If you picked up a copy of Vertigo’s CMYK: Magenta anthology last year, you’ve already had the pleasure of seeing Carla Berrocal’s stunning Technicolor pulp art in action. We talk to the versatile Madrid-based artist about her creative process.
Carla Berrocal is contributing to the Broken Frontier Anthology, created to celebrate the magic of creator-owned comics. Check our Kickstarter campaign and please share it with your friends on social media using #BFanthology. You can find Carla on Twitter @pintamonas.
The story in CMYK: Magenta wasn’t the first time Carla had done work for a major publisher outside her native Spain (she also contributed to the 20-artist “Villains Month” issue of DC’s Dial H), but it’s a reassuring sign that great work can still find a larger audience.
Over the last decade, Carla’s comics have appeared in a wide selection of anthologies and in her own titles like 2011’s experimental El Brujo (The Wicked). In the latter, she used a different technique for every page, further establishing her as an artist who’s constantly pushing the boundaries of both herself and the form.
We’re honored to have Carla contributing to our Broken Frontier anthology, where she’s sure to find a whole new legion of fans. We spoke with Carla recently about her personal creative process and her work to date, plus what Kickstarter contributors can expect.
You’re a multi-talented illustrator and teacher who’s worked for advertising agencies and publishers. How did you begin working in comics?
My first book was published in Spain in 2004. I drew a 64-pages comic named Hire the Incredible Vampire Samurai (yes, a vampire samurai!!! It was very very B-serie), from a script by Daniel Hartwell.
What are your favorite and least favorite parts of the creative process to bring your comics into being?
I think that [it’s all] funny (sic). I really enjoy [penciling and inking] the pages, but also the colour is interesting and the The whole process has good points and you always learn in each one.
What can you tell us about your work for the Broken Frontier anthology?
It’s a short story about the death [experience] in the future. I’m interesting in [exploring] how it will be. The process… will [it] be different? Can we change our end? I think it’s interesting exploring this theme in a comic about sci-fi.
One of your most recently published stories appeared in the CMYK: Magenta anthology. What was it like using a particular color as the springboard for a complete story?
It was very interesting. I really enjoy [playing] with fewer colours. One critic [said] that my comic was very “bubble gum”, and… it’s true! It’s because the magenta is the center of the story, so I can’t play with a normal palette of colours, it didn’t [make] any sense. The colours were also important and the magenta must be the center of it all.
What other current and upcoming projects are on your schedule?
I’m starting to draw my second graphic novel. It’s about the future. I’m working hard on it and I really hope to finish it at the end of this year.
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