The following is an interview with writer Juaquin Mobley and artist Amalas Rosa regarding the recent inclusion of the comic, “Brilliance,” in the latest edition of the F(r)iction literary journal. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Mobley and Rosa about their shared creative process in bringing the story and characters to life on the page, what they hope that readers may take away from the story, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the recent inclusion of your comic, “Brilliance,” in the latest edition of the F(r)iction literary journal! For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you tell us about the story’s premise?
Juaquin Mobley: The story’s premise is rooted in the trauma associated with not being able to get a decent job and what happens in our community, when you can’t become self-sustaining and seemingly lose your dignity. The feeling of defeat.
BD: Juaquin, what can you share with us about the genesis behind this comic and your work with the Brink Literacy Project’s workshops?
JM: I met with the CEO of Brink Dani Hedlund years back and had a chance to share my plight. Her concern and wanting to make a change led to further discussions of what it would look like to put my story into a comic book form and sharing the story with policy makers to expand the possibility of creating second-chance hiring initiatives and changes that would help those that are willing to help themselves
BD: How would you describe your shared creative process in bringing this story to life on the page?
JM: Creatively, we wanted to articulate the story in an informative way but entertaining. We did not want to create PSA. We worked diligently to craft a story that highlighted our points but aesthetically showcase the resilience you must have to overcome this systemic oppression
Amalas Rosa: When I joined the team, the story was already written and edited, and as it’s a very personal and important one for Juaquin, I wanted to try my best to stay true to his vision.
I started with character sketches first, to see how I would draw Juaquin and his grandmother and then I went into page sketches.
I sent those to Edge and the team, who forwarded them to Juaquin for final approval. My first sketches went through quite some feedback rounds and especially the insight and feedback from the ADs Edge and Dani helped a lot and really pushed the pages and my visual storytelling.
BD: Amalas, did you have a specific art style in mind when you first read the concept for “Brilliance,” or do you feel that your design evolved over time after working through the script with Juaquin?
AR: I feel I have a very distinguished style and so far I noticed that people hire me for that style.
This project however came with new challenges.
For one: It’s not only an important story but also a biography which features actual people, so it was important to capture them and their likeness. I was given old photographs, and then started doing character sketches of Juaquin and his grandma and checked back in with Juaquin and the team and worked with their feedback.
I usually draw fictional characters, where I have control over the final character design and can make up things. So, this was a challenge but also something that I feel helped me grow and push my art.
The other challenge was the given color palette. Every artist was given the same palette for their colors and this theme runs through the whole book. Working with a limited palette is challenging and beautiful and I loved that.
I was given an extra challenge, as with “Brilliance” we wanted to break the palette a bit and show the actual brilliance and glow. So, I had to find a way to move a more warm and bright palette slowly into the darker and more limited “Unseen” palette as things got worse for Juaquin in the story, and then back to warm and bright again as he finds his brilliance, while making it work and fit.
The “Unseen” color palette is a bit outside of what I often use as colors, so this absolutely changed my style a bit and I had to think of new ways and it definitely evolved my style.
BD: Graphic Medicine is an emerging genre that combines the field of medicine with the medium of comics. Juaquin, how do you feel that Graphic Medicine stories like yours can help to better depict the lived experience of an individual who has been incarcerated?
JM: This graphic medicine provides easily comprehensible information that can be digested by the masses. This is important because a lot of the nuances around incarceration and what leads up to the incarceration is still unclear. The illustrations bring those nuances to light.
I believe that this medium provided therapy for me. To be able to write down and identify my turning points and realize where things went wrong is a skill set I picked up from curating the story that is applicable to my everyday life regardless of what capacity I am in.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that this story may connect with and impact readers?
JM: ⅓ of Americans are impacted by the criminal justice. So, most Americans are directly impacted or indirectly impacted. My story shows what happens when opportunities are not accessible and you’re in a community that is bereft of resources. The story clearly outlines how the trajectory of individuals could be altered if resources are low.
AR: I think this story has two very important messages, if not even three.
One, it shows clearly the systematic racism that exists in our society, sadly up until today. Especially for white people this is often still hard to understand and I hope that stories like this can help to finally make it understood and to finally tackle and abolish this system.
The other two very important messages are that you can fall and stumble in life, but still find new ways and the power within yourself and community. And I think this is so important and uplifting! It’s something, even though with a way different story than Juaquin, I still can relate to in some way, and I hope that others can find hope and confidence in this too!
BD: Are there any other upcoming projects on which you are working that you are able to share with our readers?
JM: Currently, I am developing my gym called “ WHealthy unlimited.” We intend to use the gym as a corporate wellness platform that helps with physical and mental aspects of the workforce. More importantly, we are using the gym to introduce employers to the gorberky incarcerated population and potentially preparing them to hire our formerly incarcerated employees.
AR: I co-created the YA graphic novel, Fear of Falling, with writer Suzanne Samin which is slated for release in Summer 2026. The book follows two former best friends from the Bronx: Aran, a Syrian American teen grappling with his mother’s death, and Tao, a college basketball star with ADHD.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell fans who want to learn more about “Brilliance” and your other work?
JM: Please share all the links to purchase the comic book issue to your employees, friends, and family, so we can continue to remove the barriers to employment for the formerly incarcerated.
