We loved him before he was cool. Vincent Fournier, the hero from A Space Boy Dream, is back from the dead. Web comic creators Mark Scicluna and Moira Zahra discuss the gentle art of hipster-baiting with Ramona Depares.

The front cover for the new series of A Space Boy Dream.

Vincent is that rare breed of hipster, the one everybody loves. Of course, it helps that at heart he is not actually a hipster, if the term has meaning any more.

He is just a softie, someone who lacks the social nous that comes natural to most of us and who only wants to be loved.

Of course, it also helps that Vincent is a figment of the imagination of Mark Scicluna and Moira Zahra, the main protagonist of the webcomic A Space Boy Dream.

And, when the two artists killed off the series almost a year ago to this date, many were those in mourning for their weekly dose of satire on what we like to think of as Malta’s alternative scene. A Space Boy Dream never quite left our hearts.

Happily, it turned out to be more of a hibernation than an actual demise.

In the time-honoured tradition of the best-loved fictional characters, like Sherlock Holmes, Gandalf and Sam and Dean Winchester, Vincent is back from the dead as of September 28. The webcomic will be updated every Sunday as per usual.

I caught up with Vincent’s parents, so to speak, to discuss uncomfortable topics like Vincent’s artistic aspirations, his hopeless crushes and his virginity.

Starting with the obvious. Why on earth did they ever think it was a good idea to kill off their creation, and what has inspired the return of the prodigal son?

“Well, we ran out of time and energy and so had to stop drawing the webcomic at the time. We were both working full-time and doing part-time work as well.

Some of the sketches featuring Vincent.

“Then, towards the beginning of this year, we were approached by a member of the V-18 board to relaunch the comic through a V-18 newsletter. The collaboration never happened, but we did have a rough story and character developments,” Zahra, who will be doing all the writing for the new plotline, explains.

And so, the two decided to bring Vincent back to life with Scicluna, who in the meantime left his teaching position to pursue a freelance career, totally focusing on the illustration side of things.

“Truth be told we actually missed Vincent. It felt as though we had killed off a member of our family,” he continues.

Vincent is a lot more into jazz bars and tea bars nowadays. He’s trying to become more sophisticated because that’s what all the hipsters are doing

Of course, while Vincent was in hibernation, changes happened aplenty on Malta’s social scene, including the alternative one.

And, although the duo are loathe to actually label poor Vincent as ‘hipster’ (the definition itself has evolved to merge with popular culture, even locally), they concede that it is still very easy to pinpoint those particular characteristics that define the label. And Vincent certainly has them all.

Given these changes, in particular the fact that the hipster hangout of choice, Coach & Horses in Birkirkara, has taken a bit of a back seat recently, how is Vincent coping?

“Well, we can only reveal so far that Vincent is a lot more into jazz bars and tea bars now-adays. He’s try-ing to become more sophisti-cated and grown up, because that’s what all the hipsters are doing. This also means that he has had to substitute his gin and tonic for aged whisky,” Zahra says with a smile.

A big part of what makes Vincent so attrac- tive (if attractive is the right word) is the fact that he comes complete with a whole cast of regulars.

Those who are already familiar with the web-comic will re-member that some of them were subtly – and some, not so subtly – inspired by real-life characters.

Readers will still see some of the characters from the first run of A Space Boy Dream, Scicluna assures me.

However, Scicluna and Zahra have also introduced several new characters along with newlocations. “Yes, most of them will be based on familiar faces but, like we did in the previous season, each character is usually composed of multiple inspirations rather than just one person,” he continues.

Changes are also afoot on the backend side of the comic, which will now be inked using the traditional ink and brush method, rather than drawn digitally on Photoshop.

“The colouring is still being done digitally. We are using Vellum paper to draw the characters on transparent sheets. This allows for the separation of characters from the backgrounds, which can then be reused in later comics.

“The process is a much longer one than a 100% digital, but the comics look a million times better,” Scicluna says.

As for the storyline, Zahra tells me that Vincent has grown with us in the past year; he has left college and has become a bit more rough around the edges.

“He’s slightly angrier, a bit more cynical and less self-deprecating, but he still hasn’t given up on his dreams just yet.

“The new characters in his life will really have an affect on how his personality transforms, as well as his aspirations. Also, he has started to spend most of his time in Valletta.”

Yup. Sounds like many hipsters I know.

www.aspaceboydream.com