Richard: How did you first start in the comics business?

Andrew: I went to college for animation. But Animation is time-consuming and sometimes my ideas come faster than I have time to animate them. I started making comics to get those ideas out on paper. Then my graduation happened to coincide with the recent collapse of 2-D animation, making it very difficult for me to find any work. I slowly began to stop working on animation and started focusing more on writing my comics as a backup plan. I had written several stories while I was in college, and I posted them online as webcomics. When I started to accumulate fans, I thought it was time to try to get the comic I was most proud of published. I got a lucky break with a publisher that was just starting up and submitted 10 pages of my story to them. They liked it and wanted to see more.

Richard: What is the basic storyline of "Formera"?

Andrew: A boy wakes up one day to find himself stranded on a strange alien planet of some kind. His only companion is a girl who doesn’t speak English. The story centers around him as he tries to find a way home, while avoiding a mysterious masked man who has sinister designs of his own.

Richard: What is the land of Formera like?

Andrew: Sparsely populated and overgrown with alien plants. It’s got a lot of similarities with Earth-like vegetation, but it’s twisted and just slightly askew.

Richard: Who are Darian and Keisha?

Andrew: Darian is the main character who is trying to find his way home. He’s an ordinary kid, with a short attention span and a love of cheeseburgers. Keisha is the girl who finds him and becomes his companion. She’s quiet, independent, and loyal.

Richard: Why did you decide to make this an all ages comic?

Andrew: Originally the story was written with teenagers in mind, with cursing and heavy violence. The comic wasn’t selling very well that way and we thought if we toned it down a bit it would be much more enjoyable and appeal to a broader audience. And to be perfectly honest I’ve never really been a fan of swearing, so I was happy to change it.

Richard: What does Manga/Hybrid mean?

Andrew: A mixture of Japanese and American comic influences. American comics tend to be very action and event oriented, while Manga tends to be more emotional and connective with the reader. I think being able to combine the best of both worlds is just a natural evolution of the medium.

Richard: Do you prefer writing or drawing?

Andrew: For me they’re both kinda connected. I’ll plot out the whole story in my head, but the moment I start drawing the story on paper, the characters start coming alive and start rewriting what I have planned and going off in their own direction. Sometimes it’s fun to just let them go and see where they end up, but that’s gotten me into a lot of trouble trying to resolve stories in the past, so I try to reign them in from time to time.

Richard: Why was Flashback's name changed to Formera?

Andrew: When I started writing I had no idea where the story was going to go. As I began developing it I thought it would be cool if Darian would start getting these “flashes” of events that have happen before or are just about to. I called the series Flashback in anticipation of this. However, after writing 10 or so chapters, I never really got around to these flashbacks, and then my story was picked up by Alterna Comics. Since Darian never really had any flashback at all during the story, they felt it was wise to change it. I agonized over a title for a good month or so after having called it Flashback for so long. Finally I decided upon the title Formera, because that is the name of the world Darian was stuck on.

Richard: How do you get inspired?

Andrew: I watch movies, play video games, and flip through art books of my favorite artists. Seeing pencil sketches really helps motivate me too. There’s something about seeing the gestures, the searching lines, and line variations which makes me just want to pick up my own pencil and start drawing.

Richard: What future projects do you have?

Andrew: Over the years I’ve created a ton of original characters, each with their own story to tell. Someday I’d like to be able to tell their stories. I have a pirate series I’ve had in the works for years which is starting to gain some popularity online, so I dunno, maybe I’ll work on that when I finish Formera.

Richard: Which other writers and artists do you admire?

Andrew: I could list a dozen or so. Bill Watterson, because Calvin and Hobbes was a big influence on my art. Rumiko Takahashi, because I love the way she writes stories. Norman Rockwell, because I love how he can tell complex stories clearly without using dialogue. Fred Moore, Jim Davis, Frank and Ollie, Hayao Miyazaki, and Herge are just a few others.

Richard: Which comic book would you most like to work on besides "Formera"?

Andrew: I’ve always thought it would be fun to try and take on a Batman story. But I’m not foolish enough to believe that I could do Batman justice. I guess I would like to keep on developing my Pirate series.

Richard: How can someone contact you?

Andrew: I’ve got an e-mail address and a website. Adobson66@yahoo.com and http://www.andysartwork.com/

Richard: Any final words of wisdom?

Andrew: “Stories are driven by characters, not ideas.” The words I live by. People read stories because the characters are interesting, not because they’re saving the world or taking on evil. The more compelling your characters, the more interested your fans will become. So focus your time on developing your characters and making them stand out from each other. Give them all some sort of strange fault, because it makes them more human and believable.