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May 29, 2012 By Jeremy Nisen Sina Grace

I’m not sure that the title of Steven Struble and Sina Grace’s Li’l Depressed Boy provides an accurate snapshot for the contents: while the ragdoll-like “LDB” certainly suffers from his share of setbacks and melancholy, he admirably continues to plug away at life in a heartfelt, honest, refreshing way. The ongoing comic series from Image is definitely worth checking out, perhaps especially for music fans. Pop culture, particularly as it relates to music, is front and center in the book; as artist Sina Grace recently shared with Under the Radar, the creators “have worked with the bands Kepi Ghoulie, The Like, Andrew Jackson Jihad, and most recently Childish Gambino to appear in the book and interact with LDB’s life.”

This “guest star” aspect might seem gimmicky in concept, but in practice proves to be very cool and complementary to the story of LDB: a fitting backdrop (or background music, if you will) for a protagonist whose non-adventures mostly contend with finding love, exploring various relationships, and getting out of his own way. The book is just littered with lovely moments that ring true, thanks in no small part to Grace’s art, which is stylish, breezy, and not overly self-conscious—just really nice to read.

The book has two collections in print, with a third expected for July (around San Diego Comic-Con time).

Grace, who by day serves as Editorial Director for Robert Kirkman’s (Walking Dead , Invincible, etc.) Skybound imprint at Image Comics, took some time to chat about the book’s creations, his influences, and his life as a comic book artist. Plus he reveals exactly how Donald Glover (as Childish Gambino) ended up in the pages of LDB.

J. Nisen: Does the Li’l Depressed Boy web comic feed directly into the Image series, or is the ongoing all original stuff?

Sina Grace: The web comic is the same material as the printed comics. Originally, S. Steven Struble (creator/writer) treated the series like an anthology, with different artists handling art chores while he colored everything in blue. It was a fun experience, but when it came time for a longer form story, he approached me to handle the duties. The story and art kind of graduated the style to be full color. Once we had two issues’ worth of the continued narrative, we approached Image Comics.

What can you tell me about the creative process between you and Struble?

My relationship with the writer is a lot of fun, with defined roles. He breaks the story and talks to our editor (Nicholas Brandt), and then sends me the script to draw. He certainly does come to me with ideas to spitball, but at the end of the day, the Li’l Depressed Boy is Struble’s experience, his story. I’m just here to make sure the girls are wearing fantastic outfits and that we’re having fun. Some people have Momagers. I am the Funager.

What’s the process for involving musicians?

All musicians that appear in the book come from a mutual place of “Hey I love this band, do you love this band?” More to the point, the bands we use have to fit in thematically with the book. When we worked with The Like to play a birthday party in the book, it fit because the birthday girl (and love interest) was this easy breezy epitome of a young girl in her 20s…which is what The Like’s “Release Me” was all about. LDB should have known to stay away after watching their set!

Our most recent guest, Donald Glover’s Childish Gambino, was an absolute gift from the heavens. I saw Donald at a coffee shop, and gave him a copy of LDB because Struble is such a big fan of his work…. Turns out [Glover’s costar on Community] Danny Pudi had already lent Donald some of the books and I expired right then and there. The long and the short of this miraculous story is that some Twitter back and forth led to two artists coyly asking if they can play in the same sandbox. [Chidish Gambino’s] Camp is a fantastic album, and encapsulates every theme explored in our series, but you know, with way more chick-banging.

We have been approached by bands before…but at the end of the day it all boils down to “who do we love, and do their songs bring out more in the story.”

I’ve heard that Childish Gambino’s been selling the issue that features him [no. 10] at concerts.

The Childish Gambino thing is basically A-Z awesome! Donald and everyone involved have been huge fans of the book, and incredibly supportive in creating my favorite issue of the book to date.

Can you tell us some of your artistic influences?

I’ve loved comic books ever since I was a kid…. In grade school I always had Chris Bachalo’s Generation X run stashed in my backpack. I think in abstract I wanted to work in comics because they seemed like the easy breezy art form—as if expectations weren’t that high to make a good product. Nowadays I love it because it’s the best medium to be 100% controlling of every mode of production, and comes very close to a movie in managing that which you want to convey to the consumer.

My inspirations right now are the Skybound artists I work with for my day job (Cory Walker, lookin’ at you). Music and fashion play huge roles in the process of reinvigorating me, and allowing me to approach things with a fresh spirit. I always keep Sean Murphy’s Hellblazer and a preview sampler of Craig Thompson’s Habibi on me at all times (the book itself is as thick as a bible!).

I’m always drawing in public places, and I feel like that helps inspire me—seeing the different kinds of people coming in and out.

What motivated you to pursue cartooning in the first place?

I used to hate the fact that I couldn’t paint or illustrate the way that my sister could. I remember having dinner with someone who’s kind of famous nowadays for commercial illustration, and he said that he envied Jim Lee because that guy can draw Superman a hundred times and it will always look the same, whereas this guy can paint you a rose turning into a dragon with gossamer this and that coming out…but not the same face twice. We’re all special in our own ways—I can draw a ragdoll boy raging at a concert and I think I do it alright.

I read that you apprenticed with Howard Chaykin—talk about a guy who’s seen it all…. Are there any lessons learned in that time, or in your prior internship at Top Cow, that you feel were instrumental in helping you today?

Working with Howard Chaykin and at Top Cow taught me tremendous heap-loads about professionalism. I was in high school working for Top Cow during their Fathom and Wanted days…. My direct boss, Renae Geerlings, wanted the best for me, so if I ever was a brat, or irresponsible, she made sure I was aware of it. Howard, on the other hand, showed me how to do art like a 9-5, and to do it right. He’s a master draftsman and pulls from all sorts of media. He knows every trick to snap out of a slump, and even though I only worked with him for a few months (I took a sabbatical from college to apprentice under him), it was stuff that lasts with you for years. I love him.

Is there anything forward-looking you can share about plans for the book?

At this point, it’s fair to share that there’s going to be a new girl for LDB. She’s visually a huge contrast to Jazz, and I think that should be indicative of how their relationship will go. The Li’l Depressed Boy will not be getting dicked around, he’s going to be involved with this girl.

Anything non-LDB related coming up?

We’ve still got a lot of shows coming up, including a HUGE signing at Black Cat Comics in June, and of course San Diego Comic-Con in July. I don’t know if I can reveal when, but I’ve pretty much finalized when my own graphic novel is coming out…. It’s called Not My Bag and it is like a Black Swan-esque dark comedy about when I worked in retail. At the very least I can say it will be out this fall.

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