Being Drawn Away – An
Interview with Artist Luke Foster
Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting with local artist
Luke Foster at our local comic shop,
A Hero’s Legacy. In recent years, Foster
has produced an impressive body of work, both with web comics and
self-published graphic novels. He has also become quite the journeyman, but as
he explains, it took Foster a long time to harness his passion and get out into
the world – both literally and creatively.
Much of Fosters’ work is based on personal experience. For
example; one of his first web comics, The
Gang From The Store was based on his humorous experiences as an
employee at the store. He has
since packaged that series into a graphic novel, along with his insightful
travelogue Drawn Away
which follows his journey across America. As he explains, in regards to exploring and producing, the
last few years are a trek he does not regret.
SP –So Luke – I know you’ve got books to ink so I will cut
to the chase - how did you get started in comics?
LF- I started out in 2008 with the web comic called Moon Freight 3 - a
science fiction comedy strip about being twenty-something with a job that you
hate. I thought there were too many stories about the galaxy’s greatest
starship captain and I wanted to produce something different. That strip ran
for about four years and during that time I did one called The Gang From The Store
and, as the name implies, that was all true stories of things that happened
while I was working here at the shop.
SP: So I really enjoyed Drawn
Away – can you tell me
how you came up with the idea to do a travelogue about your cross-country
adventures?
LF: One day in November 2012 I was with my parents and in a
bit of a rut with my job and my personal life. I felt like I was treading water
and was considering a move to Portland, Oregon just so see something different
for a while. My mom said ‘don’t move somewhere without visiting you should
travel for a while’ and I said “OK - I think I will’ and to justify quitting my
job I had to do my comic book travelogue so that was the genesis of Drawn Away. So I
packed my bags, set up some stops with friends and spent four months on the
road. There were times when I got
anywhere from 1-3 weeks behind because I was driving a lot and found it
difficult to find service or a place to plug my computer in the desert. When I
got home I finished it and since then reception has been extraordinarily
positive. A couple of stores that carry it have almost sold out which shocks
me! It’s very flattering and humbling.
SP – It sounds like a lot of your work comes from your own
experience, do you find that you have a natural inclination towards personal
storytelling?
LF: Sort of. It is kind of an indirect thing where I find
the more exciting things I am experiencing at the time. the more interesting my
stories become. Personal storytelling is kind of my thing, as opposed to some
giant epic fantasy story where the fate of three thousand kingdoms is up for
grabs. Stories that follow smaller sets of characters where interesting things
happen but a lot of focus is on their personal journey.
SP: You have been getting out there on the comic book
convention scene recently can you talk about what it has been like to get more
attention for your work?
LF: It is always fun to meet new people with the same
passions like kids in costumes who are experiencing all this for the first time
and adults who are finding a way to have fun with friends they might not see
much outside of cons. I love introducing people to my books and I love drawing
for them. When I am at conventions I tell people that I will draw anything they
want as long as I can see a picture so I know what it looks like. Even if it
doesn’t exist as long as they give me a good idea of what it should like I’ll
take care of it. Thanks to smart phones it’s easy to do that sort of thing.
SP: What do you think about comic book culture and how it
has developed since you first started reading?
LF: I think in terms of mainstream acceptance it is
fantastic with respect to their maturity and potential. I don’t think there has
ever been a better time to be a fan – not since the seduction of innocence back
in the forties – I also think the industry internally is developing with
campaigns to make comics better reflect diversity. At conventions I see so many
young kids in costume and as many girls as boys now. It’s just so
matter-of-fact now that girls are welcome and it doesn’t occur to them there
might be people there that think that they shouldn’t have things that cater to
them. Comics are for everyone and I don’t want anyone to ever have to feel
unaccepted reading comics and anyone.
SP: Can you tell me more about your experience as a
self-published comic creator, which is something that you dedicated the time to
make happen and not many people today can say that as there are so many closet
writers and artists out there who give up because they’re afraid to fail or
just can’t find the time. What motivated you to go for it and get over the
proverbial hump of second-guessing?
LF: I’ve wanted to do comics my whole life but for a time
there I had let myself get convinced that I could never do it because a) I
could never make money at it and b) because I just wasn’t a good enough artist.
Then right around when web comics started to become a thing I said ‘I really
want to do this - I know I’ll just write something and find someone to draw it
for me.’ I tried to do that a couple times and initial meetings would happen
but things would sort of just fizzle out. So then I thought ‘the heck with it
I’ll draw it myself.’ My first attempts
were very rough but I kept at it and like to think I have gotten better. I have
learned a lot I’ve learned anatomy, movement, color and how to make characters
look less stiff.
SP: What’s it like now that you have a few books under your
belt - have people come asking you to draw their work?
LF: Not yet but I am open to it! My art style is very cartooney, similar to what you see in a
newspaper and I think people sort of see me as doing my own thing right now…but
my dream is to do comics full-time with a mainstream publisher or one of the
larger indie publishers. I’d love to not be self-published but for now I have
my day job and I get a lot out of being on the convention circuit.
SP: Speaking of conventions, what’s on-tap for you in the
coming months?
LF: I am going to be at Insta-Con in Kennett Square in PA
later this month and I will be at Baltimore Comic-Con in September. I will also
be doing a Drawn Away
signing right here at A Hero’s Legacy on Saturday, July 19th.
It is always exciting to meet people who have taken
something they love and found a way to engage with it in a personal way. We live in a society where personal
consumption is everywhere and it can be easy to get caught in the trap of
feeling lived by society. While it might be hard to invest the time I believe
that these stories and people like Foster prove we can’t afford to ignore our
calls to adventure in life because, like a comic book, our lives are vessels
for incredible experience and if we don’t fill them up - who will?
I challenge you to get Drawn Away.
