Artist Interview: Jacey Chase—”It feels like a love letter to my childhood.”

Who the heck are you? How’d you get into making comics? 

Hi, I’m Jacey Chase, and I’m an artist and a content creator. I’ve always wanted to make comics, but truthfully it wasn’t really until I met Jayel [Draco, co-founder of Oneshi Press] that I really got into it. I never felt like I was good enough of an artist—I thought I still needed to improve my anatomy and perspective and that I wouldn’t be ready until I got better. And when I told Jayel that, he said, “Jacey, you know what makes you good at making comics? Making comics.”

How the heck did you end up working on Mr. Guy?

I was really honored that Jayel asked me to work on Mr. Guy. He’s been such an instrumental part of why I got into comics in the first place, so it means a lot to me.

Tell us about your arc in Mr. Guy—Resident Viral.

Jayel actually wrote Arc 4, Resident Viral, with me in mind, and it’s funny and exciting and full of references to games and cartoons I loved growing up. It feels like a love letter to my childhood.

What did you enjoy about this arc?

I especially love the character Chrill Valenfield, who in a lot of ways is so completely the opposite of Mr. Guy. Like, they’re a professional soldier who’s sworn to protect the city, where Guy is literally just in this mess because he took an odd job that went poorly.

Tell us about designing characters for Resident Viral!

I was really excited to have the opportunity to design Chrill, as well as the Mutant ZMB creature. Chrill is your typical survival-horror-game protagonist, with gorgeous hair and full military gear. But instead of green fatigues or a blue police uniform, I chose colors that were more of a nod to the nonbinary flag. I thought it would be a nice Easter egg for other enby folx who might recognize the color combo.

The Mutant ZMB character was a really fun design because I basically just tried to add as many creepy elements as I could, not the least of which are his jorts.

What was most challenging about creating the art for your arc?

What do you think about the art-thology approach of multiple artists telling one story?

I really love the art-thology approach because I think it really embodies the spirit of Oneshi Press and everything they stand for. We get to see this story and these characters through so many different lenses. Like, the way Jayel envisioned Mr. Guy is different than how I, or Walter or Diana or Sonne, are gonna see the character. You have artists from all over the world, of different genders, ages, and backgrounds—and so you get these different takes on the material, and it makes it richer. Plus the art is just amazing. I’m so blown away by what everyone did, and I’m so honored to be a part of such an incredible team.

What was your experience working with Oneshi Press like?

I really love working with Oneshi Press because they’re so creator focused and collaborative. Working with Jayel on Mr. Guy didn’t feel like an editor handing me tasks, but two art friends just enthusiastically sharing ideas and making something cool together. It was really fun, and I felt like I had a ton of room to really have my voice as an artist come through in the finished artwork.

What else are you working on now, or what have you worked on recently?

Right now I’ve got a couple of scripts for short comics that I’m working on that will hopefully end up in future comic anthologies. In the meantime, you can catch me on YouTube, where I make videos about art, and occasionally on Twitch when I have time to stream.

Thank you again to Jayel and Lynsey for giving me this opportunity. I’m really proud of the work I did for Mr. Guy and so excited to be a part of such a talented, hardworking team.