Morgan Beem, the illustrator of the upcoming graphic novel Swamp Thing: Twin Branches, is a freelance comic artist and illustrator based in Denver. I first came across Morgan’s artwork when Hypable did the cover reveal and sneak peek for Swamp Thing back in January, (which, if you haven’t yet, you must check out right this instant) and immediately fell in love with the deliciously creepy vibes totally unique to her style. Very recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Morgan, and I got to ask her all my questions about Swamp Thing, her artistic journey so far, her upcoming projects, and a lot more!
You can find Morgan’s gorgeous art on her Instagram, Twitter and on her website!
Hello Morgan, so glad you could join us! Tell us something about yourself, for those who haven’t come across your art yet!
Hello! Thank you for having me. I’m not sure what to say really about myself/my art, haha. I’m used to handling the majority of the visual side myself, and usually paint my comic pages and illustrations with watercolor. I also love creepy things, fairytales and the sea. You’ll see a lot of all three in my work :).
Your art style is incredibly unique, it’s this combination of relaxing colour palettes and horror imagery that sounds too bizarre to work at all, but you somehow manage to pull it off so gorgeously! How did you find your own style, and what has the journey been like so far?
Thank you very much! Like I mentioned above, I have a deep love for fairytales, which tend to be both horrifying and deeply beautiful. I think my love for that has fueled the mood for a lot of my art, and what I like the create. The rest is sort of a long journey of trial and error. I luckily learned in school not too get too attached to what you think your style is when you are starting out, because that can keep you from trying new things and growing. So I am always trying to incorporate things I see and different techniques others are using to see if they will aid with what I want to express.
Swamp Thing: Twin Branches is coming out on October 13th! What appealed to you about Alec Holland’s story?
There were several things. First off again I am always drawn to the creepy horror stories, and also organic based creature/ supernatural horror. It’s just so fun and makes me so happy, so I was thrilled to be able to work with the character Swamp Thing that encompasses so much of that. And I particularly was drawn to Maggie’s version of Alec’s story. I think many of us remember what it was like to be strange and a bit different growing up, and Maggie really did a wonderful job of conveying that melancholy limbo between growing and finding yourself and your people (or plants!) At that age.
When was the first time you heard about the superhero Swamp Thing?
I think I knew of the concept of Swamp Thing since I was a kid, but it wasn’t until college that I first read and actual Swamp Thing comic.
You collaborated with author Maggie Stiefvater in this novel. What was that experience like?
It was honestly such a pleasure. Maggie is a delight, and at all times has a great sense of humor. I am actually a little sad our readers won’t get to experience her raw script first hand, because there were so many wonderful phrases and hidden gems. The first time I read the ending, I teared up, and there were other moments where her panel descriptions made me laugh out loud. She also really understood the flow of a graphic novel, and that made the script pretty effortless to work from.
Tell us about your takes on the characters of Alec and his twin, Walker, and how you captured their character essences in your art.
One of my favorite things to try and capture in comics is personality through character acting, and working with twins who are so different really gave me an opportunity to push and utilize this. I tried to think about things like their posture, expressions and hand motions, and how each would carry themselves given their respective personalities. The other big thing for me was how they dressed. Despite being twins, I wanted their appearances (and value in their fashion/ appearance) to be ngiht and day. Where Alec is more of a hipster, always over thinking and in control, puts a lot of thought into everything her wears and does. And walker is happy go lucky. Bursting with confidence, he would wear a potato sack and feek good about it.
If it isn’t too spoilery, could you tell us about any particular scene you had the most fun bringing to life?
I think actually the most fun I had was the big transformation scene. I won’t go much more into that, because like you said, spoilers, but expect some body horror. I really had fun pushing the lines between nature, unnatural, and gruesome.
What has been the biggest struggle you have faced while working on Swamp Thing: Twin Branches, and how did you overcome it?
I’m not sure it was a struggle per say, as much as a new challenge, but this was the first time in my professional career not coloring my own book. Which was all for the better, because Jeremy Lawson is a genius, and as you can see already from a lot of the reviews, his colors are a lot of what makes this book special. But it was the first time I really had to think about my ink work as conveying more information, and as a little bit more of a finished image in just black and white. I think that has really pushed me to think about areas I was letting slide, and has ultimately strengthened my art all around.
If you could have a super power, what would it be and why?
I would like to be a selkie (does that count as a super power???)
What advice would you give to freelance story artists and illustrators just starting out?
Three things! 1) like I said above- don’t get bogged down by the idea of what your defining style is right now. It will hold you back! Make short stories (like 5-10 pages) and with those try styles that are wildly different than your own. 2) don’t be afraid to ask (*politely and with in reason). Ask to be put on that book. Ask for that job. Ask for more money. Ask for more rights. You can negotiate your contract. You do not have to accept the first offer given to you. 3) keep going. Time and time again the people I see who make it “in” are the ones who no matter what just kept making stuff and putting it out there.
And finally, what’s next for you? Any more graphic novels on the way?
I have a couple things in the works, buuuut nothing I can talk about right now. I am very much looking forward to working on them though, so keep and eye out.
Will you be picking up Swamp Thing: Twin Branches? Tell us in the comments below!
