Meet Paulus Linnaeus | Graphic Novel Creator, Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paulus Linnaeus and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paulus, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As an artist, I create because I must do so in order to feel fully alive. Really, the business aspect is something that naturally follows. Being able to create stories (in my case, my original graphic novel series The Demonhuntress) is a matter of incredible good fortune. Waking up and doing what you love doing, without any restrictions of time or other practical limitations – how many people attain this point? So it was a matter of expressing the art, and the business simply formed around it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
A few years ago, I politely declined a contract offer from a publishing house, which runs contrary to the usual pressure on book creators to achieve perceived financial support at any cost. It was an amicable conversation, but they understandably felt beholden to the typical commercial market trends and I was not willing to compromise my artistic style to please the masses. In this sense, my stories are therefore the purest form of storytelling: they are an unadulterated version of what I intend to convey.

So I started my own publishing company and we now handle all our own distribution, marketing, and retail internationally. The path was long and never easy. My main character, in some ways, is a reflection of some of my own personality archetypes. She is an independent-minded but still feminine woman who fights her way through adversity on behalf of the underdog – a persona with which many readers can relate. She refuses to compromise her values, ever. I didn’t want her turned into a shallow sex symbol to conform to the mainstream cinematic or mass media tropes, and my storylines are similarly untainted by the expected stereotypes that have been prevalent in western comic books for a century.

Thus, readers who wish a more literate and sophisticated story unfettered by flat and predictable story, art and dialogue will love a new character who does things her own way – and they can always count on more stories with these twists. I have so many story ideas that I won’t be able to complete them all before I die.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, it happens that I’ve had some experience at opening the door to a side of life that many dream about but have never really expected to live. I’d do what I’ve actually done a few times for those special few friends who are ready.

We dine at the local restaurants where I know the chefs and owners personally, and can persuade them to provide a customised menu. These include both five star and nondescript hole-in-the-wall establishments that have one thing in common: superlative food and service. Then there would be trips to the Stratford Festival for some Shakespearean plays, exclusive access to the art galleries, a road trip to cottage country, and finally I’d introduce them to the drop zone instructors with whom I’ve trained so they could experience the joys of freefall parachuting!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
While it may sound clichéd, my wife has been a very steady and patient source of neverending support. Even a solitary endeavour such as artistic genesis needs somebody like that in the background. Elsewhere, my family as a whole have generally provided unconditional support, which means that I have another vital source of strength to keep going. And finally, my loyal readers also provide incentive to keep producing. It means everything to me that my work is meaningful to others.

Website: TheDemonhuntress.com

Instagram: @AlexistheDemonhuntress

Other: Since my work is also published in French and Italian: www.LaChasseressededémons.com www.LaCacciatricedidemoni.com

Image Credits
Paulus Linnaeus Patria Nostra Publications