"I'm not comfortable being the center of attention!"
Strange words, perhaps, from an author whose first book is a diary comic covering a year of her life. But EmiTown's Emi Lenox finds that being the guest of honor at her book release party is distinctly different from publishing her webcomic. To create more of a shared party atmosphere (and take some of the pressure off her), Lenox purchased shiny balloons and hats to decorate Floating World Comics. Sitting at a table amidst the crowds of people present, she admits that she was a little concerned about no one attending, but shrugs and adds, "Hey, I'm a self-deprecating artist!"
Lenox's success story is one of hard work and good timing, as her fans will attest. "She made the comic and put it online," observes Popgun anthology editor Joe Keatinge. "How do you break into comics? You show up and you do the work."
Illustrator Ashley Burke (Craigmore Creations' upcoming Right Now Where You Are) points out that EmiTown is completely hand-lettered, creating a very personal feeling. "Not a lot of artists will go to that effort."
Browsing Floating World Comics' gallery of original art from the book, Lenox points out that the pages are all black and white. "I did the toning for the book," she says, then laughs. "I did everything!"
Jamie S. Rich (You Have Killed Me, Spell Checkers) credits the accessibility of the webcomic, noting "the constancy of her presence on the web" as a testament to her discipline. Rich was also present at 2010's Emerald City Comic Con when Lenox handed a sample comic to Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson. According to Lenox, she left without making a pitch, and Rich had the presence of mind to suggest that the young creator perhaps did want to publish her comic. "I just made the connection. People were already noticing Emi's work," he admits. "If it hadn't been Image, it would have been another publisher soon enough. She'll find people fighting over her next original concept."
Lenox adds her December 3rd layoff to her list of fortuitous career events, which may seem counter-intuitive, but the artist confesses that she needed the push. "It's so easy to get cozy with a regular paycheck," she admits. "And right after that, I got paid for the story I did for Sweet Tooth [issue 19, due in March]. The timing could not have been better!"
The book itself is a thick tome, four hundred full pages of art, and two hours into the night Floating World owner Jason Leivian breaks open the second box of EmiTowns. It's obvious that people have been waiting for this night, despite the book hitting shelves last Wednesday. "The public likes the interaction with the person they're paying," Rich comments. "They know that creator-ownership exists in this industry," which then enables people to support that creator.
Artist Steve Lieber (Whiteout, Underground) remembers Lenox when she interned for Periscope Studio, and attempts to sum up the book's appeal: "It's a tantalizing insight into someone's life. It has the allure of reading a diary, but with mystery, from the way she cloaks certain details in layers of allegory."
Oni Press editor Charlie Chu (The Sixth Gun) is in agreement, and says "she's one of the more amazing artists doing diary comics. Clever, funny, charming... her cartooning is excellent!"
Lenox's night is made when her high school art teacher, Pat Cochran, walks in the door. Cochran, known affectionately by Lenox as "Teacher-lady," remembers her young student well. "Emi would work in her own way, in her own time, and on her own terms," she recalls. "She was wildly original, even then." Lenox herself admits that she was only infrequently at her desk, preferring to walk around the room looking at other students' work. "It was the only class where I could be myself," she says. Cochran stresses that knowing the difference between a student who is running wild and one who is developing along her own path is a difficult task, but recognized the latter in Lenox. Although she won't take credit for the success of EmiTown, Cochran is happy to have played a part. She smiles and says, "As a teacher, you give pushes when you have to!"
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