Holiday House and available August 11, 2026.

Book Cover: Rodeo Hawkins and the Sons of Disaster: A Graphic NovelRodeo Hawkins and her ragtag gang of interdimensional outlaws may have saved the multiverse. . . but when a vengeful enemy’s plans spell disaster for this group of unlikely heroes, who’s going to save them?

Get ready for more mayhem!

In his old life, Sidney was pursued by interdimensional assassins, had “DORK” written on his forehead (twice!), and was magically erased from the memories of his only friend, Walt. But that was before he joined legendary outlaw Rodeo Hawkins as a member of her ragtag gang, The Daughters of Mayhem. Things were starting to look up!

Unfortunately, legendary outlaws have a way of making enemies. And Rodeo Hawkins has tons scattered across the multiverse. When an old nemesis locates Walt and uses him as bait, Sidney faces a terrible choice: saving his old best friend who’s forgotten him or helping his new best friends who’ve become his only family.

This isn’t Sidney Poblocki’s first rodeo, but it might be his last in this sequel to Rodeo Hawkins and the Daughters of Mayhem!

Interview with John Claude Bemis

LJ: Congratulations on book 2! We loved speaking with you about book 1. This installment promises more dangerous and wacky exploits for Sidney Poblocki and Rodeo Hawkins and I know young readers will love it. And thank you so much for being with us today.

JCB: Thank you, I’m happy to be here.

LJ: I’m curious – how did you approach expanding the world you created in book 1 without overwhelming new readers who might be jumping in at book 2?

JCB: It’s tricky striking that balance in a sequel. You want to make sure brand new readers aren’t confused. But you don’t want fans of the first book to feel impatient with the recap. I wrote the opening of Sons of Disaster as if the reader knows (or remembers) nothing about the first book. I get the action started right away and simply weave in essential introductions into the scenes with as much excitement as possible.

Character Growth and Challenges

LJ: Without giving too much away, how are you challenging Sidney Poblocki and Rodeo Hawkins differently in this installment compared to the first?

JCB: In the first book, Sidney and Rodeo go from being strangers to buds. In the latest book, their friendship gets challenged, as friendships often do. But it makes it especially hard when Sidney’s friend is an interdimensional mischief maker. Rodeo can be A LOT sometimes—in a fun and hilarious way!

To make matters worse, Sidney’s best bud from his old life, Walt, has joined the Sons of Disaster, an army of tween boys bent on destroying Rodeo and the Daughters of Mayhem. So Sidney is torn between his loyalty to his old best friend and his new friends who are like family to him now.

LJ: Are there any characters who took unexpected turns in their journey that surprised even you during the writing process?

JCB: Rodeo continues to surprise me. She can be such a bad friend at times—and such a caring friend at other times. I’m always shocked at how complicated she can be. But that’s what’s fun working with a trickster figure like her.

The Power of Illustration

LJ: Seeing your story come to live through Nicole Miles’ illustration must have been very satisfying. Which were your favorite panels?

Sample Page from Rodeo Hawkins and the Sons of Disaster: A Graphic NovelJCB: Yes, enormously satisfying! I particularly love the panels where Nicole captures the intense emotions with the expressions of the characters. She makes their reactions to all the mayhem they’re experiencing both hilarious and heartfelt.

LJ: This series marks your first graphic novels. How do you balance leaving room for the illustrator’s interpretation while maintaining the essential parts of the narrative?

JCB: It’s a fun process. I have to write much more “cinematically”—visualizing in my head how the story might be shown, and writing a script to help Nicole visualize her own possibilities for delivering the flow of the story.

I wanted to give Nicole as much room as I could to be a co-storyteller, so that she got to make as many of her own creative choices as possible and not just conform to the vision I had in my head. And it’s been amazing to see what she creates! She’s so talented.

The Joy of Creating

LJ: You’ve published many books for kids at this point. What makes this book and this series special to you?

JCB: This series is much more comedic than the fantasy novels I’ve written in the past. I’ve always enjoyed inserting humor into exciting stories, but this is the first series where the laughs are forefront. I’ve leaned how to craft jokes and visual gags and punchlines—all while keeping the story full of magical wonder and thrilling action. There’s definitely room for more adventures ahead with this cast of wacky characters and this weird world of the Daughters of Mayhem. In fact, I’m working on the third book at the moment.

LJ: Beyond this series, what other projects excite you right now?

JCB: Teaching is such a creative outlet for me—whether leading writing workshops with kids in schools or leading writing retreats for adults in France and the Blue Ridge Mountains. I get excited helping other writers grow their skills and chase their dreams.

LJ: Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us today, John! And since no MUF interview is complete without a lightning round…

Lightning Round

cup of teaCoffee or tea?

JCB: Tea first, then coffee. I have to ease into caffeination.

Sunrise or sunset?

JCB: Sunrise—since it’s rare I see one.

Book Cover: The Hobbit, 75th anniverary editionFavorite book from childhood:

JCB: The Hobbit

If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?

JCB: Flying

If you could invite any fictional character from any universe to dinner, who would it be?

JCB: I’d have over Merry and Pippin from Lord of the Rings. It would be a raucous dinner!

About the Author and Illustrator

Book Cover: Rodeo Hawkins and the Daughters of Mayhem, A Graphic Novel

John Claude Bemis is the award-winning author of six middle-grade novels, a picture book, and the forthcoming Rodeo Hawkins graphic novel series. A former elementary school teacher, John earned his Master’s of Education in Literacy from UNC Chapel Hill and taught fourth and fifth grades for thirteen years. He received the Excellence in Teaching Award from UNC-Chapel Hill for his work as an author-presenter in schools and served as North Carolina’s Piedmont Laureate for Children’s Literature, promoting literacy and the literary arts. A popular instructor and inspiring guide to writers of all ages—kids, teens, and adults— he teaches creative writing workshops and leads retreats around the world. Beyond the creative expression of writing, John is also a sculptural mask-maker, a songwriter, and musician. He lives with his wife and daughter in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

Nicole Miles is from The Bahamas, but now lives in West Yorkshire (UK) with her pet snake and human husband. After five and a half years working at Hallmark Cards UK, she jumped into full-time freelance illustration in January of 2020, and has since worked with a variety of clients in editorial, publishing, and even animation. Her first published short comic Barbara (ShortBox) was nominated for an Eisner award. She is represented for books by Chad at The CAT Agency. For all other inquiries, she can be contacted by email at hello@nicolemillo.com

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Interview with Artist and Graphic Novelist Rebecca Mock

By on July 29, 2026   /   Articles  

Today we shine the Mixed-Up Files spotlight on Rebecca Mock, author and illustrator of the debut middle grade graphic novel Dare You To Dance. Hailed by Publishers Weekly as an “eloquent and movement-filled portrait of ambition and self-discovery,” the book is available now from Random House Children’s Books.

MR: Congratulations on the publication of Dare You to Dance, Rebecca! I danced as a kid and was a dance mom (my daughter, Chloe, studied ballet for eighteen years), so I read your book with great interest.

RM: I’m both honored and impressed! Hopefully to you and Chloe, the ballet details rang true. Or, if they didn’t, I hope it was fun to read anyway.

Dare you to Dance: The Inspiration

MR: Can you tell readers a bit about the book? 

RM: Dare You to Dance is about a summer intensive program in NYC, where we meet Gracie, a talented ballet dancer in her tweens who’s immediately swept into the drama and pressure of serious youth ballet—and has to decide whether to concede that she just doesn’t belong or forge a path for herself! It’s about the love of art as well as many other things. I really hoped to make a fun ensemble cast of characters, all of whom have their own journeys, humor, and fun moments. I pitched the book as “over-the-top!”—I wanted to draw something super high-energy! And what better than ballet?

Friendship Versus Rivalry

MR: Your plucky protagonist, Gracie, is looking for a rival to up her dance game. Sariah, the best dancer in the program, is more interested in friendship than competition. What were you trying to say about the nature of rivalry and friendship, particularly in the dance world? The two are often intertwined.

RM: It’s not only the dance world—I was drawing from my own experiences in painting, drawing, and theater. When it came to art, I made up many rivals—often creating competitions where there were none. I could be intense, like Gracie. I was also in Sariah’s role, to a degree—too caught up in pressuring myself to notice those around me. I also, consistently, found that I respected and appreciated those I felt “competitive” toward, and regarded them as comrades.

I think that mentality was influenced by the action/adventure cartoons and comics I loved. I had an active imagination. What I like about both Gracie and Sariah is though they’re very different, they share that quality of creating pressure and competition where there doesn’t need to be any, perhaps stemming from vivid imaginations. And instead of learning to let that go, they egg each other on and create games to motivate each other. And that works for them, that’s how their friendship works, and hopefully that’s a bit funny, and maybe you can think of a friend who you act the same way with.

Rebecca’s Dance Training

MR: I read that you studied dance as a child. What was your training like? Did you attend an intensive ballet workshop like the one you described in Dare You to Dance?

RM: I took ballet classes from about age three to eleven. I wasn’t dancing seriously—just one or two classes per week. I know young dancers at that age might take three or more classes per week! And truthfully, ballet wasn’t my strength—I was constantly struggling with posture and form! But I kept taking classes for one very important reason: One of my best friends took classes with me. We had so much fun together.

I also took tap and modern classes (I switched to modern and kept taking classes until thirteen, when I stopped dance classes altogether). I truly love to dance, still. Art as a form of expression is something most young people are drawn to, and love, naturally. But sometimes the classroom space can be oppressive, and friends are the main reason you keep coming back.

Dance and Body Image

MR: It’s no secret that dancers’ bodies are often scrutinized, with undue emphasis placed on the desire or necessity to be thin. From your experience and the research you did for the book, have any strides been made in the dance world to accept a range of body types? If not, do you expect the tide to change anytime soon?

RM: Since I haven’t been part of the dance world as a teen or adult, I skipped a lot of this scrutiny and pressure. I can’t speak from the point of view of someone who’s honestly dealt with that, but I can remember friends who had to deal with this scrutiny, and I tried to pay homage to their challenges. I had a friend in school like Sariah who was taller and bigger than most of the other dancers in her class, and admitted that it alienated her and made her feel othered. I remember being shocked. To me she seemed to be such a dancer, so elegant and graceful. How could she not fit in the ballet space?

In my research, I took careful note of how dancers talked about body image, and although I’m only seeing a small sliver of the dance world in videos and interviews, I’m seeing bits of both that old-fashioned body scrutiny and a more revolutionary re-imagining of ballet ideals. When you delve into the foundations and history of ballet which stretches back 500 years, our modern stereotypes about body types, gender roles, and appearances are all trends that emerged fairly recently. Ballet has evolved in many directions over the centuries, and I expect it will continue to do so.

Researching Ballet

MR: Speaking of research, what kind of research did you do for the book? There are a ton of ballet terms to know and positions to draw. It couldn’t have been easy.

RM: I did so much research! I read a few books about ballet, including a ballet textbook and the fantastic nonfiction book Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet. I followed dozens of ballet influencers and watched their vlogs, read their posts, used their dance videos as reference for practice drawings. I tried to seek out online ballet tutorials which explained each step of a sequence so that I could write down, and then double-check, each move. I even had a ballet consultant triple-check the book to be sure that even the side-talk and teachers’ attitudes were believable and added to the realism.

But underneath it all, I was remembering how it felt to be in ballet class. The sound of the teacher counting five-six-seven-eight, the chatter of students waiting for their turn at the floor sequence . . . One thing I avoided doing was watching any ballet movies or TV shows for the duration of working on this book. I didn’t want to accidentally transcribe any well-worn movie cliches into the story.

Portrait of an Artist

MR: Switching gears, you are widely known for your work as an illustrator, cartoonist, and book-cover artist. You also collaborated with Hope Larson on the hugely popular middle-grade graphic novels Compass South, Knife’s Edge, and Salt Magic. What prompted your decision to create a graphic novel on your own? Did it feel weird not having a collaborator?

RM: While this book isn’t my first solo story project, it’s definitely the longest! It’s my first time handling a story of this scale in every aspect, which was daunting and exciting in equal measure. Working with Hope taught me so much about comics, and her beautiful scripts always gave me so much room to play.

Once Salt Magic was done, I felt that I was ready to try writing my own long-form graphic novel. I pondered over what kind of story I’d have the most fun both writing and drawing, that would reflect my own sensibilities, which lean toward action, heightened emotion, and slapstick. What I learned in the process, was that I LOVE rewriting things on the fly. As much as the final book stayed more or less true to the initial outline, I altered and refined things at each stage, even adding scenes at the inking stage. Each change made the story truer to its core messages: that friendship transcends competition and that art doesn’t need to be “serious” to be good.

Writing and Illustrating Process

MR: What is your creative process for writing and illustrating a graphic novel? Do you write the text first and add the illustrations or vice-versa? Also, how does being an artist influence your writing?

RM: Having finished Dare You and another book since, I’ve refined and honed my process a lot. When I started Dare You, I only had experience planning out stories fifty pages or less, and that process involved almost no scripting. Now it goes back and forth. I first write an outline, and I refine that until it’s quite detailed, even including much of the dialogue. I break that outline into pages, to get a rough idea of how the book is paced. Then I draw thumbnails of each page, really small. I scan and expand those tiny drawings to be a bit larger, and drop in as much of the placeholder dialogue as I can—and I’ll rewrite a lot of the outline based on new ideas that the thumbnails inspired. These thumbnails-with-text are the first draft of the final script.

From there…

I draw more refined thumbnails and make further changes as I realize my first visual ideas could be better. And the dialogue gets a lot of edits too. Now, this is the final “script.” From here, final sketches and inks and colors can go smoothly, although I’ll still change and refine small things as I get closer to finishing. Sometimes I realize I need to completely redraw the first five pages, because drawing the final scenes gave me a better idea of how to open the story. Sometimes it’s making sure a character is consistently wearing socks. Being an artist allows me to “draw” my script instead of having to describe it. I still like working from other writer’s scripts, but there is a lot of fun to be had in diving into the story at the thumbnail stage and letting each new page feel like venturing into the unknown.

#Goals

MR: Do you have a specific routine or word-count goals? Any rituals? 

RM: I don’t have word count goals as much as page count goals. When I’m doing those tiny little thumbnail drawings, I’ll set a daily goal, maybe four pages or maybe ten. It’s important to find the balance of staying consistent without pushing yourself so that you don’t burn out mentally. I want to feel like I’m not quite finished with a thought when I stop “writing” for the day, so that the next day I’m excited to finish it.

MR: What projects are you working on now, Rebecca?

RM: I’m wrapping up a short comic for a DC anthology of spooky Halloween stories, called Quoth the Raven . . . Whatever. After that I’ll be hopefully working on final sketches/inks of a new book, as well as teaching my storytelling class at FIT’s Illustration master’s program.

Lightning Round!

Yellow graphic lightning bolt

MR: Last thing: No MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so . . .

Preferred writing snack? If I’m in a bind, if I need to really focus or just get out of a slump, my secret weapon is gummy candy. It’s an unhealthy secret weapon ONLY to be used in emergencies!

Coffee or tea? Coffee if I need to draw really complex things! Tea if I want to have a nice, steady day.

Zombie apocalypse: Yea or nay? Nay. I like my brains where they are.

Favorite dance style? I love watching swing dancing and tap dancing!

Favorite dance company? American Ballet Theatre—I used their studios as reference for a lot of details in the book!

Superpower? I love superheroes with electric powers. It would be cool to turn on my TV with a zap.

Favorite place on earth? My parents’ house, sitting by the window, looking out at the trees during a rainstorm.

MR: Thank you for chatting with me, Rebecca—and congratulations on the publication of Dare You to Dance. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I know MUF readers will, too.

{For more books about dance, check out this list from the Mixed-Up Files archives}

Bio

REBECCA MOCK REBECCA MOCK (they/she) is a New York Times bestselling and Eisner award-winning illustrator and comic artist. They are the author and illustrator of the graphic novel Dare You to Dance. They’ve also illustrated the graphic novels Compass South, Knife’s Edge, and Salt Magic, written by Hope Larson, and their artwork can be found in newspapers, cartoons, books, commercials, and video games. Rebecca lives in Brooklyn, New York.

 

 

MELISSA ROSKE is a writer of middle-grade fiction. Before spending her days with imaginary people, she interviewed real ones as a journalist in Europe. In London she landed a job as an advice columnist for Just Seventeen magazine. Upon returning to her native New York, Melissa contributed to several books and magazines, selected jokes for Reader’s Digest, and received certification as a life coach from NYU. In addition to her debut novel Kat Greene Comes Clean (Charlesbridge), Melissa’s short story “Grandma Merle’s Last Wish” appears in the Jewish middle-grade anthology, Coming of Age: 13 B’Nai Mitzvah Stories (Albert Whitman). Learn more about Melissa on her Website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

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Author/Illustrator Spotlight: Allan Wolf and Jose Pimienta

By on October 9, 2025   /   Author Interviews  

Illustrator Jose Pimienta

Author Allan Wolf

In today’s Author/Illustrator Spotlight, Landra Jennings chats with author Allan Wolf and Illustrator Jose Pimienta about their new middle-grade novel, The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur: A Graphic Novel Based on a True Story (Candlewick Press, October 7). They share the inspiration behind the novel, their creative processes and a little advice for those just starting out!

A Junior Library Guild Selection
Publisher’s Weekly Top 10 Middle Grade Graphic Novels, Fall ’25
“A riveting page-turner that will have readers eager to learn more about the topic.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Book Summary:

The strange, true tale of a Louisiana lake that vanished—taking with it every fish below and every boat and barge above—told in a gripping and accessible graphic format.

Home to catfish and crawdads, shrimp and spoonbills, even a gator or two, Lake Peigneur—pronounced “your pain,” only backward—bustles also with human life. Each day, the bean-shaped freshwater lake and its shores hum with folks going about their work: a devoted gardener’s apprentice and his dogs, fishermen, oilmen drilling at Well P-20, and the fifty-one miners employed by the Diamond Crystal Salt Mines. For most, November 20, 1980, began as “just another day on the lake.” But as the lake itself reflects, humans had, over time, left behind a honeycomb of salt highways deep beneath its surface, and water and salt mix all too well. Bracing, suspenseful, and packed with dramatic illustrations and dense end matter, this story of a catastrophic accident—narrated with the homespun voice of a “tall” tale, but true nonetheless—will amaze science and history buffs alike.

 

Interview with Allan Wolf and Jose Pimienta

LJ: Welcome to the Mixed-Up Files, Allan and Jose! Thanks for joining us today. I’m so intrigued by this new book and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on its development. Let’s start with you, Allan. Where did you get the initial inspiration for The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur? 

AW: Back in 2007, while visiting schools and libraries in southern Louisiana, I noticed there was a chimney sticking up from the surface of Lake Peigneur, near New Iberia. So, I started asking questions.

I learned that Texaco, while exploring for oil in 1980, sent a 14-inch drill bit into the bed of a shallow1200-acre freshwater lake, piercing a salt-mine below, causing 3.5 billion gallons of water to drain like a bathtub. The resulting whirlpool and sinkhole, sucked in eleven barges, two oil derricks, a couple houses, a tugboat, a fishing skiff, and sixty-eight acres of a nearby ornamental garden. The disaster also created a 400-foot geyser and a 150-foot waterfall. The lake drained in four hours, then began to refill, via the Delcambre Canal, with saltwater drawn from the Gulf of Mexico, nine miles away! The A&E Channel featured the story in 2003 or so, but otherwise it seemed like very few people had even heard of this event. The details were so compelling, I had to tell it.

Junius Leak and the Spiraling Vortex of Doom

LJ: Allan, how does this title relate to your other recent release, Junius Leak and the Spiraling Vortex of Doom?

AW: The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur and Junius Leak and the Spiraling Vortex of Doom are siblings, raised together in the same house but choosing to grow in different directions. Junius Leak is a middle-grade historical fiction novel in prose, using the facts of the Lake Peigneur disaster as a backdrop for the book’s fictional characters. Junius Leak is a twelve-year-old kid sent to live with his mysterious uncle in a houseboat on Lake Peigneur near Delcambre, Louisiana.

The factual disaster becomes a symbol of Junius Leak’s own coming of age. But to make the world of Junius Leak as authentic and historically accurate as possible, I had to do a lot of research. Then to synthesize my research, I wrote a 60-page prose story of what actually happened so that I could elegantly combine my fictional plot with the factual events. My historical fiction novels often have very extensive back matter. Long-story-short, the back matter of Junius Leak was so compelling, that it demanded we turn it into a book of its own. And that’s how The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur was born. It was my editor at Candlewick Press, Katie Cunningham, who suggested we tell the story in graphic form.

On a somber note, Katie Cunningham passed away this July 4th. Just three days after Junius Leak was published. And three months before the publication of The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur. She was 43. I miss her terribly.

Learning about the Lake

LJ: I love hearing about the relationship between the two books though I am so sorry to hear about Katie. What kinds of research did you do to be true to this story?

AW: I read every newspaper article I could find from the 1980s, along with many government documents reporting and analyzing what took place. The newspapers would sometimes contradict one another, so I looked to official documents from the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to get my final numbers. I stalked my way through a labyrinth of Cajun names on FaceBook. I looked at several hundred photographs. I interviewed, in person, a handful of survivors and their relatives—including the 95-year-old captain of the tugboat, Charlie, who narrowly escaped being flung from a waterfall formed by the collapsing earth. Since I started my research in 2007, a few interesting podcasts have added to the story as well. But the in-person conversations I had with first-hand witnesses was my most valuable research tool.

To the Heart of The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur

LJ: What do you hope readers take away from this novel?

AW: Over all I’d like readers to see how it is possible to act courageously even when we are afraid. That is the very definition of courage: to take action in spite of fear and self-doubt. In their own individual ways, both The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur and Junius Leak and the Spiraling Vortex of Doom are stories of ordinary people acting heroically in the face of extraordinary circumstances. That’s when we find out who we really are.

Also, Junius Leak models for us how we don’t have to hide our true selves to make others more comfortable. Sometimes you get tired of trying to fit in. Sometimes you just want to be yourself. It is your choice to make.

On Writing

LJ: What’s your favorite thing about being a writer and story-teller?

AW: I have always identified with “being a writer,” but the early romance has always butted heads with the mundane needs of life. Being a professional writer for kids these days requires a lot of social media, marketing, conferences, bookstore events, school visits—all of it with only a tangential relationship to the actual act of writing books. But that writing itch always lurks. We all need to be the makers of something. If that need isn’t met, we whither. I guess the thing I really love about being a writer is the writing. I can write my way to discover that place, that spot, that just-right, water-tight safe space inside my head where I can go to find myself in my imagination.

What’s Next for Allan?

LJ: Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

AW: Yes. The year 2025 has been a big one for me. In addition to the two books discussed here, I have a new poetry collection out, The Gift of the Broken Teacup: Poems of Mindfulness, Meditation, and Me. It is brilliantly and beautifully illustrated by Jade Orlando. These are fun yet thoughtful poems about self-regulation, self-care, and self-esteem. Of all my poetry collections to date, this one is the most personal. This book was my chance to explore what it means to have character and an intrinsic sense of self-worth. And it gave me a chance to share the ways I have learned to deal with anxiety and to practice self-care. The Gift of the Broken Teacup is sort of an owner’s manual for the soul.

The Illustrations

LJ: Now to you, Jose. The illustrations are phenomenal, starting with the cover. There’s so much energy that jumps right off the page. What excited you most about this project?

JP: The defining factor that excited me the most was that the story’s narrator would be the lake itself. I love stories about places, so, as much as there are many amazing people in this story, the point of view being the land drew me in, immediately.

LJ: How did this project differ from some of your other titles?

JP: This story is non-fiction, which is a first for me. Also, it involves so many people, so, keeping track of a large cast of characters was something I had never done. And! this is the first book I’ve drawn where all the characters are adults. Most of my books feature either teenagers or kids with some adults in there. This one was all grown-ups. But there’s puppies, so…

Jose’s Creative Process for Illustration

LJ: We all love puppies! What is your creative process like? What time of day do you do your best work and what medium do you use?

JP: For the most part, I like to listen to music related to the topic of the story I’m working on. I helps me to stay in the tone of the story. Unless I have errands to run or other engagements, I like to start drawing as soon as possible in the day, right after I finish cleaning up after breakfast. And I like it when drawing is the last thing I do before going to sleep. Everything in between can be different depending on the day. So, I draw a while, goof for a bit, run errands, meet with friends, draw some more, go for a bike ride, eat something, draw more, and so on.

Generally, I draw with a mechanical pencil on 9×12 Bristol board or drawing paper. Then I ink my drawings with microns and brush pens. After that, I scan the pages and letter my comics digitally, because I do a lot of re-writes, so… this helps keeping the dialogues flexible. Lastly, I color digitally because it’s faster. I also prefer to do each book in passes. I like to do the entire book in pencil and then ink the whole book, and so on. Some people prefer to work in batches or one finished page at a time, and that’s great- but I can’t. I want to minimize the amount of gear shifting I do.

For writing, my process is an entirely different story. But more on that some other time.

The Path to Becoming an Illustrator

LJ: How did you get started along the path to becoming an illustrator?

JP: I’m not sure when it started. A cliché answer is “I never stopped drawing. I’ve just been doing this my whole life.” And that’s mostly correct. But as a professional, I can’t think of a definitive starting point. I went to art school, where I met a lot of amazing people I wanted to collaborate with, and that got me some work, but I also wanted to write and draw my own stories, so I did that as well. After art school, I came to Los Angeles in the hopes to work in the film industry, and I kept getting work here and there while I was making my own comics. At some point, I realized I was making a living drawing, so “Yay!”

I guess how I got started is I just kept telling people I wanted to draw and I showed them what I was working on. Some of that lead to work and some of it didn’t. Along the way, I made cool friends and got to collaborate with wonderful artists.

Advice for Those Just Starting Out in Illustration

LJ: What advice would you have for a beginning illustrator?

JP: Hmm… first I’d ask the illustrator what their goals are. Then, I’d hope I have useful advice for their specific path, or at least point them in the direction of other illustrators who do something similar so they can get better guidance. But as a general advice, I go with this:

Explore. Try things out. Find what works for you and approach everything with genuine curiosity. Experiment with mediums and see what catches your interest. Learn as much as you can from experts, but dare to go further than they have. Also- get comfortable with failure. Learning requires it. But pay attention and ask if it’s worth trying again. Lastly, Make friends. Be friendly. Be kind. Be sincere. Most people want to collaborate with someone they know or someone they like. So, show your work. No one’s going to hire you if they haven’t seen what you do. Oh! And of course: keep practicing the fundamentals.

I hope that’s useful, but if not, ask other illustrators. (And that’s my point: Ask and talk to as many as you can. We all want to see more art. So we’d love to see yours.)

Visiting the Lake

LJ: Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

JP: Only what you’d like to ask me, hehe. I’m not sure how to answer this, other than working with Allan was fantastic and this book was a phenomenal project. I’m so happy I got to draw this. Oh! Big story I like to share. When I first started drawing this, I wasn’t sure how to research this, since it’s non-fiction. I wanted to get as many details as possible correct, so, on a whim, I went to see the actual lake and I can’t tell you how much help that was. Visiting the lake was a terrific experience. Big thank you to everyone who answered my questions and their meals are top notch. If you get a chance to visit the area, by all means, it’s a delight.

Lightning Round Questions:

No MUF interview would be complete without our lightning round, so here we go…

For Allan Wolf:

Coffee or tea? Both.

Sunrise or Sunset? Sunrise.

Favorite city (besides the one you live in): Asheville, NC

Favorite books from childhood: Are You My Mother? By P.D. Eastman and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton.

Favorite ice cream flavor: Banana

If you could choose a superpower, what would it be? The ability to flood others with any emotion so that emotion then becomes their own.

For Jose Pimienta:

cup of teaCoffee or tea? Tea.

Sunrise or Sunset? Sunset.

Favorite city (besides the one you live in): (In the world?) Hamelin, in Germany. But if we’re doing US only: Los Angeles (I live in Burbank).

Favorite book from childhood: “Matias y el Pastel de Fresas” by Jose Palomo.

Favorite ice cream flavor: Ube. Or anything chocolate.

If you could choose a superpower, what would it be? I’m very serious about this: Scent manipulation. Being able to control smells would amazing. Had a bad day? Not when it smells like a bakery in here. Supervillain attacking you? Make it smell so bad they’re incapable of focusing. Did you pass gas in public? No one ever has to know. OR teleporting, whichever is easier to acquire.

 

Thank you so much Allan and Jose for sharing with us!

 

About the Author and Illustrator

Allan Wolf

Two time winner of the North Carolina Young Adult Book Award, as well as Bankstreet College’s prestigious Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry, Allan Wolf is the author of picture books, poetry, and young adult novels. Booklist has named his historical verse novel, The Watch That Ends the Night, one of “The 50 Best Young Adult Books of All Time.”

Also a skilled and seasoned performer of 30 years, Allan Wolf’s dynamic author talks and poetry presentations for all ages are meaningful, educational and unforgettable. Florida Reading Quarterly calls Wolf “the gold standard of performing poetry.” Wolf believes in the healing powers of poetry recitation and has committed to memory nearly a thousand poems.

Wolf has an MA in English from Virginia Tech where he also taught. He moved to North Carolina to become artistic and educational director of the touring group Poetry Alive!. Wolf is considered the Godfather of the Poetry Slam in the Southeast, hosting the National Poetry Slam in 1994, forming the National Championship Team in 1995, and founding the Southern Fried Poetry Slam (now in it’s 27th year).

Jose Pimienta

Jo Pi’s almost full name is Jose Pimienta. They reside in Burbank, California where they draw comics, storyboards and sketches for visual development. They have worked with Random House Graphic, Iron Circus Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Disney Digital Network, and more.

During their upbringing in the city of Mexicali, Mexico Jo was heavily influenced by animation, music and short stories. After high school, they ventured towards the state of Georgia where they studied at Savannah College of Art and Design. 

​For Comics work, they are represented by Elizabeth Bennet of Transatlantic Agency.

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