In 2021, cartoonist Revel Guts decided to take a leap of faith and started following a dream: to draw and publish a webcomic. The idea was to create an epic coming-of-age queer romance filled with fantasy and adventure. Thus, Sparks! was born. Over the next three years, Sparks gained an enthusiastic following and proved that Revel’s vision was appreciated by fans.

Coming on July 17th, Dark Horse Comics is bringing Sparks to print with Sparks Volume 1: Portals. Now, thanks to Revel and Dark Horse, we are proud to share this exclusive preview of Sparks, followed by our conversation with Revel about their start, bringing Sparks to Dark Horse and advice for aspiring creators.

A Chat with Revel Guts

Beginnings

GVN: Thanks for giving us a bit of your time Revel. Since this is the first time, we have had an opportunity to chat, let’s get into your beginnings. What inspired you to get into art and comics and whose work motivated you to take that plunge?

Revel: I was an only child and I had a rough time growing up, so art was my escape and my companion. I had an older cousin who introduced me to manga and anime, and I was obsessed with work by CLAMP and Rumiko Takahashi. I was lucky that nobody ever outright discouraged me from drawing, although I had a few teachers that would get mad at me for drawing all over my schoolwork, hahaha.

I had always wanted to be a comic artist but I didn’t think it was something I was allowed to pursue, or that I personally would be able to accomplish. I gave up on the dream and I actually stopped drawing for a few years while I went through an identity crisis and moved from Australia to Canada. Eventually I made new friends who also drew and encouraged me to get back into it, and I reconnected with myself and came out as trans.

One of my friends and I tabled at a small comic fair together, and then I vended at Halcon in Halifax for the first time and shared a table with Danie Stirling, creator of the comic Crumbs. I was telling Danie how I wished I could be a comic creator too, and she said something along the lines of “then make one”. As simple as it seems, that blew my mind hahaha. I finally realized the only way to be a comic artist is to just… start making a comic. Thank you Daniel!

I guess as cheesy as it sounds comics have always been a big part of me, and so going through the process of coming out and accepting myself naturally meant finally allowing myself to pursue my comic dreams. Being trans means you have to be really honest with yourself about what you want out of life.

WebComics

GVN: From what I have read, you have had a love for the webcomic genre since early on. What is it about webcomics that got your creative juices flowing?

Revel: When we first got a computer and internet access at my house, I think webcomics were one of the first things I started finding online. This was back before Webtoon and Tapas, when it seemed like anyone could start making a comic and a website to host it on. It was so exciting to see that other people like me could make their own comic, their own way, and get it in front of people without having to be a professional with a publisher behind them. It felt like a creator-owned DIY scene with tons of energy, and I had a great time tracking down new webcomics to read.

I think some of that energy and sense of ownership has been lost with the push to go to platforms with apps, but obviously it’s still possible, and I still love reading webcomics! There’s something so appealing about reading a work that’s the personal vision of one person.

Staying Fresh Creatively

GVN: Coming up with new story ideas at the pace that you do seems like a real challenge creatively. During your time on Sparks, have you ever developed a writer’s (or artists) block, or have you somehow avoided that common malady?

Revel: I’d say that I mostly manage to avoid it… I know the ending of Sparks, and all of the main story beats, so it’s only the spaces in between that I need to fill. Usually, I’ll come up with ideas for future scenes while I’m working on the current scene, but sometimes I do catch up to myself and get stumped. When that happens, I’ll take a break from working on pages for a while–I work almost 100 pages ahead of public updates so I can afford to take the time.

My main technique is to think of what would be the most fun for me to draw, which usually means juicy character drama or fanservice. Likewise, if a scene is giving me trouble it’s usually because I find it boring, so I try to find ways to make it more exciting or I cut it entirely.

I do occasionally just lose interest in Sparks, which I think is natural for a long-term project like this. I have a few other projects in development, so when Sparks loses its appeal, I fiddle around with those for a while, and I usually find myself gravitating back again soon enough. As for artist’s blocks, I just power through those, hahaha… I’ve had to accept that sometimes my art won’t look as nice as I would like it to.

Putting Yourself into Your Work

GVN: Reading Sparks, one of the strong points is the dialogue between the characters. As you developed your initial story with Philo and Atlas, did you find that either of the characters’ personalities reflected traits of yourself or anyone else you have known, or did they just develop naturally as you wrote?

Revel: Thank you for saying so! I love writing them together. I often joke that Atlas and Philo are two extremes of my personality, and it’s basically true, hahaha. It can make writing them feel very revealing sometimes, so I try not to think about it too much. When I first started Sparks, they were much more bare bones than they are now, so most of their development was natural over time. Some of it kind of surprised me. It’s a strange experience to write a character and learn new things about yourself through it… sometimes readers will comment on things that I didn’t even notice. For example, a lot of readers started relating Philo’s experience to their own of being neurodivergent in the school system, which made me reflect back on my own schooling experience in a new light.

Collaborating with Dark Horse

GVN: So, when did the opportunity to bring Sparks to print come about and did you shop your work around or did Dark Horse (and others) approach you? (I can’t imagine a better imprint to work with than Dark Horse).

Revel: The Sparks’ publishing journey was a little convoluted! I have a friend who worked at a different publisher at the time who asked if I’d be interested in publishing with them. It wasn’t something I’d ever considered because I thought Sparks was too niche to appeal to a publisher, hahaha. Of course I wanted to jump on the opportunity, so I found myself an agent, Maeve MacLysaght. Maeve has been incredible, and convinced me to make a pitch packet so she could send it around. When she told me she’d sent it to Dark Horse I thought there was no chance they’d ever be interested.

The original publisher who’d expressed interest never ended up coming through, and I didn’t hear anything back for a long time. I felt so embarrassed! I had actually just started working on formatting Sparks myself to crowdfund the first book when I got the email from Maeve that Dark Horse had made an offer. I couldn’t believe it. I was initially nervous because keeping complete creative control is very important to me, but my editor, Konner Knudsen, laid all my fears to rest and has been hugely supportive since. I’m so glad I ended up signing with Dark Horse, it’s been a great experience so far and I can’t imagine a better imprint either! I was popping bottles when the contract was signed hahaha.

Upcoming Volumes

GVN: Since this is called Volume 1, I assume other books are in the planning (You certainly have the content for it). Was this a part of your agreement or was it a “let’s see how this first volume sells, and we’ll see” approach?

Revel: Dark Horse picked up the first three books! I actually just finished the cover art for Volume 2. I can’t wait to see all three of them next to each other, I think they’ll look great. The first three books will only cover the first two arcs of Sparks, so after that it’s a ‘let’s see’ approach. Hopefully they do well enough that the entire series will end up published–since I haven’t drawn it all yet I’m not sure exactly how many books that will end up being, but my guess is around ten.

Creator’s Advice: Create for Yourself

GVN: Your webcomic has quite the following since its inception with followers on Patreon, and readers on Tapas and Subscribestar. What advice would you give someone who might want to get into doing webcomics? What lessons did you learn that you feel would be of value to a young creator?

Revel: My most important advice would be to do it for yourself first and foremost. Webcomics can be unrewarding, and when you’re trying to work on one around a day job (or school!) they’re a time and energy sink as well. You can’t get bogged down thinking about what will appeal to readers or trying to make something that you think will sell. Make your comic for you! Make exactly what you want to read. When I started Sparks I didn’t think it would get nearly as large a readership as it has, but I made it with the goal of finding the few people who were out there waiting for a comic just like it.

My other big advice is to make it easy. This is advice I first heard from comic creator Kosmic (Feast for a King, Nasty Red Dogs) that really helped me. If you’re like me and you can’t resist going big and making a long story, you’re going to end up drawing hundreds if not thousands of pages. Find a method that’s the least amount of work for you that gives you a result you’re satisfied with. Cut corners wherever you can! You can’t be a perfectionist. There are times where I’m unhappy with the layout of a page, but I just finish it anyway. That might sound bad, but when there’s hundreds of pages, I think it’s fine if some of them are duds. I think of it as a lesson learned and try not to make the same layout mistake again or improve on a later page instead.

I can’t stop talking I guess, so one more thing–make friends! Talk to your peers. When I first started drawing online, I made friends on Neopets drawing boards who I still talk to regularly now, and we’ve supported and encouraged one another the whole way. It’s a huge help to have people around you who you can ask for advice and get feedback from.

Follow Revel

GVN: Thanks again Revel for sharing some of your time. Please tell our readers where they can go to follow you online and when they will be able to pick up Sparks Volume 1: Portals.

Revel: Of course, thank you for the opportunity! You can find me just about everywhere as @revelguts (twitter, instagram, tumblr). Sparks Volume 1 officially releases in bookstores July 16, and comic shops July 17! You can pre-order it now! And if you’re hungry for more, you can always catch up with the comic at sparkscomic.net.