Emma Rios may be best known for her work on projects like Pretty Deadly and The Mirror. But next month, Rios will release what is perhaps his most personal and powerful work to date: Anzuelo, an original graphic novel.
Ansuero, published by Image Comics, is described as a “rebellion against the idea of violence as the only response to a hopeless life.” Specifically, after “the ocean absorbed the world,” the three children learned about “the physical and mental changes brought on by the rising and falling tides, and their unwillingness to harm any living things.” “United by desire.”
What follows then is this powerful mediation on growth/maturity, our place in the natural world, and what happens when one day everything changes completely. This is a side or version of Rios we’ve never seen before, and yet it’s a powerful continuation of her raw, expressive stories about people trapped in circumstances beyond their control.
Anzuelo officially hits stores on November 6th. To better understand both this story and Rios’ personal position on the project, we recently spoke to her via email to answer some questions. It includes her work as both a writer and an artist, the “transformational” experiences Rios has had, the inspiration/influence of the book, and how she relates to her characters.
Provided by Image Comics.
AIPT: What do you think about ansuero? What is an elevator pitch?
Emma Rios: The oceans seem like a deliberate attempt to regenerate the entire planet. The three children wake up on the shore and are alarmed by the waves. They hide their panic, help each other, and maintain a stance of not harming living things.
AIPT: Is this your first time as an artist and writer? What was the whole process like — was it difficult to balance everything?
ER: This is what I did before I started working in comics full time. At that time, we first had to learn and adapt to the American market. Then I needed to find a place where I felt safe to write. The free creative attitude of images was very helpful. I first published ID with them in 2016. In this short graphic novel, three people consider changing into different bodies for several reasons.
The process is different for me when I work alone. I plan my stories carefully, but nothing is set in stone, hoping that the characters will take the lead in a more natural flow. Technically speaking, rather than writing full scripts, my tools are mainly dialogs and layouts. I focus on visual storytelling as much as possible through acting, atmosphere, and pacing. By doing this, I can sometimes intentionally convey different things through images and dialogue, which is fun.
It was really hard because this book was such a big part of my life. Anyway, I was really happy that I was able to finish it safely.
Provided by Image Comics.
AIPT: You mentioned the kind of transformation you went through during the creation of Anzuelo. Could you talk a little more about that change and change?
ER: Originally, Ansuero was going to be a traditional sea horror adventure on a boat, but without me realizing it, it turned into an environmental horror story that casually overlapped with other events knocking on the door in 2020. I was there. Suddenly it became fun. The cosmic fear and all the years of pessimism I had felt were ridiculous. All I could do was desperately look for grasps at straws to help both the characters and myself move forward.
I also did research that changed my life. We went sailing several times and got very close to CEMMA, a local NGO dedicated to research and information on marine mammals and sea turtles in Galicia. I also worked with GT Atlantic Orca. GT Atlantic Orca is dedicated to the conservation and management of endangered subpopulations on the Iberian Peninsula, including the delightfully infamous Gladys.
Stylistically, I chose watercolor to create a contrast with the dark theme and add a more dreamlike atmosphere that blurs the line between the characters’ thoughts and reality. It’s very difficult to control that. Through trial and error, I tried different papers and techniques and did a lot of experiments. They even mock Bloodborne games by calling their wasted pages “living failures.” By the time I got to the end, I inevitably found myself in a crisis and unable to see the first half of the book. Everyone enjoys noticing an artist’s evolution, except the artist himself. I panicked and tried to keep revising until my friends, especially Louis Yang, who helped me clean most of the pages, helped me.
Provided by Image Comics.
AIPT: What do you think about Ansuero compared to your other works? I think it’s certainly one of the most intentional and powerful things I’ve seen from you.
ER: Thank you, I appreciate it being received that way. I think the freedom I enjoyed in Anzuelo in terms of story, style, form, and time was somehow cathartic. So, for better or worse, this shows everything I’m capable of as a cartoonist at this moment in my career.
I focused on this story for almost four years, which required a lot of confidence and stamina, and despite Image’s generous funding of the project, I didn’t save a lot of money. was also necessary. I sincerely hope that Ansuelo resonates with some people, but the way we have trained the market has made it ruthless. I can’t help but wonder if I could do something like this again.
AIPT: Are there any books, movies, comics, etc. that particularly influenced Ansuello?
ER: There are many things. There is a list at the end of the book, but it doesn’t even include half of it. I’m a fan myself, so the more I like it, the more motivated I am to improve it.
Actually, there’s a Japanese movie I forgot to mention that came up recently in a conversation about this book with an old friend. It is “Eureka” directed by Shinji Aoyama. I remember picking up this movie in the early 2000s because of its cool cover, but it ended up being about three survivors of a brutal busjacking (the driver and two children). It became a sepia-toned three-hour movie. The film focuses on their isolation from the rest of the world and how the deep relationships born of tragedy go beyond the traditional bonds we are told we should aspire to. I’m guessing. I was very impressed.
Provided by Image Comics.
AIPT: This book focuses on the ocean and how it “reabsorbs” land. Why did you become interested in aquatic life, and did you intend to directly address the issue of climate change?
ER: I live in a place where the ocean is a constant presence, and the ocean is the protagonist of our culture and way of life. We watch it, fascinated and yet horrified by its unpredictable behavior that affects so many people in so many different ways. Ansuero is a fantasy of submission that imagines the ocean screaming back at us with ultrasound waves. It is the answer to seeing it as a pure surface of a mirror, without knowing how the harm we cause to what lies beneath it will ultimately be transmitted.
The book is a love letter.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite moment, page, or panel that you think speaks to the larger story or message of Anzuelo?
ER: Well, despite the length, it’s hard not to watch it as a whole. There is a conversation between Yzma and Amir discussing how to deal with food shortages, while trying not to spoil anything. of protein. In this scene, Yzma tells him that putting others before himself is dangerous because it allows him to do anything.
These two characters are rivals in authenticity, if that makes any sense. And both end up hurting themselves.
AIPT: Do you think Anzuelo is ultimately hopeful or optimistic? Can that also be the case when dealing with dystopias?
ER: This is what I wanted to ask myself, and I think it surprisingly led me to take a fairly humanistic position. I remember the first time I sent a draft of the first half of Sea Drift to my editor and dear friend David Brothers. It was a dark book, so I had a lot of trouble finding a balance, but my impression was, “Is it possible to use something I like to write something so hopeful?” Maybe I was looking for a way out for my children, or maybe I was trying to make things easier on myself.
Provided by Image Comics.
This question cannot be answered. We have experienced a global pandemic and are now witnessing the deaths of thousands of children. It’s unbearable. Perhaps having hope is just a mechanism for us to detach and breathe.
AIPT: Are there any of the three children in this story that you relate to or resonate with more? Do you draw on any real-life friends or family members when creating these characters? ?
ER: I approach the stories in a very open and playful way, for your enjoyment. I roleplay every character I write (even the most heinous ones) and shape them by isolating concepts and questions that concern me. I feel a kinship with Yzma and Nubero. Because I like their flaws. Good people are obsessed with finding the courage to move forward, necessarily in a selfish way.
AIPT: Ansuello, is there anything else you would like to say about your work, comics and art, or life in general?
ER: This book takes on a particular range of themes such as compassion and violence, and I think it can hopefully trick some people into thinking about them in an abstract and more straightforward way. I think so. Whenever we are overburdened, this is an exercise that helps us look objectively at things that are taken for granted but are hard to accept.
