Over at Sequential Tart – Suzette Chan has posted her interview with North 40‘s Fiona Staples entitled A Knack for the Gorgeous and the Grotesque

With a distinct painterly style that’s both gorgeous and grotesque, Fiona Staples is making her mark on the comic book world.

The Calgary born-and-bred artist has been busy since she graduated in 2006 from the Alberta College of Art and Design with a specialization in character design. “I chose Character Design based partly on the courses offered — stuff like environment design and narrative illustration — and partly on the instructors,” Staples wrote in a recent email.

While at school, she started working on a vampire comic with Edmonton writer Andrew Foley. Published in 2006, Done to Death left an impression on the indie scene. Two years later, she made a splash in the mainstream with her art on The Secret History of the Authority: Jack Hawksmoor. WildStorm liked her work so much, they commissioned her to do covers for the DV8 reboot and invited her into a new project with Aaron Williams, writer of PS238 and The Nodwick Chronicles.

North 40 is a six-issue mini-series set in the fictional Conover County in mid-Americana, where the two town intellectuals (okay, a geek and a goth) unwittingly unleash the Lovecraftian uncanny within and amongst the townsfolk. Emerging as the town heroes are Amanda, a girl who is called to an apprenticeship in the dark arts; Sheriff Morgan, a laconic lawman who just wants a night quiet enough to watch the Friday night Western on TV for once; and Wyatt, the downtrodden son of an alcoholic who wakes up with great new powers — and responsibilities.

Staples took time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions about her craft and on North 40.