Carly Reads for TBF!: Q&A With Lindsay Cibos

Hi Readers!

More interviews! Up today? Lindsay Cibos!

C: How does your partnership with Jared work? Does one of you write and the other draw? Do you both do both? What is it like working with Jared?

LC: We both write and we both draw. Of course, when working on a graphic novel, it would be absolute chaos if we didn't divide the work. On “Peach Fuzz,” we took turns writing the story. We brainstormed the general plot together, then we passed it back and forth to hammer out the details until we were both satisfied. Then I took the finalized plot outline, and created the rough storyboards. Once we checked to make sure everything flowed, I penciled the pages. Then I handed over the pages to Jared for inking. Final touches like lettering and screen toning were split between us. Working with Jared is great. He pushes me to do my best, and I do the same for him. We're both our harshest critics. We scrutinize and discuss every plot point and drawing. Working together ensures that we are always putting out the best work that we are capable of doing. :)

C: Have you always known that you wanted to be an author/illustrator? If so, was it always graphic novels that you were attracted to creating?

LC: I've been drawing since I was a kid. I started out wanting to be an animator for Disney, but in my early teen years, I discovered comic books and manga and fell in love with the sequential art medium. I started making my own comic books and decided that was what really what I wanted to do. When creating a graphic novel, I love having control over all aspects of the work; I get to play the role of director, actor, set designer, costume designer, writer, and so on.

C: You said in your “Five Fun Facts” that your pet ferrets inspired your “Peach Fuzz” series – how rooted in fact is that series?

LC: The plot lines are entirely fiction, but a lot of it is inspired from life. The ferrets' personalities, as I mentioned, are inspired from my ferrets, Momoko and Elf. My idea for “Peach Fuzz” began when I sat back and tried to fictionalize reasons for why my ferrets acted the way they did. Elf's quirky mannerisms, and Momoko's princess-like needs, why baby ferrets nip, why ferrets stash objects. None of the human characters are based off of anyone in particular, but there are bits and pieces that come from my own experiences or people I know. Jared and I did a lot of reminiscing on our experiences of attending school in the fourth grade.

C: What was the last book you read for pleasure?

LC: I'm currently reading [the graphic novel] “Black Jack” by Osamu Tezuka and [the novel] “Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire.