Lynx Delirium: The Man, Myth, & Magic Behind Carabosse Comics

Of all the comic book creators I was fortunate enough to work with in my tenure as the editor of Queerbait #1 & #2, Lynx Delirium is one of the most interesting I've ever met. Despite the fact that many of his comics have dark overtones and a slightly twisted sense of humor, Lynx himself is gregarious and energetic to the point of being childlike. He's also one of the nicest men you'll ever meet. As I discovered during our recent interview, Lynx is more than happy to talk about his work...and his enthusiasm is downright contagious!

A lot of other comic book creators try to emulate the "big names", but your comics have a delicious D.I.Y. flavor that's earned you a lot of critical acclaim. Is that what led you to create your Carabosse Comics imprint?

Well, on one hand, I definitely like being in control of my own work. I've been censored a lot, believe it or not, when working or promoting my work through other companies. Now I can feel free to tell my stories the way I want them to be told. And, I usually have very specific visions in mind for very specific reasons, so it's good when I don't have to veer far away from that for the final design.

On the other hand, you're right, I don't simply emulate other creators which I think makes my style of work less commonplace. Which, in turn, also means it's harder for my work to be recognized by other companies who may want their books to all look like the art style or writing style thats "in" right now. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten rejection letters that say "We love you're work, but it's just not what we're looking for right now." So, it's also easy to just do it myself to get all these stories brimming inside of me out before I explode.

Your partner, David, also plays a big role in managing and promoting your work. How did this come about?

David is a big help because he basically handles the business side of things so that I can focus on the creative, artistic side. I knew I wanted to have Carabosse Comics, but admittedly I'm not all that good at doing things like taxes and paperwork and all that. He,on the other hand, shines at those things! He does want to do more creative stuff though. I've actually been teaching him how to draw lately and whats funny is that while I love drawing people most, and their expressions and passion and characteristics, David draws incredible buildings and architecture, with all kinds of perspective and details to scale. It's amazing, some people are just naturally more technical.

How easy, or difficult, was it for you to get started with Carabosse Comics? Looking back, are there things you'd have done differently?

I'd say it was fairly easy to begin with. Things definitely start slow, but each year has been better and better, so I'm pretty happy with how far I've come so far. The same year that I started the company, I released my first one-shot, The Goth Queen Needs a Mate, which ended up being listed in Wizard Magazine's indie comic special as one of the best buzz books of the year. Since then I've started the Fairies Tell comic which is a retelling of popular children's stories with a twist, created some Pinup Boy art prints, and also a couple short web comics which have all generated a tiny buzz. 2008 will mark my 4th year of self-publishing.

You're currently promoting your sketchbook, "I'm So Vain", what other projects do you have in the works?

I'm in the process of creating what I'm calling Carabosse's Universe. All of the characters characters and comics I've created do all exist in the same continuity, and soon readers will get to see how they all connect. Characters from Goth Queen and Fairies Tell and even my original web-comic The Adventures of Lynx Girl and Friends will be interacting in a very cool way in my upcoming books. Especially the Goth Queen and her gargoyles; they show up in the most unexpected way. And like any diva, she makes an entrance with a redesigned look. It's not so much as an epic crossover event as it is just recreating life and how people's lives actually do intersect.

I'm especially excited about my new series Che that will be starting next year. It follows a guy who has died and is learning to be an angel of love in the afterlife. His boyfriend, meanwhile, ends up becoming an angel of death. There's some really great interaction between the two as they see if they can stay together with these new responsibilities.

And yes, there is a reason it's being called Carabosse's Universe instead of the Carabosse Universe...

I know that Carabosse Comics has recently acquired the rights to publish the LGBT comic book anthology, Queerbait, and that you're going to be editing the book yourself. What can you tell us about your plans for the series? Will it have a regular publishing schedule after issue #2 comes out?

Queerbait will be a nice change of pace for me because it will be the first time that I've gotten to edit a book and stories that I'm not the creator of. I've been in talks with some great great great talent to do all kinds of stories for the series. Some action, some drama, some comedy, even some horror, but all with a LGBT theme and available to all ages. Right now, the plan is to do Queerbait quarterly, though that may change depending on the amount of submissions and the response from readers.

Your comic books feature a lot of gay characters and themes, but they're not exclusively "gay" stories. Is it your intention to make your work more marketable by appealing to a broader audience, or are there creative reasons for your non-exclusivity?

I really just like telling stories that I would also like to read and quite often I don't even realize a character is gay or straight until after I've started writing a script or working more with the character. With Goth Queen, it was instinctive for her to be in a heterosexual relationship because of the inspiration for the story, which is partly the mythos of Frankenstein and partly the music and lyrics of Nine Inch Nails. However, a sub-story actually grew after the book was released and the gargoyles started to become like the favorite characters of the readers. I started to think how these four gargoyles would relate to each other and around each other since they can't speak, and each of them actually presented their personalities to me just through the way that I subconsciously drew them. Daemond, the one that stands the highest on the book's cover, is their unofficial leader. Slither, the lowest on the cover with the reptillian look, is the most dangerous of the group. Battibat, the one with batwings, and Tryann, the one with the broken arm, became a couple because they were often drawn near each other, almost like they were protecting each other and also had a certain chemistry visually. It just so happens they were both male, therefore they're gay. Being gay doesn't make or break them, but it's certainly a nice addition.

Do you feel that being openly gay has helped or hurt your career in comic books?

Oh, it has definitely helped! There was a time where I seriously couldn't find the place to get my foot in the door. But being gay is actually what helped me find my way into the industry. And that way is Prism Comics. Without them I wouldn't have had nearly as many opportunities in such a short period of time and I'll always be thankful to them for that.

You've mostly worked on your own Carabosse Comics projects so far, but now you seem to be getting into some collaborative work as well. What are some of the other projects you're working on?

One of my favorite projects thus far was working with Tim Fish on his web anthology Young Bottoms in Love. Through that, I got to color some stories by lots of great talents including Justin Hall, Bill Roundy and Charles "Zan" Christensen. Right now I'm doing some colors for an upcoming Pride High issue written by Tommy Roddy and hopefully I'll get to do more work with both Tim and Tommy in the future. There are a few of other creators I'd love to work with at some point too. Collaborating is fun.

Besides comic books, what are some other ventures you're interested in?

Well, I'm actually more trained in film and video than I am in comics. So when I'm creating comics, for me it's like doing extensive storyboarding. I probably won't feel finished with my work until it's been turned into a big budget film, ha ha. I also love to write prose, so I'd like to publish a series of short stories that I've written at some point as well.

What is your long-term game plan for your career and your goals for Carabosse Comics?

As long as I can keep telling stories and have an outlet for my imagination, I'll be happy. And, Carabosse Comics definitely provides that for me. I have many ideas I'd like to get out on paper, and then on film, so I don't see myself slowing down anytime soon.