An INTRIGUING Insight Into The Mind Of Comic Book Creator Fabrizio Aiello
Updated: Nov 22, 2022
Breaking into the comic book industry is hard. It can take creators several years or over a decade to break in, let alone make a name for themselves. That’s why if you ask comic book fans who their favourite writer or artist is, they will most likely repeat the same few names.
However, once in a blue moon, new talent comes along and surprises all of us. They’re not an overnight success. They’re just someone who you can’t help but notice when their work starts to circulate.
Their work is unique, eye-catching and forgettable. They have a distinct voice that cannot be replicated, and because of this, they stand out from the crowd… And that is especially true with today’s guest, Fabrizio Aiello.
A BIT ABOUT FABRIZIO
Fabrizio is one of the latest creators to join the team at Alterna Comics with his five-issue mini-series ‘Horace H. Hoover’. He is a one-man army on the book, and while it would be understandable to think that Mr Aiello has been working in the industry for many years, it turns out that this is his very first comic book.
It’s clear to me that Fabrizio is going to take the comic book industry by storm. So I sent him a quick message and he agreed to let me ask him a few questions for this interview.
And Here is what he had to say:
LUCIFER: Fabrizio, let me start by thanking you for agreeing to do this interview. My first question is: Does your work in comics energize or exhaust you?
FABRIZIO: Without a doubt, it energizes me. Despite putting in every waking moment of free time into comics, and struggling with a panel, page or concept, when you get to the end of it and you nailed it, there is no better feeling. In fact, finishing becomes addictive. I worked in 3d for a long time and sometimes projects took weeks to finish or even months. Being able to finish something like a page in a few days and getting the satisfaction from the accomplishment really becomes addictive and the finishing becomes reward. Realizing that you’ve spent part of your day/life on something and to have something to show for it is what drives me. I also work in software development and everything I worked on 10 years ago has long since disappeared, as if it never existed. That is brutal, but the pages that pile up on my desk day after day mean something. I’m counting up, not down.
LUCIFER: What is the most difficult part of your creative process?
FABRIZIO: Right now, it’s still the lettering. It’s not something I had done before, and while I’ve been using Illustrator for decades, the art of lettering is still outside my comfort zone but that is changing with each issue I do.
LUCIFER: If you weren’t working in comics, what field would you like to work in?
FABRIZIO: I’ve been a 3d sculptor for over a decade. Several years ago I began getting resin model kits made of my sculpts to sell. But, ever since the H.H.Hoover seed was planted in my brain, I decided to focus 100% on comics. So if I wasn’t in comics, I would most likely be doing 3d sculpting in zbrush and creating resin model kits.
LUCIFER: What is your Kryptonite when working on a comic?
FABRIZIO: Most people I think struggle with jumping from project to project but, the thing that is most difficult for me is wanting to get to issue 4 or 10 or 20 as soon as possible.
I am writing and drawing my book so, each panel and page gives me potential ideas for whole issues or arcs. So, just not getting too frustrated with not being able to create a comic a month on my own.
LUCIFER: What is the one thing you would happily give up in order to become better at your craft?
FABRIZIO: Food, water, sleep. My spleen. Nelly.
LUCIFER: If you could spend a day with another popular writer/artist/colourist etc., Who would it be and Why?
FABRIZIO: There are too many to count but right now Denis Rodier is just doing the most incredible drawing and inking. The confidence in his drawing and inking is a marvel, and I would love to see the process start to finish.
LUCIFER: What are the three songs you would like to listen to before the end of the world?
FABRIZIO: Miles Davis - Round Midnight, Quicksand - Landmine Spring, Prince - Get Off
LUCIFER: Are you someone who believes that the best work comes from tortured artists?
FABRIZIO: Wow, okay this one, hmm. Yeah. Damn!.. I don’ t - it’s just so hard…well… ugh… argghh!! No.
LUCIFER: What do you need/have in your workspace that keeps you focused/inspired?
FABRIZIO: Atmospheric music and podcasts. I have certain playlists for what I happen to work on, it’s pavlovian for sure. I pop on album X and I FEEL like I should be sitting down at my drafting table, and any thing else feels wrong. But this was conscious from the beginning. It’s something I planned, and new would work on my. Cloudy rainy days are the best work days hands down.
LUCIFER: What has helped or hindered you most when working on a book?
FABRIZIO: The one thing that has helped the most is, avoid opinions too early. For many years I would have an idea, and you run the idea by someone, and most people will find something negative about it. “I’ve seen that before” - when they haven’t. “No one will like THAT” - when they will. “You aren’t good enough, you can’t compete.” - when you might be. When I learned to completely look inward, and do it 100% for myself, I because really productive. At the end, you let people see it, and let the chips fall where they may.
LUCIFER: What advice would you give to a writer/artist/inker etc., who was working on their first book?
FABRIZIO: Keep moving forward. This is a mantra that I repeat ad nauseam. Whether it’s writing or drawing or inking etc. I just try to keep moving forward. If it’s a panel, I finish it and just tell myself after I’m 100% done with the book, if this panel is STILL unacceptable I will give myself permission to redo it. But what I find is that, one inelegant brush stroke doesn’t ruin a page. Even 10 inelegant ones won’t ruin a book. It’s the sum total that makes or breaks. So if you start out and your first three brushstrokes are bad out of 9 that drawing is 33% in trouble. But if you successfully ink the next 2k strokes, then those first three are inconsequential. That’s how I look at the entire process. It’s not the panel, or the character or the issue, it’s the sum total of all the work. Then judge it. Judge it harshly, but was least wait until then to judge it.
Also, I can’t stress this enough. Divide your time between producing, and practicing. You can’t lean too heavily on practicing or you will never produce. You only truly learn by finishing. So produce work, then evaluate your weakness, then spend some time with specific learning in that area. Then produce more, evaluate and repeat.
LUCIFER: What is your schedule like when you’re working on a book?
FABRIZIO: My schedule is pretty rigid. I am a software developer by day, so I have some flexibility with start / end of day. I get up at 6, to end my day at 4.
Usually takes an hour to get settled and they I am working on my book, drawing, inking color etc. from 5-10:00. I leave an hour and a half a night to practice anatomy, perspective, just gestures etc. On weekends, that 5hrs turns into about 10hrs.
LUCIFER: Do you participate in any writing/art/inking challenges on Social Media? If so, do you recommend any?
FABRIZIO: I don’t. I have too much of my art / writing work to get done I don’t want to really spend time on other characters or IPs.
LUCIFER: What books did you grow up reading?
FABRIZIO: You probably mean comics but, anything by Steinbeck, Orwell, Dostoevsky, Lumley, Lovecraft and Ludlum.
As far as comics, I was a Marvel fan, so Daredevil, X-men, Avengers and Thor were my main books. 80’s Marvel will be my ‘golden age’ forever.
LUCIFER: Last but not least: If you could be a character in one of your favourite books, who would you be?
FABRIZIO: Maybe I’m weird, but none. I never saw myself in characters. They were never escapes for me, they were just portraits of characters and I loved watching them move through the story. But I never read X-men and saw myself in Nightcrawler or something. I was always going along for their ride. But, if I have to pick, then……probably Conan. I always saw those stories as basically Spaghetti Westerns, plus loin cloth wardrobe has to be easy on the back.
LUCIFER: Fabrizio, it’s been a pleasure and let me thank you once again for allowing me to conduct this interview with you. All the best.
HOW CAN YOU FIND FABRIZIO & HIS WORK?
If you want to follow Fabrizio, his work and/or check out his books then you can find him at the following places online:
WEBSITE: https://horacehoover.com/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/FabrizioArtist
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/CapitalistCentral
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