I first interviewed Matt back in 2017 after he was brought to my attention by fellow local creator TJ Kirsch about his project at the time Antique.

Following our initial interview, I interviewed him later that year before his appearance at the 2017 Electric City Comic Con

Since that time I had been stalking him on Instagram and watching and really enjoying his “live” sketchings when I had the chance…I think my favorite was probably a Beast-Man from the He-Man universe (if I remember correctly).

Back in January, Matt contacted me and asked if I would be interested in helping him with an event at Northshire Books in Saratoga Springs. I immediately jumped at the offer and was looking forward to getting to touch base again with Matt and find out about his most recent project: THE FREAK.

Unfortunately, something came up for this weekend and I didn’t want to leave Matt scrambling to find someone else to help with his event, so I asked Chris Martinez of the Evil Geeks podcast if he would be willing to fill in for me, which he said he would gladly do.

I did, however, have a chance to read THE FREAK as I was doing some prep work for the interview and thought that if I couldn’t help Matt out with his event the least I could do would be to help promote the event here on the blog.

I don’t want to say too much about the book other than I really enjoyed it and can see that Matt has grown as both a storyteller and artist since his previous work.

THE FREAK, Matt seems to continue to channel Lemire and adds in the very detailed work that I associate with In our first interview about Antique, I mentioned that his art style reminded me of Jeff Lemire (one of my favorite creators who is known for doing both the story and art for his creator-owned work), and I still stand behind that. In, Matt seems to continue to channel Lemire and adds in the very detailed work that I associate with Jeremy Bastian of “Cursed Pirate Girl”

What have you been up to since we last spoke at the 2017 Electric City Comic Con?

A lot of drawing! That might be a boring answer but it’s the truth. It takes up almost all of my time. I’ve drawn a couple of pitches with different writers and have been working on my own projects, including THE FREAK. I’ve done a ton of commissions too. Other than that, just trying to maintain my sanity.

Who are the main characters and the premise behind THE FREAK? The only real main character is the Freak himself. He’s constantly on the move in the story, for various reasons, and because of that doesn’t ever become connected with anyone. As for the premise, the story follows a man in a world where ugliness is met with violence and is unacceptable in society. Everywhere the Freak goes, he’s pummeled for his appearance and general aura, which leaves almost everyone he passes in a state of disgust. Because of this, he took up the job of a ditch digger, hoping to go unnoticed by people, yet punishment followed him there as well. The story opens with the Freak deciding to head for the big city, hoping people will be too busy to even notice him. Once there he can start anew and dig ditches like usual. However, when he arrives, he encounters the worst beating of his life as people quickly notice him sticking out like a sore thumb. Once he wakes up from the violent coma, his trusty digging shovel is missing and he must follow a trail of his own blood to track it down.

How long did it take you to complete the project from start to finish? That’s hard to say because there was a bit of a break between chapters one and two due to other projects. If I had to guess I’d say it probably took about six months to complete the book from start to finish (writing, art, etc.).

THE FREAK published by THE FREAK after this. Think of it as a 3 part one shot with 60 pages of comics. This version ofpublished by @ adhousebooks is a 3 chapter graphic novel (the complete story). There won’t be any more ofafter this. Think of it as a 3 part one shot with 60 pages of comics.

Was it easy to find a publisher for THE FREAK? Once I found the right publisher, no. I actually joined forces with AdHouse Books in an interesting way. I sent the pitch for the Freak to a number of publishers, most of which ignored it and a couple getting back to me with a polite “no”. However, when I messaged Chris Pitzer asking if I could show him the pitch, he said he’d look at it. I didn’t get my hopes too high, but there was still hope. I emailed him the pitch and he got back to me essentially saying he was already familiar with the book because he bought a self-published copy of the first chapter I was selling at Heroes Con in Charlotte. I had no idea he had bought a copy from me. Long story short, the book found it’s home at AdHouse and I’m super proud to have the book published there. What are you doing to promote THE FREAK?

Outside of using social media to spread it around, I have an author event at a local bookstore, Northshire Books, this Friday (April 12). I’m also going to be at a few conventions including Gem City Comic Con, Heroes Con, SPX and possibly a few others that haven’t been confirmed.

What is the event Friday going to be like? To be honest, I’m not even completely sure. I’m letting Chris Martinez of the Evil Geeks podcast take the lead with the event as he’s hosting it. I just know we’re essentially doing a live podcast and people will be able to listen back to it once it’s recorded and uploaded. I’ll also be doing a Q&A if anyone attending has any questions about the book.

What if anything, do you hope readers will take away from THE FREAK? Nothing in particular. That’s not something for me to decide. I will say this though; if the reader somehow doesn’t relate to anything in the book, there is a story for them to follow. But, I made THE FREAK in such a way that it’s open to interpretation. People have already given me various perspectives on what they think it could really mean (or what it means to them) and that’s one thing I was hoping for. I’ve also heard people relate to different aspects of the story that I didn’t even expect. It’s good to hear people are getting different things from the project. What I’m saying is, it’ll be a different experience for everyone in regards to how they take it, relate/not relate to it, etc. It all depends on how you view things. How can people get the book if they can’t make it to your event? The easiest option would be to order it directly from the publisher at https://www.adhousebooks. com/books/freak.html or just meet me at a convention. If anyone wants to follow me and keep up with my work: Twitter: @MattLesniewski Instagram: @mattdrawscomics

What are you currently reading and or recommend?

I haven’t been reading as much as I’d like to lately but one book that really caught my attention is Go-Bots by Tom Scioli. I happened to be in the comic shop and the cover jumped out at me from the shelf. I’m not a Go-Bots or Transformers fan at all, but the cover to the first issue of this series grabbed my attention immediately. It’s simple, but I could tell there was something special and unique about it, at least to me. Then I picked it up and started flipping through it amazed by the creativity and unique approach to making a comic as a whole. It really inspired me and still does. Even if you’re not a GoBots fan I’d definitely recommend checking this thing out if you like different, unique and one of a kind comics voices/styles. I had never even heard of Tom Scioli before this but after reading his comic I became a fan right away.

Are you currently working on any new projects?

I just released my art book which can be purchased throughout my online shop: mattdrawscomics.bigcartel.com.

Right now I’m drawing my next graphic novel. I don’t want to say too much about it right now just to keep it a surprise. People can follow me online to hear more about it once it’s announced. I have a couple of other things in the works but nothing 100% confirmed so I won’t mention them.

I’d just say to keep an eye out for my next book which I’m currently 17 pages into drawing.