Wendy Martin was born in the Midwest and grew up in Iowa. She spent her childhood raising animals, but she spent even more time drawing them. As she grew older, she dedicated more time to the arts and creating fantasy comics and stories, particularly ones that involved characters who were half human and half animal. After graduating high school, she worked as a waitress and continued making comics on the side until Castle Swimmer, a story about two mermen, was picked up by Ten Speed Graphic and allowed her to draw comics full time. Castle Swimmer is her first series.

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

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

Hello! I am a comic artist from Iowa. I’ve been interested in art and storytelling my entire life. I was very active in the online webcomics scene in the 2010s before transitioning to webtoons in 2019. 

What can you tell us about your latest project, Castle Swimmer? What was the inspiration for the story?

The inspiration was a bit random. It was sparked by the ‘Atlantica’ section of the video game ‘Kingdom Hearts.’ The image of a mermaid with a sword made me crave a story where mermaids have an adventure in an underwater world.

As a creative, what drew you to the art of storytelling, especially graphic novels/webcomics?

I was really drawn to comics at an early age. It started with small comic strips from newspapers, then graphic novels, then manga and finally, webcomics. There was an option to get involved in fine arts and illustrative work but I’ve always enjoyed having a big project that you chip away at slowly over time. You can keep adding new ideas and grow as a creator along with the story. 

How would you describe your creative process?

When drawing, I usually struggle quite a bit because I have such high standards for my own work. Oftentimes I’ll get frustrated and step away from an art piece to clear my head and when I return I realize it’s exactly how I want it to look. I drive myself crazy with this process.

With webtoons it’s tough because there isn’t time for me to be a perfectionist and I have to accept that the comic panels are going to have flaws. This has helped me work faster but one day I’d like to find a good balance between speed and quality.  

What are some of your favorite elements of writing/illustrating? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or difficult? 

My favorite thing is when you finally bring to life that scene that’s been on replay in your head for months or even years. My least favorite element is that the creation process takes so long and it’s a struggle to keep up with the quick pace of social media. 

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

A: I’ve always been inspired by other indie artists since back in the DeviantArt days. Then, as I grew older there were a lot of creators in the webcomics scene that were a great influence on me and made me realize that you could tell stories about queer characters and other types of characters that never appeared in modern shows or movies at the time. As for other inspirations I found myself more influenced by video game stories than books or comics. I remember ‘Shadow of the Colossus’ and the Zelda series influencing my storytelling a lot. 

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

I’d like people to know that I never graduated from an art college. I only went to my local community college for two years. I think young artists may feel pressured to attend an expensive art college but I’d like them to know that it is possible to be successful in art or comics without a degree. 

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)?

I wish more readers would ask about the time it takes to create a weekly webtoon episode. It’s a pretty tough schedule to keep up with so I just hope readers are understanding when a webtoon artist needs to take a break or step away from their comic. 

What advice might you have to give for aspiring comic creators/graphic novelists?

My advice is to be completely self-indulgent with your work and ideas. Make exactly the thing you want with as many tropes or common design traits as your heart desires. You have to really be obsessed with your comic to be able to put the work in to finish it so make sure you love it and it’s exactly what you want it to be. 

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

I’m working on a comic about bird people that takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting in the sky. I hope to start making it after I finish my current story. 

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

Two comics I really love are ‘Novae’ A beautiful indie comic that’s inspired me for a long time and ‘To the Stars and Back’ , which is a fellow webtoon. I’d also say there are a ton of unique stories being told by indie comic creators so keep an eye out!