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Although the growing popularity of mobile devices such as the iPad and smart phones have ushered in an age where digital comics are more commonplace, there’s still a lot of room left for innovation. That said, the crew at South Fellini, an independent publisher based in Philadelphia, have built their business digital distribution and with four titles under their belt it seems to be working. The boys behind Fellini were kind enough to reveal some details on their latest book: Carnivale de Robotique.

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Artwork courtesy of South Fellini © All rights reserved

You’ve tackled nuns with vampires (LaMorte Sisters), ultra-violent girl gangs with zombies (Black Cherry Bombshells), and now robots in a circus (Carnivale de Robotique). How do you manage to blend such genres together?

JZ: We like to marry a story and a high concept that support each other thematically. LaMorte Sisters is about high school frienemies. The Bombshells is really a gangster epic and Robotique is about love, life and growing up.

TT: They say “write what you know” and we just happen to be vampire hunting zombies with six years of tap training.

You’ve been a big adopter of digital comics, taking advantage of DC Comic’s Zuda imprint and now Comixlogy. Is this where you see the future of the comic industry?

TT: Absolutely. Comics are catching up with the Music Industry. That’s a good thing. The big distributors have entered the fray and are trying out new things. Independently; artists are connecting with a wider audience in a genuine retail sense. It’s competitive because technology has leveled the playing field. Of course print will always be around; it’s the difference between owning the Bluray and watching it On Demand.

JZ: Print is still important, especially for attracting young readers. We actually started a comic book donation drive in cooperation with Reading is Fundamental. Last year we collected 10,000 comic books and the literacy organization distributed them to classrooms across the country. This year’s Comic Book Donation Drive begins in December.

Artwork courtesy of South Fellini © All rights reserved

Your latest book, Carnivale de Robotique, is about a droid who runs away to join the circus. How did this concept for come about?

JZ: Everyone wants to run away and join the circus. I think its a powerful day dream, ya know? “If I could just show the world what I’m really made of!” And I guess the hope is that someone might love you for that.

Who are some of the main characters in the story and what are their roles?

JZ: Wendy is a nanny droid who runs away to be a ballerina in Lil’ Miss Mighty’s Carnivale De Robotique. There Wendy meets Baal, the artificial strong man, and Pagliacci the clown; who both fall madly in robot-love with her.

TT: Rounding out the Robotique cast is Remington Thunder (dare devil), The Gazpacho brothers (acrobatic kitchen appliances) and The Eli-Copters (flying, pink, robo-elephants).

Artwork courtesy of South Fellini © All rights reserved

There are a number of pop culture references inlaid within the story, such as Pagliacci who, at least to me, seems to invoke Max Headroom. What is it specifically about the pop culture that influenced you the most?

JZ: Every issue is full of new characters and hilarious parodies of things like Stretch Armstrong, The Care Bears, Ronald Regan, Mr. T, Simon Says, Bay Watch, ET and the Electric Slide. We tried to use the pop culture references as metaphor for the real life institutions we were talking about.

TT: In the second issue the Robotique must compete against a rival circus or fold-up their tents forever. The Festival Maximus is really all hype and no substance. They lure people in with loud ads and cheap prizes. So all of the characters are based on toys from the 80’s… the kind that were gimmicks before they went on to become beloved cartoons and warp a generation.

Who’s the artist on the book and how did your collaboration come about?

TT: Mark Fionda jr. does the pencils, inks and water colors for the whole book. He’s an amazing, rockstar talent from the Philadelphia University of the Arts. Everything he draws is hilarious.

JZ: Mark was a student of Christine Larsen, the illustrator on LaMorte Sisters, and she introduced us. His style is so fun and natural that you just get swept up in this fairy tale. He has some work for sale at the 1988 Gallery in LA right now. Go check it out.

Artwork courtesy of South Fellini © All rights reserved

The book was originally intended to be a one-shot for Indy Skip Week in 2009. How did you build upon that story for this 4-issue mini series?

JZ: When we put together the first issue for Indy Skip Week it was a self-contained 22 page story. Carnivale De Robotique was about setting your own course and finding happiness as a result. We managed to sell enough copies and people liked it so much that Comixology suggested a mini series.

TT: We knew we wanted to talk about other grown-up things like business, politics and religion without getting all preachy. We started to research caricatures and parables; looking for the best way to present our ideas. You aren’t going to find the meaning of life in a comic book but there should be some interesting stuff to chew on with your brain teeth.

What’s in the pipeline next for the South Fellini crew?

TT: Carnivale De Robotique #4 drops in November. Moon Girl #3 in December and we’re debuting Dogs of Mars with Paul Maybury right after the new year.

JZ: We’re also releasing tee shirts in support of Moon Girl and Carnivale De Robotique just in time for Christmas. The STORE goes live at the end of the month.

Interested in seeing more Carnivale de Robotique? The entire issue is now available online for FREE! You can check it out online at www.carnivalederobotique.com.

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The talented and all around nice fellow, Ryan Snook, has invited us to spend Wednesday with him. Check out his studio, his music, his routine, his stuff, and even photos of his wife’s HOT coffee…

Typical Wednesday with Ryan Snook

Wednesday starts the same as every other weekday, I get coffee ready for me and my wife, Beth.

Then once Beth leaves for carpool and the 30 – 45 min commute and I take my coffee and commute to work…

And here is where I will sit for the next couple of hours. Above my desk I have the ICON 5 poster by Edel Rodriguez, a comic page I did for our wedding that worked as a program and a great little painting by Travis Lampe that Beth gave my for Xmas last year.

Next to my desk I have this Gary Panter print that was also a gift from Beth.

And here is the bookshelf where everything is stored. This thing creaks anytime I take something off it and I suspect it will topple over any day now. The top shelf hold a lot of my published work and at the bottom is a framed print of superman I did.

Now it’s time to work, so on this day I had some Kid Cudi playing.

Below are some pics from the work I was doing on a full page illustration for Bicycling Magazine.

LUNCH BREAK!

Wednesdays are the best for lunch breaks because generally every week I meet up with friend and fellow illustrator Alex Perkins for a trip to the comic shop and some pizza. We usually go to The Beguiling first…

I picked up a few comics.

Now it’s time for pizza.

YUM!

Before I go home I check out what Alex has been working on, lately he’s been putting together a wicked Dr. Doom mask!

Back to work, finishing up the full page for Bicycling Magazine. The final version ended up changing but this is pretty close what will end up in print.

And finally I finish the day with starting sketches for Boston Globe. Beth arrives home and that’s just another typical Wednesday for me.