Howdy and hello readers. I am pleased to present the first in a series of interviews with members of the ReBoot Creative Team.
First up, we have Amazing Ale Aragon. I sent him a series of questions and his candid replies offer unique insights into the world of this very talented artist.
1- Ale, please tell the reading audience your full name and family background.
My name is Alejandro Aragón.
I’m the second of three sons. I was raised in a middle class environment. I never suffered any needs, nor did I live with many comforts. I mean, I come from a working family, who built his present with a lot of hard work and sacrifice (like most of the families in Argentina).
I´ve been living with my girlfriend for almost 4 years now, and with my child “Alma” (who is actually my dog)
2- Where do you live (country, state, town. Population? Neighbors?)?
I live in Argentina, in a very small city (I don’t even think you´ll find it on a map) named Fray Luis Beltrán, near Rosario (the second most important city in my country), in Santa Fe.
There are around 16000 inhabitants in my city. It´s a really quiet place to live (maybe TOO QUIET) So, in my free time, I’m generally in Rosario visiting friends, also comic book artists or just… walking around.
3- When did you start drawing comics?
I was really young, when I drew my first page. Maybe around 6 or 7 years. I do remember drawing on my primary school notebook. There´s a funny thing about this story, because, I had no sequence sense, there was no sense between one picture and another… so, as a result, there was a page with six panels and no sense at all.
I have always been sort of a lonely guy, and that behavior got bigger, when I moved from my city, around 11. There I was, with no friends in Fray Luis Beltrán, and in a neighborhood full of old people! Shit… In that time, the art was my way to get away from the sadness. I was drawing all day long. I was drawing around 8 or 10 hours (age 11 or 12) laying in my bed all day and I gain like 10 kilos (22 pounds) in two months
Then, I started high school, so, I was reconnected with the outside world, sports, and real people. ^_^
4- Who are your major artistic influences (comics, or art in general)?
Well… I think I´ve been influenced by thousands of artists. Right now, I don’t have much time to read, but a few years back, I was a compulsive comic book buyer… and I think all the influences get settled, in the brain, in a conscious or unconscious . It would be a better answer if I divide this in two different phases: My adolescence and my maturity. The first stage is when it hits you with a bigger passion and fanaticism about some things. This was the only moment of my life when I became a huge fan of a series, and that was PITT and a little less, SPAWN. Dale Keown y Greg Capullo were my heroes, those days.
Later on, when you read the comic, beyond the “pretty picture”, I´ve taken new masters, such as Eduardo Risso, Marcelo Frusín, Leandro Fernandez, Frank Miller, Mike Mignola and Jae Lee.
5- Did you attend art school? If yes where, if not, where did you get training?
I went to no school of art. When I was 15 I started and finished a 12 month mail course ^_^. Alter that, almost with 20 years old, I started to draw in Rosario, with a teacher named Esteban Tolj. I stayed there for a year. Later on, when I finished university, I received my major degree in Psychology (that´s another long story), right there I decided that I wanted to spend the rest of my life as a comic artist, so I spent many many hours, with my ass nailed to the bench, drawing, for 8 to 10 hours, every day, even Sundays, until I´ve got my first payed job. Alter that, nothing could stop me. Now I m lucky enough to be able to make a living of it.
6- How have you enjoyed the experience of creating comics the Z2H way?
Good points/ Bad points?
The experience is… AMAZING. I love to work for Z2H and I would never go away. I´ll be eternally thankful to Matt Toner y Jessica Clark for the trust they lay on me and for picking me to draw two double pages of Zombies… back in March, 2007.
If I must say something is that Z2H, when working with clients, the revisions are… excessive ^_^ I´ve worked on many projects, with many editors and artists, who have some limits in a creative way, and a bigger tolerance. If you limit the creativity of and artists, you´re not letting him give 100% of himself. I agree with revisions, with the hope to improve the art. But sometimes, revisions are all about “I don’t like this” or “I´ll would never put it down that way”. Alter a certain quantity of revisions, you can get to feel kind of tired, because, doesn’t matter how hard you try, it is never enough. Anyways, I think it is better off to be prepared for everything, be strong, and wake up every day with energy to show that you know how to draw, you can draw, and that there´s a reason why you´re standing here.
The good stuff about Z2H are:
The professionalism. The contention. The respect. The disposition for always listening and helping work out troubles. The responsibility. The good money the pay ^_^ the good people they are.
7- Franco has done some excellent colours for your art. How did you two meet?
We met in a comic forum of Argentina. I was following his work, but we never talked. Someday, he told me how much he liked a cover for a horror comic, and our relation began there. I remember contacting him trough MSN, to check if he wanted to work on some of my stuffs, but he had no time. Nevertheless, we talked, during the nights. When I drew my first pin-up for Image Comics, “Strongarm #3”, Franco liked it so much, that he asked me if he could add some greys on it. The final work was EXCELLENT. Weeks later, he painted my first drawing of a character from “Hell Patrol” (a Visionary Comics issue, in which I drew around 6 pages) and when I saw it I said “woow… amazing!”… He didn´t just color the picture, he added some elements, that made it really awesome… From that day on, I learned that Franco is one of those artist, who not only does a great job, they also add some things, leaving a characteristic signatura in every piece of art they´re involved in…
Three weeks later we entered the Z2H contest, about ReBoot.
Franco is the best colorist I know, and is going to be one of the best in the whole world. No doubt about it.
8- If you could work on any comic book/project of your choice, what would it be?
I cannot die, without drawing a Pitt issue… and a Spawn issue too^_^ I no longer follow the series, but I have to accomplish this dream, that got stuck in me since my youth. It would be a dream to work with Paul Jenkins, Neil Gaiman or Grant Morrison.
In a more personal way, I would like to work and draw in the Thriller genre, with dark tones, where I can play with many elements for creating environments or climax…. I love to use black (obviously I didn’t do so in ReBoot cuz I thought there was another air, another vibe, in the series, besides, talking with Franco, he felt more comfortable putting the lights on the scene. That´s the reason why in my pencil there are almost no shades)
Actually, any story is welcome, I know I’m capable of adapting to any kind of genre.
9- Now that the ReBoot pencils are all finished, what would you say was the most challenging page to do? Why?
Every single one of them! ^_^
I think, the harder part, was the first page (page X) In my case, I always find the beginning kinda hard to do, but as I go drawing along, I’m raising the level, page after page. Many artists begin with a great level, but alter that, for getting tired or whatsoever, the next pages looses quality in huge amounts. Well, I’m the opposite of that. I started really uptight, with many revisions and corrections. After 4 or 5 pages, I wasn’t happy with the final result of my work. It was tough, but, like many other times in my life, the obstacles cannot stop me, they only make me stronger, I CAME back with everything, with more energy, and I raised the level of quality, step by step…. I started to feel “pressure free” alter the first 17 pages ^_^ that was the point when I could relax, think and let the art flow from inside out, and to give 100% of my level… Was a hard job, but, I have no doubt, I’m improving a lot, I know I’m much better now, than I was two months ago. I grew up a lot, thanks to this team
10- What projects do you have scheduled for the future?
Well, in this profession, there´s not such thing as “certain” (unless you sign a contract for a 6 to 12 issue, which is not my case) because, things, tend to change. Currently, I’m finishing a horror comic, I must be 5 pages from ending it, and it may be published this year. I´ve got two more projects to be approved by editors. I’m also working with Josh, a script writer from San Diego, with many projects on track… He´s a really talented writer.
Finally, to conclude, I would like to add, that in my future, Z2H, is totally included. They know where to find me and what can I give to them.
Next Week: Professor WhizzyWig
