Nick Andors and A Frozen World
With his debut graphic novel, A FROZEN WORLD, Nick Andors creates a challenging and disturbing dystopian world known as Irongates. Life is horrifying in this troubled place, but somehow some small sliver of hope manages to survive…and people manage to cope. Here’s what Andors had to say about this world and how he came to create it.
What was the inspiration for A FROZEN WORLD?
If I had to pin down what inspired me most in creating A Frozen World, I would have to say it was my upbringing in New York City. I was always fascinated by the crazier aspects of urban life, also with the idea of so many people living on top of one another, each with their own story to tell --- everybody has at least one. I was mostly interested in the more street-oriented stories that were emblematic of NYC back when I was a kid. I figured if I could take those elements and magnify them, I could create a platform where my imagination could run wild. I was also inspired by a bunch of movies such as Pulp Fiction and Jacob’s Ladder. A pipe dream of mine has always been to create a movie, and sequential art provided me a way to fuse my love for storytelling with my passion for drawing and fine art in general.
How long did you spend working on it?
I had the broad idea for A Frozen World for probably around 15 years. I knew I wanted to write a story about an urban dystopia. It’s not the most original concept, but I felt I had my own take on it. As far as actively creating it --- drawing and developing the stories --- I think I worked on it for about 8 years. I drew about twice as many pages as ended up in the book and revised the story a gazillion times. Plus, at the time I first started illustrating it, it took me much longer to complete each page. Over the process, my drawing ability developed a lot, and now I would be able to do the same amount of drawing in a much shorter period of time.
Who were the influencers on your artwork? You have a distinctive look that nicely blends several styles.
Thank you very much. As far as comic book artists are concerned, the person that inspired me the most would have to be Todd McFarlane. He has such a great, expressive, distorted take on things. To be honest, I didn’t actually read a lot of comics as a kid --- I just looked at the pictures. There were a lot of artists back then who inspired me whose names I probably didn’t even bother to look at --- something I’m not proud of. I also love Crumb, Al Hirschfeld, M. C. Escher, and a host of others.
Set the scene for those who haven’t yet see A FROZEN WORLD. How would you describe its setting, Irongates?
A living and breathing urban hell. The concrete is the skin, the people are the cells, or blood, or whatever else gives flesh life. The buildings rise beyond where the eye can see, and the overpopulated streets are out of control. It doesn’t occupy the whole planet, but it’s all the people who live there know --- it’s a world within a world.
You go to so many twisted and grisly places in these stories. Emotionally, was this a hard book for you to conceive, write, and illustrate?
It was emotionally hard to conceive, but not necessarily because of the content. I have thick skin for that type of stuff. It took a physical and emotional toll on me because I had a very specific vision of how I wanted it to come out and wasn’t going to stop until I achieved what I envisioned. I believe anything worth creating comes with a certain amount of struggle.
You dedicate A FROZEN WORLD to your parents and brother. What did they think of its contents?
They’re very supportive. My parents always encouraged my artistic side. The content didn’t come as a surprise to them. My brother is a stand-up comedian and has a very sick sense of humor. I would probably have to draw the book in blood to shock him.
What was the most difficult part of this story for you to tell?
“Anneka’s Story” was by far the most difficult story to put together. After finishing all the drawings, I scrapped the entire story, then rewrote it according to the drawings. It was like putting together a really difficult puzzle. I ended up cutting about 40 pages from it because I felt they made it seem hokey. If I had an unlimited amount of time, I’d probably still make a few changes to it. I got to a point where I just had to put a cap on it and get it out there for my own sanity; it was a tedious process.
You self-published this book. What has it been like to not only create the book, but also to take on the responsibilities of printing and marketing it?
The printing and marketing aspect is way beyond my frame of reference. It’s definitely on-the-job training. Honestly, if I had the choice, I would probably go with an outside publisher. Thing is, I wanted full creative control of this project. I didn’t want any outside forces compromising my vision. Ultimately, I wanted to create something that I would like, in hopes that there are other like-minded people out there with whom it would also resonate.
What do you plan to work on next?
I have a vague idea for a serialized story that I would eventually compile into a graphic novel. It would be more reality-based than A Frozen World, but still somewhat within the same realm. That’s a long way away, though. Right now I’m focusing on my training as an artist. My goal is to eventually just be a painter…but I think I’ll always have my hand in illustrating. I love it too much to let it go.
