The following interview was conducted by our own Reva Flynn!

Username: albone
Comic(s): Rival Angels

Who are you, what do you do?

My name is Alan Evans and I do the #1 wrestling webcomic, Rival Angels! I do the writing, art, lettering and web mastering, though I get help from my friends who pitch in a variety of ways.

Can you give us some background on the other person that helps you with the comic?

That would be Veronica Rosado and she is a wonderful colorist from Spain. To her credit she got picked up by a French publisher and her and I had to part ways, but we still keep up with each other.

Why did you choose a wrestling comic?

There are only a couple of wrestling webcomics and even fewer wrestling print comics and none of them update on a regular basis. I grew up with wrestling in the mid-80's and have watched it now for the better part of the last 25 years. Professional wrestling is something that I've always enjoyed and with the lack of pro wrestling in comics, it seemed like the thing to do. Honestly, the real question is why I waited so long to do it!

Who is your favourite character in Rival Angels, and why?

Oh man, would it be too cliche to say that I don't have a favorite, but rather they're all my favorites? It's especially true of the four main characters, Sabrina, Brooke, Krystin and Sun. They all give me a great avenue to write so that I can hit on any number of beats, whether it be action, drama, comedy or anything that comes up.

If you're a fan of wrestling in general, who's your favourite wrestler and why?

Yes, big wrestling fan really since 1988 when I saw the debut of Sting on NWA's saturday show. Sting's been the consummate face or good guy his entire career which I admire and has always been a bit of an underdog, despite being the champion on multiple occasions.

Back to the comic, what's been the hardest part of doing a comic like Rival Angels?

I'd say the writing just edges past the coloring. Writing, especially for a different gender is always a tad tricky just because I don't want to fall into any sterotypes or cliches. Also, I didn't know if people would like the combination of in-ring action with dramatic story outside of the ring and I'm happy to say that people do seem to enjoy the combo.

Can you explain the process that goes into making a page for Rival Angels, there's a lot of action, detail and some really great art here?

Thanks for the compliment! I look at the script and thumbnail a small version of the page. Next, I lay out my borders as well as lay down any perspective maps in Photoshop using cyan ink. I also block in a few rough figures. Then, I print that file out at 25% opacity on my printer. I blueline in all of the finer details and then I go over it again using my 2MM leadholder, and I alternate between 2B-4B (messy). After that, I scan the page in, clean it up a tad in Photoshop and lay in the flats, then the colors and finally the lettering in Illustrator. On average, it takes me about 6-7 hours per page.

Who or what would you say has been your biggest influence as a creator/writer/artist?

I'm hard pressed to come with anything that isn't comic related, so comics in general with a lean towards Spiderman. The whole landscape of comics has always intrigued me and I've fallen in love with great artists before like McFarlane, Ringo, and Hughes and they've all impacted my style in some way.

What's your favourite page of the comic and why?

Honestly, my favorite page is done, but hasn't been published yet. My favorite page that has published is page 47. I'm proud of it because I just started coloring, and I love the perspective I was able to pull off as well as convey the emotion of the page.

What other comics do you enjoy in print and on the web?

Favorite print comics are Ultimate Spiderman, Buffy, Daredevil, Astonishing Xmen and Angel: after the fall. Some of my favorite webcomics are Phoenix Requiem, PvP, Girls with Slingshots, The Dreamer, Shades, Salt The Holly, Devon Legacy and Purgatory Tower when it updates.

Do you have a favourite pastime?

I think drawing is my favorite pastime though I love the feeling of being off from work during the week and going to a movie when no one else is there. Does that count?

What's your favourite TV show?

I know I should say WWE RAW, but Lost is my favorite show.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Remember when you asked me before about my favorite web and print comics? From them as well as other entertainment media like movies, museums and reading.

Where do you see yourself 5 or 10 years from now?

I… don't know. Is that weird?

And lastly, any words of encouragement, advice or just in general for the many webcomic artists and creators out there?

A wonderful mentor of mine told me that ‘it’s never too late to be the artist you want to be.' If it weren't for that advice, I don't know that I'd be drawing today.

Very cool, nice questions and answers :)

Woo hoo! Rival Angels! *does a little dance* Various and sundry reactions:
*I think you do a great job of writing for the ladies! They behave like…actual people ^.^
*Your process sounds really complicated - I'm impressed that you can update so often with the level of quality you produce. *signature high-five-jump combo*
*47 is a pretty stellar page. I think my favorite to date is page 65. Yay Sun!
*Yay StH! Appreciate the nod =]
*I love going to movies and being the only person in the theater. Ahhh, I can sit wherever, sass at the characters, etc and no one cares! (I usually use going-to-the-theater-alone as a time to see movies that I'm too embarrassed to admit I wanna see.)
*Absolutely not weird to not know where you'll be in a couple years. Life has a funny way of blowing your best-laid plans out of the water anyway. Be like the noble jellyfish that just goes where the current takes it…and stings stuff sometimes. That's pretty fun.

I was really starting to look forward to this one - I don't think I've ever seen a wrestling comic before. And that's what makes it so interesting to read this. :)

——

Hey, there's a recurring theme in all of these interviews! I'd tell you, but it could be put in the wrong hands - thus destroying the very fabric of time and space.

…

You're sure you wanna know it? Well, I suppose most of you can be trusted…

It's not for the faint of heart! Avert your eyes, children!!!


…

I'm not on anyone's favorite list. D:


Hah, I jest of course. lol!

You guys are awesome. Let's hope for more killer interviews in the future! :)

Seriously fun questions it was a pleasure to be sure. And thanks all for reading!

I totally blanked on the ‘where will I be’ question. I really have no clue. I guess doing Rival Angels would be uber fantastic. ;) and thanks for feedback Amanda, I appreciate it! :) :cat:

Yay, the questions and answers were great, albone.

I'm glad to see that there's a big wrestling fan who's creating and awesome comic about wrestling on DD. Keep up the great work…

Pro wrestling + comics = awesomeness.

Sting is an awesome wrestler and my dream match is against my favorite wrestler, The Undertaker. Wrestlemania 25… here we go!

Great interview for a great comic. I totally dig the writing, art, and coloring for Rival Angels. And having met Alan in real life (Wizard World Chicago, 2008), I know that he's a great guy to boot! Sadly we didn't get to hang out more, but there's always next year.

The process that he goes through for his pages seems very involved - but it's something that I think people could learn from, myself included. 6-7 hours per page seems pretty average, so the guy probably works like a speed demon. :)

As for the writing, I think he's doing a damn good job. Writing 4 female characters with very distinct personalities and differing motivations can be tricky to keep in mind throughout the entire process, but Alan seems to be pulling it off brilliantly!

Also, Brooke's totally my girl. :P

Great interview, guys!

Trevor, you are the man! Definitely more hanging out next year at Wizard World. Brooke's totally your girl. XD

albone
Trevor, you are the man! Definitely more hanging out next year at Wizard World. Brooke's totally your girl. XD

Sweet deal! I expect to meet her at WWC next year, so…you know…bring her, damnit! :P