Interviews Conducted by Robert J. Beck

You ink your own pencils in this series; do you like that more or less

 than having someone else ink them for you?

I prefer to ink my own pencils although it’s painfully exhausting,
[laughter]. In fact, I would love to paint my own work, even when
Tumburùs is doing an excellent job on that role; it feels weird for me
separating one process to another. I guess it’s because I see myself
more like an illustrator than a sequential artist.

Did you design the look of the characters in this book? If so how is
this compared to drawing already established characters?

Cover artist Paul Azaceta did the design for the Ripley brothers. I did
design the rest using some references that Mark Sable gave me.
When you design your own characters you are able to give them a look
that you know that will be fun for you to draw along the issues. I have no
problem on working on somebody else designs as long as they are
interesting for me.

Did you approach this project any differently it being a story not being a superhero or fantasy story?

Every genre has its own codes; I try to use a style which gives this story the mood it deserves. I would definitively use a different style for a medieval epic story and another completely different for a dramatic
  story about, let’s say, the holocaust.
  UNTHINKABLE is a story who takes place in US, and talk about things
  that are real in places which exist, so for me the most important thing
  for this series was to give the characters and the environments a
  believable look. Not only a realistic look but also believable
  expressions, movements, etc. But this is my second comic book
  series ever and I’m new in the sequential art business so I’m still
  trying to find my way and to keep learning new lessons in every single
  page.

  Which artists would you say have influenced you?

  There are hundreds of artists that i deeply admire and have influenced
  my work. But I guess Juan Bobillo and Ariel Olivetti (I studied with both
  of them) left a huge mark on me. The great J.C.Leyendecker is another
  illustrator that really impressed me since the first days I’ve seen his
  work. I also love the sequential art of Michael Lark and Matt Wagner.

  But, really, there are hundreds to mention!

Check out Julian's blog at www.totinotedesco.blogspot.com to see the drawing of a page of UNTHINKABLE step by step.