The linear and clean but at the same time powerful and filtering trait immediately strikes the reader who cannot remain indifferent to the characters who seem to come to life from the sheets, almost as if they were accomplices in reading, so much their face is friendly. This is Riccardo Giardina whom we went to interview, to be told how he creates magic in the looks of his protagonists.
Riccardo Giardina, I live in Palermo. I am a big fan of comics and boardgames
What does comics mean to you?
Comics have been a life partner since I was born, I don’t remember any period in which I haven’t read comics, I may have changed tastes over time but reading is essential.
From here I also felt like writing (and over time) drawing my own stories, it was a completely natural process.
Seeing how comics like Komi can’t communicate (my favorite of this period) can also relieve the most problematic days is something that has always fascinated me.
Tell us about your career path.
I started drawing late, first I wrote short stories and original stories about my characters (as an author I was very influenced by Rumiko Takahashi’s humorous style), over time I realized that I wanted much more and I started studying drawing as an autodidact.
I then attended the comic strip school in Palermo and from there I started working mainly as a colorist or assistant colorist. I worked on Italian, French and American albums.
My most recent work is as an assistant colorist on a Buffy series published by Boom! studios.
On my own I then dedicate myself to the creation of my webcomics, the most recent of which “Crazy Gamers” talks about a group of table gamers and various funny situations that can be created between enthusiasts, obviously there is also a fairly horizontal story centered around romance.
The story is mainly focused on a gamer: Isolde.
She is a German game player, hates randomness and has little foibles that she has had a hard time making friends with.
But it’s a fairly choral story, where each character reflects a particular characteristic of various types of players (so there are those who are beginners, those who are messy, those who are highly competitive, those who see it more as a way to spend time in company).
The curiosity is that it is a reboot of my previous story (Crazy School) even if it is possible to read it independently.
This webcomic then gave me the opportunity to collaborate with both Italian board game publishers and creators for some projects.
You can find the webcomic on my facebook page “Rick’s world”
Can you describe the process of making your table?
From the very simple screenplay, I move on to the creation of a name (i.e. a draft where I decide on the setting of the cartoons, direction, positioning of the balloons), after which I define the drawing, cleaning it up and putting in the details.
By now I work mainly in digital, I find it much more convenient to modify or fix aspects that don’t satisfy me, but the procedure is the same even when I worked in a more traditional way.
How important is humor in the boards you make.
Fundamentally, mine are mainly comic stories to which I can add other elements.
Lately I’ve been very taken by the comedy of authors such as Aka Akasaka (Kaguya sama love is war), Nanashi (Do not torment me, Nagatoro) and Tomohito Oda (Komi can’t communicate), in my opinion they love their stories thanks to their appearance humorous they possess.
In my small way I would like to do the same. I want the characters to touch the hearts of the readers and for me comedy is the best way to do that.
Yours is a delicate and at the same time very captivating trait. What your readers think.
Thank you, my stories focus a lot on the alchemy between the characters and I try to show it in my drawings too, from what I see, those who follow me tend to love their expressiveness which makes them immediately familiar.
Reading the impressions and engagement that readers have on my characters is something that makes me very happy.
What thought did you have of the comics culture in Italy?
Italy is a cornerstone country of world comics culture, there are examples of great authors admired all over the world, but at the same time there is a lack of openness to different genres, making innovation very difficult. Often so many readers then tend to cover these holes by turning to foreign productions.
In my opinion, we need to understand what works in comics like manga (stories, direction, characters) to make these strengths our own.
It’s your time…. what do you feel like saying to the readers of Mondo Japan?
It was a pleasure to meet you, read and play as much as possible! Be curious! Discover new authors as much as possible because each of them can enrich you in a completely unexpected way.