Geoffo & Mast
Our series of Three Questions continues this week with two gentlemen on the leading edge of “turbomedia” – Geoffo and Mast. Geoffo is also a prolific digital comics creator and winner the Reader’s Choice Award at the Stumptown Comicfest for his work on VIC BOONE with Shawn Aldridge. Mast is also a dedicated digital comics creator and one of the organizers of the Lille Comics Festival in Northern France. Together they’ve collaborated on a number of progressive digital comics for Thrillbent. in addition to working with Marvel on their Infinite Comics line. So, guys, Three Questions…
The Interview
PERAZZA: What is the best thing about comics specifically made for digital reading?
GEOFFO & MAST: This is still unexplored territory, so it’s very exciting. Digital storytelling is so different, really, and not being limited to the classic physical canvas anymore is so liberating. We can create new things, push boundaries and sign our fan’s tablets with a knife!
PRAZZA: What is the worst thing about comics specifically made for digital reading?
GEOFFO & MAST: Stories that don’t use the format enough. Don’t play it safe! Don’t think “print”, think “screens.”
PERAZZA: What do you see in the future for digital comics?
GEOFFO & MAST: Well, we’re launching a company specialized in digital storytelling for the screen, so we kinda hope it’s gonna be a glorious and bright future! There’ll be more stories made specifically for digital reading. Technology will probably change, we’ll just have to adapt and evolve with it. The most important thing will always to make great stories first.
PERAZZA: I know this is technically a fourth question but you mentioned adapting to evolving technology and I think that’s has a big impact on the types of stories that can be told. I know you’ve done some work in Flash in the past. What are your current favorite tools to create comics?
MAST: We use HTML5 and JavaScript mostly, since you can get the same results as with Flash. It’s interesting because we had to learn how to program a bit, something we didn’t expect we’d have to do, back when we started doing comic books.
PERAZZA: How about during the creative process? Do you still create comics by hand?
GEOFFO: Photoshop and Manga Studio.
MAST: And Flash for PAX ARENA.
GEOFFO: Really?
MAST: Were doing way too many projects on different software!
PERAZZA: Ha! Thanks, guys.
GEOFFO & MAST: Merci!
If you’re interested in Geoffo and Mast’s digital comics and “turbomedia” work you should check out their comics from Thrillbent, BOUNCER: A GHOST STORY on L’Express with fellow creators François Boucq and Alejandro Jodorowsky (note: this is a French language comic), and Infinite Comics from Marvel. You can also follow both Geoffo and Mast on Twitter.
We’ll be back soon with an all new digital comics creator for another set of answers to the Three Questions. In the meantime, as always, feel free to leave your own answers in the comments.