As the age of digital news sources emerged on our screens, the world set aside its newspapers and began scrolling on their phones. Gone are the days of large newspaper spreads featuring comic strips in the corner; now, a person only needs to search for an article, read it, and exit the website. Finding a comic strip has become challenging. Since then, comic strip creators have turned to other sites, trying to replicate the magic of those old strips while struggling to grasp what made them so special in the first place.
Effren Villanueva has created a new comic strip that recaptures the magic we’ve seen in classic strips through its unique art style and creative writing. It walks the fine line between being too specific and too broad in its appeal, knowing how to balance both out to make for a great punchline. Today, Effren will share with us Worm Castle, the inspiration behind this series, and how it all began.
Can you tell us about yourself?
“Hi, I’m Effren, I’m an animator and comic artist based in San Diego, CA. I’ve drawn cartoons my entire life and have always had a passion for telling stories and jokes through drawings. I went to school for animation and graduated in 2023 from Woodbury University in Burbank, CA. My artistic pursuits have changed a lot over the years, but my main goal as an artist has always been to make people smile through my work.”
What’s your comic strip about? I see it’s been in development since 2018!
“My comic is called Worm Castle, it’s about three friends who navigate life as a local band in a small town and get into all kinds of misadventures. The comic and characters were conceived in 2018, and eventually launched a year later.
The idea spawned from my love for music and those who make it. Growing up I was always dragged by the ear from one backyard show to another by my musician friends, and seeing how people can create their own community by chugging on a guitar and singing about whatever was on their mind was something that really resonated with me and inspired the drawings that would eventually become Worm Castle. Music is an integral part of the comic’s identity, and since then I’ve taken up a few instruments and have been a part of two bands which helps a lot with ideas for the comics.
My original plan for Worm Castle was a large graphic novel telling a one-off story, but I later decided that comic strips were a more efficient and accessible way to introduce people to the characters. In retrospect I believe that was a good call, as I’ve been able to put out a lot more content in the time since then, whereas I’d probably still be working on the graphic novel to this day if I had stuck with that plan. I’d always encourage artists who want to get into comics or animation to start with smaller projects.”
What’s your process when making the strips?
“My process is usually the same when drawing Worm Castle. First, I write the comics in a super simple format, then I make some quick thumbnail drawings in my sketchbook to get a general idea of what the panels should look like. After that, I draw some very sloppy roughs of each panel, which then get photographed and brought into my art software (PaintTool Sai 2). From there, I refine the roughs and make everything cleaner and more “on-model”. After that, I do the lettering and word bubbles, then inks (my favorite step), then colors and it’s all done!”
Any inspirations for your work?
“Both visual and musical art inspires my work. Starting a virtual band and not being inspired by Jamie Hewlett (Gorillaz co-founder) would be silly, so of course I’m a huge fan of the guy’s work and his art book is one of my most prized possessions. I’m also a big fan of older Cartoon Network shows, especially Adventure Time (Pendleton Ward), Chowder (C.H. Greenblatt), and Flapjack (Thurop Van Orman). As a kid I read a ton of newspaper comic strips and took dozens of trips to the library to read collections of The Far Side (Gary Larson), Calvin & Hobbes (Bill Watterson), Peanuts (Charles Schultz), and pretty much anything I could get my grubby little hands on. The Scott Pilgrim series (Brian Lee O’Malley) also had a huge impact on my art.
Music also plays a big part in my work. The band Ween has shaped a lot of my sense of humor and music taste, and I often listen to them while I’m working. Other bands such as The Garden, Gary Wilson, Gorillaz (of course), Viagra Boys, Mac DeMarco, Grandaddy, and a lot of others have in one way or another influenced how the comic and characters have turned out over the years.”
Your style looks like it could really translate well to animation. Do you have any plans to bring your series from the page and to the screen?
“I’m very open to making animated stuff for Worm Castle, I’ve even made a few short ones over the years. Right now, Worm Castle is just me, but eventually, I’d love to collaborate with other artists to help make Worm Castle more than just comic strips. Branching out into animation and even into the realm of music has always been part of the plan for these guys, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
Favorite character to work on?
“I love all my characters and enjoy working on all three of them, but if I had to pick a favorite to write for, I’d probably say Wayne. Wayne usually causes the conflict of whatever strip he’s in, so figuring out what plan he has in store and how it affects the other bandmates / show they’re playing is always fun to do.”
You mentioned that you were originally going to have it be a graphic novel. Do you plan on eventually bringing out one that focuses on a wider story? Or do you think they (the characters) work better in the strip format?
“I’d be open to focusing on a larger story at one point, the plan for the graphic novel was going to be an origin story detailing how all three characters met each other and how they formed Worm Castle, which I still think would be cool to bring to life in one way or another, either through a larger comic project or even animation. The comic strips are a quick and fun way to follow the band’s antics, but I’m very interested in trying bigger projects at some point.”
Were the characters inspired by anyone?
“Each character is loosely inspired by people in my life as well as musical artists that I admire. Wayne is a hodge-podge of my friends and he definitely borrows some traits of people I’ve played music with. Jazz has a little bit of my younger sister in her. Chip is just a cool robot and based on my own perception of drummers being super-beings.”
Any advice for people wanting to make digital comic strips?
“If you have an idea and you genuinely think it’s cool, just run with it and see where it takes you. Your characters and the world they live in will reveal themselves to you more and more the longer you work with them, so don’t worry about having it all figured out in the beginning. Worm Castle went through a lot of growing pains for the first few years of its run, and to this day I’d say it’s always in a state of transition, but you’ll eventually hit your stride if you stick with it. Also, I’d highly recommend keeping your drawing setup portable if you can, we’re not meant to be cooped up in our rooms drawing for hours at a time so the ability to move your stuff around to a café or even just another room in your house will help your workflow and your sanity a lot.”
Connect Today!
Comic strips still have a place in the world today, being able to make us smile after hearing a lot of bad news in the world. Comics like Worm Castle, appearing on social media, make our days brighter! You can follow the comic on its Instagram and support the artist on their Ko-Fi page.