Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Remo.
Hi Justin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began writing stories in high school. They started as short-lived narratives that would inevitably be taken over by some new idea I came up with a week later, however, around my senior year of high school in 2019, I started developing a story titled, “Dust.”
The story was a post-apocalyptical science-fiction series that followed Hugo Malick, one of nine valiant knights loyal to the medieval kingdom of Helianthus. When one of his fellow knights is unexpectedly murdered, Hugo and his fellow knights venture out into the chaotic desert world of Pangaea in search of answers.
When I first came to Baltimore while studying at MICA, I began developing this story into a comic series, working on it after school during my time. Balancing this project with my schoolwork was very difficult at times, but my passion for this narrative kept me going.
When COVID-19 first struck and I took a gap year from school, I decided to enlist in the United States Coast Guard, where I became a Public Affairs Specialist in the Reserves. Even through basic training and additional schooling, I worked on this comic. I started drawing the physical pages while stuck on a six-month deployment on Fort Meade. In December 2021, I finished and self-published the first chapter of “Dust” and began selling it through my website.
Once the first issue was published, I began outreach. I consigned with my school store (MICA Store) and Atomic Books in Hampden to get my comics on physical shelves for purchase. I posted advertisements for my comics across the school and online.
The second issue of Dust was self-published in December 2022. After having two physical copies of my comic, I worked as hard as I could to build a name for the series. I attended comic expos where I traded my work with other comic artists. I signed up for every tabling event my school had to offer, like the MICA Art Market and Zinefest. I posted on every social media outlet I had an account on. I told everyone I knew about my comics, and I loved talking about them. After all, this was the project of my dreams.
Today, I continue to write, illustrate, and publish issues of my comic series, continuing the story further. Issue three of Dust is scheduled to release this August 2023. I have been working closely with the MICA Entrepreneurship program and the Radcliffe Center for Creative Entrepreneurship to promote my comics and my dreams of finishing the series. With their help, I held a showcase where I invited locals to hear me present my story and participate in a worldbuilding workshop.
My goal at the moment is to continue to produce my comics and share my narrative with as many people that will read it. I have always loved storytelling, and the fact that I have been given the opportunity to share my work with so many people is a dream come true.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a tough road.
This graphic novel series is my dream project, however balancing it with my studies at MICA, my obligations in the U.S. Coast Guard, and my various other jobs makes it harder than I would like to give it the time it needs. However, I have always been an overly ambitious person at heart. And while it may cost me some sleep here or there, when I have an idea for a project, I do everything in my power to make it a reality.
This is also a learning experience for me. These are the first graphic novels I have ever produced, and I have been teaching myself how to make them. I did not know what a “bleed image” was until I finished the second issue.
Figuring out how to digitally prepare my work and create professional-looking comics has been a rough ride. I have made many errors throughout the editing and production phases multiple times. However, as I learn more and more from my peers and other artists, I feel more and more confident every day.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have always loved creating art since I was a kid. I specialize in a wide variety of mediums and have accumulated a wide breadth of artistic skills. Nowadays, I specialize in printmaking and creating graphic novels, planning to graduate from MICA with a major in printmaking and a minor in sequential arts.
With printmaking, I adore the exploration of its vast catalog of creative options, from relief printing to intaglio to screen printing. Printmaking gives me the opportunity to take my illustrations and magnificently enhance them. The characters and environments I create can be carved into wood or etched into a copper plate, creating a lasting matrix that can be printed repeatedly.
I adore the science behind the medium, getting to study the results of different chemical reactions in lithography and copper etching, and learning from mistakes in printing. I am very proud of the prints I have created thus far and I am very excited to begin my thesis series this year. I have experimented with many different aspects of printmaking and intend to put what I have learned towards a series of works that is both personal and powerful.
By creating graphic novels, I am given the opportunity to combine my two favorite passions; writing and illustrating. The stories I write can be brought to life using images I create, its the such a cohesive, exciting form of literature. I am most proud of the series I have been producing since 2019, “Dust”. It has come so far since I first started writing it and it feels amazing to see all my hard work paying off.
What sets me apart from others is my determination and my ambition. I am always thinking about my work, no matter where I am or what I am doing. I am constantly thinking about my graphic novel, sketching ideas, writing plot threads, and imagining scenes in my head when listening to music. I have an inextinguishable drive that propels me forward with every project I make. I will do everything I can to share my stories and my artwork with the world. I work tirelessly to plan, create, and promote my work.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I love collaborating with my peers and other creatives. All it takes is asking. I have collaborated with many people while working on my graphic novel series. Other students and friends of mine have helped design characters, civilizations, or narrative pieces. I am always looking for feedback.
Purchasing issues of the series is the main way people support me. Issues of my comic are available online on my website (justinremo.com/dust) or my Esty page (www.etsy.com/shop/dustcomicshop). Copies are also available at the MICA Store and Atomic Books.
Pricing:
- Dust Comics – $15.00
Contact Info:
- Website: justinremo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinremo_curtistrations/?hl=en
Image Credits
Justin Curtis Remo and Andrew Copeland
