University of Saskatchewan alumni Scott Boyce’s first comic book, Antique Books, is beautifully crafted and breathes eerie life into an expertly crafted horror story.

Boyce graduated from the U of S in 2000 with a degree in fine arts and while he has done some artistic work in the past, Antique Books is his first publication. He has spent the last two years working on the comic book, which included drawing the sketches, lines, colouring, putting the story together and doing the lettering — all of which he did by himself.

As far as the story goes, Boyce outlined the main premise of Antique Books without giving any main plot points away.

“It’s kind of an homage to the first Alien movie, set in the least Alien movie setting I could think of, which was an antique bookstore,” Boyce said.

In regards to writing Antique Books, Boyce spoke to the biggest challenge he faced, as well as how he overcame it.

Scott Boyce pairs stylized drawings with realism in his new comic book, Antique Books.

“Time, just the time to do it because everything takes time. Just always have a sketchbook on you or a notepad and just, even if it’s 10 minutes a day, just do something,” Boyce said.

One of the first things students will notice when picking up a copy of Antique Books is the artwork contained within its pages.

“[It’s] too damn detailed; it took me too long. It’s stylized but sort of realistic,” Boyce said.

Lots of detail is an understatement — Antique Books is beautifully stylized yet chillingly realistic in ways. Everything from the use of colour to the formatting of each frame works towards creating an unsettling atmosphere of horror. The hours put into each and every frame are easily noticeable.

When citing his inspirations, Boyce certainly has an eclectic method of finding  ideas for his work and gives attention to many things that he pulls inspiration from.

“Everything — movies, music. I have a backlog of stories and they’re just all over the place, like every genre, just start with one idea and start filling pages,” Boyce said.

Boyce also says that his degree in fine arts has helped to further his artistic ability.

“It makes you try things you wouldn’t necessarily try, and doing something like sculpture helps you draw because you get more of a sense of the form and all that stuff. Colour theory and all that, and art history is great just to see what’s all been done before,” Boyce said.

For students looking to pursue a career in the arts, Boyce has some words of advice and motivation.

“Just keep doing it. Just keep doing it every day, just chip away at it. If you have a project, just do that project even if you’re not getting paid, because doing it will teach you stuff to make the next one better,” Boyce said.

Having worked on his drawing skills from a young age, persistence is something Boyce has in spades.

“Since I was a kid, I was the kid falling asleep under the table with a sketchbook … I’ve tried putting it down but I just keep coming back,” Boyce said.

Childhood is also a time when interests are made that can impact the projects one takes on later in life and Boyce listed off some of his favourite comic books as a kid.

“When I was younger it was probably X-Men and Swamp Thing. I was lucky enough to be in the late 1980s when all that was going on,” Boyce said.

Boyce’s dedication to the arts is unwavering and something that won’t be leaving him any time soon — and Antiques Book is a clear example of this.

Antiques Book can be found for purchase at both 8th Street Books & Comics and McNally Robinson.

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Jack Thompson / Staff Writer

Graphic: Scott Boyce / Supplied