Looking for a sci-fi adventure comic that is funny and full of pop culture references?
Well, have I got the comic for you! Aaron Balogh and Jess Boudrie have been creating Dax since 2013 and have released 4 issues and counting! It’s all about a space mercenary doing his own thing when, boom, a little girl stows away on his ship. It’s been a while since the last Feature comic on our site, but the quest remains the same! And if I’m not making comics, I may as well point you guys in the right direction!
Jess Boudrie is a very talented artist that I’ve followed for years on Google+, and Aaron Balogh shines through his writing for this comic. I was able to catch up with them just days before their Kickstarter ends (last day is 8/20!) for an interview!
Q. When did you know you wanted to make comics?
Aaron – I started reading comics when I was 4 years old. That slowly progressed as I got older. In the early 90s I was able to find a common ground between my love of comics and my love of horror movies when they started reprinting the old EC books again. I was a huge Vault of Horror fan and wanted to draw some crazy horror comics. My downfall was never becoming that great of an artist. Once I started reading webcomics as an adult, the idea of eventually writing a comic started percolating.
Jess – I have been drawing since I was 3 years old. I think creating comics was just a natural evolution of copying everything I was watching on TV in the glorious 80s-90s and comic books. TMNT, Transformers, Alf, ect. I remember trying to figure out He-Man’s lumpy arms when I was around 6 years old.
Q. How did you get started with comics?
Aaron – Power Pack #1, my first comic ever, started the bug. When I was a teenager Image really got me going. I’ve still got tons of horrible sketches of Image-like anti-heroes covered in spikes and pouches.
Jess – I was making comics when I was a little kid, they were mostly pretty bad. I remember I made a 20-something page TMNT comic where the turtles sealed the Technodome within the earth… somehow. Rocksteady gave the ominous final panel “The end … or is it?”
Q. Where do you get inspiration for your comics?
Aaron – Oh man, all over the place. I’m just full of pop culture and I love easter eggs. I try to throw tons of little homages into the comic. I love Questionable Content and how well Jeph Jacques handles his characters. That’s been a major influence. Red Dwarf is another big one. It’s goofy sci-fi with a wacky cast. I love it. Skullkickers made me rethink how I present scenes. Babylon 5, DS9, Niven, I could go on for days. Everything seems to inspire me.
Jess – Dax was all Aaron… sort of. I asked him if he wanted to start making a webcomic, mostly to get me back into drawing after a decade long hiatus, and he came up with the basic concept for Dax based on a very old drawing I did in a sketch book. It’s been an evolution from there. Aaron is the scifi/pop culture geek, so there were more than a few scripts that would be accompanied by search links explaining the reference. Because of that I am now a Firefly/Doctor Who fan.
Q. Are you a writer or an artist first? And how does that affect your process?
Aaron – Writer. I really didn’t know it for the longest time. Once I took to Dax, it just clicked. Now I see things with a writer’s eye. I make a story before worrying at all if Jess will ever be able to illustrate it. Then I break it down into strips and further into panels. When I get down to that level I do try to think like an artist and give him a decent layout to work with. For me though, the story is always king.
Jess – I’m a total artist first. Aaron gives me the scripts, I kind of envision the feel of the page or scene and then sketch it all out with moods. Then I plug in the dialogue, sometimes rearranging it for flow and more than a few times rewriting a bubble or omitting something. When it comes to my other comic, Nightmaiden, I’ll sketch out a dozen or so pages with notes on mood before I even figure out a single speech bubble. I can’t write a script to save my life.
Q. What’s your favorite movie, and why?
Aaron – Just one? I don’t know if I can make that kind of commitment. Right now one of my favorites is Django Unchained. I love what Tarantino does with dialogue. For that reason I’ve also been a big fan of Kevin Smith. Clerks has always been a staple for me.
Jess – I can watch National Lampoon’s Vacation (the Wally World one) a million times without ever reconsidering that decision. A Christmas Story is a close second … though my wife refuses to let me buy a leg lamp. I mean, come on! It’s a major award!
Q. What’s the one thing you would say to a person wanting to make comics too?
Aaron – Just go for it. There’s never a reason not to try.
Jess – Make garbage. Make garbage every day. Eventually that garbage will be trash. Then that trash will be crap.Then that crap will be crud. Eventually you’ll see everything you’re doing wrong and right … then you can make gold. In honesty I give this advice to my teenage daughter who is aspiring to be an author. She’s seen my process and understands that what she’s writing now is good for her age (14 years), but she has a lifetime of making awesome stuff ahead of her that will make today’s awesomeness look like poo. Accepting that lets you move forward without lamenting about all the crap you made. Embrace that crap. Heck, sometimes when I’ve made something I’m super proud of, I’ll post it on social media along side something that is maybe only 3 years old. I used to be embarrassed by that stuff, now I wear it as a badge of advancement.
Q. Who is your hero, and why?
Aaron – In the comic world? Probably Warren Ellis. That man can write. Wild ideas all over the place while producing tons of work. I am in constant awe. Kirkman. Rothfuss. Again, I’ve got lots of them. More personally? I’d have to say my wife. She’s been working ridiculously hard for quite a few years to take care of our family. She makes a lot of sacrifices and she puts up with me on a day-to-day basis!
Jess – My dad, for the obvious reasons. He’s always been my #1 fan, supporting my ridiculous whims whether I wanted to play drums, guitar or draw pretty pictures. Outside of him… I have to put Skottie Young as my favorite comic artist. Outside of the pro comic industry, I have a slew of online friends who are amazing artists… I admire every one of them.
Q. As an artist, where do you draw value from your work?
Aaron – For me, I love to create. I absolutely love making things. Building a shelf, making beer, writing a comic, it’s all great and rewarding work. I also really love to see someone enjoying my work. Even if there’s just one guy out there saying he really likes it, that just warms my heart and makes me feel good about what I’m doing.
Jess – That’s a tough one. I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I can dash off a drawing that “normal” people “oo and ah” over. But every once in a while I make a page or a pinup that I think “Damn… I nailed that one.” Those end up as my desktop and cell-phone wall paper. I think I really feel great though, when I show my kids something I made and they say “Wow, dad! That’s awesome!” I’m pretty popular with my kids’ friends. I’m not a boring factory worker or claims adjuster … I’m the dad who draws cartoons. And there is no other dad as cool as me. Except maybe the dad with the Harley. I guess I need to buy a Harley 🙂
So there you have it, folks. These awesome guys are creating a really fun comic, and they’ve only got a few days left for their Kickstarter! Go show your support and show them what kinds of rocking fans The Underfold has!
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