February 2013
City: Savannah, GA, USA
Comics: Music, Horror
Websites: josiepi.com, josephine-leclaire.deviantart.com
QRD – How old were you when you first got into comics & did you always stick with them or did you come back to them?
Josie – I started reading manga, strips, & webcomics when I was about nine years old. I eventually moved toward american horror comics & experimental comics, but comics have always been a huge part of my life in one way or another.
QRD – What was the first comic book you ever bought?
Josie – The first manga I ever bought was Mars & the first american comic I purchased was Sandman: Seasons of Mist.
QRD – How old were you when you put out your first comic?
Josie – 20.
QRD – What decade do you think produced the best comics?
Josie – This one, or perhaps the last one.
QRD – Why comics instead of just writing or drawing?
Josie – Comics are the greatest form of communication in my opinion. When you are trying to communicate with a vast audience - beyond language, beyond interpretation, comics speak to the young, the old, the illiterate, everyone.
QRD – Do you see mini-comics & indie comics as paths to mainstream comics or as their own unique media?
Josie – I see mini-comics & indie comics as a unique medium. Mainstream comics have their merits, namely the number of people capable of reading your work, but it comes with so many limitations.
QRD – How many copies of your comic do you print in your first run?
Josie – 100.
QRD – How much do you think comics should cost?
Josie – How ever much it costs to make them, times three.
QRD – How many books do you produce a year & how many would you like to?
Josie – I’m really just starting out, so I’m not sure at this point.
QRD – Do you think stories should be serialized or delivered as complete works?
Josie – Both have merit, I prefer complete works.
QRD – How are comic strips different than comic books & which medium do you prefer?
Josie – Strips delegate that each piece be a complete work, but also fit into a larger continuum; while comic books are less strict to this idea. I have worked with both & prefer the idea of strips because of the concise nature of the storytelling.
QRD – What do you do better with your comics now than when you first started?
Josie – I draw better, I layout better, my characters have better acting...
QRD – Do you do thumbnails?
Josie – Yes, loosely.
QRD – At what size do you draw?
Josie – 10X15.
QRD – What kind of pens do you use?
Josie – I use Pitt pens in a variety of sizes & sable brushes.
QRD – What does your workstation look like?
Josie – Messy.
QRD – At what point in the artistic process do you work digitally?
Josie – Coloring, clean up, & occasionally the entire process.
QRD – What do you think of digital comics & webcomics?
Josie – I love them!
QRD – Do you prefer working in color or black & white?
Josie – Color.
QRD – How many different people should work on a comic & what should their jobs be?
Josie – Four, writer, penciler/inker, colorist/letterer, & editor; or just one with a singular focus.
QRD – How do you find collaborators?
Josie – I find them wonderful.
QRD – How tight do you think a script should be as far as telling the artist what to draw?
Josie – I prefer scripts that stray on the side of excessively descriptive, but with a certain pliability to them.
QRD – What comic book person would you be most flattered to be compared to?
Josie – Fiona Staples on her run of North 40.
QRD – What do your friends & family think of your comics?
Josie – They tell me they like them & that they can see my anxiety in them.
QRD – What do you think of superheroes?
Josie – I think they are archaic & there isn’t room for them in comics anymore.
QRD – What comic characters other than your own would you like to work with?
Josie – Luthor Strode, Cassie Hack, or Morpheus/Sandman
QRD – Ideally would you self-publish?
Josie – Yes.
QRD – What conventions do you try to attend & why?
Josie – Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC, International Festival de la Bande dessinee in Angouleme, & Fluke in Athens, GA because these conventions are comic centered & if it’s not local, it should be international.
QRD – What do you do to promote your books?
Josie – I tell everyone everywhere whenever I can.
QRD – Do you think your comics are well suited to comic shops or would sell better elsewhere?
Josie – I think my comics would sell better elsewhere, but they would probably sell well at the shop I work at.
QRD – What other medium would you like to see some of your comics made into (television, film, games, action figures, etc.)?
Josie – Music.
QRD – Do you consider yourself a comic collector or a comic reader or both?
Josie – Reader, creator, seller, promoter...
QRD – What do you see as the most viable mediums for comics distribution 10 years from now?
Josie – Conventions, internet, iPad, book stores.
QRD – What would you like to see more people doing with comics?
Josie – Trying things that haven’t been tried before.
