The Reglar Wiglar asked comics artist Fran Lopez 10 questions about who he is, what he does, and what he’s doing next.
1. Who are you?
I’m Fran López. For the purpose of this questionnaire, let’s say I’m a cartoonist. I’m originally from Buenos Aires and I currently live in New York.
2. What do you do?
I make music and comics.
3. What are your comics about and how long have you been making them?
I’ve been making comics for a long time. 2005 was the first time I sat down to draw comics I put out for other people to read.
For the last few years I’ve been focusing on these narrative comics, short stories around 10 to 20 pages, all self contained but full of echoes with each other.
The most concise way I’ve found to explain what they’re about was drawing the comics themselves, but let’s try: these are stories of a mildly delirious realist tone, mostly pedestrian situations that can’t seem to escape a certain sci-fi pull.
Hopefully the reader (it’s always healthy to imagine there is, in fact, a reader) is as surprised or puzzled by that alien insistence as I am.
I’ve been putting them out in zines. Three have already come out: Must Be a Happening, Still Making Your Diary Comics? and Fascination.
4. Where do you live and how did you get there?
I live in Brooklyn, New York, right in the border between Kensington and Windsor Terrace. There’s actually a high number of great comic artists in this very specific area.
I met my wife (Sarah Glidden, excellent cartoonist, please go read her books) at a comics festival in Colombia (Medellín, excellent city, please go visit). She was, then, taking a pause from living in New York, but trying to figure her way back. Falling in love can change a lot of things about a person. Sometimes that includes location, too. It’s been fun.
5. What do you like most about the place you are now?
There’s a very specific way people are casually friendly here, that I have a hard time explaining, even to locals. Great rhythms in speech, too.
6. What do you miss most about the place you left behind?
Overnight bookstores in Buenos Aires. You have not lived until you’ve been browsing cheap books for hours to finally settle on some questionable translation of Kafka’s Amerika at around 2 am.
7. Do you believe that we are NOT alone in this Universe?
I’ve always found the chorus to Vic Chesnutt’s song “You Are Never Alone” to be quite beautiful and moving. I’m not sure that song meant it this way but, luckily, songs don’t come with listening instructions. Comics should not come with reading instructions, either.
8. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Medialunas. I’m actually visiting Buenos Aires as I type this. I mean the answer to this question, since some of the other answers were written in New York. I just realized I’ve used “here” in some other answers, and that was a different “here” than my current “here” which is, of course, very likely to be a different “here” from yours, too. Using a second person in an answer to a questionnaire is also tricky, but I hope it’s clear that in this case I’m addressing you, the reader (whose existence, we have already established, is always healthy to imagine).
Anyway, medialunas are a local pastry. If you need to compare it to something, they’re like a smaller, butterier croissant. Very different texture, though it does have a similar layering (when it’s good).
Comparisons like this are as soulless and impossible as trying to explain what some comics are about. I would appreciate it if you try to read my comics (and/or eat some medialunas).
9. Where can people find your work?
RoosterCow and other like minded stores, of course. I try to keep www.franlopez.info as a concise and up to date record of my work. The website also has my email, please get in touch, would love to hear from you.
10. What’s next for you?
I have two more of these comics zines planned out. When I’m done with that, a book collection will come out in Argentina, in Spanish. Any publishers reading this would be smart to reach out to see if we can make that happen in English, too.
Thank you for reading 10 Questions with comics artist Fran Lopez! Read more about his comics on the Reglar Wiglar blog.
Check out recent interviews with comics artist Flo Woolley (Leeds, UK) and grungegazers Whippets (Madison, WI)!