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Rosi Kämpe Talks Her New Ongoing at Marvel, “Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider”

By | August 27th, 2018
Posted in Interviews | % Comments

This fall, Marvel is unveiling an all-new Spider-Gwen ongoing series, titled “Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider.” One of the more popular and, frankly, surprisingly enduring creations for the last decade, Spider-Gwen has become one of the most dynamic and interesting characters Marvel is publishing in any book, and it is really encouraging to see both Marvel support the character, and to give some young, female creators a chance to make the book their own.

One of those creators is Rosi Kämpe, an illustrator from Finland known for her work on books like “Genius Cartel” and “Civil War II.” We recently sat down with Rosi to talk about the new book, her approach to the character, and more. Check out her webcomic, her (sometimes not safe for work) artblog, follow her on Twitter, or support her on Patreon.

Cover by Bengal
SPIDER-GWEN: GHOST SPIDER #1
Seanan McGuire (W) • ROSI KÄMPE (A)
Cover by Bengal
VARIANT COVER BY ARTGERM
VARIANT COVER BY JEE HYUNG
MARVEL BATTLE LINES VARIANT COVER BY JONG-JU KIM
VARIANT COVER BY ANDREW ROBINSON
VARIANT COVER BY PAOLO RIVERA
ANIMATION VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLE
BLANK VARIANT COVER ALSO AVAILABLE

A SPIDER-GEDDON TIE IN!
• What? You thought we were done with Gwen Stacy after the first two landmark volumes of her series?! GET OUTTA HERE.
• It’s a whole new spin on Gwen and her world of Earth-65, brought to you by none other than SEANAN MCGUIRE & ROSI KÄMPE!
• We pick up with Gwen right where we left her – fighting crime through her home reality, unaware that it sits on the precipice of interdimensional calamity! Someone’s gonna be late to band practice…
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Greetings Rosi! You’re located in Finland. As a fellow Finn I know Finland is a country where the comics industry is very different compared to the United States and superhero comics are a very niche hobby. How did you originally get the idea to offer your talent to companies like Marvel and Image?

Rosi Kämpe: Hello! So nice to bump into other Finns!

Well like you said, the comics industry in Finland is very different and I really did not feel my interests or art style would fit in there at all, so I skipped over the Finnish comics scene entirely and shot straight for the American/international market. The other reason is of course my love for superhero comics and I really wanted to be a part of that!

What’s your relationship with Spider-Gwen as a character?

RK: I love Gwen! I have so much fun drawing her and I definitely feel a connection with her. She has that fun and whimsical attitude that’s so loved in spider characters, but she’s also a punk rocker and definitely has a bit of a rougher edge, especially after everything she’s gone through lately. So I love drawing her being goofy and young, but I also get to draw heavy emotion. Also fun fashions when she’s out of costume! Not to mention I get to draw possibly the most stylish superhero costume out there.

Describe your art style in Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider in three words.

RK: Playful, flowy, textured.

Who are your artistic influences?

RK: I adore the masterful touch of Olivier Coipel and Stuart Immonen and the gorgeous style of Sara Pichelli and Joëlle Jones.

You’ve previously worked on limited series for Marvel and Image among others, and have your own webcomic, “Unknown Lands.” Do you think getting to illustrate an ongoing series changes you as an artist? Do your peers view you differently now?

RK: I feel like it’s something I’ve been practicing for all along, so I don’t know if that will change me much. I’d say it’s the tone and story of the series that changes me more and Spider-Gwen lets me go all out! It’s extremely fun, yet challenging. I can’t speak for how my peers see me, but I think everyone was very surprised by the news (as was I!). Everyone’s been really wonderful to me, I really appreciate all the love!

Continued below

What kind of working method do you have together with writer Seanan McGuire?

RK: Seanan is an absolute dream to work with! She’s able to condense the vibe of the scene and the emotion of the character into minimal direction and trusts me to make it all look as awesome as possible. It’s a true collaboration!

What tips would you give someone living outside of America trying to break into the American comics industry?

RK: Start doing what you want on your own already, build a body of work, and go out into the world and show what you got! There’s so many opportunities available now. See where the closest relevant conventions are and go talk to industry professionals, get to know the field and the people and do your best to learn as much as you can. Thanks to the internet a lot of this is made easier, but at least for me it’s been very important to travel abroad and actually meet other comics people. Make friends, you’ll need them!

What are your aspirations for the future? Is there a dream series or character you’d like to illustrate?

RK: Hopefully I’ll get to play with Gwen for a while! Other than her there are just so many I’d love to get a chance to draw, from Captain Marvel to pretty much anything related to Asgard and about a dozen X-Men.


Frida Keränen

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