PREVIEWSworld Video Game Month: Emma Vieceli

Video games have often been considered the “enemy” of comics, drawing readers away from comics for the glow of arcade and home screens. But somewhere along the way, video games became fodder for the comics, drawing gamers away from their screens and back to the four-color page!

Years later, they’re seemingly inseparable now, with dozens of video game-based comics on the market.

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PREVIEWSworld: What are you currently working on?

Emma Vieceli: I’m writing Life is Strange for Titan; drawing Olivia Twist (Issue #1/JUL180432) for Dark Horse, and co-writing and comicking Breaks (JUL172110) for independent release with Soaring Penguin.

PREVIEWSworld: What video game properties are you working on right now, or have you worked on in the past?

Emma Vieceli:  Life is Strange (Issue #1/See Page 368!) is my first official video game related comic, buuuuut I did once write a twelve-chapter fanfic reaction to Dragon Age 2. Oh, yes, I did.

PREVIEWSworld: What video game started your passion for gaming?

Emma Vieceli:  Wow, that's a tough question to answer as games have been in my life for so long... but, I guess the first to truly get under my skin was, like so many of my generation, Final Fantasy VII.

PREVIEWSworld: What current release is taking up your free time?

Emma Vieceli:  Aside from Life is Strange, of course, the most recent game to have stolen too many hours was Horizon: Zero Dawn. Frustratingly, I suffer a physical condition that means it's been getting more and more painful to hold a game controller — which is utterly heartbreaking, but I found a bit of a workaround in the form of the amazing Nintendo switch; so have spent a lot of time on Stardew Valley — contrary to my usual story-heavy game tastes. 😉

PREVIEWSworld: If you could create a comic out of any video game property, which one would you choose?

Emma Vieceli:  My lovely writers from the Avalon Chronicles, Nunzio DeFilipis and Christina Weir are actually already working on fab comic spin-offs to the game title I feel most strongly for: Dragon Age. It would be great to rejoin them on that property some time! Otherwise, I'd never say no to any Final Fantasy comicking; perhaps the fabulous adventures of Balthier and Fran (FFXII)?

PREVIEWSworld: Who is your favorite character from a video game and why?

Emma Vieceli: Balthier. Just... Balthier. For reasons that will be obvious to anyone who has played FFXII. Gideon Emery gives a masterful performance as a cool, calm and collected sky-pirate with a twist in his story. Balthier and Fran as a unit, to be honest. They deserve their own series. And hey, if Square are reading, I'd happily volunteer my services.