Lostland: Exclusive interview with J.M. Henry

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Member of the Indie Webcomic Artists Guild, J.M. Henry is one of the more dynamic artist of the digital comic world today.

He brings his great vitality to the support of other rising creators, and devotes himself to his own webcomic, the post apoc Lostland.

It’s time for the Interview !

Hello Henry, welcome on Art Of Webcomics !

– Where do you come from ??
I’m from parts unknown in the US of A!
– How old are you ? ( tell it or not !)?
I’m Uncle-ish years of age
– Influences ??
Lostland’s setting has a few sprinklings of post-apoc media that I’ve enjoyed in the past, stuff like Fallout, NiER, Wild Arms was a pretty big one too.(A lot of games, yes. My one hobby aside from drawing…. and reading a ton) Past that, I tend to like branching out from the genre a bit to add a small touch of fantasy in there. I don’t run into too many post-apoc stories featuring characters with near magic-like supernatural powers, so there’s fun to be had with that!
– Art school or not ?
Nope, never been to an art school. I did have basic art classes in highschool and my brieff time in college, but past that, I’m 100% self taught in comic making!
– Favorite digital art software ??
Clip Studio has been my mainstay for years now, even back when it was called Manga Studio in the States. GIMP was a reliable buddy in my early comic years too
– Your working method ??

-Short outlines of the chapter(s) I’m working on -Rough thumbnails -Cleaning up the thumbs and inking -Tone/Color -Then dialogue and SFX and it’s done!

– What your webcomic is about, in a symbolic way, the hidden sense ??
Especially in this newer version, Lostland can be seen as a webcomic themed around renewal, I think. I can’t say too much on it, for spoiler reasons, but this idea is apparent in a lot of key characters, be it the end result of the main story or an element of their backstory. The Lostland is the sort of place that changes the people who travel through it. Even the setting design itself follows this. Instead of going for a doom and gloom, destroyed world sort of setting, I did my best in this version to depict a Lostland that was transforming, gradually, into an entirely new world. A very untamed, scary world in places, but a new one.
– Tell us more about your main character, the hero !?
There are four main characters, but or central protagonist is Volken since he’s our look at the Lostland from a person who lived outside of it. Volken’s stuck out in the Lostland… mainly due to a string of real bad luck. His main goal is to solve the problems keeping him stuck in the Lostland, give the guy who nearly killed him and was responsible for Volken being stuck here a black eye, and go home. Sadly for Volken, things don’t go quite as quickly or easily as they sound, especially since his target is an infamous local legend and possibly one of the strongest Shapers(crazy, supernatural folk) in the Lostland. And up against all that, the poor guy’s got a long way to go…
– How do you see your future ??
I see some rough going, but eventually things will align pretty nicely, once I’m finally back to updating!
– Your next goal ??
To finish this first chapter, or at least half before going live

Lostland New Version Pre-Production

– Advices for beginners ??

Speaking from some new experience, sometimes stopping to make changes is a good thing for your comic. Granted, avoid finding yourself in a place where you keep restarting, but if you’ve got a plan, set goal, and you know for sure the end result is better for you and your readers, go all in!

– Your technical secret trick ??
Water, exercise, and a good amount of sleep! ….And references. Lots of references.
– Favorite quote ??