Illustrator Keenan Gaybba talks Dracula’s Brunch Club [Interview]

Oni Press has served up horror in many forms via its comics and graphic novels, but you haven’t seen anything quite like the Dracula they’re offering in Dracula’s Brunch Club. Created by Brian Gonsar (Twisted Tales of Scary Stories: Werewolves) and illustrator Keenan Gaybba, the tale seeks to answer the question of where vampires got their taste for blood.

In Dracula’s Brunch Club, readers learn it all started with a crimson-red donut, dripping and oozing with spooky secrets.

The tale follows a Dracula right for young readers, and it turns out has a knack for baking. It’s his brunch club’s famous blood-orange-jelly donuts that give his fellow vampires the energy source they need to live forever.

Wicked Horror spoke with Brian Gonsar about the tale’s origins here. Now here’s a bit more on the creative process from Keenan, who is an illustrator and character designer from Cape Town, South Africa. His background is animation, and his credits include many animated music videos and adverts. He’s worked at every stage of  production, from concept art to background painting. Keenan loves zombie movies, survival games, picture books, and making weird synthesizer music.

WH: Dracula’s had many fierce incarnations on the page, on screen and even in comics especially with Marvel’s Dracula Lives. When you were asked to make Dracula a little more fun, did you ever have a thought that it couldn’t be done?

Keenan Gaybba:  I’ve worked in the animation industry for quite a long time so it was a natural fit. Brian came to me with a pretty complete and funny script so half my work was already done, I just had to match that visually with the character designs. I started with the duo that amused me the most, Dracula and Chef Jeleu, once those two were designed the rest fell into place.

WH: What was your first encounter with Dracula? Was he ever a scare for you as a kid?

Keenan Gaybba: I’m not sure when I first encountered Dracula but it was probably The Count from Sesame Street. Not too scary. I think the first scary version of Dracula for me was in the 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

WH: How long did it take to nail down a look for Drac’s nemesis Constantine in this tale?

Keenan Gaybba: His design actually came about quite quickly. Once I figured out Dracula’s design I took his basic forms and made them older, meaner and more like a skeleton.

WH: You start in Dracula’s familiar stomping grounds, his castle in Transylvania. What kind of work and/or research went into shaping the visual world of Dracula’s Brunch Club?

Keenan Gaybba: I looked at some old buildings and clothing from around that time but the majority of the work went into character designs as they were the stars of the page. There was also a conscious effort to make the color palette moody but still feel bright enough.

WH: Were there artists who inspired you in the creative process? We have had some fun takes on darker humor over the years with Charles Addams coming to mind. Was he an inspiration or who else provided some spark for your creative imagination?

Keenan Gaybba: He wasn’t a direct inspiration for this book, but I have always enjoyed The Addams Family. I grew up with Cartoon Network shows and have always been inspired by the work of Genndy Tartakovsky. The tricky part is he also made Hotel Transylvania, so I had to make sure our Dracula looked different enough. One review I read said that the book made them feel like they were watching a Saturday Morning Cartoon. I couldn’t ask for a better compliment.

WH: The bonus content in Dracula’s Brunch Club reveals that there were quite a few variations on the cover. How long and grueling was that process?

Keenan Gaybba: Haha, luckily it wasn’t really a grueling process. Brian and I had started with cover designs before we even pitched the book, so we had a head start by the time we had to come up with a final cover. We knew from the start we wanted to have something more graphic. It was fun trying to come up with ways to represent the story without showing the characters. My wife actually suggested the idea of the donut box.

Wicked Horror also spoke with Brian here.