Edinburgh International Book Festival: Will Morris & Edward Ross
In terms of both visual style and subject matter, Will Morris and Edward Ross are pretty different as comic creators: Morris with his heartfelt coming-of-age tale, The Silver Darlings, compared to Ross and his media-fixated essays published in Filmish. They've also come to the form from different directions – Morris thinks of himself as an illustrator who has become his own writer, while Ross is a writer who became his own illustrator.
Yet the pair do have many things in common; not least the fact that, despite having read comics avidly as children – and started drawing their own – they both turned away from the field during their later teenage years. It was only as adults that they "returned to the fold," their eyes suddenly opened by both the creative autonomy and potential for collaboration offered by comics, and the realisation that what they were dealing with was, indeed, a unique form of visual communication. "A fully functioning separate form," as Ross points out, capable of doing things of which no other art form is capable. Of course, it's a help that, during their return to comics, they've become an increasingly acceptable part of mainstream culture; Morris points out that there's "a lot of goodwill" towards the form just now in the UK, not least in the media and at events as prestigious as the Edinburgh International Book Festival!
Like any form of publishing these days, though, there's that proverbial digital elephant in the room. Having grown up with printed comics, both admit to a genuine love for ink on paper, while accepting that the internet is certainly an ideal publishing platform for anyone currently producing a daily cartoon. Ross also points out that his work is now totally produced digitally, unlike Morris who still works with pen and ink on paper. Digital technology and the ease of making changes is not without its dangers, though; Ross points out that there's a real risk of getting lost in "a spiral of corrections;" as with any creative work, there comes a time when you just have to learn to stop. And, of course, it's arguable that we still have to learn how comics can fully utilise the capabilities of the online world.
The pair believe that they're still very much learning this form's visual language as they go; the important thing is to produce the work and get feedback. Still relatively early in their own careers, Morris and Ross nevertheless have important advice for the wannabe artists and writers in the audience: no one appears fully formed. We all need to learn our trade, by getting feedback from others. Luckily, given both the internet and the increased accessibility of "traditional" publishing media, that's never been easier. If you have a project you're really keen on doing, don't wait; make it happen.