LySandra Vuong is a comic artist and the creator of COVENANT, a WEBTOON Originals series. Formerly a mechanical engineer, she now draws hot priests for a living.

I had the opportunity to interview LySandra, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi! I’m LySandra, also known as explodikid, and I’m a comic artist and the creator of the webcomic and graphic novel series Covenant! I used to be a mechanical engineer in biotech but left to pursue my passion for drawing and storytelling. Now, I’m a full-time artist living in Los Angeles with my two cats.

What can you tell us about your project, Covenant? What was the inspiration for this story?

Covenant is a queer supernatural action comic about hot priests who battle even hotter demons! I’ve always been interested in demons, priests, and exorcisms, probably because of my religious background. Plus, there were some fantastical stories out there about them that were popular while I was growing up, like the manga “Ao No Exorcist” and the tons of  YA books about fallen angels I was obsessed with. I’m also a lifelong fan of shounen manga but chronically disappointed in the lack of queer characters in that genre. So I figured I would just combine the things I know and love, AND make it queer! And that’s how Covenant came to be!

Can you give us any trivia (that hasn’t already been given) about the characters from Covenant?

My very very very first draft of the Covenant script started the story off with a one-night stand between Sunny and Ezra, but it felt more like a romance story that way instead of an action one so I scrapped it. Also, Samson is the toxic girlfriend in all of her relationships (sorry simps). 

As a creator, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically speculative fiction and comics? 

I actually stumbled into comics and found that I really liked it! Back in 2019, I was grinding away in biotech, but I hated it. I wanted to pursue art as a career but didn’t know where to start. So I thought, what kind of project could I start in order to teach myself character design, illustration, storyboarding, environments and backgrounds? The answer I came to was comics! Webcomics! I started Covenant to teach myself and prove to myself that I could do the art thing, and I loved it so much I just stuck with it!

How would you describe your creative process? What would you say or some of your favorite and/or most challenging parts of the process?

I am an artist first and foremost. I just happen to have the inability to work on projects not my own, so that’s where the writing part comes in. So my process is very “vibes forward.” I love coming up with the scenes, designs, VIBES, first in my head, and then stringing them together with the themes and plot beats that serve my story. Because of this, I would say all aspects of writing are the most challenging part of my process since I have many many years of practicing drawing but only a few under my belt that I’ve practiced writing. 

As a comic artist/graphic novelist, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

I LOVE shounen manga. I love fiction in all forms but there’s something about the emotional beats of shounen manga and all of its tropes that I can never get tired of. The power of friendship and believing in yourself defeating the evil big bad after pages and pages of fight sequences I can hardly make sense of? I will take 100 copies please. 

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

Q: Aren’t all those tattoos on your characters a pain?

A: YES. THE BIGGEST PAIN. I AM SO TIRED. Note to self and everyone reading: DO NOT PUT TATTOOS ON CHARACTERS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO DRAW 5,000 TIMES IN A COMIC.

What advice might you have to give for aspiring creators?

I strongly believe that if you make your offbeat, strange, “who on earth would read this” kind of project, that if you love it and imbue it with all your love and passion, there are people out there who have been dying and waiting for your project and they will find it and love it! 

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I’m working on some new stories 🙂

Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/comics/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

I LOVE Not So Shoujo Love Story by Curryuku on Webtoon! It’s always so funny and is currently my favorite GL!