The following interview was conducted by our own ttyler!

Name: Reva Flynn
Comic(s): The Chronicles of Wyrden

Reva, first and foremost……Favorite Doctor who.

Um, …dithers for a moment. Well there's Mr Tennant who I think does a marvelous job and is very acceptable eye candy….But I would have to say Sylvester McCoy, in stories like the Curse of Fenric and Silver Nemesis, his irony and sinsterness pleases me�

Tell the fine folks a bit about yourself.

Well, I usually go by the name of Hellion online, but I felt like a change for the comic. I'm a 30 something redhead, well actually 37 year old redhead as of next Tuesday married rl to Doctor Shadow, and I enjoy roleplaying, drawing and am more than a little obsessive about cats?

How long have you been doing illustration?

Professionally since 1993, although I first got into the roleplaying game industry in about 1999. I've always done art on the side alongside my regular jobs which have included college lecturer, home tutor, librarian and I am currently the self styled Dark Queen of Reprographics and Resources at a local school. I'd like to be able to make a living artwise full time but it hasn't happened yet!

Any schooling or self taught?

I've always been able to draw. The story my mother told ran along the lines that she used to draw things for me then one day I laughed and said I could do better. And I did. Kids are so egotistical! I have had a fair amount of formal training. UK qualification wise I have the dread O Level and A Level in art amongst other subjects and then I scored the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design and then a HND in Graphic Design which was soul destroying and I gave up drawing for almost a year after that until Doctor Shadow nagged me back into it!

I still challenge myself though. This comic has proved to be one of my biggest challenges recently as I have never drawn a comic strip in my life!

What is it like, working with your Husband? do you both have an active say in the art, or is that all yours?

We work quite well as a team although we do butt heads from time to time in a spectacularly creative fall out! Doctor Shadow provides me with a script, and I take it from there, if he has ideas he will tell me and if he wants me to draw tech he has to give me a rough visual or photographic sources to work from, as me and tech are not natural allies. The obscure quirky weird stuff in the background etc is all mine as well as the sense of era and fashion and the general look of the characters. If Doctor Shadow has a specific idea for a characters look he will tell me so. Darling Nightshade is all my own vile piece of work though Oh yes, and if you see cats etc..that's my fault as well!

Is Doctor Shadow a real Doctor, and, if so, is he currently taking new patients?

Doctor Shadow does possess a sonic screwdriver, although I haven't found his TARDIS yet. So I don't think he's the sort of doctor who takes on patients

What is your favorite medium?

Derek Acorah? Seriously, I adore pen and ink. I do enjoy using the coloured ink pencils I found recently, but my good old ink pens are constantly on the go!

Chronicles is a rich, beautifully realized world. I look at it, and see a Euro/fantasy influence in the costumes, architecture, and basic look of it all. Do you base the look on any time period in particular?

Thank you first of all? Well it's actually sourced visually from a few different places. French Renissance with a touch of medival here and there, Puesdo Edwardian and Early Victorian, it's a right old mish mash.

Admit it…..the cat in the background is actually a world dominating borg in a cat-disguise.

If you are referring to the tabby and white one as there are several different cats in the comic to date, then his name is Mal, which is bad in Latin…He gives the impression of being an idiot lummox…which could all be a cover for his true evil genius secret identity…..

What is your normal workday like?

Hell *coff* hehe. I arise at 6am in the week to go to work, am mobbed by 3 cats and one blackbird (I have a bad habit of hand raising animals) whilst preparing food. I crawl from the house to catch the bus to work at 7.20am and begin work as in reprographics work at 8am. Anything can fall my way at work and usually does. Atm for example I am scanning in a load of stuff for the Maths department which is crap boring, I copy loads of stuff each day for various teachers and I am designing the year book and school diary. I am also drawing Doctor Who as part of a set of summer images for the kids to colour! I get home from work hell around 4pm, am mobbed by cats who claim that Doctor Shadow hasn't fed them, or given Mal his toy bally to play with etc (all lies btw), make food, watch something on the dvd with Doctor Shadow: atm it's the Full Metal Alchemist and then either lurk online on our rp mux whilst drawing, play table top rp with friends or play Rock Band :D I usually don't get to bed before 12, but seeing as I am insomniac I get by on little sleep! The weekends involve getting up later and drawing more and watching Doctor Who!


Hobbies besides art?

I have been doing tabletop roleplay since I was 14 years old. I tried live action roleplay but always preferred monstering to being a character! I also prat around online a lot on our rp mux. I watch a lot of films and things and read far too many books. I also like animals, and spend a lot of time watching them. I also watch people….and I think these two slightly disturbing past-times are of benefit to the comic?


Why do they call fries, chips in England? Then what is a potato chip??

Fries are French fries and are horrible and skinny. Chips are chunky and actually look like they are made out of potato? We call potato chips crisps. I assume because they crunch. The English language is full of oddities!

Tell me about your gaming work.

Well I got into it by accident, as after the HND I was convinced I was crap at drawing, in fact my teacher told me I would never get anywhere as an artist. I think the laugh is on them now:P Doctor Shadow sent my artwork off to a lovely gent called Neal who runs Dark Quest games and between them they restored my faith in my drawing skill. Eventually I got brave and began to submit my work to other companies as well. I have done a metric tonne of black and white art for various companies and also some cover work. I also fell into cartography as a side line which oddly enough I have done more of recently than actual drawing! I am starting to branch out a little now and I have my first set of art in a children's book coming out in August?

We all know buttered toast lands butter down, when it falls from a table……..we also know that a cat, always lands on its feet, if it is dropped………….so………….if we were to butter a cats back, and drop the feline……..would gravity be neutralized, forcing the cat to float in mid-air?

After a month of testing this theory using my cats I have to say that this hypothesis is sadly inaccurate. Depending on the temperament of said feline the following happens:
1. Feline goes into mad killer spin of whirling death, ripping limbs asunder before toast can be placed.
2. Feline lands, rolls on floor, butter gets into carpet.
3. Feline lands, eats toast, then pukes it up at the bottom of the bed!
I have to say I am disappointed, the thought of a cat in gently spinning perpetual motion a couple of inches above the floor amuses me greatly?

reva
2. Feline lands, rolls on floor, butter gets into carpet.

Hilarious ^.^ Pretty cool to see the artist's side of Chronicles - we rarely get your commentary! Wyrden is one of my favorite comics both story-wise and artistically, so it's been pretty fantastic to read both your interviews. And scanning stuff in is completely “crap boring,” and I'm announcing my intent to steal that as an adjective for my personal and potentially nefarious use in the future.

Lovely interview, guys. Although, given Reva's acknowledged interest in Role Playing, I think we should treat the answers with suspicion!

Oh, and I think there's a few typos in Question 11. Surely it should read “why does the US call chips ”fries“ and crisps ”chips"?

I'll have yoo no sir, that I eye half never spelt a werd wrong inn my lief! I challenge yoo too a pistal dule once I git to England!! lol
I admit….I'm lazy when it comes to proof reading.

Hahahaha!

Also, what's great is I actually kept myself in the dark with those answers so they're fresh to me :)

amanda: Awwww, thanks :>