In the year 2000, Chynna Clugston Flores published the first issue of “Blue Monday,” and helped usher in an era of comics that balanced elements of manga, rock ‘n’ roll, and youth culture, all presented with vibrant energy and sidesplitting humor. Books like “Hopeless Savages” by Jen Van Meter (which is also coming back from Image later this year, and which Clugston also provided illustrations for) and Bryan Lee O’Malley’s “Scott Pilgrim” series owe part of their existence to Clugston’s work, which is as charming and funny and melodramatic as anything you could want.
Now, after a long hiatus – where Clugston spent time as an editor for DC and contributed various illustrations and covers all over the place – she’s bringing “Blue Monday” (which she’ll continue in the fifth series, “Thieves Like Us”) and her miniseries, “Scooter Girl,” over to Image Comics, which was announced at today’s Image Expo.
We had a chance to speak exclusively with Chynna about her work, her upcoming books, and transition to Image.
First off, I know a lot of people who are going to be super excited to have “Blue Monday” back. In fact, I was first introduced to your stuff by my friend, Jen, who gave me the series as a Christmas gift. When you were assembling the big compendium, “Germfree Adolescents,” what did you feel seeing all your previous work? What was it like flipping through stuff you made as the year 2000?
Chynna Clugston Flores: It’s always strange to look back at old work since I see every single silly thing I might do with a bit more skill now, but then I remember it’s not a bad thing to see how much its changed over the years. It’s funny, too, sometimes I forget details on stories I did a long time ago, so it sort of feels like I’m reading a favorite old book that I hadn’t touched in a while. It’s hard to believe it was that long ago!
The first issue of “Thieves Like Us” originally came out in 2008, with your previous publisher, before going on hiatus. What have you been working on since then? I have some fantastic covers on my desk from “Lumberjanes” and “Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens”; how did you get involved in those projects? You also worked on DC’s editorial team for a while; how does working as an editor influence the way you approach your current batch of stories?
CCF: I’ve been working on all kinds of things, but yeah, I did work a couple years between then and now in DC’s editorial, which was a great experience. Being on the other side of the fence, as far as creating comics, was a huge eye-opener. Editors do so, so much more than just proofreading and assembling comics — people really have no idea. They’re practically babysitters for creators to be honest, and they take so much from all sides–the work is intense and non-stop, and really they have only a small amount of time to focus on actually reading comics when all’s said and done. They spend masses of time coordinating things and herding cats, basically.
As a creator it made me far, far more sympathetic to what they go through. It’s amazing how thankless a job it is. As far as approaching my own work now, it’s made me more conscious of little things like word balloon placement (it IS important! Honest!) as well as now understanding how much pressure editors are put under if you miss your deadlines. Also, they’ve heard every excuse in the book and don’t care what yours is in most cases, so keeping up communication and being honest with them about where you’re at is really the best mode to work in, they can usually work with you to make things happen. I’m far better about keeping all that in mind now. Creatively it didn’t have much impact, barring giving my pages a little more room to breathe.
Besides that adventure, I’ve been doing advertising work and licensed work such as “Saved By The Bell” from Lion Forge and the “Peanuts” anthology from BOOM!, I worked on some short stories and single issues for Image on projects like “The Spearmint Anthology” and “It Girl and the Atomics,” and I’m sure other short projects that are escaping me at the moment. During that time I was slowly working on more “Blue Monday” and coming up with other series I’d like to eventually do. As far as the covers for “Lumberjanes” and “Marceline,” I was in contact with their editor, who had enjoyed “Blue Monday” from the beginning, so I was lucky enough to have someone who liked my work contact me about working on these cool properties!
Continued belowHow much are you aging up the characters for this latest series? What ways have the characters evolved and grown that you weren’t expecting and how has that influenced the direction of this next series?
CCF: Not at all! We’re picking up right where the story left off. The kids are still (mostly) in their sophomore year, and they are just as obnoxious and immature as ever. We still have Lovecats to address, and that issue is an important one. And of course, new readers coming to the series will be brought up-to-date so no one is left out.
You’re bringing this series to Image now. What’s it like working with this publisher? Are you going to continue with the series of miniseries setup?
CCF: I’ve worked a little bit with Image in the past and it’s always been a great time. They are very much about letting the creators do what they do and helping that come along smoothly as possible, and I love that about them. We’re still deciding on some of the details for the new “Blue Monday” books, but we’ll put the info out there as soon as it’s available.
What’s your workflow like? What tools, for writing and/or drawing, do you find yourself always using?
CCF: I’m still working primarily by hand, so thumbnails, pencils, and inks are all mostly done at my drawing table on my light box, with heavy clean-up and colors in Photoshop. I’m left-handed, so I smear everything like hell. I end up spending a lot of time cleaning pages on my computer. I love my Wacom tablet. I’m still searching for art materials I would like to work with better, but for now I tend to use a lot of Faber-Castell Brush Pens, Micron Pigmas and occasional brush (though very rarely these days). I wish I could use a nib and have that sharp edge, I would love that so much, but my lefty dilemma makes it really tough to work with ink that takes time to dry. I’d love to eventually have a Cintiq and do a lot on there, it’d save on art supplies and Pro White, but there’s something nice about approaching it more organically and old school that a computer will never reproduce. That doesn’t mean I won’t eventually move to mostly computer based work, but it won’t be exclusive.
“Blue Monday” was sort of the first book to bring a kinetic manga and rock-n-roll feel together (and later explored through stuff like “Hopeless Savages” and “Scott Pilgrim”). What new music have you found that’s influenced the way you approach your latest stories? Can we expect to see playlists in the back of issues again?
CCF: “Blue Monday” takes place in the early 1990s, so I tend to restrict my playlist to then and earlier: ’80s Alternative, Punk, hardcore and, most importantly, New Wave/New Romantic, ’60s Mod and Garage, ’70s Punk, and so on. A bit of ’90s Britpop, too. So I primarily listen to that to get ideas for scenes and feeling for certain moments. There are totally newer bands that get me into the same zone, though, or at least close, and lately it’s been a lot of Bear in Heaven, some FC Kahuna, Low Sea, The Soft Moon, Datarock, Vitalic, Glitch Mob, Crystal Castles, The Knife, Big Black Delta…and always AIR. A lot of electronic. I still have to keep my head in the time period, though, so it’s a lot of old favorites on repeat. I definitely plan to keep up the playlists for the new comics!
I remember when I read the first “Blue Monday” book, I was like, “This is like a shojo ‘Love & Rockets.'” I later found that Los Bros Hernandez were just as big of influences on you as well as people like Hidenori Hara. Who else’s work do you look at, and it just inspires you to be better? Also, you’re at this place where people are listing you as a huge influence. What was that feeling like?
CCF: I have so many influences it makes it hard to tell what’s in the mix. Always Rumiko Takahashi, Jamie Hewlett, Evan Dorkin, Adam Warren, Philip Bond, Masamune Shirow. But on top of that are also Becky Cloonan, Bob Montana and Charles Addams among others. Bob Montana big time. They all make me want to get better, all the time.
It’s weird having the occasional person tell me that my books have been an influence, or that they’ve been reading them since they were in high school or since they were kids (!) and then I remember I’m not 20 anymore, ha ha! But it’s a genuinely fantastic feeling. It’s the whole point, connecting with people, hoping you’re maybe helping those who might be considered outsiders feel like they’re not out there alone. When I was in high school I definitely felt like I was on my own barring a handful of friends, but then I saw there were indy comics creators I could identify with, adults with rich inner lives and social events to attend with even more of our kind, there was a lot to look forward to, maybe I didn’t have to try to eventually fit into that corporate box if I didn’t want to, etc. At the same time I think there’s universal themes in these stories that appeal to all kinds of people, so it’s not something designed to exclude anyone. You don’t need to know the music or subcultures here to enjoy the story, but it can be an extra boost to those who do. It means the world to me that these books have possibly helped someone along through their teenage angst or maybe even inspired them to do their own comics. That’s amazing. And crazy!
You’re also bringing back “Scooter Girl.” Do you have any plans to follow these characters?
CCF: Not at the moment, but I’ve kicked the idea around of a second series. If I come up with something I really like, it’s always possible, but there’s nothing solid yet.
How did doing “Scooter Girl” differ from “Blue Monday?” Did “Scooter Girl” let you cut loose or do anything vastly different than “Blue Monday”?
CCF: Dealing with older characters, even though they’re only in their twenties was a huge departure simply because the maturity level varies so much with certain characters. Admittedly not all of them, but that’s also one of the points of the story. It was also closer in a sense of time-period to when it was created, so even though it centered on the Mod scene in Southern California (which itself revolves around modernist aesthetic, mostly ’60s even with the truly modern mixed in) it took place closer to the present than “Blue Monday” does. It also has far darker moments than “Blue Monday” has to date, more blood to be sure, and that was fun for me to work with. When you have a rather large dark side to you it can be amusing to realize some people think you’re nothing but hardy-har all the time. But even that was a dark comedy more than anything.
“Scooter Girl” has been described as a ‘love letter’ to Southern California. What is it about SoCal that really speaks to you?
CCF: It gets a bad reputation for being shallow, which it can be depending on your crowd, but the whole place has got so much more below the surface. So many dynamic characters, and the land itself varies drastically from region to region, too. The history is fascinating, the architecture, the mix of Mexican and Japanese culture with everything, Hollywood, the people when you look for them, the interesting ones, they’re everywhere. And they’re in Technicolor even if they’re head to toe in black. In L.A. they’re always doing something, always have a project in the works. In San Diego, they’re usually kicking back or waiting until they can. With the San Diego scooter scene, which is what “Scooter Girl” revolves around, it was based off of my time there and the people I encountered. They were a small but interesting group, and a lot of them are still there going at it. They go between San Diego and L.A. and these two sets collide regularly. As well as with TJ, or at least it used to.
When looking back at a completed work like “Scooter Girl,” is there a desire to mess with it, George Lucas-style, or are you happy to let well enough be?
CCF: I’m always wanting to mess with stuff, again because I see what I could probably do with more skill now, but I know most people vote to just let the old work lay as it is, to leave it alone. So I’ll try to refrain from that impulse to adjust or redo it.
