The Discipline - An interview with Artist Leandro Fernandez
Interview Conducted by Paul Fiander
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The Discipline is what I love about comics, the story mixed with sex, ancient grudges and personal introspection draws the reader in and keeps them on a knife edge throughout each issue.
We had a chance to interview the artist and co-creator of the series Leandro Fernandez in anticipation of the 1st Trade volume releasing in October. |
THE DISCIPLINE, VOL. 1 TP
Story By: Peter Milligan Art By: Leandro Fernandez Published: October 5, 2016 Diamond ID: JUL160795 |
Leandro's responses are in Bold
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1 I have to start of with the “Goya” painting in the series, where did the inspiration for the piece come from?
There are a lot of old paintings with images of Satyrs seducing young ladies, from different artists… I’ve tried to mix some of those with a bit of the look Goya used to do. It’s hard in such a single, inked piece. I meant to try to capture something of the mood, mostly. 2 You have an extensive backlog of work do you find yourself intentionally trying to differentiate your characters or do common looks come through? I do work in trying to give each character a different approach, a unique personality. Not only in their look, but in their postures, gestures, and so on. It’s something important in long term projects. 3 You work on the Discipline has a very sensual feel at times, is this difficult for you to create? It is difficult for me to draw, indeed. I’m not the kind of artists which drawings come out on a easy and natural way. I have to work hard to reach what I want, it always have been like that for me, and I’m very exigent with myself. I have fun drawing, but at the same time it’s difficult and I want it to look the better the possible. Besides, I love the genre, so from that point of view I could say it’s an interesting challenge for me. I love it. 4 This is your first creator work with Image how have you found the process? Very cool, very easy going… I’ve had all the freedom I needed and Peter is such a great partner I could say everything is done for me to give my best. So no excuses from my end, if something isn’t done the right way. |
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5 And how does your creative process work with co-creator Peter Milligan?
As I said before, it was very easy in that sense.. he gives me all the freedom, and we don’t need to discuss too much about the creation itself: we’re on the same frecuence. He’s so clear with his ideas I only feel I have to join him along the way. 6 Melissa probably has the most panel time of any character, how did you come about her look and style? She is a sophisticated, wealthy girl, vulnerable and, at the same time, with great skills to become what he’s becoming into: she is strong, indeed. This is not that easy to achieve, so I had to work a lot on her design, and all the time she’s dressing with fancy, new clothes. I have to get a lot of references for this. This is a constant process on this book, and I have to keep this all the way along the book. But I have fun doing it…. It forces me to always keep an eye on her look! 7 Do you find yourself developing emotional attachments to characters? Well… when you work on something for so long, above all something that has its own life, like a character you created, it’s inevitable to develop emotional attachments with it. In this case, I could say I have it with Mel, the main one of this book, and above all because she is an interesting kind of woman: even vulnerable, she is strong and determined. She’s lovely. 8 How do you feel about the recreation of your art by fans? I’ve been into creator owned books since not that long, so I haven’t seen a lot of it yet. But I’d love to! I’ve seen something but by artists and I just feel I love it…. It’s a great feeling to see how other people make their own interpretation of my creations. |
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9 How long does an issue take for you to create?
On The Discipline I’m taking a little longer than what I’ve used… it’s taking me 40 days per issue, at least. But sometimes I take a bit more of that. I’m more focused on the work’s quality than the speed of doing it. And we have set deadlines that allow me to work this way.
10 What is the future for The Discipline?
Well… the story goes on. There will be a lot more to happen ahead, with Mel and the struggle between The Disciplines and the Stalkers. But I can’t reveal too much at this point, because I don’t want to spoiler anything… lets say there are still more Discipline to be enjoyed (or suffered).
Many thanks for your time and good luck for a remarkable series
Thank you!
On The Discipline I’m taking a little longer than what I’ve used… it’s taking me 40 days per issue, at least. But sometimes I take a bit more of that. I’m more focused on the work’s quality than the speed of doing it. And we have set deadlines that allow me to work this way.
10 What is the future for The Discipline?
Well… the story goes on. There will be a lot more to happen ahead, with Mel and the struggle between The Disciplines and the Stalkers. But I can’t reveal too much at this point, because I don’t want to spoiler anything… lets say there are still more Discipline to be enjoyed (or suffered).
Many thanks for your time and good luck for a remarkable series
Thank you!
