<Summer Swallowed by Pitch-Black> Author Potato Interview
Meet the Trending Author
vol. 262
[Summer Swallowed by Pitch-Black]
Author Potato | Kakao Webtoon
A bizarre yet nostalgic narrative blooming in pitch-black darkness,
a subtle harmony of the occult's damp dread and delicate emotional lines! 👻🖤
Weaving traditional Korean shamanism with the deep sorrow (Han) of the weak,
an artist who paints an unrivaled universe! 🎨🖌️
A story where the chilling goosebumps of summer coexist with deep storytelling,
a written interview with Potato, the author of <Summer Swallowed by Pitch-Black>,
starts right now!
[INTRO]
Q. Author Potato! It is an infinite honor to have you for this interview! Before we begin, could you briefly introduce yourself?
A. Hello~ I'm Potato, currently serializing <Summer Swallowed by Pitch-Black> on Kakao.
I'm glad to participate in this interview thanks to this great opportunity.
△ Can you feel our joy too?😉
[About Potato]
Q. How did you come up with the pen name 'Potato'?
A. It's a playful name I made by pronouncing the word 'Potato' exactly as it is written in Korean letters (Po-ta-to).
Q. I'm curious about the moment you decided to walk the path of a webtoon author.
A. While I was preparing for employment, I received a serialization offer for a comic I uploaded as a hobby, putting me at a crossroads.
I agonized over whether to pursue a career in my major or follow my dream of becoming an author, but
I challenged myself with the mindset of 'I won't know unless I try,' and that has brought me to where I am today.
Q. Compared to your creative process during your debut, in what aspects of an author's perspective or working skills do you feel you've grown the most?
A. In the early days of my debut, I storyboarded and arranged panels in the format of page comics,
and I tried to emphasize the tones of print comics or printmaking expressions in my drawings.
Recently, I feel my style has become much more 'webtoon-like' in many ways.
Q. From planning the work to completing the manuscript, which stages of bringing a story to the world are the most enjoyable and the most painful for you?
A. I think it's definitely when I'm conceiving the setting.
Looking through various references and extracting interesting parts is the most enjoyable.
The most painful is, as expected, the drawing stage.😂
△ The embroidery on the shaman's robe that the author painstakingly drew stitch by stitch...😱 (Source_Author's 'X')
Q. In the easily exhausting daily life of serialization, what is your personal routine or attitude that helps you stay grounded as a creator?
A. I do yoga on weekdays, and on my days off, I go to a cafe to read a book.
Taking this time to recharge helps my mental health a lot.
And since I have a work routine that I've maintained for years, I have a vague belief that if I put in the time, it will work out somehow.
Q. Do you have a favorite playlist you often listen to while working on the manuscript, or videos you play to concentrate on your work?
A. I tend to try and listen to music that matches the atmosphere of the work.
Since <Summer Swallowed by Pitch-Black> is set in a forest and features mysterious content,
I often listen to the OST of <Mushishi>, which has a similar background.
I also listen to occult playlists on YouTube, or shamanic ritual (Gut) music when drawing ritual scenes...
I also enjoy watching ghost stories or mystery videos about incidents and accidents.
Q. Among the comics you read as a child, is there one you still consider your absolute favorite?
A. When I was young, I mainly read shonen manga, so I'm still moved when I watch Bleach, Hunter x Hunter, and Fullmetal Alchemist.
Among them, Hunter x Hunter truly feels like a masterpiece that never loses its shine despite the passage of time.
Q. I'm curious about the studio space where your creations come to life! Could you give us a little tour?
A. I work while commuting between my home and my studio.
On one side of the desk, I keep references or books I'm reading, as well as a diary for checking schedules...
△ Wow... It's so neat 💦
[About <Summer Swallowed by Pitch-Black>]
Q. I'm curious about the creation process behind the eerie title <Summer Swallowed by Pitch-Black>, as well as the background of planning that brought traditional Korean shamanism and ghost folklore to the center of your new work.
A. I've always been very interested in the occult since I was young.
I was intrigued by how primitive beliefs like shamanism are dismissed as irrational and "feminine," and how they are actually passed down mainly through women.
Since my debut work was also in the occult genre, choosing traditional shamanism for my next project wasn't a particularly challenging leap for me.
However, there is a reason for setting it in Korea.
My previous work, <The Island Where Witches Live>, followed the genre rules of traditional gothic horror,
so the background was set in England and depicted a Western setting, but my parents found the setting unfamiliar.
△ Source_'RIDI' work home
So for my next work, I wanted to draw a story that contemporary Koreans could empathize with a bit more.
Then, asking myself 'What makes a story Korean?', I began researching traditional folklore and events in modern and contemporary history.
And usually, beings that become ghosts are the weak who harbor deep sorrow (Han) because they couldn't voice themselves while alive.
Asking myself who these voiceless beings on the fringes would be—not in Seoul, but in some small provincial city—
I began weaving the story.
△ I rubbed my eyes for a second thinking it was a folk painting...
As for the title, I first wanted it to reflect the season.
After all, it's a chilling comic perfect for summer reading, and I felt it would capture the vibe of the forest well...
I created the title by combining words to evoke the feeling that dark and mysterious things are about to happen.
△ It's cold...🥶
Q. When balancing the genres so that the occult's damp dread and the romantic narrative of the melodrama naturally seep into each other without clashing, what do you focus on the most in terms of direction?
A. Honestly, that part is always difficult.
First, in parts where romance or horror is heavily featured, I believe it needs to be visually persuasive,
so I pay a lot of attention to the characters' expressions and the overall quality of the drawing.
Also, scenes that give off the fluttering or positive vibes of romance and those that are horrifying and tense
are arranged to create a contrast, which helps drive the flow of the play.
△ Munju's face itself is a romance!! 📢
Q. To effectively convey the characters' emotional lines or bizarre situations, what visual direction do you intend in the panel composition and the shading of light and dark?
A. Even within the darkness, I try to express various tones and paint them so that they are not colorfully boring.
Especially in bizarre scenes where I want to make an impact, I tend to use highly saturated and alien colors like pink, purple, or light green.
△ I got startled several times while editing at night...😰
Q. From the delicate changes in characters' expressions to the visual of bizarre evil spirits, what stage do you put the most effort into during the drawing process to complete your uniquely neat and elegant line art?
A. I guess it would be the line art.✒️
It's the most time-consuming and exhausting stage.
△ <Summer Swallowed by Pitch-Black> cover line art ver. (Source_Author♥️)
Q. Besides Suhyeon and Munju, are there any characters you find particularly fun to draw or have a soft spot for?
A. It's Kang Maehwa and Ki Sian.
It's fun because they often make expressions that non-villains wouldn't typically make.
Basically, I enjoy drawing all the female characters, though…😆
△ The sisters Yu-hwa & Mae-hwa of tragic fate
Q. Among the chapters serialized so far, what is a masterpiece scene that gave you goosebumps or that you particularly cherish?
A. I wouldn't call them masterpieces, but I like the stories from Seo Munju's past arc.
In particular, I like the scene in episode 49 where Seo Munju is left alone; I feel his monologue was persuasive enough to resonate deeply.
And for the final scene of episode 65, I was confident that many people would love it.
The PD also left a positive comment, and the readers' reactions were great, making it a meaningful chapter for me as well.
Q. If this work were reborn as a media adaptation, is there a specific scene you would definitely want to see in terms of movement or direction?
A. I'd love to see the scene in episodes 6-8 where the ghosts in white mourning clothes are moving, as I imagined and drew their movements vividly.
Also, I want to see Hanbal-i moving. I think it would be super cute!
△ Give me a Hanbal-i too 🙏
Q. Are there any behind-the-scenes settings you conceived during the planning stage but had to inevitably abandon or omit due to volume or plot constraints? If so, please share a little bit here!
A. There is a past story about the character Ahn Juhee and the protagonist Na Suhyeon's school days,
but it was omitted because some parts didn't quite fit the overall tone.
[Outro]
Q. If the shamanic tools or special props in <Summer Swallowed by Pitch-Black> were made into physical merchandise, which item would you covet the most or definitely want to gift to fans?
A. I think a bracelet to ward off evil spirits would be a safe choice. Wouldn't the rest be too shamanic?
And although it hasn't appeared in the work, I think it would be fun to have a talisman with the main characters drawn on it.
△ Shamanic stuff is good too...📿
Q. Could you share a warm word of thanks to the people around you who quietly give you strength so that each episode can safely come into the world despite the pressure of deadlines?
A. My PD, family, friends, and even my housemate—everyone always gives me an overwhelming amount of cheers and support.
I am always filled with gratitude.
Q. Is there any warm encouragement or words you'd like to say to yourself as you bravely draw your third world?
A. I want to tell myself that everything I've worked hard on without giving up is accumulating, so look at the long term and stay strong.
Q. Lastly, if you have anything to say to the readers who love <Summer Swallowed by Pitch-Black>, please feel free to share.
A. I feel tremendous love and gratitude toward everyone reading my work.
I will finish it with a great story so that those following along won't be disappointed.
Containing deep sorrow (Han) and fluttering hearts amidst the chill of summer🕯️
Thank you for joining us for this long interview.❤️🔥