We recently interviewed writer Trey Walker and artist Hoyt Silver about their forthcoming comic book Last Stop. Currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter, Trey and Hoyt treated us to a thorough insight of the comic’s construction and how Last Stop‘s intertwining of superhero adventure and real-world inspirations gives Last Stop an empathetic edge. The pair co-created the comic, but we also managed to squeeze out another interview with Hoyt about his visual contribution to the comic.
A Place To Hang Your Cape: Last Stop has a bold, vibrant style to its appearance. How did you go about visually creating the world and the characters of Last Stop?
Hoyt Silva: I knew early on that I wanted to do something that could not only be produced quickly and get the point of the scene/action/story across but also something that could be easily be consumed on the web or phone since it was not only going to be a graphic novel eventually but also be read online as we produced it.
AP2HYC: Several pages of the comic feature a distinct colour palette, why is that?
Silva: I wanted to simplify the use of colour in order to speed up the reader’s recognition of a given scene and then migrate the colour in temperature and saturation in coherence with the character dominating the scene in order to move the reader along from one emotional place to another as we progressed through the story. Whew! That was a brain full! In short, I think writing/drawing/composition/art can all get you in the neighbourhood of storytelling, but I believe colour is the element that takes you to the front door and that’s how I tried to use it as a narrative tool as simply as possible.
AP2HYC: Last Stop carries its action-driven story through wide, blocky panels. Why did you choose to show the story this way?
Silva: I tend to keep my panels fairly simple. Although there is a side of me that thinks really wild panel shapes and sizes can be cool from an artist’s standpoint, I think the danger of losing a reader’s attention is too great. At the end of the day, when I’m drawing comics even though I’m creating art, that’s not the point of my job. The real job is telling a story. There are various tools one could use to do that and the wide blocky panels are the easiest way I’ve found to keep a reader’s attention on the action.
AP2HYC: What artistic inspirations may Last Stop have?
Silva: I drew directional and production influence from giants like Darwyn Cooke and Mike Mignola along with the clean visual influence that I tapped from some of my heroes like Sean “Cheeks” Galloway and Cory Walker and tried my best to come up with something unique and original that would work in service to the story both in print and online.
AP2HYC: What has it been like working with Trey in bringing your joint story to life?
Silva: TREY IS AN A$$HOLE! and I say that with the utmost respect and admiration. We’ve know each other for so long there really isn’t a creative partner that I trust more to keep me on my game while always pushing me to try something fresh. If all of your most trusted friends never let you know when you’re slipping or push you to better yourself when the chips are down then I recommend switching your circle up.
You can discover more about Last Stop via its Kickstarter campaign. Have you already backed the comic? Let us know in the comments section below or send us a Tweet!
