Meet Luca Debus | Cartoonist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Luca Debus and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Luca, how do you think about risk?
Because of the nature of my career, there aren’t many risks on my path. I do have to proceed with exceptional boldness, though. I am an ambitious person, so, in order to get me where I want to be, I need to shoot myself from the cannon of ambition pretty ruthlessly. Often, directly in the face of some important publisher. Sometimes, the impact is painful (for both of us). Sometimes, I land on beautiful shores that I never imagined for myself with only minor injuries. Incidentally, that’s the main reason why I have a limp. So, I don’t consider it a risk to pitch a project to an important publisher. Even though I’m a small fish in a big pond, I simply have nothing to lose when I do it. I believe risks are such because there are high stakes in the process. I don’t have stakes, although my self-esteem getting hurt by countless rejections may beg to differ.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started pursuing an artistic career because I can’t see myself doing anything else. To me, cartoons are a means of communication. My way to convey my thoughts, my fears, and my dreams to the outer world. Without it, I would lack pretty much all of my faculty of speech. That would be met with much enthusiasm by society, I’ve been told.

When I was nothing but a little Italian kid who could hardly hold a pen, I declared to the amusement of many that I’ll be a cartoonist. More specifically, I wanted to have my own comic strip syndicated and running in the American newspapers. Since then, I held onto that dream and never let it go. There were dark times, in which I was holding onto something I couldn’t even name anymore, times in which the thought of that dream was the only thing that had me going. I never gave up, and now I’m the closest I’ve ever been to that big dream I had.

Of course, time has changed; newspapers are not really a thing anymore, and comic strips have seen better days. But, my dream hasn’t changed. I call myself silly for not keeping up with the changing times, but owning a successful comic strip in the papers still seems to me like the best thing I could ever achieve. Am I a delusional, romantic, nostalgic soul? The short answer would be “yes”. The long-winded one would be “you bet”. But I feel like I owe that to that little Italian kid. And I’m not one to disappoint. At least, that’s what I kept telling him. Kids are pretty gullible.

Having dreams and pursuing them are two very different matters. Although I always wanted to be a cartoonist, it hasn’t been easy being proactive about it. I’m from a small town in northern Italy, in the mountains close to Venice. My family has always regarded studying as an important part of life. That’s why I’ve been running on two different paths simultaneously for all my life: an academic path and an artistic one. Sometimes, I wonder how I’ve done it. I have very short legs.

As I grew older, I found myself more and more fed up with the academic path. I realized that what I really want to do is nourish my artistic side, making comics and entertaining. However, my bachelor’s and master’s studies demanded a lot of time and attention, and I often found myself with little or no time left for my cartoons. It’s only been some months now since I’ve completed my academic studies and since I could dedicate myself to comics full-time. It’s been awesome.

I don’t resent having pursued academic life. I believe this gave me an asset that very few have in my field. I have the tools now to make comics with a deeper awareness that allows me to challenge boundaries and conventions. I’m proud of my double education, even though it might have slowed me a bit in the journey to achieve my dream.

I do work a lot and hard. Although I do it happily because making comics makes me feel accomplished like nothing else ever would, sometimes it feels degrading working so much and struggling to make ends meet. I do have a budget, and let me tell you – it’s tight. As tight as my deceptively young skin. It’s impossible to determine how many projects will come along in the near future. Therefore, it’s impossible for me to know how much money will be available for me. For this reason, I try to save as much money as I can in case I’ll have to face some times of struggle. I don’t have a monthly income. I get relatively large lump sums of money when I sign a project or when I hand in one. Some projects might require even years to be completed. That’s why I have to think in advance and spare every little teeny tiny coin I find on my way. And boy, do I scavenge the sidewalks in order to find quarters.

Closing deals can also be a struggle. As an up-coming cartoonist, I need to pitch book projects to publishers or showcase my skills to possible clients. During my career, I learned that it’s important to present myself as professional, fast and unique. In order to have projects coming, I need to convince the client that nobody else can do what I do and as fast as I do. I believe it’s a good selling point.

On top of that, as a cartoonist, I’m scarred by the prejudice that many have that comics are something minor and that they aren’t really worthy enough of attention. I don’t believe in any silly hierarchy bestowed upon us by some old smarty pantses. I believe that laughter isn’t less worthy than tears, that something small isn’t less worthy than something humongous. I don’t think we should value artistic endeavors by comparing them with each other and putting them on a podium. Each one has its own dignity and beauty and nothing is better than anything else. The tendency to put everything on a scale reinforces the idea that only the number ones are relevant. I like to believe that even the number 63829104s are relevant and have something to say. As a number 63829104 myself, I can confirm that.

Anyway, I feel like I’m complaining a lot. I really shouldn’t, because with the time passing, I’m seeing more and more success in my life. And I learned that there’s just one thing behind my success. And, to be honest, it’s pretty easy to see it since it can’t hide much behind that skinny, petite, small, paper-thin diva that’s my success. It’s perseverance.

It’s as simple as it gets: dream big, and never give up.

I could lie and say that pursuing my dream has been easy. And I will. It’s been like eating a piece of cake – one of those super fat, creamy ones that give you stomachache after you eat them. So please excuse me, but I need to lay down now.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Right now I live in Heidelberg, a rather small town in Germany. So get ready for a pretty uneventful week! We will spend a beautiful couple of days visiting the historic town and walking around sightseeing. After that, we’ll just have to entertain each other with our own personalities. My partner will cook for you, and that would probably be the highlight of your vacation (for real! He’s an outstanding cook. Everybody who knows him can confirm). Maybe I’m being a bit harsh towards poor beautiful Heidelberg. The reality is that, as a cartoonist, I rarely venture my weak body outside. I don’t really know if there’s something cool going on in town. I just assume my house provides cooler things. That wouldn’t bee a problem for your visit, though. I really enjoy getting to know ideas and thoughts of people around me. Having nothing to do than staring at each other’s eyeballs and talking might be much more thrilling than you imagine!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Many people inspire me daily on a personal level and on an artistic one. Personally, I have to thank my partner, who is the tallest cheerleader you’ve ever seen. Without him, I’d have half of the courage I have in life. When it comes to my work, I have to give a shoutout to Francesco Matteuzzi, my former writing teacher at art school and now my colleague. He gets me involved in so many incredible projects. If the world needed a proof that I’m the most seductive warlock, he’s the living one. I still can’t figure out how I could enchant him at the point that he’s willing to work alongside myself.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debusluca/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luca-debus-567786203/

Image Credits
Photos by Kay Hues Comic strips: #vengoanchio Kindergarten created by Francesco Matteuzzi and Luca Mazzocco