The webcomic creator is never far from their audience. Be it through social media, public email addresses, Discord servers, or simply the comments section beneath a page, there is a rapport and a conversation that is developed that is unique to the medium. We’re continuing those conversations here, albeit a little more formally, by interviewing webcomics creators to pick their brains about craft, storytelling, and their personal experiences with the medium.
It’s been two months so you know what that means? Another interview with a webcomic creator. This time I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with the creator of “Alice and the Nightmare,” Michelle Krivanek. Get ready to fall down the rabbit hole and through the looking glass! …Give me some slack here, it’s not everyday I get to directly reference the origin of these phrases. Thanks again to Michelle for chatting!
To get us going, what was your first experience with webcomics before “Alice and the Nightmare?”
Michelle Krivanek: I started reading webcomics back in high school, stuff on Deviantart, fan comics etc etc. Gradually I started finding comics I still read to this day: “Gunnerkrigg Court,” “Monster Pulse, and “Namesake,” to name a few. I always read comics, and loved drawing and writing, and webcomics just seemed like the natural progression. It was such a clear “yes. that’s how I want to tell stories” for me.
What about webcomics attracted you to them over print comics then?
MK: Well for a high school kid that didn’t know the first thing about the publishing world, the accessibility and the speed of webcomics was a big appeal. It still is! Webcomics are such a fun space to work in because you can do outlandish stuff that studios or publishers might not go for. Not saying one medium is better than the other, just that they have their strengths and weaknesses like any medium.
I’m sure this has been asked many times but why “Alice in Wonderland” (and other Carol works) as the basis for your comic? What about this world drew you in and demanded to be reworked?
MK: I mean, it started with Alice, I just had a character I drew that was based on the Alice in Wonderland aesthetics I liked, and I just started adding more characters, Edith, Hatter, Cheshire, etc. But the more I was researching the source material, the more I fell in love with the actual book. There’s a reason it’s so iconic and long lasting, it’s just a super charming story! Familiar themes about being a kid and growing up in a suddenly strange and unfamiliar world where things don’t make sense and the people around you are rude and talk down to you, that’s textbook coming of age story.
Plus it’s just fun aesthetics to play around with. Honestly I just got attached to the characters I made, I found them fun so I kept writing them.
Who’s become your favorite to write? And are there any from the original stories you can’t wait to introduce that you haven’t yet?
MK: Tie between Alice and Hatter. I love how smart yet dumb they both are. As for characters, hmm. I’m looking forward to introducing the Caterpillar, and Bill the lizard. There’s a lot I’m excited for!
Oooooh. Are they coming soon or are they farther off?
MK: Farther off, unfortunately. Another fault of webcomics, they take yeeeaaarss. It’s worth it though.
Yeah, that’s a woe I think audiences and creators share when it comes to webcomics. Do you ever worry it will take too long to get to the late game story you have?
MK: Not really, cause there’s immediate stuff I’m looking forward to as well. One of my goals with Alice and the Nightmare is to make it super self indulgent, whether that’s new outfits or little character moments, so that helps keep me going.
Like, yes, it’s always in the back of my mind, but I try to not let that get me down in the day to day.
Do you think this was a factor in your decision to take down the original “Alice” comic and create this new version i.e. wanting to ensure it could last and that you had fun in the moment?
Continued belowMK: Honestly, more or less. In the original version, Hatter wouldn’t have shown up for a good long while, which, why would I do that? The original “Alice” was something I wrote in high school and while, yes, incredibly self indulgent, was suuuuper high school. By which I mean throw everything you like and the kitchen sink in there with no editing. Lost princesses, traveling circus, weird ball jointed doll minions, all which, yes cool, it just got to be too much.
It was Isabelle Melançon of Namesake that sat me down and said “hey, you can reboot this. We’ll help you out.” and I’m so glad I listened to her because the Alice now is so much better. Editing and killing your darlings will save your life. Plus you can always recycle ideas for later, nothing is ever truly lost.
Weird ball jointed doll minions?? I don’t remember those.
MK: Oh they were later in the story. God DNA infused creatures pre-reboot Rougina made. Super anime villain type stuff haha.
The original “Alice” only got to like mid chapter 2 before it stopped, if I’m remembering right, so it only scratched the surface.
Oh wow. Late game Sephiroth making an appearance, I guess. Did you struggle with taking Isabelle’s advice when it was first given? Or did it feel like permission to do something you had been thinking about doing?
MK: I mean there’s always that pang and panic of “oh god oh jeez I’m gonna have to redo all this,” but it was definitely liberating. She helped a lot with chapter one, but by the time I was in mid chapter 2 I felt like I had a pretty good grip on the story, and now I’m very happy with it.
I’m sure this has changed over the years but what have you found to be the most challenging part of the creation process? Is it the idea generation, the plotting or is it a function of the art, the lettering or the coloring?
MK: Oof, I mean, every part is challenging in its own way. Mostly I find the last couple hours of working on a page to be the hardest. What gets me through at that point is telling myself “Nearly all the work is done. You’ve written, did character designs, thumbnails, all of it. You’re 90% there.”
Making a comic is a strange process, haha.
Do you work primarily digitally or are there some physical components? What about your preferred method do you find most appealing?
MK: I do thumbnails and sketches on paper, then ink and color digitally. I’ve been inking on my iPad since mid 2019 and that’s been the biggest change for me. It’s great! I like my method because it’s streamlined for me, and it works for me. It’s really about finding a way to work that works FOR you. It takes a while and a bit of trial and error, though. Also one bonus of doing your sketches on paper is you get to see the stack you’ve created, that’s pretty satisfying.
What were you inking with prior to your iPad?
MK: On the cintiq in photoshop, now I ink in clip studio paint. The pen pressure difference is astronomical. Plus CSP is a program for comics, so the inking tools there are much better.
Any tips for other webcomic artists who might be thinking about using CSP?
MK: Get it get it GET IT!! it’s worth it!! Super cheap, one time price (unless it’s for the iPad then it’s a monthly payment), powerful tools, amazing resources, it’s truly the one stop shop if you need a powerful art program.
The only thing it’s missing is a liquify or puppet warp tool, but if they ever figure that out, whoof, the power.
Do you use CSP to letter as well or is that done in a different program?
MK: I use photoshop to letter; I’m more used to those tools.
What’s your lettering philosophy with regards to color, font, etc? Were you inspired by any other webcomics’ approach?
MK: A lot of lettering I’ve learned through stray online tutorials and tips, and a whole lot of trial and error what works and what doesn’t. Eye movement across the page is something I’ve been trying to work more on.
Continued belowFor fonts, picking something legible and clear is essential.
Do you ever get the itch to pick fonts that are more out there for characters?
MK: Oh definitely! For the big nightmare mirror Rougina keeps locked up in her lab (chapter 3), I’ve chosen to hand write that font to give it a more unstable, unearthly vibe. It really depends on the character. But I try to save that for big impact moments. Too many fonts spoils the broth.
One unique thing webcomics does is color their font balloons. Did you choose to color each person’s balloons based on their suit early on or did that develop separately?
MK: It developed together. Edith’s signature color has been blue since her creation, so Diamonds became blue. Likewise with Hatter and Quinn. Then for each subsequent character I based their signature colors on their Suits, like Dee and Dum being purple/pink.
How did you factor that into the readability of the comic, in positive and negative ways?
MK: Positive? You always know which character is talking, even when they’re off screen. Negative? It can be hard to color around, and makes the printing process trickier.
On printing, did you ever consider making your comic pages, well, not page shaped? Or was that never in the cards?
MK: Hah, not really. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible when it came to printing stuff, but I want to experiment with page formats and what I can do with double page spreads in the future. There’s always time to experiment and mess around but a multi chapter long form comic isn’t really one of them. For a short 20-30 page thing? oh sure.
Are you working on secondary projects right now?
MK: Oh yeah I’ve got a couple other stories I’m working on, nothing as concrete as “Alice,” but it’s nice to take my mind off the long form once in a while.
Are these projects you share on Patreon or something entirely for yourself?
MK: One’s a graphic novel pitch, the others are just random OCs I enjoy drawing, mostly I’ll put sketches on Twitter. Patreon I save for the exclusive “Alice” stuff or pinups.
Do you have any favorite characters to draw?
MK: Oh my #1 is Alice. I LOVE drawing her. That’s one of my biggest nuggets of webcomic wisdom I’ve collected. You NEED to love your main character, cause you’re gonna draw them A LOT.
A cute girl with fluffy hair, many freckles, and monster tendencies, that’s my ideal, and that’s Alice.
OK. Last question. What are three webcomics you would recommend for fans of “Alice and the Nightmare?”
MK:First, “Namesake.” Gotta recommend “Namesake.” Isabelle Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton are the reason I’m where I am today, they’re the best! Plus “Namesake” is just good. Fairytales, historical conspiracies, romance, fat cheshire cats, BEAUTIFUL ART, it truly has it all.
Next, “Snarlbear” by Natalie Riess. If you like colorful comics and monsters, Snarlbear has them by the dozens. Plus it’s a finished webcomic, which is a feat in itself. It’s really gorgeous and has cool unicorns.
Finally, I’d say if you like queer kids finding their way in the world and loving each other while doing so, I’d recommend “Goodbye to Halos” by Valerie Halla. This one does have a lost princess, and it’s an extremely fun read. Also, more dazzling colors and lovable characters. [You can read Valerie’s Interview with a Webcomic here.]
