SHANE PORTMAN and ANDY ALVES Get into the Weeds with SHRUB
Interviews Editor, Andrew Irvin, is back from hiatus with Shane Portman and Andy Alves, here to discuss their Fanbase Press release, SHRUB: The Collected Edition. Catch it on Kickstarter through October 9th!
COMIC BOOK YETI: Welcome to the Yeti Cave, Shane and Andy! How are you both doing back in Los Angeles as the hottest summer in American history comes to a close?
SHANE PORTMAN: I’m doing good. Definitely ready for Fall to kick in.
ANDY ALVES: Great! I have fans blasting 24/7.
CBY: I'm awaiting the change of seasons with a bit of trepidation after all the heat, but here's hoping for a beautiful autumn! Now, Andy, I understand you’re an L.A. local, but Shane, you’ve done your stint in both small town Ohio and Chicago before heading to California, like me. What does each offer your perspective, and how does being in Los Angeles confer additional opportunities to participate in creative industries? To what degree do you both feel like location matters, and place-based engagement is relevant in your own careers and lives?
SP: I was a Navy brat growing up, so we moved a lot in my early years. But my youth was primarily split between Virginia and Ohio. I went to college in Pittsburgh and then moved to Chicago. I feel like I carry little bits of each of those places with me. I think moving a lot as a kid played into me being more of a listener than a speaker. Going to school in small-town Ohio was a gift in that it gave me the opportunity to try on a bunch of hats that I don’t think I would have been afforded if I’d gone to a bigger school where you need to pick your clique. It helped me find myself. I cut my teeth performing theater and sketch/improv comedy in Pittsburgh and Chicago, which are both working-class cities with vibrant art scenes. Those atmospheres taught me to be scrappy and create my own material. In this day and age, you can really write from anywhere. I primarily work in the animation industry and, since COVID, most official meetings are still done over Zoom. That being said, there’s something invigorating and irreplaceable about living in an entertainment hub like LA. And I think it comes down to the ability to get a coffee (or tea or ice cream or beer or what-have-ya) and meet up face-to-face with a peer or friend. The in-person human connection really is wonderful.
AA: I know I wouldn’t have gotten to work on Shrub if I didn’t know the people at Fanbase Press and that would have been less likely if I didn’t live in L.A.. I think community and building relationships with other creatives and people in your field is important. That said, the majority of my career has been on work for people outside of the state. One doesn’t need to live in L.A. to have a thriving career in the arts.
CBY: I think the decentralization of creative industries leads to a lot more diversification in narrative perspectives, as well. Before we dive in further, I should note that Shrub, at its core, is a story about processing grief. Shane, you mentioned this drew upon your reflections around losing your father as a child - how did you two find your common ground in narrative and visual terms to convey the tone you wanted readers to come away from the story understanding?
SP: Yeah, when I was just short of 10 years old, my dad had a severe heart attack that left him with permanent brain damage. He became a very different person. Before the heart attack, he’d been a career Naval officer, primarily working in the nuclear field. He was smart, gregarious, and a born leader. After the heart attack, his brain worked slower and he was more introverted. He had to relearn many basic tasks like tying his shoes, but he persevered and made a life for himself. He died 16 years later from another heart attack. After going to therapy, I realized a big part of the pain and grief I was experiencing was due to the father I lost when I was 10. Each of my family members had issues stemming from both the initial and the final loss. So, that’s where the emotional center of this story comes from – how a loss can affect members of a family differently.
But the character of Shrub actually came first, and they formed fully independent of any emotional core. The grief theme came later. I just liked the idea of this funny, little shrub character losing a seedpod and needing to uproot to get it. I didn’t want them to be verbal. I wanted them to rely on a mode of understanding that is foreign to humans. Shrub’s main way of understanding the world comes from rooting into the ground and connecting to the mycelial network underground – a fascinating, immense fungal network that links trees and other plants together in a form of electro-impulse communication and distribution of nutrients.
So, this idea of unseen connection became a central theme and I really wanted the art to balance the realness of nature and (often heavy and complicated) emotion with the magic of the unknown - whether that’s mycelial connection or the connection to a lost loved one. And I wanted the characters to have the ability to be grounded, when needed, yet also cartoonish and funny. I tried to convey that as best as I could in words, handed it to Andy, and let them run with it. Inevitably, their visuals were always better than what I imagined or what my words attempted to convey.
AA: Shane’s vision was very well communicated, but I was sure he was aware of the direction the art was going in every step of the process.
CBY: On the visual style; Andy, you’ve included a lot of strong, expressive line work and a relatively muted, grounded color palette. What sort of notes on visuals come through in your scripting and notes, Shane, and Andy, what sort of tools and techniques did you employ to achieve the look you’ve arrived upon with Shrub?
AA: For the color palette, I must credit our two colorists, Sophia Du and Celia FitzGerald. As for the line work, I worked on Procreate and I like using a brush that mimics a thin marker. I think it makes the look more organic which is perfect when your lead is a shrub.
SP: I try to provide what I feel like is needed input for a panel or page and, for me, that’s often emotional tone rather than intricate details. But when I’m working with talented artists like Andy (and Sophia and Celia), I feel like the best thing to do is give them the room and freedom to conjure up whatever they’re imagining.
CBY: From the looks of things, the collaboration paid off. You also model a very playful dynamic between Clea and her brother Robby. Do you both have siblings, and what sort of relationships and interactions did you draw upon to build a compelling foundation for this brother and sister to explore and develop further in Shrub?
SP: I’ve got an older brother and two younger sisters. Robby’s basically a mix of my brother and me and Clea’s a mix of my two sisters (with a dash of how I felt as a younger brother). There’s a playfulness that my siblings and I always had/have, sarcastic little remarks, and perfectly-targeted verbal jabs with a touch of truth. And with all we’d been through together, there is a closeness. Even as my brother and I got into our teens and became a little more closed-off, if push came to shove, we’d be there for each other. On the emotional side, Robby has a lot of anger that he’s internalizing. A lot of pressure was put upon him as the oldest child. He’s trying to get through the hurt by ignoring it. Clea is better in touch with her emotions, but feels the need to be the peacemaker between Robby and their mom. She’s also tired of everyone assuming she was too young to remember anything about their Dad. And she erroneously believes that something she did might have caused their Dad’s heart attack. Those feelings all come from my own or my siblings’ experiences.
AA: I have a younger sister. Of course, I had poses and expressions that were inspired from when we were little. A sarcastic eye-roll, a shoulder hug.
CBY: The sibling dynamic certainly rang true. Moving beyond the character dynamic, the plot is centered around a road trip; what are the most memorable road trip experiences you’ve each had, and what have you been able to incorporate from your personal journeys into the full run of Shrub?
SP: Two road trips come to mind:
I moved to Chicago with a sketch comedy group I co-founded in college. We’d perform in the city, but also traveled to sketch festivals across the country. Most of the time, we’d fly. But, on a couple occasions, we rented a van and traveled across the country to the Pacific Northwest. Those were some of the best memories. Epic scenery, pit stops to do random things, lots of laughs, questionable rest-stop food. By the end of the journey, the van smelled like Wisconsin cheese-curds and human body odor, but we didn’t care. We were in our twenties and it all felt so free, like the only thing that mattered was what we were doing right then. I wanted that feeling to come through for Robby, Clea, and Shrub.
My family had this big, beautiful, old station wagon. When we were on the road and it was getting late, Mom and Dad would fold down the backseats and my siblings and I would lie down in the back and look out the rear window. I remember one particular time when I was about five years old, we were driving through this long tunnel in Virginia and we were all nestled in the back as the view from the window transitioned from the night sky to the pitch black of the tunnel with the glow of the amber guide lights on the side. And there was this very soothing, rhythmic “cuh-cah, cuh-cah” sound that accompanied a little vibration as the car drove over the pavement segments. With my siblings resting beside me and my parents navigating in the front seat, I think it was the safest I’ve ever felt. I wanted those kinds of moments to percolate throughout the story, too.
AA: My family would travel up to Oakland once a year to see my dad’s family. My sister and I must have been so incredibly annoying to our parents. We would sing and dance to songs with one earbud in each ear. We’d pretend we were on a roller coaster if we were driving through a hilly section. There were times where we would be actually quiet and just stare out the window, imagining all sorts of fantastical characters running alongside the car. I was very happy to see in Shane’s script the mention of a punch-buggy.
CBY: In both issue #1 and #2, you step briefly away from the main plot for teachable moments - first regarding mycelium and mycorrhizal networks, and in the second, on the legacy of discriminatory policy in the United States. Both topics are raised by actions along the main storyline, but provide spreads to dig deeper into other topics. What led you to decide upon those specific lessons at those specific moments?
SP: All of these moments stem from the idea of connection. Shrub’s understanding of the world comes from rooting down and tapping into the mycorrhizal network below. Through this connection, they process the memories, history, and emotion of the ground itself. I wanted that to be grounded in reality. Scientists are only beginning to scratch the surface of the mysteries of how and what mycelium and mycorrhizal networks have been communicating since time immemorial. The first half of the issue is nearly all silent. There’s scant dialogue or narration. We’re in Shrub’s “shoes.” So, when Shrub roots back down into the mycelium, we’re introduced to this intricate world of vivid communication that’s happening right below every footstep all of us take.
And, in the second issue, when Robby and Clea make a pit stop at a statue to recreate a picture their family took when Dad was healthy, Shrub’s connection to the mycelium helps Robby understand why someone would knock down that statue. This was a necessary threshold for Robby to cross. He’s 16 and firmly holding onto what little stability he feels. That memory at the statue is a moment of stability. But you can have the memory of what that moment meant to you and still take in the reality that what the statue represented was pain and oppression and grief to many people. It’s necessary to process that historical grief, that generational trauma. We cannot move on until we do. Robby needed to take that in and the information uproots and disorients him. That moment leads him to make a decision that becomes a breaking point for his bond with Clea. But that breaking point leads to them coming back together and healing.
Throughout the series, each issue has a similar exploration of the idea of connection. Sometimes, it’s through Shrub and the mycelium, but as the journey goes on, this theme of connection branches out into other forms. These moments appear when a character needs to “root down” and many of them have historical or scientific information woven into them. It’s my hope that these moments help readers feel that, even if we don’t see it, there’s an intricate network of connection happening all around us, and we’re a part of it. In darker times, I think there’s comfort in that.
CBY: Whatever we can do to minimize the sense of isolation growing in people, the better I imagine it will be for all of us. One of the reasons I jumped on the opportunity to cover Shrub is my fascination with non-human agency and characterization. When both of you were determining the personality and appearance of Shrub, as a character, were there any other flora or tree-centric stories that provided inspiration or helped you shape the way you’d depict a sentient plant?
SP: Years ago, I saw Frédéric Back’s Oscar-winning animated adaption of Jean Giono’s short story, The Man Who Planted Trees. It’s the tale of a widowed shepherd who begins planting acorns in a desolate valley. Back’s softness and intentionality in telling the story were definitely an inspiration to me while writing Shrub. On the non-fiction side, Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets was eye-opening and an invaluable guide to understanding mycelium and shaping how Shrub would commune with it.
AA: My last project, Cosmic Cadets: Accused, had a space station full of different alien species I had to design, many with very inhuman facial structures. I had a lot of recent practice showing emotion and expression through very non-human forms.
CBY: That Jean Giono story is a spectacularly well-paced meditation on how one person can affect change over time, and I hope our audience gives it a read. Now, can you tell us a bit about how you ended up releasing this title with Fanbase Press? How did your initial publishing arrangement arise, and what sets them apart from other comics publishers? Can you provide a bit of insight into the way everything came together?
SP: I met Barbra and Bryant in college at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA. I had originally written Shrub as an animated series, but with the lagging of the industry in the past few years, I couldn’t find a home for my leafy friend. After catching up with each other one day, Barbra and Bryant were kind enough to offer me an open door if I had any stories that could be comics. I showed them Shrub and here we are. It’s been a perfect fit. I think what sets Fanbase Press apart is their appreciation and care for their creators and artists. There’s no ego or connivery. You can absolutely trust that they’ve got your best interests in mind every step of the way. They sincerely care about you and your well-being and there’s vulnerable discussion in place of demands. I think that whole-hearted care leads them to ingeniously inventive ideas – like, when those moments of connection happen in each issue of Shrub, there will be a gatefold page that folds out for a tactile experience of rooting down and going deeper. That’s to say nothing of their absolute commitment to the comics community.
AA: Barbra actually came to me saying they needed an artist to work on this project and I was down. It sounded amazing with an incredible story and message. The fact that the leads were children and an adorable, bombastic plant creature sounded just perfect for my natural art style.
As for Fanbase, they are incredible. They, I think more than any publisher I know, work so very hard to build a thriving local comic community. The amount of love and dedication they put into the Los Angeles comic scene is truly inspiring. It’s why I worked on spec for this. I would not do that for any publisher. Throughout this whole process they were kind, communicative, and fair. They have my trust and respect.
CBY: That is high praise for a publisher. Now, Shrub is set over eight issues (and I’ve enjoyed the first two!), but are there other stories in this world you’ve created, or does it stand alone? On that note, what other projects do you both have going on beyond the world of Shrub that you might want our readers to know about?
AA: I’d be surprised if Shane has any other plans as this story stands alone and wraps up at the end very neatly. Personally, I think the end is just so beautiful for when you get to it. But beyond Shrub, I did already mention Cosmic Cadets, the all-ages sci-fi adventure I made with my partner, Ben. If you like non-human characters, it’s got some fun ones.
SP: I love these characters so, so much. So, if another story arises from them, I’d be happy to follow them into it. But, at this point, I see it as a standalone story. Outside of Shrub, I’m in the very early stages of developing a couple of animated projects and have been meaning to get a Substack going where I can turn out new content at a regular clip.
CBY: Rounding things off, we always offer guests an opportunity to share what unrelated work has been providing inspiration lately. What other comics, films, music, literature, and other work should our readers check out after they give Shrub their attention?
SP: I just finished reading Ben Crane and Arthur Ebuen’s anthology, Systemic Volume 1, and really enjoyed the grounded sci-fi exploration of everyday struggles against oppressive forces. And I burned right through both seasons of We Are Lady Parts, the British series about a group of Muslim women who form a punk band. It’s funny, inventive, socially conscious, and a joy to watch.
AA: I watched Coyote vs. ACME recently. Talk about a great reference for expressive poses! Though, if you want something more Shrubby in its gentle, but emotionally resonant sincerity, I recommend A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers or the video game Beast Breaker.
CBY: Shane and Andy, thank you for the fabulous recommendations and stopping by to chat about Shrub. If you’ve got any portfolio, publication, or social media link to share, now is the time and place!
SP: Thanks so much for your time. It was fun to chat. You can find me at:
Bluesky: @shaneport.bsky.social
AA: Thank you so much for having us! It was a pleasure. And here are my links:
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