We were lucky to catch up with Andi Dukleth recently and have shared our conversation below.
Andi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?
As a comic creator, I would say that the biggest misconception about comics is considering it a “froo froo” industry. Comics, like Batman and Superman, are a lot of fun to read and can provide a great escape. But they also reflect where this nation’s moral compass has been over the years. Standing up for the little guy, fighting crime, defending communities, etc. They are certainly a reflection of their times and a lot of valid critiques can be made. But broadly speaking, they represent an inspiration to do the right thing in the face of injustice.
I would say comics and graphic novels as a whole have also raised the voices of marginalized people, documented historical events, and influenced the art/music of the generation.
To dismiss it as “silly fun” would be to ignore the legacy of John Lewis’s “March”, Marjane Satrapi’s “Percepolis”, and Art Spiegelman’s “Maus”. And on the latter example, if comics was so “inconsequential”, there wouldn’t be such a big push to ban “Maus” in certain states.
The news business, on the other hand, is sort of the inverse of that. Not to say that it’s inconsequential– far from it. But a lot has changed from the days of Walter Cronkite. Both in better and worse ways.
Broadcast news is shifting. More people are moving to online platforms, which has led the news industry to catch up as best it can. There are more newscasts for broadcast to sell more ad revenue, while simultaneously getting the talent to tweet and/or go live on Instagram. All for half the salary they would have gotten in the 90s.
However, newsrooms and the industry in general has become a lot more inclusive. There are more women, more people of color, and LGBTQ+ representation we see on air and behind the scenes. We still have a way to go. But with the increase of inclusivity, the stories told are now encompassing voices often ignored in the past.
And that’s where these two halves converge: storytelling. And whether it’s through the page of a comic book or in a news broadcast, storytelling will never not be important.
Andi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. But the moment that made me go “This is what I want to do ” was after seeing my cousin’s Mortal Kombat fan art. I was ten at the time, and I remember fawning over all the cool shows and mangas he told me about. He recommended some “how to draw anime” books, and from there I was off. After that summer, you could find me doodling on the margins of my homework or reading Inu Yasha during school’s required reading period.
I kept drawing up into and throughout high school, taking inspiration specifically from “Godchild”, “Hellsing”, and “XXXHolic”. I eventually became Vice President of Anime Club and started to turn our various shenanigans into their own comic strips. I hope to turn that into a full-fledged story one day.
College, however, was a different story. I wanted to go to art school, but my parents said it’d be too expensive for something that likely wouldn’t pay very much. In retrospect, they may have had a point, but I regret not trying harder for it at the time.
In any case, I enrolled in Cal State San Marcos, focusing on a degree in Video Production rather than Studio Art. As we were coming out of the 2008 recession, I did this in hopes of increasing my chances of finding work. This would later lead me to my video journalism career. Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about drawing comics or creating my own art.
In 2016, through my local news job, I heard about a small local convention called “Comic Fest” happening close to where I lived. I had been out of the loop for so long and decided to go to dip my toes in the nerdy water again. There I met the members that would eventually be part of the Accidental Aliens: Scott Lost, Emily Rocha, Rodney Anderson, and Travis Rivas. More creators eventually joined us, but this is what I remember as the beginning of our group.
After numerous meetings at Villainous Lair Comics (a spot I miss dearly), we all got the idea to create an anthology comic together for Free Comic Book Day. And the rest sort of snowballed out from there.
Since then, we have put out four anthology collections, have tabled in Small Press at Comic Con, and even held panels there. I’ve also contributed to Horrorgasm, Journey Press, Evoluzione Publishing, and Great Oak Press.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media is dead. Get out in person.
No, this isn’t coming from a “lets go back to how things were before” mindset. Nor am I’m not dismissing what a huge asset social media is. But today, it’s become much more of a revenue stream for Meta, and their algorithm will work as such.
I’ll be honest, the post that got the most amount of likes on my instagram page happened because I paid for a “promotion”. I’m proud of that piece, and I don’t regret doing it. But it just goes to show you how the algorithm doesn’t really prioritize organic interaction anymore.
With that said, I’ve gained the most followers organically by going to conventions. It helps that I’m still small, but being able to have a conversation with people and letting them get to know you has made much more meaningful connections. They return to see me at future shows, and ask me how I’m doing. And I in turn ask them how they’re doing. We laugh, we have fun, and it makes us much more invested in the other person.
That, in my opinion, is what it should be about.
I’m not unaware of the risks put forth by this persistent pandemic. There are many due to life or health reasons that can’t afford/risk to go out to big events. But going onto art forums or any medium that lets you build a community is– to me– much more beneficial.
The algorithm doesn’t care if you improve your art and grow. You do. And the people who truly support you will too.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Any time a kid flips through my art book at a show, and I see them gasp– that is my full circle moment.
I was always enamored by the art I found in manga or magazines, which was what inspired me to do what I do now. Seeing that look on someone else’s face makes me hope that maybe, for at least one person, I’m that inspiration for them too.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aduklethart.com/
- Instagram: @anditheduke
- Twitter: @anditheduke