The Epic of Gabriel and Jibreel tells the story of two boys who form a powerful friendship amidst devastating loss. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

My goal was to create a document of our world – a piece of realistic and painful evidence. According to SAVE THE CHILDREN REPORT for 2019, 160 million children lived in high-intensity conflict zones. We, the adults, created these conflict zones and we know well that such environments alter the direction of children’s lives and cause many casualties. My main protagonists’ fate is just proof — sad proof, unfortunately — that the world doesn’t care.

The art in the book is vivid and impactful. What was the artistic process like to bring this story to life?

As you already know, I create the illustrations for my publications — my stories give me suggestions for the style of visuals they need. In the case of THE EPIC OF GABRIEL AND JIBREEL, the request was for as-close-as-possible-to real-life illustrations in order to connect the reader with reality. This way the “holy trinity” — narrative, illustrations, and layout, perfectly match and create a cohesive piece of art. 

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

Many themes form the building blocks of the book’s DNA, but two words from the Publishers Weekly review define the main theme well — “cosmic unfairness”.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

I am currently working on ART — a wordless book about an autistic and artistic circus virtuoso named Art. It is also a book about art…that defies gravity. The title, as you see, is so demanding that the illustrations must be one-of-a-kind. The publication will be available at the beginning of 2022.

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