Twin brothers Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá are international comic book powerhouses whether doing a project together or apart. The two artists have collaborated on comics like the Eisner-award-winning Day Tripper and Two Brothers and the comic book adaption of Neil Gaiman's How to Talk to Girls at Parties. They are equally potent as separate entities (although, they're never really separate since they share a studio). Of course, you know Gabriel as the co-creator of Umbrella Academy with Gerard Way (lead singer of the band My Chemical Romance) and Fabio as the co-creator of Casanova with Matt Fraction (Sex Criminals, Hawkeye, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen).

The twins came to Speech Bubble's Never Sleeps Network studios in Toronto all the way from São Paulo, Brazil, as a stop-over before 2019's Toronto Comic Art Festival, for a rare and exclusive long-form interview together. During the interview they discuss their special bond as twins, doing everything together, including living together and sharing the same bedroom until they were 23, and explain how drawing became their twin special language from a very early age. They also explain that because they are so bonded, personal relationships are a key part of what they like to unpack and explore when doing comics together. It was their fascination with the way stories unlock a person's imagination, in conjunction with the art, that turned them toward comics as an interest and eventual career.

They chronicle their rise from doing fan zines in Brazil to working on some of the American comic industry's hottest projects with some of its best known creators and how hard, but also necessary, it was to break into the American market if they were ever going to be successful as comic artists. Listeners will also hear about how reflecting on his own death in the shower and how fleeting life actually is, lead to Gabriel coming up with the concept for Day Tripper and how that subsequent Eisner win put both brothers on the map. They also share how being twins and growing up consuming the same media influences their process, with the story always being at the centre in governing who will draw what and their distinctive drawing styles (Gabriel inks with a pen and Fabio inks with a brush) fitting each story differently.

Of course, you'll hear about Umbrella Academy too. You'll learn how Gabriel feels about the comic being adapted by Netflix and whether the two are competitive with each other about their different levels of success and fame. This episode of Speech Bubble is sponsored by Hairy Tarantula and Oldtown Bodega.

@fabiomoon

@gabriel_ba

Fábio's Twitter

Gabriel's Twitter

Fábio and Gabriel's Facebook Page

Fábio and Gabriel's blog

Fábio and Gabriel's YouTube Channel

Fábio and Gabriel's Canadian publisher

Sponsors

Hairy Tarantula

Oldtown Bodega