We were lucky to catch up with Enzo De Palma recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Enzo, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve been writing and creating stories pretty much since I learned how to read and write. I have tons of “books” and “comics” I created as a kid with markers and colored pencils. I was very inspired as a young child by “Larry Boy” from “VeggieTales,” the 1966 Adam West “Batman” TV show and the “Teen Titans” and “Justice League” cartoons. In 5th grade, I completed three full-length issues of a comic book series, stapled them together, and gave them to friends and teachers! So I’ve known I wanted to write (and write comics specifically) since I was very young.

I’ve played music since I was in 3rd grade, but it never occurred to me to pursue it in any sort of serious way until I was older. I always loved creating music, but my heart was always set on writing. But then I joined a real band in high school, an alt-rock band called Jack the Bear, and suddenly, I could see myself as a musician! My life since then has been about balancing those two creative pursuits.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

First and foremost, I’m a writer. I mostly write comic books. My first graphic novel, “Manhattan: Manhunt,” was released last year. Currently, I have two projects set to be released this year. I contributed a story to the latest anthology from Oneshi Press that comes out in February and my second graphic novel will (hopefully!) come out later this year. That book is a kind of crazy story tentatively called “The Adventures of Stickman!” It follows a stick-figure superhero in a minimalistic stick-figure world — except Stickman has no idea who he is, why he’s a superhero, or where he is. And he has to discover his origin story in hopes of figuring out how he can get back to the real world. I also write prose, and I may have short story coming out in a journal later this year (it’s a bit early to talk details about that) and I’m also in the very early stages of a novel.

I’m a musician, too — a multi-instrumentalist who plays in many different genres. My main project right now is Corporate Bike Culture, a contemporary folk band I play mandolin in. We play shows all around Los Angeles, and our debut album — produced by me — will be released later this year. I also just started playing keyboards in a new rock band, Margo’s Bench, and we just booked a monthly happy hour residency at the Tuning Fork in Studio City. And I’m also working on a self-produced, genre-bending solo album with all (or 95% of) the instruments played by me.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

To me, there are two most-rewarding aspects of being an artist and they reflect the dichotomy of being a creative. Firstly, having a finished product that you’re proud of is unbelievably fulfilling. I remember getting the proof copies of my first graphic novel and being able to hold that in my hand, and it’s a crazy feeling. Even if it’s not something tangible, having a completed work is so satisfying.

The only thing better than that is having someone actually like it! A listener getting a song of mine stuck in their head is amazing — even if they’re annoyed or mad about it! And one of my favorite compliments I’ve ever gotten was someone saying they had dreams about my first graphic novel. Fittingly enough, that’s my dream!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I had finally finished my first graphic novel, “Manhattan: Manhunt,” it was the culmination of a years-long creative mountain that I climbed, and it was great to finally have it completed. But in a way, that was the easy part. Getting it published would be another kind of immense challenge. And in the end, despite having a rising star artist attached to the book, no one was interested in publishing it. Now, I don’t take that personally, because rejection doesn’t mean your work isn’t good. It just means it’s not what those specific people were looking for at that specific moment. So I self-published it! It was a lot more work, but I’m really glad I went through that process and learned how to do it. And the most important thing is getting your work out there, even if you have to do it on your own.

Contact Info:

• Website: enzodepalma.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enzodepalma_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enzodepalmaofficial
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MrWasabihead2
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@enzodepalma

Image Credits
Amanda Ryvkin, Camilla Wilson