How did you come to write screenplays?

By accident. I have always been a fan of comic books, novels, films, TV series, video games in very different genres, but I started screenwriting quite late, around 33 years old, just after an accident beacause of which I needed rehabilitation. And I basically never stopped, this was 24 years ago, Robot Lord Rising is my 144th comic book.Read More

Why did you chose to write scripts for books and not for films or TV, for example? Is it simply a matter of preference? An opportunity that presented itself before the other?

In reality, I’m not just a comic book scriptwriter. I’m also a scriptwriter on TV series and film projects, as well as a narrative director on video game projects, notably with our IP company Dark Riviera or the Proxima studio. But it’s true that comics have always been one of my passions, and there’s a freedom of creation that’s quite unrivalled, even today, compared with other media. So it’s above all for pleasure that I continue to devote myself to it.

How did Robot Lord Rising come about?

Initially, it was a request from the Swedish independent video game company Aurora Punk and in particular from producer Robert Backström, who was developing this video game project called Robot Lord Rising, which wasn’t initially a narrative game. He wanted to strengthen the universe, create real characters, real stories around this project and he asked me if I was interested, and I was. That’s how it all started.

Why did you choose Editions Caurette to publish this comic?

I know Jean-Christophe Caurette very well, we’ve already had some joint editorial experience with the Patriarchy project with Anna Saveg, Belen Ortega and Amparo Crespo, and as it’s apublishing house that’s both open to the international scene and fairly flexible, it was a good fit with the expectations of Dark Riviera, our IP development company based in Stockholm, for the development of this project.

What difficulties have you encountered during this project?

Rather than difficulties, they were motivating challenges: starting from a non-narrative video game and creating a lore that corresponds to the graphic elements already in place and making the whole thing coherent, that’s something I enjoy doing.

Who is this book aimed at? Who is the target audience?

I hope it will reach as wide an audience as possible 🙂 But if you like mecha, video games, science fiction, fantasy, colourful characters and pop universes that are colourful but have a rather dark background, you should take a look at our book.

Is there an artist that particularly inspires you? 

If I had to name only one…Naoki Urasawa.

How do you find the inspiration to create a storyline?

There are many ways. My background is in history and politics, so those are two areas that regularly inspire me, for example, but it could be an overheard conversation in a café or a sight from everyday life…

What is your working process when you write a script? Do you have a method, a routine?

I try to be organised, both in terms of planning and method. It’s a jigsaw puzzle that you put together as you go along, and you have to give yourself the time and distance you need to test, try out and build. But in general, it starts with a pitch, a bible with the essential elements, then a sequence, with the backbone of the story, the dialogue elements, and finally the final breakdown, panel by panel, box by box, with the dialogue.

On average, how long do you spend writing a script? Did Robot Lord Rising take you a long time to write?

It’s very difficult to say. It’s often several years in the making. But if I had to give a timeframe, I’d say between two and three months.

As a scriptwriter, do you ever have expectations about how your story will be drawn or coloured?

I always do. It’s essential to share the same artistic vision with your co-writers and publishers.

Can you describe Robot Lord Rising in three words?

Science-Fiction. Fantasy. Resistance.

What makes Robot Lord Rising different from your other projects?

I’ve never written a story in this kind of imaginary universe before, with its roots in Japanese pop culture (with its mecha) and science fiction reminiscent of Final Fantasy, for example.

Sylvain Runberg, scriptwriter

What made you decide to make a living out of drawing?

In reality, there was never an option. Drawing has always been a passion which, combined with storytelling, could only lead to one thing: drawing comics.

Do you draw every day? Do you have times and places when you draw the most? Read More

I draw every day in my studio, with some music and a cup of coffee.

When do you know when an illustration is completely finished?

There’s a moment when you know that continuing to draw just clutters up the page with useless information. When we’re working on comic pages, we have to be very clear that the narrative is the most important thing and that we have to make it as easy and enjoyable to read as possible.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Inspiration is, I think, the combination of all the reading, films, music and experiences we accumulate. It all forms a cocktail from which emerge the ideas that we’re going to tell.

Why did you turn your art into a book?

There are few things more beautiful than a good comic book! Every time I start a new story, it’s wonderful to imagine a big comic book.

What difficulties have you encountered during the making of this project?

The world of Robot Lord Rising is very rich, full of colour and energy. We had to capture the beauty of the original video game while giving it its own voice… I think that was the main difficulty in this project.

Why did you choose Editions Caurette to publish this book?

It was Sylvain who managed all the editorial aspects from the outset. But I can tell you that when he told me about Editions Caurette, I’d already bought several of your books. It seemed like an excellent idea.

Why this book format and cover?

Erm… When we thought about the cover, I wanted to show the impact of robots against the smallness of humans. Maz’s beautiful colours made it look as good as it looks.

Do you have an anecdote about this book?

There’s nothing exceptional about it. Creating a comic strip is a very methodical and quiet job… but I can say that I’d never drawn robots in a story before, and my first drawings were always of robots, copying illustrations from Goldorak and inventing others! I think I’ve come full circle here!

Is there a particular artist who inspires you?

Many, from Shirow to Alex Alice, Carlos Pacheco, Gordon Murphy or Marini… a bit of each.

What are your favourite artistic techniques?

I work in the traditional way, on paper, with pencil and ink. I still enjoy getting my hands dirty with graphite!

Was drawing the Robot Lord Rising universe a spontaneous process or the result of a lot of thought?

I had to do a lot of thinking before I started drawing. You have to bear in mind that we’re working from a video game of which there are still very few images available, and we had to create a lot of environments and characters while trying to be consistent with the original work. We expanded this universe. Sylvain and David have done an enormous amount of work in this respect. In truth, I can’t wait to play the video game as well.

Mateo Guerrero, illustrator