The Xcentrikz - Interactive Comic

Interview with THE Gisele "Giz" Lagace

on her awesome new comic, EERIE CUTIES!!

October 2, 2009

(Click on any of the images in this interview to visit the comic...)

Out new this June is the comic Eerie Cuties, and it's already one of the most viewed comics on the web. Here Giz puts her years of webcomic expertise into a fantasy comic, bringing to life hilariously fun monster cast. We can't wait to see what happens next! Watch out J. K. Rowling, 'cause heeeeeeerressss GIZ!!!

The Xcentrikz Team: Wow everybody - Gisèle Lagacé is back for another great chat with us. Thank you Giz!!! If you’d like to know more about Gisele’s other comic work, have a view at her fantastique artiste portfolio: http://www.giselelagace.com/

And check out her interview with Kirk, on her old comic Penny and Aggie.

Well, well. Where to begin? I know - We’d like to drive some new readers your way! Giz, could you please tell them a synopsis of Eerie Cuties?

Giz: Like the name says, the series is a mix of eeriness and cuteness. It follows the lives of monsters that attend Charybdis Heights High School. We get to see them trying to fit in, making new friends, and coming to grips with their growing and changing bodies.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Yay! Okay, so far we know this hilarious fantasy-horror comic revolves around monstery high-school kids, including two vampire sisters. Without revealing “too much”, what can you share about the other main characters? What makes them special? What makes them… eep! … monsters?

Giz: Nina Delacroix, the youngest vampire sister, was born on Easter, and only feeds on chocolate. Her sister, Layla, is 100% all vampire, and acts the part. Blair, Nina's possessed doll, contains the soul of a man who likes girls/women A LOT like, Chloe Love for instance, a succubus with serious body image issues, who doesn't think she's fit to be what she is. Then we have Layla's boyfriend, Kade Whiteclaw, a childish happy-go-lucky werecat, who only wants Layla to acknowledge their relationship as a serious one. Contrary to Kade's happy outlook on life, Ace Wolfhart, a werewolf, has low self-esteem, and would like to forget he's a werewolf, but having permanent furry hands, doesn't help the situation much. Brooke Lynn, who has recently been introduced, wears a green snake around her neck. She isn't afraid of snakes, as she's somewhat one herself! As a melusine, she recently scared the lizard twins, Jax & Lux, the first set of bullies introduced. Shifting to the school faculty, we have Arman Purvis, a nice French teacher, who has a hard time controlling his possessed arm. Jeffrey, the school caretaker, is a very tall man who wears a hockey mask à la Friday the 13th. He looks scary, but Nina isn't afraid of him. Lastly, we have Eleanor, a owl looking hunchback. She's the maid of the Delacroix household, and watches over Nina, Layla, and their family dog, Kujo, a bichon frisé. Nina & Layla's parents have been heard, but not seen as of yet.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Yes! A perfect synopsis of what's happened in the past couple months. So did you have fun creating another interestingly-balanced cast of personalities? Was it challenging to you in any way?

Giz: It's always a challenge to create a new cast, but it's that challenge that makes it fun. And using monsters was a bonus.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Cool. Are any of the characters loosely based on real-life events or people you’ve seen?

Giz: Mostly, yes. It's the only way for it to feel real and relatable.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Where did the Eerie Cuties concept come from? Was it something you were personally inspired to do, like you thought it’d be fun? Or were you more driven to create something new to please your fans?

Giz: A combination of everything. I always wanted to write something with vampires, but didn't want it to be strictly vampires. Having a variety of monsters was the perfect solution, and because I had never worked on anything dealing with monsters, the idea of it was inspiring to me, and the concept came quickly. I wasn't sure if it would please my fans, but I figured it would at least be different from past and current projects.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Your other comics like Menage a 3 have been contemporary, and in a “normal” world. Have you always liked dreaming up fantasy creatures, monsters, vampires and such? Or is this a totally new world for you? What’s it like doing monsters, for you?

Giz: I've always liked reading about vampires, werewolves, witches and ghosts. I'm not too knowledgeable in regards to fantasy creatures, but working on Eerie Cuties is a good way for me to get my feet wet. Drawing monsters isn't something that comes easy to me, so the main cast consists of monsters I'm familiar with. The complexity, in terms of design, for future monsters will be a gradual one.

THE XCENTRIKZ: So you mentioned to us May 2009 that a new comic was coming up. How long had you actually been working on this to get it ready for publication?

Giz: I started thinking about a vampire series in the Summer of '08. I went through various concepts, and nailed the final one in February of '09. I wasn't sure how much time I could spend on it, but after deciding to leave my art duties on Penny and Aggie at the of March of '09, I shortly thereafter began work on designs and pages. The webcomic launched June 1st, 2009.

THE XCENTRIKZ: By the way, you and Miguel are doing great, illustration-wise. Your characters in previous black and white comics really pop-off-the-page and capture people’s imaginations. But colors – Wow, THAT is over the top. So how did you team up with this talented colorist, and what’s it like working together?

Giz: Glad you like the results. :) I met Miguel in 2006. He was an aspiring Brazilian colorist looking for black and white sequential art he could use to improve his chops. He emailed me to see if I could provide him with some Penny and Aggie pages. After seeing his coloring on those, I knew I would use him in the future if I ever needed a colorist. Miguel speaks Portuguese, so we use Babel Fish to communicate. It helps that I know French as well, since I can test the translation from English to French first. If that translation makes sense, I figure the English to Portuguese one will too. It seems to be working anyway. LOL He does the same on his end.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Wow, amazing. That is really cool. So how is the public responding to Eerie Cuties, and what do you think of your fans’ reactions?

Giz: The response seems very favorable. I know it won't appeal to folks who can't stand vampires of any kind, but to those who like 'em or are neutral, they find it quite enjoyable. It's also already been translated in French, Spanish, Hungarian, Polish, and very soon in German. I'd say that shows some interest in the project. LOL

THE XCENTRIKZ: What do you like best so far about doing Eerie Cuties?

Giz: The cute innocent vibe you get from it I think.

THE XCENTRIKZ: How about a few personal questions. If you COULD travel in time through your cartooning career, and possibly affect its future… Would you attempt to change it for the better? Or would you just silently observe your old self?

Giz: I would definitely help the younger me get better. I'm self taught, so having a helping hand may have helped me get better as an artist. When I see artists that are 10 years younger than me, and ten times better than me, I know getting help back then would've been nice. ;)

THE XCENTRIKZ: Is there something you really can’t stand as a cartoonist? How do you overcome (or avoid) it?

Giz: I wish it didn't take me so long to draw a page! Sadly, there's not much I can do about that... sob sob *sniffle.* Other than that, I can't think of anything cartooning related. I mean, there are things that I hate, like people writing stuff about me and assuming things that aren't true, but that isn't just in the cartooning field. That's just the web for ya.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Yea, all part of the work... If you had an “ideal day,” what would it involve? By contrast, what’s real day in the life of Giz?

Giz: Hmmm, an ideal day? I guess it's similar to the previous question. Reducing the time spent on a page would be great, but I won't sacrifice quality for it, so... the result is me spending lots of time drawing and writing every day of the week. I don't really take days off.

THE XCENTRIKZ: No days off - know the feeling! Ha ha, good thing our work is fun. So if you could choose a super power, what would it be? Would you use it for your career, your personal life, to affect humanity, or something else?

Giz: Making people laugh is a nice power. It makes people happy, and that's a good thing. I wish I was really good at that. In the meantime, I'll keep trying. :)

THE XCENTRIKZ: What other cartoonists and entertainers do you admire? Does it influence your work?

Giz: I admire lots of cartoonists, some for their art, and some more for their writing. And sometimes you find a cartoonist, like Chika Shiomi, who's good at both. Those people I envy! LOL And yeah, I'm generally influenced by what I read and see, and I'm not afraid of that like some cartoonists are.

THE XCENTRIKZ: From the looks of your comics’ update schedules, it looks like you probably work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Ha ha ha... I hope I’m wrong? Though if you love your work (which we know you do), then more power to ya! But in all seriousness… What’s it like to keep up with the update deadlines and other priorities of TWO very popular comics, along with having a personal life?

Giz: Like previously said, yes, I do work long days. The art is what takes the most of my time. Luckily, I have an understanding boyfriend, and I have no kids. With kids, I don't know if I could keep this up. It's hard some days, but generally, I like what I do.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Where would you ideally like to see Eerie Cuties in a year? …5 years?

Giz: Animated on TV? It's always nice to dream. ;)

THE XCENTRIKZ: Anything else to share about Eerie Cuties? How’sa’bout a juicy hint on your upcoming plots! Puh-lease-oh-puh-lease-oh-PEEAS?

Giz: I'll say a word that might scare some guys away, but I'm sure they'll like it when it happens: romance. Expect some romantic tension between some of the characters. I'll leave it at that. ;)

THE XCENTRIKZ: Sounds good to me! Well Giz thank you again for the interview, AND for sharing your awesome style with the comic world. I’m definitely looking forward to what happens next in Eerie Cuties!

Giz: Merci beaucoup! Cela m'a fait le plus grand plaisir!

THE XCENTRIKZ: You're the best Giz. It was a pleasure for me as well, to interview you. See you around!

http://www.giselelagace.com (portfolio)
http://www.menagea3.net (ongoing)
http://www.eeriecuties.com (ongoing)
http://www.pennyandaggie.com (was the 1st artist)
http://www.coolcatstudio.com (completed)

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