Today we’d like to introduce you to Phillip Fleming.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a comic creator and an arts educator originally from New York City. I discovered comics when I was in sixth grade at my public library and was enthralled with the story that accompanied the art. I remember all the picture books that I had a little kid and nothing could ever come close to the reaction I had that day. That was when I was said to myself this what I want to do in life.
The calling to be an educator didn’t happen immediately like to become a comic artist did. It wasn’t until I was in high school when I was helping some friends with some history homework. They said that they enjoyed the way I taught and understood it better than when we were class. That’s when I thought to myself that if I can teach my friends I can teach anyone and that’s set me on my course to teach.
I attended Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, GA in 2012 where I studied Sequential Arts. It was there along with the great professors, that I was able to graduate in 2015. It was there that I was able to establish what type of stories I want to tell. My stories are meant to represent African and Caribbean cultures by creating narratives inspired by their complex histories. I want to fill a niche that narrates the history of people of color outside of the Atlantic Slave Trade and the Civil Rights Movement.
After graduating from SCAD, I moved to Boston to become an in-school tutor at MATCH Community Day School through Americorp in order to get more teaching experience under my belt. During my time there, it really inspired and shaped the stories that wanted to tell. After my contract had ended, I decided to go back to school and get my Master’s because I want to learn more and grow as a comic artist.
I spent two years at California College of the Arts in their MFA in Comics program. It was during this program that my art practice had come full circle with the blending of education and comics.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all! The road has been bumpy with sharp glass everywhere. On top of my average adult responsibilities such as paying bills and trying to keep a roof over my head, patience is always my biggest struggle.
In my mind, I feel like I’m always a step behind my contemporaries when it comes to my comics. It’s very frustration feeling this cause I know it all happens in its own time. So, when that begins to happen, I think about what Mark Schultz, comic artist known for Xenozoic Tales, had told me. Mark said that he didn’t get people interested in his comics till he was in his mid-30s and with the path that I am on will get me where I want to go than sooner he did.
So, when I get frustrated with my own progress, I stop, take a breath, and think of those words and keep moving my pencil forward.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The Comic Workshop – what should we know?
I have created a comic workshop called The Comic Workshop (haha) with my fiance. Our intention is to traditionally blend writing and art elements into each class to expose youth to the art of comics and to the power of storytelling. The workshops teach students vocabulary specific to the comic industry, get them handling professional artists tools, and empower the youth to tell their own unique stories.
On top of all of that, right now I’m working with a writer name Eric Wong from my graduate school on a couple of different projects. The current one right now is Rooted, an African revenge fantasy story about a villager discovering a fruit after his home is attacked by marauders, that transforms his body into something more than human, endowed with the power to save his village. The first part of the story is available now at https://gumroad.com/l/yHKpo?fbclid=IwAR1S6ec-DGmiV_y2qOJBPt3dmIkHKOu0cVKOQXnovYri0egw1VATxo9PxbY
The other project is an afrofutristic piece titled Gaia’s Awakening. Gaia’s Awaking takes place after a millennium of devastation from war and environmental pollution, Earth sees humanity as an infectious virus that needs to be cleansed and unleashes its immune system in the form of Colossi, terrifying earthen monsters that wreak havoc on civilization. Within a century, the human race is on the brink of extinction, reduced to a single domed city in a barren desert, its defenses slowly but surely wearing down from constant siege. In one final, desperate gambit for survival, the protagonist, Sana’a and her elite squad of mech pilots volunteer for a suicide mission destroy the source of the Colossi deep beneath the surface.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Wow.
I would have to say the drive to succeed. I know that road down the comics lane is a very large and very winding road with a sandstorm on top of it. A normal person would more than likely stop that kind of lifestyle.
I’m extremely fortunate in that being able to walk this path with my fiance and biggest supporter Stephanie Brown, who is an incredible photographer. With both of us pursuing our art careers, we, ourselves, ground and covered from the metaphorical sandstorm.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pflemingart.com
- Email: thecomicworkshop@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phillys1y
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecomicworkshop/
- Other: https://gumroad.com/l/yHKpo?fbclid=IwAR1S6ec-DGmiV_y2qOJBPt3dmIkHKOu0cVKOQXnovYri0egw1VATxo9PxbY
Image Credit:
Stephanie Brown
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