Interview with Lasse Wennerstrand of Drawmoore Pictures.com
Interview with Lasse Wennerstrand of Drawmoore Pictures.com
Question:
Thank you so much for joining me! For those who don't know you, could you please introduce yourself?
Answer:
I was born at an early age, and have not recovered since. Somewhere along the way someone checked my ID and mistook me for an adult. I am a Swedish Graphic Designer, Illustrator, and 3D Artist with a keen interest in storytelling, no matter the medium. I am guilty of being the father of three little hellions and we have a dog who always pretends that he is starving (hint, he is not. That mutt is a liar!). I mostly spend my scarce spare time drawing my webcomic if I do not have my nose buried in a good book, comic, or playing videogames. That is when I am not changing dirty diapers, cleaning up another mess, or hiding in the kitchen cooking dinner.
Question:
What is the premise behind Curly: The Cursed Con Man?
Answer:
The whole story revolves around the titular character Curly, a born and raised con artist from Ireland who accidentally causes the death of a family. For his crimes, he is cursed to be hunted and haunted by the archdemon of revenge, Arioch, and dragged down to hell for eternal punishment. So Curly does what he does best, getting the heck out of dodge at the first sign of trouble, and now stumbles from misadventure to the next with his newfound friend, the recently widowed literature teacher Khazal “Kaz” Malik. The stories are a mix of horror and comedy while also dealing with the sense of loss, childhood trauma, and loneliness. What I like to do is to put my character in these horrific situations and scenarios with monsters, aliens, or cooky cannibals, and then the humor comes from the characters themselves, how they react and cope with all this messed up stuff happening around them. But they are flawed, scared people who struggle with everyday life as much as the supernatural hijinks.
Question:
What inspired Curly: The Cursed Con Man?
Answer:
Lasse Wennerstrand
Funny thing is, that I had this idea of a road-tripping ghosthunter roaming the Americana backroads for a long time. However, I could not figure out a good enough main character so I had to put the concept on hold. I also played around with the notion of a con artist pulling off scams and heists but could not find an interesting enough scenario to put him in. Then one night, while I was having trouble sleeping while hospitalized, I got the idea to merge my two different, half-finished concepts and et voila, Curly the cursed con man was born! Brilliant I thought and went to sleep, forgetting about the whole thing until a few weeks later. I then started to sketch out characters, and read up on folklore, myths, and monsters before trying to put all the pieces together into something readable. Artwise I took a lot of inspiration from Disney artist Floyd Gottfredson, the legendary Jack Kirby, and of course the master of supernatural comics himself, Mike Mignola! Other inspirational artists were Eric Powell of The Goon fame and the whimsically delightful art of Marvel artist Skottie Young.
Question:
Other than your own, do you have a favorite horror comic?
Answer:
I love the Hellboy comics and the different spin-offs, especially if they are drawn by Ben
Stenbeck! Otherwise, I have a soft spot for the old Ghost Rider comics and the darker Moon Knight stories from recent years. Eric Powells The Goon and Hillbilly are two great titles that blend humor, tragedy, and horror fantastically and I would recommend everybody to read them at least once.
Question:
If you're open to it, let's talk a bit about your disabilities. How did your diagnosis of severe Fibromyalgia and Parkinson-related tremors affect your work?
Answer:
Quite severely I am afraid. After years of hardships, trying to measure my ability to work, I have been deemed too ill to hold a regular job by two out of three government agencies. Still having trouble with the last one, which means I still have not received any disability benefits despite being afflicted by my disabilities for over a decade now. Living with chronic illness is hell, and I have been ready to give up many times. Over the years, I have been to many different experts in chronic pain management and to rehabilitation, where I learned how to live somewhat easier with my disabilities. Some days are better than others, but it is like a rollercoaster with its ups and downs. Just that the rollercoaster is on fire, has no brakes and the rail is broken in several places. One of the most important lessons that I learned, however, is that I am NOT my disabilities. I am not my illness. My creativity helped me a lot over the years and I think it could help others too. If you have an illness or live with disabilities, that is not the end of the world, having a creative outlet helps release some tension and there is almost always a way to do what you love. There are cheap tools to aid you and do not lose hope. Giving up is not an option, there is always a way, even if it is hard to find or figure out.
Question:
What is next for you? Any projects that you can talk about?
Answer:
Well, I am always open to the odd commission. Currently, I am working on some short humorous comics and faux horror articles as a guest writer for the Hook Cove Gazette, the baby of D.A Holmes, who is building up this fascinating comedic horror town, full of monsters, cryptids, and slasher killers. I am also trying to adapt my webcomic Curly into an adult animated pilot to pitch around when I feel brave enough. So I am going over the manuscript once again. As a proof of concept, I am doing a short animation, where I am figuring out how to use paint over 3D backgrounds in combination with 2D animated characters. The same method that they use in Archer and some Adult Swim cartoons, which is very exciting since it has been a while since I animated anything.
Question:
Where can readers find you?
Answer:
For more Curly, they can visit my website www.drawmoorepictures.com and read every chapter of the comic for free! If they can not get enough of my charming personality, I am often joking around on Twitter @Drawmoore_Pics (link: https://twitter.com/Drawmoore_Pics ) or over at the Hook Cove Gazette (link: https://hookcove.com/ ) where I am a guest writer.
