AJ LOCASCIO and LAURIE A. CONLEY pop in with SPOOPS: THE LITTLE SPIRITS OF HALLOWEEN
- Andrew Irvin
- Oct 12
- 9 min read
AJ Locascio and Laurie A. Conley drop by to talk about their collaborative effort on SPOOPS: The Little Spirits of Halloween, a delight for young readers from Top Shelf Comix.
COMIC BOOK YETI: Welcome, AJ and Laura. I’m excited to discuss SPOOPS: The Little Spirits of Halloween, as it means my favorite holiday is drawing near. This is a delightful comic, presented in verse and black & white art, monochromatically accented with orange. Can you both share a bit about how you met and when this project first began brewing between the two of you?
AJL: First off: Thank you! I was a fan of Laurie's art for a while, and even before the book was a fully fleshed out idea I commissioned Laurie to do a drawing of the Spoops. When I started taking the book more seriously and realized I needed to pitch it to agents and publishers, I asked if she could do some concept pieces to help with the pitch and to help the publisher see her as the illustrator since I didn’t want anyone else.
LAC: Thank you! We first met online when AJ shared some of my art on Instagram in 2018. Soon after that, he mentioned that he wanted to write an illustrated book for kids and asked if I had any interest in such a project. We started developing character ideas, scene sketches and exploratory drawings in 2019, I think.
CBY: So this has been a while in the making; I'm glad to see it come to fruition. AJ, you conceived of the project and wrote the story, and Laurie, you handled all aspects of illustration (pencils, inks, color, lettering, etc.). What sort of script notes did you include on the visual style, AJ, and Laurie, how much additional direction did you find was necessary beyond the descriptive verse which narrates the action on the page?
AJL: It was a little strange since I had already sculpted all of the Spoops, so there was a specific design language I wanted to convey without being overbearing. I did do some rough turnarounds and made a sort of guide like you would in animation that had their proportions and quirks that she could then use to translate the Spoops into her own style.
And for the script notes I would include visual references from books and movies or I would draw a vague sketch that she would then have to decipher. I also made Photoshop comps of ideas and even sent rambling videos of me drawing out an idea like a football coach describing a play. Thankfully, Laurie was open to all forms of notes and communications. No matter how crazy, she was always gracious and made it better.
LAC: The descriptive verse gave me a lot to work with! But AJ provided many other resources for inspiration too. First, he sent me a delightful collection of Spoops figurines that became wonderful references (and little friends). He also shared beloved art and illustrations, comic strips, vintage Halloween photos, Halloween decor, charming fall scenes, and favorite Halloween movies. He even sent me a Halloween song! I loved getting as much as AJ wanted to send. It was invaluable and gave me a lot of insight into the look he wanted for his story.
The only lettering I did was to manipulate, “It’s time for Halloween…” on the first pages of the book. I placed rough type blocks into my sketch pages for composition purposes but those don’t appear in the printed book.
CBY: It sounds as though, for a writer, you made a lot of initial contributions to visual reference material, AJ. You’ve released this title through Top Shelf Productions, an IDW imprint. I see Chris Staros credited as Editor-in-Chief, but are there any other individuals you’d like to credit for their contributions toward bringing SPOOPS to market?
AJL: Megan Brown, who is now at Oni Press, plucked it out of obscurity and made this real. When she read it, it was the first time someone in the publishing world understood what I wanted to do with SPOOPS and fought for it. And obviously Laurie A. Conley! Without her art, I don’t think this book would have made it through. The timeless charm and nostalgia her illustrations evoke is pure magic.
LAC: I am going to defer to AJ on this question. However I will say that I really enjoyed working with Chris Staros. He was always friendly, professional and calm. And never once freaked out when I asked for more time!
CBY: I would agree that your illustrations really bring a timelessness to the story, Laurie. On the note of the release through Top Shelf, how did SPOOPS find its home with IDW as opposed to any number of publishers with release lines focused on young readers? How did everything align for the publication to enter the market it ins realized form?
AJL: I started the publishing journey in 2019 and I had an agent who pitched the book to all the big publishers; mostly during the pandemic, unfortunately. It was steadily rejected; being deemed too long for a picture book and too short for a chapter book. The oddly consistent things I heard were; “Nobody wants rhyming books,” “Can you make it about current social/ political issues,” and “Can you make it 300 words?”
I wound up leaving that agent, met a publisher with interest that I realized was a bad fit. Felt depressed. Posted online I needed help, and then got a message from Author Adam Tierney who offered to send my info to the folks at IDW, which brought me to Megan Brown and so on.
LAC: AJ was tireless in his search for the right publisher for this book. He knew what he wanted the book to be, and refused to give up. He was all in for his dream, and I admire him so much for that.
CBY: I am glad it arrived to market in the form you both saw best fit to the story. Without spoiling SPOOPS, it delves beneath the much maligned “treat” aspect of the holiday to explore what makes the Halloween spirit distinct. What are your favorite Halloween traditions or memories? Given the array of forms the Spoops take, what guiding decisions went into selecting Halloween motifs and figures to embody on the page? Did any character ideas not make the cut?
AJL: I love all of it! The haunted houses! Pumpkin picking! Carving pumpkins! Pumpkin spice everything! But to be honest, it's the creativity and community that comes together around Halloween! The lead-up where people start decorating their houses in unique ways is so exciting. Its the only holiday where it feels like a genuine form of expression, and I love getting to see and be a part of it.
And I believe there are only 13 Spoops, so the other 12+ I have sculpted are all very jealous, but not all Spoops hatch in all pumpkin patches!
LAC: I remember trick-or-treating as a child, which I did until I was about 12. I remember walking home one Halloween night by myself and being scared, but enjoying the spookiness at the same time. It was fun to help my own kids dress up for Halloween, too, and to hear their stories as they showed off their loot. Their dad took them out while I stayed home to give out candy with a couple of neighbor friends. For several years we dressed up like witches and decorated our shared driveway with lights and candles for the neighborhood kids. We still do that, but on a much smaller scale these days.
As for the SPOOPS characters, AJ has favorites and also knew which ones were most popular with his audience. But I’m sure there’s more to it than that! I do know that Pumpkin Spoop was a definite from the very beginning.
CBY: Turning back to the treats; let’s play favorites and see who ranks which candy where in their estimation; let’s say it’s Halloween night and you’ve just emptied out your loot - what are your top five favorites, and which five candies would you be happy to do without?
AJL: Candy Corn was my top favorite as a kid, but only if it’s Brachs. (All the others taste like candle wax). Then; Reeses, Starburst, 100 Grand, and Skittles.
Least favorite: Those horrible bags of knock-off tootsie rolls where it’s like hard gum and blue lozenges with no name.
LAC: It’s funny that you asked this. When I went trick-or-treating, my sister and I would take a break to go home and check out the loot. We’d keep our favorites and leave the rest for our Mom to give back out. That way we’d keep only candy that we liked!
If I evaluated my Halloween loot today, I’d keep Reese’s cups, Milky Ways, Mounds, Nestle’s Crunch and 3 Musketeers. I love the mini sizes! I’d re-treat hard candy, sour stuff, Twizzlers, Butterfinger and anything white chocolate.
CBY: AJ; your candy corn standards are admirable (if still disagreeable to my personal palate), and I can relate to the balance between chocolate and "fruit" flavors - the 100 Grand bar is a good one, but definitely wasn't common in my neighborhood growing up. Laurie, I really like the re-distributive element you added; if you're not going to eat it, might as well re-circulate while the occasion is nigh. The Spoops are, individually and collectively, adorably designed. They also seem admirably suited for rendition beyond the page, with a whole roster of unique, adorable characters. It sounds like you've done some modeling of the Spoops; do you have plans for any accompanying figurines or toys to showcase in three dimensional form the little army of characters you’ve devised for this comic?
LAC: I want to know the answer to this question too! I love the Spoops!
AJL: Thank you! Those actually came first! The Spoops sculptures are what started it all; then parents and kids would send me messages asking what the story behind them was and that was what inspired the book! There are also currently Spoops pins, buttons, keychains and stickers available at your local Hot Topic!
You can see the original Spoops sculpts on their instagram @The_Spoops
CBY: Thank you for sharing - the tactile dimension of the characters definitely translates well to the page! Now, you both have had careers with broad, diverse experience. What else do you both want to make sure our readers know you have coming up next, beside SPOOPS?
AJL: Just Spoops! Visit Hot Topic and pick up some Spoops swag! Tell your Great Grandmother about Spoops! Read it out loud in your local cemetery on National Ghost Appreciation Day, and if your Great Grandmother is there - that’s a two-for-one!
LAC: Thank you so much for asking! I recently illustrated a book for Penguin Workshop called What Are Taylor Swift’s Eras?, which will be released in November. I also created a book cover and small interior drawings for Boy With A Fife: Ebenezer Fletcher’s War of Independence by Elizabeth Raum (Chicken Scratch Books). Next I’ll be working on another book, also for Penguin, about fairies and their lore. I’m excited to get started on that.
CBY: Thanks for sharing your other work, Laurie. We’ve still got ample time before the holiday, so what early thoughts do you both have brewing over enjoying the forthcoming Halloween season?
AJL: I’m excited to go to Knott’s Scary and just see all the insanely decorated houses in Burbank, California that always goes all-out for Halloween!
LAC: I hope I will have time to enjoy it this year! I want to do one of the many October art challenges so that I can share new art, and I look forward to seeing lots of Halloween art by other artists. I want to decorate earlier than the last minute, and maybe carve a pumpkin this year. And the snack-sized theme candy will be calling to me from now until Halloween!
CBY: Both sound like good plans! As per usual, we usually end things with an opportunity for creators to share any unrelated comics, films, literature, music, and other art of recent interest. What other work has been inspiring both of you lately?
AJL: Honestly the most impactful piece of media in the last year or so has to be Lies of P. It is a masterpiece of a game with some of the most memorable and touching stories, characters and locations I’ve ever experienced in any form of media. Me and my friend James Willems became so obsessed with the game that we both read the book during our 2nd or 3rd play-through to better understand all the brilliant twisted ways they incorporated the imagery from the original story into the story and world of the game. It’s an awe-inspiring creation.
LAC: I recently visited the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. I have wanted to go there since I learned of its existence, and it was everything I hoped it would be. Norman Rockwell’s skill in storytelling through his art has always been an big influence on my work. It was a joy to get right up close to Rockwell’s paintings and see his hand in them. That will be inspiring me for a LONG time.
CBY: Ah, yes - my mom grew up next to Stockbridge, and Rockwell's legacy has loomed large in my life, so I absolutely know the feeling you're describing. AJ and Laurie, thank you for joining us today! For any publication, portfolio, and social media links, this is the time and place to share as we say farewell.
AJL: Thank you for taking the time to talk about Spoops: The Little Spirits of Halloween!
You can follow me at: https://www.instagram.com/aj_locascio and the Spoops at: https://www.instagram.com/The_Spoops
LAC: Laurie’s links:
Portfolio website: https://www.laurieaconley.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurieaconleyart
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurieAConley
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