We have another amazing creator sitting down with us today to talk about their one-shot, straight from the pages of Saturday AM Issue 166. This story is a personal favorite of mine and I can’t wait to hear more about their process of constructing this intriguing detective mystery. Let’s get right into it!
“Hello ! I’m Alan Heller from France and I wrote and draw Dogs With No Name ! Thank you for reading my work!”
How’d you get into manga/comic making and storytelling?
How’d you get into manga/comic making and storytelling?” feel I was lucky enough to be born at the end of the 80’s and grow up in the 90’s in France… I was exposed to many media from all over the world. From Tintin, Lucky Luke, Asterix, to Spiderman, Batman the 92 animated series and Dragon Ball, Cobra, City Hunter and Saint Seiya just to name a few… Really big, generous and fantastic video games from Japan, Europe and America such as Final Fantasy 7, Metal Gear Solid or Tomb Raider on the PSX, Sonic on the Megadrive/Genesis or point and clics on PC such as Phantasmagoria, Blade Runner, Broken Sword or DiscWorld Noir .
At the time, I’ve seen all sorts of different movies and series from old french comedies with Louis de Funès and Bourvil or crime stories (Polars) with Alain Delon, Lino Ventura and Jean Gabin from the 60’s to the 70’s,80’s and 90’s glory of Star Wars, Alien, Arnold Shwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone,Jean Claude Vandamme or Jackie Chan flicks, X-Files and so much more… I feel that despise my young age, I had access to all sort of genre of media in a little bit more relaxed era regarding expression or making art.
Being dumb, light or serious tones in movies, shows or even in music ! Honestly, it was a blast in this aspect. I know it’s a long introduction just to present my “primordial soup”… but this is from this era, this vibe and all those various sensibilities that sparked only one question I asked myself one day : “Well, why wouldn’t I make my own stuff ?” Here I was at 12 or 13 making my first comic (Bande-Dessinée) with a just a pencil, an eraser and print machine paper. Now, in my mid 30’s, 100% self thaught trying to bring back a little bit of this vibe and mix it with some of the new things I discovered and liked since !”
What advice would you give aspiring artists who want to create a manga one-shot or enter events like Summer of Manga? What should they be prepared for in terms of challenges and opportunities?
“I might not be the best one to ask advices from since I’m still struggling kinda hard even with 20+ years of practicing… But that said, don’t wait for “the day you’ll be ready”. Just do stuff. Experiment, fail and learn. Try to have fun as much as possible ! Watch movies, shows, read comic book from all over the world from any eras, get comfy with the substance and the essential language of sequential art. Nowadays, you have access to all the keys needed on the web for free: Making of or video essays on movies, Manben series from Naoki Urasawa for manga artists, direct twitter or instagram feeds from your favorite artists to see how they do things, ask questions, etc…
Then, some tools can help you shape and understand deeper what you can naturally get and feel from all of this ! I recommand very strongly: Understanding Comics and Making Comics by Scott McCloud, The Anatomy of Story by John Truby and Dialogue: the Art of Verbal Action for Stage, Page and Screen by Robert McKee (Remember they are TOOLS to help you, not the end of things).
I’d like to add that, in my humble opinion, you idealy should strive for some kind of simplicity and authenticity. Take inspiration from feelings that are stuck deep inside you or things you really like or anything that moves you in a really fundamental manner and shape this into a story of any genre ! Start small and short with obviously short stories and grow big with a medium or a long run series.
In a professional context, deadlines are very very much of a challenge. it’s the Endgame of things to me, I’ve been beaten my them each time. It’s really hard because taking care of you, your physical and mental health is VERY important at the same time. You’ll have to learn to get smart and work with efficiency and let some thing just go… And again, failling is a good thing even with the bitter side of it ! It’s an opportunity to learn and get better at the art ! Don’t give up and launch yourself into the world ! With time, experience and care, you could “stir” people up and impact the world a little bit and kickstart great conversations with your work in a positive manner ! It’s the goal of any art : getting an emotion !”
What do you want people to take away from your story?
“I don’t know… I’d like readers to just feel, to be moved by the characters and what they act for and understand them even if they don’t agree with their actions at all… But I know it’s hard to connect with in 20 pages… I always try to put in things a little bit too complex for such a small amount of page (laughs). I think some of the elements surrounding the story are just icing on the cake. I don’t care too much about lore, It’s more of a tool than the meat of my work. Characters are the real deal to me !”
The premise of your one shot was really intriguing. At first glance this feels like a detective drama but with the subtle supernatural elements revealed to give an unexpected twist. Were there any particular challenges in keeping the supernatural elements subtle while still making them integral to the plot?
“Following the previous question, it’s always a challenge to me. I like to strike a good balance between ordinary settings to get the story grounded in some kind of reality so readers can connect more easily with the drama and characters that should portray feelings everyone could experience and just enough spice to get great conflict, fun or tense situations for the adventure to be exciting. For example, for simplicity’s sake, I like to use already existing folklore that EVERYONE knows enough to get the core idea (Golems, vampires, witches, etc…) and not making things up with weird or confusing names or too much name dropping that give or tell nothing to readers. Just adding my “vibe” to those story elements.
It’s hard not to lean or get lost too much on little realistic details that can sometimes help selling characters or stories overall. But I think it’s open bar when it comes to break or bend the story into some “end of the world” vibe and go bat crazy for an explosive ending or unexpected twists. Such as Devilman Crybaby (or the original manga), Barbara by Osamu Tezuka or Twin peaks (Movie and Season 3) by David Lynch and Mark Frost (All with various degrees of crazyness).
I’m still experimenting with things and still shaping my general “voice” but it’s getting clearer and clearer in my mind with each work or project.”
Another amazing interview with some insightful advice! Thank you so much Alan for giving us a behind the scenes look, and sharing your humble beginnings with manga making! You can read Alan’s one shot right now! Read DOGS WITH NO NAME HERE
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