Comic Book Resources

Idol Thoughts 11/13

Here’s a Q & A with another member of the Comic Book Idol Final Four, Caio Oliveira!

Enjoy!

1. It was a crazy vote this week! Did you find yourself checking the polls constantly, or did you just wait until the end (even PAST “the end” this time)?

Yeah, it sure was! Well, I don’t have an internet connection in my home, so I needed to go to my friends house to check the polls every week. This week, the first time I checked the polls I was the 3rd guy and the day after, I was the first! I felt good, because I had this inner feeling that this week I was going home (in fact I even shaved my beard. Didn’t you get it? Ask the other guys!). In the end, I was right about going home and that’s why it was not a surprise to me.

2. Obviously, it is not that people didn’t like your work, as you have come in the top two practically the whole competition, but if you had to guess, what do you think about your pages didn’t click with the audience this week?

I don’t know. The fourth round was my favorite in the entire competition and a lot of people AND the judges agree about it. I don’t think that I failed to capture the audience this week, because if you check it in the results, the amount of votes that I had in each poll through the whole competition was basically the same. The point here is that CPW and Reed did a wonderful job and THEIR votes increased more than mine.

3. You’ve read the judges comments as well as the public comment thread — did any comments strike you as unfair? Which comments were right on the mark?

Oh man, I was hoping this question doesn’t show up! Ok. I really appreciated the critiques of Silvestri and Ryall (IDW) and Francis Manapul (in fact, I was certain the fourth round bonus prize would be mine ). I want to thank all the judges for the critiques and say that I’m working on my pages following their recommendations.

About this “unfair” thing, I don’t know if that’s the correct word to express how I felt, but there was a certain round when I was really enthusiastic about the judge critiques (because I really liked my pages that round), and when they came I thought “WHAT?!?”

I know, I know, I’ve got to loose this maternal feeling about my art, but at that round it looked just… “unfair”.

4. What was the hardest part about the Legion assignment for you?

Collecting the references! Man, these guys change costumes a lot more than they change their leader (Did you get it Mr. Aragonés? A hint for a next Sergio Aragonés Destroys DC )!! Other than that, I’ve got nothing more to complain about. I really loved every single minute of the process.

5. Which style of script do you prefer working with - detailed or loose?

Loose. When the writer details it a lot I feel tied. And if I don’t come up with whatever exact image that the writer was imagining, I don’t get that “mission accomplished” feeling.

6. While you can feel free to be diplomatic and not answer - who do you think takes it - Charles or Jon?

Charles. This guy has shown great pages throughout the whole competition and his art screams “MAINSTREAM” every panel. AND he is very popular also.

Ok, that was me trying to think as an editor. Now, for MY own taste, I like Jon’s page most. I really like his storytelling and his style suits me more.

7. Are you planning on stopping by and participating in the final play-at-home thread?

Yep, I did the pages of the fifth round. Check it out at the play-at-home thread. Hope you
enjoy.

8. Has this encouraged or discouraged you from continuing to pursue a career as s full-time comic artist?

Of course it encouraged! I had a huge amount of new exposure of my art and a lot of improvement due to judges critiques. Anyway, drawing is the only thing I’m good enough to be paid for!

9. Finally, take this space to promote the heck out of whatever you would like to promote!

Okay, to everybody who liked my art: I’m working on a project about werewolves with Joel Cook, a friend of mine. Whenever it is ready, I’ll be back to submit a lot of promotional pieces at the CBR foruns.

Oh, and I want this opportunity to thank everyone that vote for me, support me or even take a time to look at my art. Thank you guys. Thank you CBR crew. And above all, thank you MBB. They were the first ones who told me about this competition and who encouraged me and who support me from the beginning.

THANK YOU ALL!

And thank YOU, Caio!