Girls need heroes they can relate to: Alison Sampson
Alison Sampson, a UKbased best-selling comic artist, is behind the Mumbai arc of popular teen superhero Hit Girl. Sampson, who was in the city for an event, is an award-winning architect, who later took to illustrations and comics. She found fame as a comic artist for her unique style of art and storytelling following Genesis, one of her earlier works. But it is the gripping imagery of the famous horror series Winnebago Graveyard, where she worked with noted comic book author Steve Niles, that brought her popularity among readers and peers alike.
Her work has been published by a number of big names in the comic industry, like Image Comics, Marvel, DC/Vertigo, Dark Horse. She has worked on Jessica Jones in Civil War II for Marvel. Several of her comics also found its way to The BBC and The Guardian newspapers.
While Sampson brought the Mumbai arc of Hit Girl, created by Mark Miller and John Romita Jr, to life on paper, this is her first-ever visit to India. In an email interview with HT, Samspson opens up about her work.
How did you become a comic artist?
I wrote and drew a four-page comic, and a page of that found its way to the Internet. Then someone asked me to draw their graphic novel, and I did and it became a best-seller, so I thought I’d make another comic.
How’s working on Hit Girl, a fearless teen superhero?
Brilliant. Girls need heroes they can relate to; and there are not enough.
What inspired you to create Hit Girl in India?
Hit Girl was created by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr, and Mark asked me to draw an arc of her story, written by Peter Milligan and set in Mumbai. Her Mumbai incarnation is created by me. She looks different because that is what she needs to be in Mumbai.
Going back a little bit, please tell us a little about Winnebago Graveyard and what inspired you to create such a gripping comic?
I wanted to work with Steve Niles and he wanted to work with me. So, he asked me if I wanted to do a book in Monsters in Space or Satanists in Texas, and I opted for the latter. He gave me a short outline, and I sent back some art with the characters and settings. After that, he wrote the script. It’s inspired by my poor camping experiences in a van in Ireland, as well as my rural upbringing.
Which is the one genre that you like working on the best? And is there a genre you want to work on?
I would like to work on sci-fi. But I like working on every genre. The challenge is fun.
What do you think about the evolution of comics over the years?
I don’t know where to start on that. One thing I do know is that we are in a kind of golden age right now. With the Internet, it is possible to make and distribute comics without gatekeepers, and the field has opened up to new voices and a lot of new readers. It is a revolution.
How do you feel about your popularity?
I don’t think about my personal popularity, as I’m nothing without my work, and that itself is very demanding to make. The best thing to do is to be personal in one’s stories, and I believe people will relate to that.
What are your plans during your India trip?
I want to tell people about our comic and assist in getting more comics into India using the platform that is Comic Con. I’ve made a comic full of people from Mumbai that is quite visibly set in Mumbai and is an international mainstream comic. I also want to see if I’ve got it right; this is my first trip to India. I was helped a lot by my Indian friends in the UK, but nothing substitutes for being here in person.
And lastly, do you have a favourite work? If yes, what is it and why?
The answer to this changes every day. I don’t even know where o begin. So, probably, no. The comic I am currently working on, Sleeping Beauties, the adaptation of Stephen and Owen King’s bestselling novel, to be published next year by IDW, is an amazing story — by which I mean eyewateringly violent, strange, beautiful, odd, uplifting, real and mysterious all in one go. I hope people will like it... I, for one, am bewitched by the story.
We are in a golden age of comics. With the Internet, it is possible to make and distribute comics without gatekeepers, and the field has opened up to new voices.
ALISON SAMPSON, COMIC ARTIST