A lot of you joined this Substack because you’re a fan of Tom’s work and might never have heard of me before, so I figured a little introduction was in order.
(Watch out for a cool sneak peak from Tom at the end of this post!)
I’m Elsa. Hi. I used to be a bad, unemployed actor
(we can’t all be cool ex-CIA agents,
can we
?) and now I draw—and occasionally write—comics.
After basically bluffing my way into an art career
(
I’m not kidding and you can hear all about it here
)
I started working for DC, Marvel, Lucasfilm and many other publishers. Three years ago, as a pure product of my generation, I decided to shed my corporate overlords and to work
for myself damn it.
So I made the move to Image Comics with my first series of graphic novels,
November,
with the ever-awesome Matt Fraction, Kickstarted two artbooks and another graphic novel, started a YouTube channel on comics with Pierrick Colinet (more on that in a later post).
I like being busy.
One of my favorite moments as an indie creator is when I get to sit at my desk and actually pick what I’m going to do next. Picking my future creative partner. And in late 2020, I starting thinking
Tom King.
Tom King, the prolific, brilliant writer. Tom King, the NYT best-selling author. Who is writing
Batman
. Who has probably no interest in dealing with all the hustle that creator-owned comics come with. Who I should definitely
not
DM.
Luckily my partner pointed out how a cliche of the insecure artist I was being. I emailed Tom, prepared a list of the reasons why this would definitely be a good idea, and didn’t get to present any of them because Tom was just…in. Instantly.
Not ten days later he sent me
this brilliant pitch
and you can imagine how I felt. I couldn’t email him fast enough. That’s the magic of creator-owned comics. It’s like being kids again. You surround yourself with people that want to play! With no one telling you that the stories you come up with don’t fit into their editorial line.
Then we just got started. He sent me a first script, I screamed out of joy, I sent him the design below.
We picked our partners (Clayton Cowles and Matt Hollingsworth), I bought one Alex Toth page for inspiration (funny enough, Tom had previously bought another age from that issue) and it’s been non-stop fun since then.
I’m inking #5 this week and just wait, wait until you read what we’ve got in store for you. Tom’s scripts are absolutely brilliant and I’m trying my best to give them justice!
Speaking of script! In a couple of days, Tom will kick off our new
Falling In Love With Script
series with his never-before-seen script for
Batman
#1 (see the peak below!)
This will only be available for paying subscribers, though, so if you want this script in your inbox, make sure to subscribe!
Talk soon!
Elsa
Elsa/Tom - You have been doing a lot of great interviews in print and on podcasts that have discussed details behind this amazing series. I have learned new and interesting details in each one. Have you considered listing all of these in one of your newsletters along with some of the key insights from each? I think your subscribers would really enjoy this.
I am loving this book and so excited for more!