TO SAVE HER PEOPLE , PRINCESS CLOVE WILL HAVE TO DO THE UNTHINKABLE
An Interview with Junepurrr about Debut Title SubZero
From debut creator Antonia Crupa , also known as Junepurrr , comes the first printed edition of the smash-hit Webtoon SubZero ! Clove is the last remaining heir of her Cerulean Dragon clan , fighting in a seemingly endless 300-year-war against the vast Crimson Empire . With no end to the war in sight , Clove agrees to leave her sheltered homeland in favor of a political marriage with the heir to the enemy Crimson Dragon clan , Prince Kyro .
Raised on the battlefields and feared by his rivals , the cutthroat prince is first to notice that Clove is hiding a dangerous secret she ’ s been working tirelessly to protect .
As tensions rise between these unlikely allies , the fragile peace brokered by their marriage is threatened by those who wish to continue the war . Now fighting in the world of her enemies and fighting a surprising attraction to Kyro , Clove discovers that achieving peace is far more dangerous than she could have ever imagined . Read on to hear about Junepurrr ’ s experiences in creating SUBZERO VOLUME 1 from Oni Press .
DIAMOND : For those who aren ’ t familiar , can you tell us what readers can expect from this book ? Junepurrr : SubZero is a fantasy romance story with dragons ! The story follows a sheltered princess , Clove , who is forced into a political marriage with an enemy dragon prince , Kyro , in an attempt at ending a great war . There is a great focus on the themes of sacrifice and forgiveness as well as the inner strength that lies under a veil of fangs and scales .
How did this project come about ? The long answer is , I found myself working an accounting internship and dreading it terribly . I needed an escape from my day-to-day corporate job so I created a story based on the things I loved : fantasy , palace dramas , romance , dragons , etc . In 2017 , I shared the first draft of SubZero on the online platform Webtoon and exactly one year later an editor reached out with an opportunity to make SubZero a featured Webtoon . I quit my corporate job shortly after and have been working full-time on the comic ever since !
What kind of obstacles did you face while putting this title together ? There is a lot of writing and drawing guidance out there , but not a lot on how to go about putting these two things together . The closest thing I compare it to is a movie production in which the creator takes the main roles of Director , and Scriptwriter while also doing everyone else ’ s job ( costume designer , camera operator , editor , special effects , getting coffee etc .). As a first-time comic creator , it feels overwhelming to have to learn so much about so many different things , but fortunately you only need to know enough to get the job done . The other great obstacle is meeting the weekly deadline ( which I still struggle with ). I strive to create the perfect vision in my mind , while knowing I ’ ll never 100 % achieve it , and that ’ s ok . Overcoming perfectionism and taking the risk to share your work is the most important hurdle I ’ ve overcome .
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