1. Who are you and what are you working on right now? (2 questions in 1, I know!)
I’m Antonio Bifulco and, in the last years, I’ve worked on several projects in both Italian and American market as penciller, inker and colorist for comics, book and cards illustrator and concept artist for movies and video games. Right now I’m splitting my time between various projects but the one I’m more pushing myself on it’s, surely, my contribution to David Lloyd’s Aces Weekly: Gabriel – Warrior Exorcist by Giuseppe Rungetti and myself.
2. What drew you to digital comics?
As a reader I’ve started to follow web based comics by some year reading some funny strips that, helped by the digital medium, become very popular such as Pandalikes, Cyanade&Happiness or The Oatmeal while, as a creator, I’ve already produced some comic pages destined to the digital reading such as The Gutters or The Ruthless just to name a few.
3. Webcomics or digital comics?
Two names same guy; maybe the term “webcomics” may look more tied to the internet and website itself while “digital comics” may sound more simple as just a digital reproduction of something that’s usually on paper.
4. What do you think works with digital comics?
Quality, reliability and availability. Delivering a comics page or an illustration on digital format means that the artist has not to worry about print or paper quality, the reader has not to worry about humidity, sunlight or smoke or dust or bookworms. The creator/publisher has not to worry about delivering costs or difficulties. Just to say one: if you’re a reader looking for that book someone published 5 years ago you’ve just to download it and not worry about missing stockage and the images will be as good as the first day ’cause it’s on screen and not on paper that, maybe, got ruined by a flooding in the warehouse.
5. Can digital comics replace print comics?
Can digital music replace CD’s? And can CD’s replace LP’s? And can photos replace painted portraits? I don’t think that something replace something else, I tend to think that something new becomes more used and something old becomes less used until the newer one becomes the only one used and the older one becomes vintage (just like arcade Games or tube based radio). Just some years ago the Kindle seemed an heresy and now a lot of people don’t really miss paper books and enjoy the digital format as much or even more the paper one.
6. How can print comics work with digital comics?
Just not making any competition out of it: if someone wants the printed version of his favored digital book maybe can order it in the printed size and finish he mostly prefer or maybe we can have printed editions as preview or promo of what will be available digitally. There’re literally thousands ways to use digital and printed in the same “team”, it’s just up to us to think in the right direction and “out of the box”.
7. What don’t you like about digital comics?
The much bigger predisposition to be pirated… oh, maybe its just I don’t like pirates in the first place, so nothing about the digital comics itself.
8. What digital comics/webcomics do you read?
A said above I, mostly, follow, in non particular order: Pandalikes, Cyanade&Happiness, The Oatmeal, The Gutters and many more, there’s an infinity or awesome stuff out there in the web at just a click away.
9. Where do you see digital comics going from here?
In the right direction, I mean, internet’s becoming each day more widespread, there’re everyday more people relying they work or free time on internet and digital applications like iTunes, Netflix, TomTom or to communicate their products like youtube, pandora or soundcloud; people who didn’t know anything about TV’s now know the difference between HD Ready and Full HD and, giving money to the average person, he’ll probably buy an iPad. Again, I’m quite sure everybody loved horses back then but now we use cars as transportation, it’s just evolution and that’s not good or bad, it’s just due.
10. Who do you think we should look out for in digital comics?
Aces Weekly, of course but, basically, any product out there. If you’re at a buffet and don’t know the dishes you just have to try it, if you don’t like some you just have to not try it again but, always, worth the try.
“10 Questions With” is to be a interview session with digital comics creators – there’s a lot of great people I’ve got lined up and I hope you enjoy seeing what the creators are interested in.
If you are a digital creator and am interested in participating, please contact me!
