While it wrapped up a little while ago now, I knew I still wanted to celebrate the BOOM! series Pine & Merrimac in some way. That’s because this series that started as one thing became something bigger and bigger throughout its five issues, without ever losing its charming nature or beating heart that made readers invest so deeply in it. That makes sense, though. Pine & Merrimac was written by Kyle Starks, someone who is uniquely gifted at balancing tone and working both humor and heart into a story in equal measures. 5 That’s just sort of what he does, which I knew going in.

What I did not know going in was what kind of artist Fran Galán was, Starks’ partner on the series. I knew Starks had talked him up, but I’ve heard him talk up a lot of questionable basketball things before. You never know what’s hype and what’s real, and you wouldn’t until you read the comic, at least. And I’ve now done that, of course.

It turns out Starks was right: Galán is incredible at what he does. 6 In fact, he might have been even better than I hoped, as he turned out to be just what Pine & Merrimac needed to reach the peak of its potential, bringing tremendous storytelling, electric character acting, and exceptional coloring to the title’s entire run. I knew I had to talk about his work on the series, but for reasons that are entirely my fault, we haven’t put it together until now. But it’s better late than never, and we’ve done it now, as I recently chatted with Galán — a Spanish artist still relatively early in his American comics career — about his own art journey, working with Starks, the appeal of Pine & Merrimac, and more, before we discussed an array of pages from the first two issues of this series — with no spoilers, of course.

You can give it a read below, and hey, if you like the art that you see, consider checking out Pine & Merrimac issues #1 through #5, which are now available through BOOM! Studios, as well as its trade paperback that arrives in December.

What came for you first, comics or art?

Fran Galán: First it was art, drawing my own versions of my favorite movie characters of that time: Rambo, Rocky, Superman…I also copied or traced photos from music magazines a lot of the time.

You’re from Spain, a country with a deep history in comics and a whole lot of talented artists. How did you build up your skills both as an illustrator and comic artist? Did you go to art school or study under anyone, or were you self-trained?

Galán: Although I studied graphic design, I consider myself self-taught since I practically learned nothing about drawing in school. They taught me to use Photoshop at least, which I adapted to my drawing skills.

I learned through a lot of tracing, copying, and imitating my favorite artists until developing my own style (if I have one). An important part of my art journey was being surrounded in my childhood by friends who also really liked comics and drawing, and we could get along hours and hours doing it.

You started off working as an illustrator. What made you eventually want to pursue a career as a comic artist?

Galán: I have always wanted to exclusively be a comic artist but to try to get ahead as an artist in my country you have to branch out and adapt to the graphic work that comes your way at any time.

After working in Spain for a few years, your first comics project in America was the series Knights Temporal over at Aftershock. What was your path to breaking in? Did you deliberately pursue working in America, or did someone reach out to you with a project?

Galán: Actually, the first comic I was published in professionally was in the United States, although maybe it doesn’t count because I did it with a Spanish publisher that published exclusively in the States.

I always wanted to work in the United States because most of the comics I read as a child were from this country. First superheroes and then more creator owned stuff. If I’m honest, I don’t know how I got into Aftershock. Mike Marts wrote to me one day and he offered me Knights Temporal, but I never really knew where he saw my work. From there everything happened very quickly.

You first worked with Kyle Starks on a story in the Creepshow anthology over at Skybound. After that first experience, what made you want to team up with him again in Pine & Merrimac? Was there something about that collaboration that just worked?

Galán: For me it was exactly that; it worked. Although it was a short story that we did for that anthology, I loved the experience and working with Kyle. He is very talented, and he makes the kind of stories and tells them the way I like. I did not hesitate to propose a future collaboration.

Pine & Merrimac was something you said in an interview that you imagined as a mix between Twin Peaks and Jaws. What was it about that blend and this story that appealed to you as an artist?

Galán: I have always really liked stories in a cozy environment, just like Stephen King usually writes. In an idyllic setting where things suddenly start to happen that unsettle the characters. I like that everything is in a more mundane environment, it connects me more with the story, and also gives me a lot of things to play with.

This collage from the first issue introduces us to series co-lead Linnea Kent, before the next page does the same for her husband Parker in a similar fashion. Kyle said in another interview that he wrote them out written out as “a series of panels with captions” and you converted them into something that was even more spectacular. What made this the right solution for introducing Linnea and Parker, in your mind?

Galán: I wanted the narrative of the protagonist’s past to be different from the rest of the comic. The intention was for everything to flow, one image will lead you to the other alone. It is a technique that I believe works, and stylistically it is beautiful, and I like doing it.

That interview answer suggests I already know the answer to this question, but how did you and Kyle work on this series? Did he give you a lot of space to come up with the right answers for each page, even if he went in with a defined idea about what he might want?

Galán: Working with Kyle is very easy. I have a lot of room to maneuver, and he is always open to any changes you bring up. As I said before; he makes the kind of stories that I like and as soon as I read them, I have already connected with the story from the scripts.