Parsons Illustration Alum Abby Denson was recently written up in the New York Daily News. She talked about her own work, as well as the education value of comics. Here’s an excerpt:
Daily News: When did you get into comic art and comic writing?
Abby Denson: Well, I’ve been reading comics ever since I was a kid. The early comics I would read were the “X-Men,” and “Alpha Flight”, also “Uncle Scrooge” comics and things like that. When I got into college or when I was in high school getting into college I was more into “Love and Rockets” and reading “Ranma 1/2” by Rumiko Takahashi. Those were some pretty big influences. When I was in college, I pretty much ended up strictly reading black and white comics, whether it was indie comics or manga. I also liked Andy Watson, whose stuff is always great.At first, I didn’t think I would be into drawing [comics]. I mean, I went to Parsons School of Design for illustration but I really wasn’t into the idea of doing my own comic until I had a concept for a comic that kind of drove me through it. [Creating a] comic is a lot of work since you have to write it and then draw it. It’s double the work of just being a novelist or just being an artist, and usually not as well compensated (laughs). You have to have an idea to propel you to do the work; you really have to be passionate about the concept.
Read the rest of Abby’s great interview here. Currently, Abby is hard at work, writing a dessert column for L Magazine, illustrating, and getting ready to teach a class here at the New School. Way to go, Abby!
[art from Abby Denson’s Dolltopia]