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When Ash befriends young witch Liv, however, everything changes.
We packed a lot into this book!
Lisa Sterle:Emo teen obsessed with Elliott Smith meets bubbly magic teen, hijinks ensue!
The two main characters are Ash and Liv.
What can you say about them?
Klein:So Ash and her unexpected friend Liv actually represent two different sides of myself funnily enough.
So I’d say Ash represents who I was before I actively found more levity and beauty in life.
Ash and Liv actually both remind me of myself in a lot of ways when I was younger.
I think I would have struggled a lot less had I realized that’s what I was experiencing.
You created this book with Pete Wentz from the band Fall Out Boy!
How did that come about?
The story and visuals were just so perfect for this medium and luckily, Vault agreed.
Were you either of you Fall Out Boy fans before working with Pete?
Klein:I have been a fan of Pete’s since I was 11.
And I’m like oh right.
You’re a lyrical genius.
Sterle:I am definitely part of the generation that grew up listening to Fall Out Boy.
Hannah, how does your collaboration work on the writing front?
Are you constantly going back and forth with ideas and script pages?
Does that make sense?
You’re touching on some heavy themes here, even though the book is also a lot of fun.
Is that a hard balance to strike?
I am big on writing about tough topics with a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.
But it’s definitely nerve-wracking because out of context, certain scenes and descriptions may seem insensitive or outrageous.
So I always just think, “like, like read the whole thing before you freak out!
I have a point I promise!”
The book may not be for everyone, and it certainly felt like a creative risk at times.
I have a lot of love for these characters, and this story.
Lisa, this is a beautiful-looking book.
Could you tell us a little bit about why you chose this particular style to tell Ash’s story?
Sterle:Oh man, thank you!
Your use of color throughout is very deliberate.
Can you say a little about why you chose to use a restricted palette?
Sterle:The first comic I ever published, Long Lost, has a similar approach to color.
Also, it’s a pretty emotional story, and symbolically it’s tied a lot to the color.
Whether it’s being used to create the mood of a scene, or reflect a characters inner thoughts.
Music is a big part of this book.
How much of a role does it play in your creative lives?
Klein:Music completely colors in my life in every way.
So being able to do that for this project as well was very exciting.
It all blends together for me.
A great soundtrack can take a project from good to great.
What are your hopes for Dying Inside?
I don’t want to put too much pressure on it.
Even if only one person loves it or sees themselves in it, I’d be happy.
I hope we get to see more of this world for sure!
Dying Inside is published by Vault Comics' Headshell imprint on September 17.
