It’s been a wild few months for Rachel Smythe, the creator of Lore Olympus. After ending her hit WEBTOON series that ran for over six years, the sky was truly the limit. There was, of course, the time to sit down and relax. But then came the ideas that have been hibernating for a while.
“It reminds me a lot of when I first started making comics when I quit my full time job. And I was like, How do I manage my time? I think this is really common for many people who finish a big project. You kind of put so many things on your plate,” Rachel told Cosmopolitan in an exclusive interview.
There was a thought of learning how to 3D model. Then several other hobbies. And then possibly nothing, which is what Rachel Smythe would be doing nowadays if she wasn’t Rachel Smythe. So when the Eisner-winning creator asked Cosmopolitan for a chat to reveal their next big news, we couldn’t pass it up. And the news was so hush-hush that even we didn’t find out what it was until we sat down just a few short days prior over Zoom.
And it was definitely more than we, or any other fan, were expecting.
“I have two graphic novels coming out with Inklore,” Rachel said. “Two brand new babies.”
The Random House imprint will be working with Rachel on two new stand-alone graphic novels. Their release dates are still TBD, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have any official info to share:
The first is Eleanor’s Deathbed, an original graphic novel following a socially isolated mortician’s apprentice whose quiet life is turned upside down after an unlikely friendship with Death entangles her in the politics of the gods.
And the second will be Patients in the Dark, about a grieving psychiatrist summoned home by her estranged family, whose old secrets—and new patients—are not of this realm.
And you better believe that we had dozens of more questions after this so we had to talk to Rachel some more about these two projects, starting completely anew for the first time in years, and trying out a new kind of process.
Tells us more about these two new titles!
The two new books, I’d say, they’re sort of siblings but far apart. Eleanor’s Deathbed will feel a bit more familiar to Lore Olympus in terms of tone, but obviously there’ll be a lot of new things in there. People will be like I recognize this work and it will feel both new and old. And the second one is a bit more contemporary and is a bit more serious in tone.
Was it difficult knowing what you wanted to do next? Or did you already have an idea as you were going into this new period in your career?
A little from Column A and a little from Column B. Most writers do have like 10s of billions of stories that they think about all the time. I think in picking a story, it is hard, especially coming off Lore Olympus. You’re like, Do I do more of the same or something completely different? And depending on how the follow up story goes, it’s either, She made a terrible choice or an awesome choice.
Number one was that it should have things that do feel familiar to readers, but it should also feel fresh. I was reading A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll, a graphic novel that is roughly 250 pages, and I was like, This is roughly the size of a Lore Olympus printed novel and it is one singular story. I told myself that I have learn to streamline what I’m doing. I’m really excited, honestly, to take what I’ve learned from my experiences of working on such a big, big story, and really fine tuning it and applying it and making it really succinct.
And also it’s a completely different process too! You’re going from having to plan and update weekly to now having a finished product before the public really sees it.
The end product is somewhat the same in the sense that it’s a comic. But in terms of production, it is a very different animal, for sure. I’m really interested in exploring the other side of the coin, which is, We want it all at once and here it is. I’m looking forward to writing for this sort of audience.
How has the editing process been? Has that been different?
I don’t think so. It’s still very early days, so it is a bit tricky to do a compare and contrast at this point. But it is bit more leisurely in terms of discussion and brainstorming and structure. There’s time to incubate.
When we talked about the end of Lore Olympus, you were pretty honest about what a toll a project like that took on you. I’m sure this pacing has helped in a lot of different ways physically, mentally, and creatively.
I do feel like that is correct. And I still agree that when I was getting to the end of Lore Olympus, I physically felt like I could keep up this momentum. I don’t want to be like, Oh, my gosh, I’m in my late 30s and I will be turning 40 in a couple of years, because age is just whatever you make it. But I do not have the bounce back like I once had. Recovery time is longer when you work for long stretches of time.
But part of the excitement is getting the chance to start completely anew, which is also something that you haven’t experienced for a while.
I know! Starting a story is great! There’s a lot of breathing room when you first start a story as opposed to when you end one. It’s daunting, but it’s also very fun. Right now I’m just in the process of world building, so it’s very early days. Especially for Eleanor’s Deathbed being the first one, I’ve been trying to hunker down and work on what the themes will be and what I’m trying to say with it. It is a romance, but what else could it be? What can we do for people that will pull them in and make them excited and make them feel seen? So that is also a very fun prospect of it.
Colors are also a huge part of your work. Can you share a little bit of what we can expect in that department?
I do think that visual language is really important, because it makes it recognizable to people. And I do think I try to keep it in mind when working on a project no matter what it is. I definitely want to make sure that my work is recognizable and I don’t want to lose out on things that I am really proud of. I really enjoyed the colors and I thought that was really fun. I’ve been playing around with it.
I must admit, it feels really strange to make regular human characters at this point. I’m very used to a vibrant fantasy, so I’m like, What does that mean for me? And where will I go with that? That’s still a mystery and it’s certainly part of the process, but it is fun to explore.
So what is your process at the moment?
The process is kind the same. It’s me wandering around, listening to a lot of music, and having imaginary conversations with myself. I swing back and forth between drawing the art and writing the stories. Those two things are in conversation with each other.
I can think about the characters and write them as much as I like. Sometimes I just sit down and do a bunch of drawings to be like, What are they like? Let’s put them in these different situations and draw them out. What does that look like to me? What can I get out of that? It’s a fun stage because I don’t have to commit to anything.
Ooh, what songs have you been listening to lately?
I always feel very exposed every time I think about the music that I listen to. I really like the new Billie Eilish album, so I’ve been listening to that a lot. And also I’ve been going back to stuff that I listened to as a teenager. Which is a lot of—oh, gosh, don’t laugh at me—emo music from 2005.
Nope, I can never laugh about that! That’s always a vibe!
Sometimes I put on like, Fall Out Boy. And I’m like, Was this from this year? And no, it was, like a decade ago.
How does it feel to finally get to talk about this?
I’m not bad at keeping secrets, but I think about them a lot. I’m like, Oh, gosh. I just want to openly discuss what I’m doing. Obviously, many people have asked what is next, so it feels good to have it all out in the open.
We’ve also still got Rachel Smythe Presents, which is the other Inklore project. I’m really enjoying working and getting to support other people in an element that I really enjoy and cherish. But it means that I don’t have to do as much work. I’m not writing the stories, but it’s good to have a bridge between projects.
Which gives you a nice point of view as you go into this side of publishing too!
I definitely had a very good education in terms of publishing over the past decade and have a lot to bring to the table now. It feels odd to say. One day you feel like you don’t know anything and all of a sudden it’s like you actually know what you’re doing. It’s very refreshing.
Would you ever go back to something in a weekly cadence or is this it for you as you think about the future?
I know that my readers really appreciate that weekly schedule and that’s something that I’ll keep in mind. My focus right now is just the printed graphic novels. But, you know, never say never.
What’s it like to be on the other side of it all?
It feels good and it feels bad. It’s a mix of those two things. I definitely felt in my heart that it was time to wrap things up.
I’ve just been restructuring my life and reassessing everything and getting everything done that I’ve sort of missed out on. I’m moving into a different phase of my life and a lot of it is very scary. It’s kind of like finishing university. You have a set amount of years ahead of you where you’re have that structure and know what’s going on. And then you finish it and you’ve got this vast expanse in front of you. You go, What do I do now? So that can either be a very scary question or an exciting one. And I’m doing my very best to make it a really exciting and positive time where I can be as weird as possible with the stories that I make.
Any final words to the fans?
Oh, my goodness. I’m excited to give them something new! I’m excited to show them what I’ve been able to make through their support over the years. I don’t think I’d be able to do these stories and reach this level of skill without their support. It’s gonna take me a while to make this book, but I hope it’s like a celebration for them and that they will love seeing my work after all these years.
Eleanor’s Deathbed and Patients in the Dark will be released from Inklore in a to be announced date.