Interview with Illustrator Deb JJ Lee of THE OTHER SIDE OF TOMORROW by Tina Cho

Today we welcome a new face to the Grog Blog--Deb JJ Lee. Deb is the illustrator for our middle grade graphic novel debuting November 12th from Harper Alley, The Other Side of Tomorrow. Each spread is a work of art! That's why the reviewer from ALA Booklist gave it a star and said, "Yes, Cho’s graphic novel in verse is an extraordinary dual-voiced narrative, but what makes this title unforgettable is phenomenal, Ignatz-winning artist Lee’s (In Limbo, 2023) breathtaking artwork."

This interview is part 1 in sharing about The Other Side of Tomorrow. This graphic novel is about two North Korean kids who escape along the Asian Underground Railroad to freedom. I thought it would be fun to interview Deb.

4 starred reviews so far!

                                                 

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

          Hi! I’m Deb. I’m a trans nonbinary Korean-American illustrator based in Brooklyn NY. I’m most well-known for my intricate illustrations and my graphic memoir titled IN LIMBO (2023), which have won and been nominated by multiple awards, including the APALA honor, Eisner (nominated), Harvey (nominated) and Ignatz (winner). 

2. What/who inspired you to be an illustrator? What steps did you take for your career?

          I always wanted to be an illustrator, but never really took action on it until I was a senior in undergrad late 2017. I’ve been drawing for about twenty years at this point, but took a two year hiatus during school. The summer after my junior year I purchased an iPad with the money I made from my tech internship and haven’t stopped drawing since. Luckily I had a job lined up post-grad, so I spent my senior year making my own illustration curriculum. I managed to be in the right place at the right time when I got a literary agent and an illustration internship at NPR the spring of my senior year.

 

3. What made you want to take on this book project?

          North Korea, Korean author, why wouldn’t I? Harper Collins, I was at the beginning of my career! Ironically the offer came in while I was in Seoul visiting family.

 

4. Please share with readers how you created the illustrations. (tools/medium)

I worked primarily in Procreate on my iPad!

 

5. How long did it take to illustrate The Other Side of Tomorrow?

          If we started in 2019, then it would have been five years. But one year was spent promoting and publicizing the book, and another 8-10 months or so was spent being at the ready for the manuscript and/or finishing my own graphic novel (IN LIMBO, 2023). So really, it took about 3 years to finish all the pages. 

6. How long does it take for one spread?

          I would say about 20 hours per spread. Which is crazy to think, because I could only realistically do 1.5 spreads (3 pages) a week to keep up with my other obligations to maintain an income! Illustrating a comic is so intense, especially when you have to keep it up for years at a time. 

 

7. What research did you have to do to illustrate this book?

          I had to rely on Google and what I could find on You Tube!

8. What is your favorite illustration/spread?

          Probably the moment they’re escaping the Chinese prison. I’m really happy with that color palette, as it is me becoming comfortable working in a more desaturated scheme. Normally I tend to rely on very bright colors, but here I didn’t even use those as accents. Since then I’ve been working in those more muted tones even in my freelance illustration work.

 

9. What was most challenging for this book?

Honestly just getting through it. It was the same with IN LIMBO too. Drawing comics takes a while and it’s a commitment–you have to be the director, the character designer, the storyboarder, the renderer!

10. Was there anything surprising that came about during your process?

          I was surprised that I can work with colors even in a graphic novel so consistently! A limited palette doesn’t come naturally to me at all, so I was apprehensive about how I can keep work in several colors in a way that is consistent through the book. But turns out, changing the palette throughout the story to depict night and day, calm and turbulence, comes in handy to subconsciously signal to readers what is going on.

11. What do you hope readers take away from reading and admiring this book?

         Aside from how excruciating it is to escape the country and that everyone is legally bound to be against you, the biggest thing that I would want the audience to walk away with is how there are multiple ways to deal with trauma. Religion and spirituality are two comforting places to feel at home but there are other methods of coming to peace with the humanitarian horrors one would deal with in such a restrictive country.

12. What advice do you have for writers? For illustrators?

          Hmm as someone who’s done both, I always advocate for illustrators to be given as much time and money as they need to complete their projects. Especially through the AI age that we’ve entered, it’s crucial for editors and writers to know that art is hard physical labor! A paragraph that can be written in a few hours might take a whole working week to illustrate. Always communicate early on if time is more needed, and please be patient with us!

13. What’s next for you?

          I’m currently working on my own picture books! They’re unannounced for now so you’ll have to keep an eye on this space :)

Deb JJ Lee (they/them) is a trans nonbinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York. They have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, NPR, Google, Radiolab, and more. They are known for their award-winning graphic memoir, In Limbo, about mental illness and difficult relationships with trauma. Their cat, Marlie, has three teeth.

Portfolio / Instagram / Twitter 

 The Other Side of Tomorrow is available for preorders here.