Sal Abbinanti on The Hostage, Comic Book Art, and Immersing in Craft

Feb 16

My guest today is Sal Abbinanti. Sal is an art rep for the comic book superstars Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz. By night Sal is also an artist, and for over the last two decades, Sal has been obsessed with creating a graphic novel inspired by a visit he made to Brazil in his early twenties.

With COVID, he could finally sit down and get back to the workshop and tell the story lingering since that experience. Now that story is launching on Kickstarter under the name of the hostage. You can find it in the link in the show notes.

I highly recommend you check out Sal's work because I think his style is unique, and that's one of the things that grabbed me about the hostage itself, but across all the work that he shares on his social media, I think there was a lot there. It's part of the reason why I wanted to reach out to him.

This conversation gets very interesting for me because not only does Sal truly appreciate comic book Art, but art more broadly, and he's truly a master of craft or a student of craft in the sense of an artist. He talks about being open to new ideas and having a framework that allows you to constantly be receptive to new ideas, whether they may pop up randomly or planned or however they may happen. He's always constantly trying to push himself.

Many artists, especially if you're into comic books, will take a lot from this conversation. With that, everyone, please enjoy this conversation with Sal Abbinanti.

Sal Abbinanti was educated at the University of Southern California and the Art Institute of Chicago. Sal began his indie comics career in 2005 with the launch of Mercury Comics and the publication of Atomika-God is Red, and now, The Hostage. By day he is the art rep for Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz and lives on the North Side of Chicago.

For more than two decades, the Chicago native has been obsessed with creating a graphic novel inspired by a visit he made to Brazil when he was in his early 20’s. Now, Abbinanti is launching a Kickstarter campaign for his dream project, a 115-page full-color original graphic novel set in Rio de Janeiro's favelas titled THE HOSTAGE.

“When I was 25, I spent six months living in Rio de Janeiro,” said Abbinanti. “I was a starry-eyed, full of a shit college kid who went there for a Brazilian vacation of samba, nightlife, and beaches. To see the level of poverty, suffering, and death in Rio de Janeiro was eye-opening. I will never forget it. THE HOSTAGE is my tribute to the amazing country and especially to the kids living in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.”

Loosely inspired by Brazil's culture and religions like the Umbanda and the Candomblé, Abbinanti has been building the world of THE HOSTAGE in his studio for over 10 years—sketching characters, panels, and scripting pages. Abbinanti’s unique art style and vibrant color choices create a spellbinding effect. THE HOSTAGE tells the story of a group of street kids who are abandoned by society. Dying every day from poverty and gang violence, the kids join together and summon a mystical spirit—THE HOSTAGE—who will protect them and avenge their friends' deaths.

“One of the most exciting parts of bringing my project to Kickstarter is the opportunity to connect with so many amazing artists from around the world and bring their work to you,” said Abbinanti. “I've been working in the comics business for a long time, and I'm fortunate to know so many talented artists who have been willing to make contributions to this project. It's an honor to see their visions for THE HOSTAGE and have them be part of this."

Follow his socials: @SalAbbinanti and @comics_mercury