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Gallery of Geek: Chatting With Walking Dead's Sina Grace

Gallery of Geek: Chatting With Walking Dead's Sina Grace

Sina-grace-x400

The comic book creator and artist gives us a peek at his portfolio.

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Out writer, artist, graphic novelist, and former editor of the Walking Dead comic book series, Sina Grace is a man who can do it all. He's a talented creator who's able to move from superhero stories to memoir comics with ease, and that ability has made him one of the industry's hottest rising stars.

The Advocate sat down for a chat with Grace to learn more about his multitude of creative powers, his love of Peter Parker, and his new graphic novel Self-Obsessed!

The Advocate: What inspires you to create?
Sina Grace: Revenge! Well, actually, proving myself to others is a force that drives me. Chasing the idea dragon down the rabbit hole is my inspiration -- taking a kernel of an idea that pops in my head and working it until it's an actual, tangible concept with flesh -- that's my sweet spot. That kernel usually presents itself when I'm on long drives up the coast from Southern California to the Bay Area, and beyond.

Does being queer influence your artwork?
Being in touch with my identity -- and its queerest aspects -- has become a major influence in what I do, for sure. As I've gotten more comfortable in my own skin, the characters have become less rigid and all speak with a certain candor that I feel comes from the sassy/wise gay man we all have in our heads. I keep an eye on how characters are dressed, and always try to inject at least one positive gay representative in my comics. Being true to myself influences my work, and that includes a sense of queerness I used to hide.

What was your gateway drug into the world of geek culture?
I think the most specific answer I can recall is buying the first line of Gorillaz vinyl statues from Kid Robot. It was over a decade ago, and I remember walking into the shop thinking, "Huh, people really love high-end geek collectibles." I had worked at a comic store and have been going to comic conventions since high school, but it was then that I saw geek culture as a scene that married art, nostalgia, technology, and all-around eccentricity.

What geeky things are you currently obsessed with?
My SELF! JK JK JK. But I have been spending a lot of time in my head for my next graphic memoir, Self-Obsessed. The resurgence of Sailor Moon and Power Rangers have gotten me into mega geek mode! Of course, rather than check out the "new" stuff, I've been diving deeper into the source material: the unedited original Sailor Moon episodes on Hulu have been a boon, and watching the Japanese footage for Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (Zyuranger) has been the BEST late night snack!

You have your Image books, a Marvel story and a new Graphic Novel coming out! Spill some more deets on these.
It's a delicious time to be me! I've got a little Years of the Future Past X-Men story coming up, and I feel super lucky that the editor let me write one of my faves (Psylocke!!), and she's on a pretty intense mission to help some other beloved characters that I can't mention yet. Let's just say The Advocate will be proud of my very first Marvel Comics story!

I'm wrapping up some final stories for a graphic memoir called Self-Obsessed, which really dives into some deep cuts about growing up gay and loving comics and trying to grow up. All that good stuff that kids in their 20s dream about!

Clearly there are a number of projects are your plate. How do you balance it all?
It's a skill I picked up in high school. I took eight classes a year, had an internship at Top Cow, and maintained a meager social life. It's never been easy, but I would say that I just tried to bridge all my interests and facets of work and play together. That's why I typically only work with friends now, so our meetings can also double as hang-outs.

You must have a favorite superhero character, right? Who might it be?
Peter Parker. Even when I'm not reading the comics, or not in love with the movie franchises, Spider-Man has always spoken to me because of his commitment to family, love triangles, and doing the right thing. He made it OK to be a mama's boy (or Auntie's boy, I suppose), and even when times were tough, Spidey always had a pun to drop!

Take a look at a sample of Grace's work below.
Sina-grace-001_0Grace reading his comic

Sina-grace-003_0Reign of Terror

Sina-grace-004_0Burn the Orphange

Sina-grace-005_0Bear Robin

Sina-grace-006_0Catwoman

Sina-grace-007_0Demon boobs

Sina-grace-009_0Harley Quinn

Sina-grace-010_0Harley Quinn

Sina-grace-011_0Moonlight makeout

Sina-grace-012_0Heart

Sina-grace-013_0Little Depressed Super Boy

Sina-grace-014_0Magic

Naked Chillin'

Sina-grace-017_0Rai

Sina-grace-002_0Self Obsessed

Sina-grace-027_0Self Obsessed

Sina-grace-018_0Self Obsessed

Sina-grace-019_0Self Obsessed

Sina-grace-020_0Sexy time

Sina-grace-021_0Showgirls Grace

Sina-grace-022_0Whips

Sina-grace-023_0Song

Sina-grace-024_0Spidey

Sina-grace-025_0Hunt

Sina-grace-026_0Little Depressed Boy

Sina-grace-028_0Love

The Advocates with Sonia BaghdadyOut / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff & Wayne Brady

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