Dive deep into the vibrant world of indie comics with Dave Rapoza's latest masterpiece, "Veil." Known for his groundbreaking work on "Steve Lichman," "StarVeil," and "Skull & Shark," Rapoza brings his unique artistic flair to this new comic series. "Veil" combines elements of fantasy and sci-fi, offering fans a visually stunning narrative that only Rapoza can deliver.

In this video, I explore the intricate details of "Veil," showcasing Rapoza's ambitious new venture. Fans of indie comic books, comic book art enthusiasts, and those who appreciate the depth of fantasy and sci-fi genres will find this video indispensable. Get an look at "Veil," and see how this comic pushes the boundaries of indie comics. Whether you're a collector, a comic book artist, or just love the art, this video is your guide to one of the most anticipated indie comic releases of the year.

Dave Rapoza is a natural storyteller. Calling over video, the American artist enchants you with his dark velvety voice, his sparkling and mischievous eyes and an attractive brand of self-deprecating humour.

Before you know it, you're in Rapoza world, a world stitched together from well-told anecdotes and dramatic asides. By then, you will be mesmerised by talk of his inspiring career arc, his love for antiques or his approach to find the right characterization for an image, and everything will handsomely dovetail with everything else.

So when Rapoza fills you in on how he approached the Castlevania art print print commission he did for Cook and Becker, you don't only get the technical details.

"I remember playing Castlevania in our basement as a kid," he would say, before offering a vivid description of said basement. "My dad was an antiques dealer and our parental house was always covered in antiques. The basement would just be stuffed with old brassworks and furniture, with little me sitting there playing this super scary game!"

World building

In essence, you come to realise, David Rapoza (Carver, Massachusetts, 1987) is all about world building, a quality prevalent both in his talk and in his art.

It doesn't matter if you look at one of his super-detailed for Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Verse comics, or home in on the rough sketch work for the more-than-funny Steve Lichman comics. Both communicate stories that extend well beyond an individual image.

"I pull a lot from my nostalgic memory. Think back to that basement when nothing in that crude pixel world felt small or dumb, you know? Adults today will see a two-tone purple monster from the 1980's as silly, right?"

"But in that nostalgic memory the magic experience of seeing this thing as something lively and meaningful and scary is still around."

"That really speaks to the great strength of a lot of the older games. The pixels only imply certain shapes, and the player fills in the blanks with their imagination."

"Mine certainly did, and I try to lean into that specific, personal interpretation of the Castlevania I remember as much as possible."
Leonardo

Next, Rapoza homes in on what he calls 'the root of the thing': what was the thought process behind the art of the first, original game?

"Remember, before the first Castlevania game (1986 - ed.) there was no buff hero-protagonist in any Dracula story, so they must have invented this guy from the pop cultural stuff that was around at the time."

"So you imagine these artists looked at Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan movies for inspiration, looked at He-Man and took Indiana Jones' whip. It doesn't matter if this is true or not - it's stepping in the shoes of the designers and figuring out how they arrived at things."

"Of course I also looked at Ayami Kojima's great Castlevania art and found the original Simon Belmont pixel sprite. Plus he is in Smash Bros. today, and you mix all those interpretations and add your own ideas."

Rapoza stresses the importance of keeping the shape language of a character. "People all have favorite interpretations of Simon, and you have to appeal to this idea of the character we all share in our heads or people won't eat it. You can't make him barebones really, unless there's a good reason for it."

One striking feature of the Castlevania image is the lush ornamentation - something of a hallmark feature in Rapoza's work.

"I guess I have that love for classical ornamentation from my dad. The antiques that came into our house would have beautiful ornaments like the filigree on the furniture or details on brass objects, so that definitely made an impression."

"When I think of Dracula's castle, I cannot imagine it other than this place full of baroque, ornate stuff that has been around for ages. Step into an old baroque church and you step into a forest with an incredible, overwhelming amount of details. Dracula's castle in my mind has the same type of opulence. It must be a place almost disgusting and scary in its details, haha."