Artist Spotlight: Fábio Moon & Gabriel Bá! I Hate Gert!

Behind the Scenes: Untold Tales of I Hate Fairyland

Stupid Fresh Mess editorial background character, Joel Enos, here again with another behind-the-scenes of the Untold Tales of Fairyland post.

But this time, with a wayback machine style behind-the-scenes story!

Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá need no introduction at this point, right? But we still have to show off the art they created for their story that we posted a few months ago, exclusively on this Substack channel.

And Skottie already shared a story no one else could tell, complete with personal artwork from Fábio and Gabriel (a birthday card they drew for him).

Comic Special Features!

So I can’t top that BUT the whole experience for me, getting to work with these guys and see their process, how they put their work together, and you know, just email with them about it, made me think about the first time I heard them give a really inspirational speech at the Eisner Awards.

THE 2011 EISNERS

I love Awards Shows. Yes, they are long. Sometimes they are complicated. And I get way too excited if I get to talk at them, and then am filled with anxiety about anything I said during them. But overall, it’s fun to watch, and most of the time, I learn about new projects I should have read, or watched, or should be listening to.

And sometimes at the Eisners, Jane Wiedlin from the Go-Go’s is presenting and I just sit at my table starstruck. Etc.

I also love seeing what people wear. Personal style runs high at the Eisners. Though I realized, doing an online search about the 2011 Eisners, that I’m not always happy, in retrospect, about what I wore. Were unfitted dress vests fancy in 2011? I don't remember. But I sure had one on that night.

INSPIRATION AND FORTUITOUSNESS

Anyway!

That night, Fábio and Gabriel, whom I had never met or seen in person, won the Eisner for Daytripper, Best Limited Series. I remember thinking during their buoyant and heartfelt speech, that they seemed to really love comics, and what they were doing with them. It left me, and I suspect plenty of other people, in the industry, feeling inspired about making comics.

JUMP TO 2021 - TEN YEARS LATER

I’m working with these weird and fun new short comics set in the world of I Hate Fairyland with Skottie Young, who by the way, also won an Eisner that night in 2011, for Best Penciller/Inker for The Marvelous Land of OZ. I hadn’t met Skottie yet a decade ago either!

We’d already published the hilarious first short story by Dean Rankine, and then Skottie tells me that the next story is going to be written and drawn by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá.

Now in 2021, the world is watching Umbrella Academy, the television show based on the comic book series Bá drew and co-created with writer Gerard Way. And we’re ten years past the amazing Daytripper. I’m excited. The art comes in and…it’s of course amazing.

And they are two of the nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of exchanging work correspondence with.

Plus, I LOVE when artists, and writers, give detailed directions on things. It helps me, as an editor, push things toward showcasing their vision as best as I can assist.

Look at this page where they noted where they thought the lettering would best fit with the art? It seems a simple thing but not everyone gives that much thought. It’s incredibly helpful to me and the team when they do.

Also, it’s fun to see their handwritten numbers, let’s admit it. The artists at work.

They also, I noticed, still really really love comics and making stories. I’m still inspired by them.

LINGERING VEST THOUGHTS

So that night, in 2011, I was actually sitting at the editorial table for VIZ, and wound up accepting the Eisner Best for U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia on behalf of Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys. I love that series so much. But I was not the editor for it. I was covering for the true U.S. editor of the series who was not able to make the ceremony. If I remember, Urusawa-sensei had been nominated like 10 times before, so I wasn’t expecting to have to trek up to the podium at all. But I was happy to do it, of course, vest and all, especially for such a great manga, which was in good company with all the other nominations and winners that year.

Moral of the story, you never know how things will turn out. Making comics is never dull. And it’s always an adventure.

Also, I Hate Gert! by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá is a strange pleasure and I’m honored to have watched it happen from the side of the stage, so to speak.

ABOUT Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá

Multiple Eisner Award winners Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá were born in Sao Paulo on June 5th, 1976 and have, in one way or another, been telling stories ever since. Now, they tell stories doing comic books and graphic novels (which are essentially the same thing). They are Brazil's very own WONDER TWINS.

Stay tuned for some exciting news about THE UNBELIEVABLE, UNFORTUNATELY MOSTLY UNREADABLE AND NEARLY UNPUBLISHABLE UNTOLD TALES OF I HATE FAIRYLAND and new stories coming your way from Rachele Aragno, Dax Gordine, and more of our favorite artists and writers in the near future!

DO YOU WANT MORE COMICS BEHIND-THE-SCENES STORIES?

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