Arizona artist creates a comic with a brighter angle
Ahwatukee Foothills News interviewed an artist who came up with a comic that's got a premise brighter than most other comics on the market these days:
Like many comics aficionados, Nick Cagnetti plans to go to the renowned San Diego Comic-Con July 19-23.Thank goodness we're getting word now of somebody who recognized the terrible error a considerable portion of the entertainment industry's become stuck in a rut with - darkness so bad, it's not even funny. The mainstream as we know it has taken its toll from this, if you consider how Batman became prioritized over Superman, in example, for more than a decade. And if they do seemingly emphasize optimism, the catch is that the story in question hinges upon how politically woke it is, like in the Muslim Ms. Marvel series. But even the independent scene's not immune to all this, and it's something that has to be pushed back against and challenged with more optimistic viewpoints, and a sense of humor, another theme's that's been all but shoved out for the sake of the PC wokeness we've seen become a sad staple of showbiz over the past decade or more.
But he’s not just a fan: The Ahwatukee Foothills native Cagnetti will be flown out and put up the entire time by his publisher so he can make appearances and sign copies of his own popular series, Pink Lemonade.
Cagnetti, 28, has a contract with Oni Press, a respected comics publisher, and has released six issues of Pink Lemonade so far with a trade paperback coming out July 4.
Single issues are selling in the tens of thousands at comic shops and online, and the paperback collection with all six issues and other content is available for pre-order on Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble and more.
The series centers on a custom motorcycle-riding female protagonist called Pink Lemonade who has a mysterious past and gets enmeshed in the intrigue of the entertainment industry.
The soft-spoken Cagnetti—who has never ridden a motorcycle—said that although the story includes dramatic conflict, the goal was to make it fun and positive.
“I want to make stuff with wonderment and awe like when I was a kid,” he said. “That’s the guiding light for me through a lot of this work: Find that childlike wonderment.”
The comics industry for the past few decades has gotten “darker and more edgy,” Cagnetti added, and he wanted to counter that with a character that retained a sense of joy.
The books pay homage to an assortment of art that Cagnetti admires, from Japanese comics in the 1970s to comic tropes from the 1990s and Michael Allred’s Madman.
The highly detailed artwork, vibrant colors and engaging story have spawned praise from reviewers who have used words like “upbeat and eye-popping,” “charming and dazzling” and “refreshingly unique.”
Even notable comic artist Don Simpson called Pink Lemonade “the most iconic comic book character to come along in 50 years” and he drew a four-page story for the number two issue.
Cagnetti added, “I think you can make anything work. You’ve just got to trust in what you’re doing because even the silliest of ideas, you can ascribe meaning to it and it can take on a life of its own.”Yes, and that includes optimism, as mentioned before. On which note, if DC weren't under corporate ownership, it'd be possible to reemphasize Superman in this sense more easily while giving it meaning and substance. The same can be said about Marvel and Spider-Man.
Gorinson is eager to see what comes next for Cagnetti, saying, “It’s … rare for an artist to arrive with Nick’s level of quality and energy and vitality and in such a fully realized, fully formed state at such a young age.”Yes, that's a vital point to make about the sorry state of mainstream, if anywhere. Why, even a boast once seen on some Marvel/DC series, that "nothing will ever be the same" has become severely cynical and insufferable if put to use these days, along with claims of "boldness", and then it turns out it's just another excuse for shoving yet more darkness and wokeness down our throats. The angle represented by comics like Cagnetti's Pink Lemonade are definitely something we need more of, and it'll be relieving if more indie creators for starters are willing to emulate his approach, and without basing it all on leftist politics. That way, we'll have a healthier, more balanced industry available.
He added, “A lot of comics are cynically trying to be cool. Nick’s work is just cool.”
Labels: conventions, good artists, indie publishers, sales
