PKD Media Spotlight Presents: Julian Lytle!
Welcome back to another installment of the PKD Media Spotlight, shining a beacon out to indie creators, artists, comics, and various modes of pop-culture that you have been sleeping on.
This week is all about the works of Julian Lytle. Creator of the slanguistic and hilarious webcomic “Ants,” I’ve been following Julian’s work for a few years now. In fact, when I first hopped into world of self-publishing PKD Media comics, Julian hooked a brother up with a mad Mercury & The Murd pinup.
I have a lot of respect for this gentleman; his artwork and style is vivid and vibrant. You really need to check him out. Here’s what he had to say during our interview session.
Tell me what inspired you to create the Ants webcomic, and what it’s all about.
I’ve been toying with Ants since I was 14 years old. I started thinking of doing it as a comic in college. I put a couple in the school comic book and then did some for my senior project. Over the years I’ve tried to start this comic a couple of times since then but just got around to the way I want them to interact and talk earlier this year.
What defines your artistic style?
On Ants I’d say is rough and brushy. I keep it kind of kinetic and less refined on purpose. I think it’s like a visual feel of what mid 90s rap sounded like. Rough and wild yet fluid and smooth.
With my other work I use a more tighter style. Which I am more influenced by fashion illustrators of the past and of today. Also Pop Art and classic illustration. I also use a lot of typography.
When was the moment in your life that you made up your mind to step into the world of art?
It was a Dannon Ninja Turtles yogurt ad. I drew Donatello perfectly; like how he looked in the ad. Then I took it to school and everyone was impressed, from my friends to my school teacher, to the school officials. And 6th grade girls, see I was in second grade, pretty girls liking you for anything changes what you want to do for life.
Who are some of your favorite storytellers from either a writing or artistic aspect?
That’s a hard question because there are so many. But right now some of the ones I’m focusing on are what I’m enjoying regularly right now. One of my favorite storytellers is Grant Morrison. The older I get the more I like superhero books that push concepts or reuse older concepts that are told in a new way. Artistically Darwin Cooke, JH Williams III, Frank Quitely and Mike Allred are some of my favorite current working artists. My old Friend Ron Wimberly aka D-Pi. Naoki Urasawa, I think is the right now the best Writer/artist making comics in the world today. I really like Masashi Kishimoto who does Naruto, he has great action pacing and a great story that I have said is the best superhero comic in the world. I also enjoy Tite Kubo and his manga Bleach, its panel layout is designed really well, great pacing. I like Tex Avery and Chuck Jones. Dave Chappelle and Aaron McGruder influence my strip a lot along with Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. I also really enjoy Quentin Tarentino films (at times I think he is in my head like Being John Malkovich) and the creators of The Wire who I feel made the best television show ever produced. Oh and I can’t forget the King, JACK KIRBY!!!!
What kind of music influences your artistic process?
Over the past couple of years it’s been Dance Music and 90s era Hip Hop and R&B. When I think up a comic most of the time it’s to a song, so it’s very much like a short film in my head. I have an idea to do a comic really focused on having it feel like a single and when all of them are released they are an EP then later a LP. I also think up pieces based on rap lines, they are like treasure trove of concepts.
What do you think is the best thing going for the comics industry right now?
Hmm, I think the growing area of webcomics. It’s starting to grow beyond just comedy. I think with how much printing costs and some of the changes in Diamond’s minimums for small press it seems that more and more people are moving toward this new avenue of distributing comics. Also with device’s like the iPhone / iPod Touch reading comics on go is very easy again.
Tell me why you feel that Kamandi is one of the greatest comic book characters on the face of the planet.
First it’s made by JACK KIRBY. Then it has the subtitle THE LAST BOY ON EARTH!!! Which when you read it just echoes over and over. The funny thing is I’ve read like one Kamandi comic ever. But it’s so awesome I want to read more, the concept is plantanas. It has Scientist Dogs, evil rats, and a Tiger with a cape and a sword and a gun. Ben Boxer is just awesome. It’s so many ideas in this comic that it just screams great.
What’s playing on your “Motherbox” (aka Julian’s iPhone) right now?
Well I have only about 300 songs on it at all times. So here is a sample.
Raekwon – Ice Cream and Criminology, Daft Punk Alive 2007 (the only full album that is on Motherbox), Drake – Best I ever had, November 18th, Successful (all screwed and chopped), Rye Rye Featuring M.I.A. – Bang, ICE T – Power, BBD – Poison, Guy – Groove Me, Nirvana – Lithium, Wham – Careless Whisper, Hercules and Love Affair – You Belong, Kanye West – Paranoid, Queen – We Will Rock You, Mos Def – Casa Bey, N.E.R.D. – Everyone Nose, Michael Jackson – Off the Wall, Erykah Badu – Other Side of the Game, GZA – Liquid Sword, Pac Div – Pac Div, Beastie Boys – Sabotage, Apollonia 6 – Sex Shooter, Ghostface Killah – Daytona 500, UGK featuring Outkast – International Players Anthem, Notorious B.I.G. – Unbelivable, Sheila E – The Glamourous Life, Mint Condition – Pretty Brown Eyes, and Owusu and Hannibal – What It’s About. That’s a taste and one day if I get a cartoon, its soundtrack will be banaynays.
If there was a special comic book project that you could work on, what would it be?
Mainstream-wise I have a killer Dazzler Idea that I think is so bananas that it would work and all the people I tell it to thinks it hot. It’s totally out of the box.
Independent-wise my song based comic story I alluded to earlier in this interview.
Where can people find you on the web, and is there anything else that you would like to mention?
I’m all over the place. You can find me at my main site:
Please take time out of your week to read Ants each Thursday at http://ants.julianlytle.com
I’m also on Deviantart at http://julianlytle.deviantart.com and I’m on twitter at http://twitter.com/julianlytle
Special thanks to Julian for doing this interview. Get to know this artistic talent before he blows up the spot! I’m just sayin’…
And that concludes this weeks PKD Media Spotlight.
Come back tomorrow for Agents of C.O.L.T.! Peace and good times.
-Shawn
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