We were eager to find out more about the “Wannabe” series so we got in touch with Luca Debus and asked him some questions about his work. Firstly, we wanted to know what inspired him to create comics. We learned that: “Comics have always played an important role in my life. As a child, when I was feeling anxious, I’d resort to my comic collections to find humor and adventurous stories that would distract me from my own insecurities. Since the very beginning, I’ve always acknowledged the impact that comics had on me. I wanted to be a part of their healing strength, so I set the goal for myself to become a cartoonist and to create those humorous comics that helped me so much growing up.”
Asked if there are any recurring themes or motifs in his comics, Luca said: “I relate with insecure characters who have big dreams. A lot of my comics deal with these characters. Recurring motifs would then be anxiety, ambitions, and expectations, but also joy. I like to coat all my comics with humorous joy. There’s no better skill than being able to laugh at yourself! This is also reflected by my drawing style, which looks goofy and silly with a pinch of cuteness!”
The author of the “Wannabe” comics has also shared with us some insights into the characters featured in his series: “Wannabe is my latest comic series, and it’s distributed by Andrews McMeel’s GoComics. Wannabe’s characters are a group of silly 20-somethings who are trying to find their way in life. I can encapsulate in the comic strip all the struggles and hardships that my friends and I have to face in everyday life. I try to focus a lot on the humor, creating a comic that makes me laugh and that unveils the silliness and humorous potential of life.”
Luca continued: “My latest graphic novel, Funny Things, A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz, published by TopShelf, tells the story of the creator of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang. The characters there are based on real people, but the recurring themes of dreams and ambition, and humor are still predominant.”
We were also wondering if the artist could tell us more about his creative process behind working on the new comics. Debus told us: “Creating comics looks very uneventful from the outside! I just walk around in my apartment until I get a funny idea. Once I’ve collected a week’s worth of funny ideas, I sit at my desk and write scripts about them. When the scripts are ready, I draw the panels I need on paper, and I do the lettering digitally. Then, I start sketching out the drawings on paper, I ink them in with a brush, and then scan everything. After that, I fit the scanned drawings with the lettering I did before, I color the strips digitally, and that’s it!”
Lastly, Luca Debus told us a little bit more about some of his influences in the world of comedy and comics: “I love to laugh, so I engage with a lot of comedy. I love Vanessa Bayer’s awkward sense of humor, Miranda Hart’s goofiness and physical comedy, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s skill in marrying comedy with darker themes, Mamrie Hart’s over-the-top and joyful humor, Bryan Safi’s nonsensical camp energy, Erin Gibson’s confident chaotic humor… so many! In the comics world, I like the humor of Will Henry (William The Brave), and of Italian cartoonist Leo Ortolani.”
