Backstage Pass April: Jay Farbes

Grab Your Pass And Head Backstage To Meet

Jay Fabares

Main Project

Right now I'm working on a supernatural crime drama with my husband, called The Pale.
It follows a face-blind FBI linguist who is tracking a killer in small town Arizona.

We've won some indie awards in the past few years- including best writing and best mystery!
It's best described as Twin Peaks meets Arizona, with a hint of Fargo! I've been developing the comic with my husband Sanders since 2013.


thepalecomic.com
patreon.com/jayfabares
ko-fi.com/jayfabares

Other Hobbies, Guilty Pleasures and Obsessions

Mostly I find I am working on the comic more than anything, constantly trying to read more comics. If I am not trying to get out to birdwatch I am most likely watching some crime drama! I also enjoy watching movies with my husband.

So, tell me about your early experience. How did you fall in love with telling stories in pictures?

It's actually pretty recent that I discovered comics, I've only been reading comics since 2008. The first comic I picked up on my own was The Umbrella Academy-- and I've been hooked on comics ever since! After TUA. I started reading the modern classics, Y The Last Man, The Walking Dead, as well as Preacher, Watchman and Fables. Some recent favorites of mine are Sheltered, The Sixth Gun, Fear Agent. I also enjoyed Girls, Alex + Ada.

What media and programs do you work in to produce your project?

I'm all digital. I work on my trusty 21UX Cintiq and use Clip Art Studio EX.

Can you tell me about your typical day or strip-creation session? How does your work process flow from idea to finished page?

We're pretty far a long in terms of the world building (though we are still nailing down certain aspects of it) but we know enough to get started in the writing process.


Our writing starts with taking theme of each story arc and trying to fit the moments we want to incorporate. We try to figure out structurally within the arc where those moments go and decide which order they are presented in, which dictates which chapter they are in.


After that is done, my husband writes the first draft of the script. He plans and plots the actions per page and writes the scenes accordingly. After that I look over the draft and then make my edits for a 2nd draft. This happens until we are at a place to start the rough layouts-- where I tend to make additional edits (in terms of panel actions and sometimes edits to the script).


After the art is done, we do another pass of edits, checking for art continuity, etc. It's a lot of work!

What’s the most difficult part of your work?

The writing. Trying to find the time to write with my husband can be difficult. We both have ideas that we are trying to combine together and because of the subject matter-- the world building needs to make sense. We put a lot of time and effort to make the world, dialog, and characters feel believable-- and I think that has carried the story so far-- but now we are bringing in the mythology and figuring out how to deliver that information in a natural way is a challenge (but also very fun!)

Can you tell me about your storytelling process? Do you prefer to script your stories, fly by the seat of your pants, or somewhere in between?

Always a script!
We have some general ideas that we try to connect the dots to, but having moments not set in stone allows us to improvise within each chapter. It's a lot of fun seeing how new ideas form and how it can shape the story!

How much of a buffer do you like to keep?

We try to stay at least one chapter ahead of what's being posted. The range has been around 30 pages. When the next chapter posts, we're either in the drawing stage or writing.

What’s a question you’d like to answer once and for all about your art and/or that question you’re sick of getting asked?
Haha... last name is pronounced FAB-ray.

If you could send a note back to yourself when you began working on your skillset, what would you say?

You do you -- you'll be most happy when not comparing yourself to the success of others. You're gonna do great, don't worry.

What message do you hope readers take away from your work?

Comics are a learning process-- this is my first sequential work and I think with every chapter I learn more and have improved.
As for the book: there is an audience for your work, just keep at it, readers will find you.

What keeps you devoted to telling the story you’re telling?

If I don't tell the story-- who will? I've never wanted to see something to the end so much!