First Comics News: Who is the Comet and how does she get that name?
Francine Delgado: The Comet is the name social media and the news gives Kenzie after she fights against a big demon that is killing people.
Rich: What motivates Kenzie?
Francine: In my opinion, at the beginning of the book we get to know a Kenzie that is motivated purely by love, she only wants to find a way to save her family.
Rae’s sickness (Kenzie’s sister) it is not only killing her but Kenzie’s entire family spirit as well.
1st: What kind of powers does the Comet have?
Francine: At this moment of the story we only get to know some of the Comet’s abilities since she is just learning what she is able to do. So far Kenzie has been able to catch on fire and shoot it out of her palms, she can fly, and heal herself pretty quick.
1st: Did you use anyone as a model for the Comet or how did you come up with her look?
Francine: Kenzie’s look has been evolving since the 1st sketch I did for her back in 2014, but some of her main characteristics are still the same.
As Per The Comet, look I wanted her to have kind of “fire hair” and another skin color, and Arianna wanted her to have body and face tattoos.
And a lot of the time I ask my roommate to pose or I use myself as a reference for a panel pose.
1st: Did Kenzie’s suit design change at all from start to finish?
Francine: We went through several versions.
Once we established her suit we did not want her to wear this over sexual spandex costume I work on some more designs until Arianna and I were happy.
It was after our editor Holly, told us to go in another direction so we came up with the design you see in the book.
One cool thing about her suit is that it is different from other heroes’ suits, Kenzie’s suit was not made to protect her, it is made to protect other people from her heat powers.
1st: Will Kenzie’s friend/boyfriend Jeremy play a big part in her super-hero life?
Francine: Kenzie always counts on Jeremy’s support, but you will have to read Vol.2 to know it for sure.
1st: What has become of Kenzie’s soul and can she even get it back?
Francine: Ahhhh, again that is a question for Vol.2
1st: How would you describe your inking process?
Francine: First I do all the characters outlines on a page, then move to backgrounds and later fill out the black with a tight marker or brush, and at the end, I add some tone with greyscale water markers (when I am inking traditionally).
1st: What is a Cintiq?
Francine: It is a tablet monitor that helps to speed up the digital, drawing/inking process.
1st: What did you learn working on “Dead End Boys”?
Francine: Wow, this is a comic I did a million year ago, I was a super rookie and I barely knew anything of the industry.
I will say that I learned a lot about comic book negotiations.
But before working on The Comet, I worked on 3 Canadian comic books USNAII, part 1, 2 and 3 and I learn a lot of storytelling and composition. I also got faster. And you need that speed for the current industry’s standards.
1st: Why do you enjoy reading comics?
Francine: I love comics for many reasons, you can read about a great story or a silly one, they have the ability to transport you to a new universe that someone else already designed and created, but they can also teach you a lesson.
I am originally from Costa Rica and we did not have many comics when I grew up and the few I could get were always in another language, mostly English.
I remember I enjoy so much the illustrations and the action that was happening on the pages, but I also wanted to understand what they said, so, in my case, comics help me to learn English.
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st: Which comic from DC or Marvel would you most like to be the artist on?
Francine: I think a book like Batgirl or a solo book for Poison Ivy or Teen Titans I would do a mean Robin as per Marvel I would love to work on Spider-Gwen, Mrs. Marvel, or Champions.
1st: What would you do if you had Kenzie’s powers and abilities?
Francine: Oh no, I don’t know, Kenzie is way nicer than me, after all, I imagine a soulless me, and it is not good.
1st: What would you like to say to all your fans?
Francine: I love to work on The Comet, I think Ari and I created a book with amazing characters, very human and real and I hope when you read the book you can feel it and relate to them, thank you for being part of this adventure. Stay posted for Vol. 2.
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