Victoriahope McAuliffe

Veronica Fish has impacted the comic book world as an illustrator for notable publishers Archie Comics, MARVEL, Boom! Studios and others who have taken notice of her artistic versatility and ability to invoke a mélange of emotions with her use of bold colors and abstract imagery.

A Central Massachusetts native, Veronica began her journey towards visual artistry at a young age and credits her community for impacting her artistic development, “I was fortunate to have many wonderful art teachers in my life, starting from sixth grade in Auburn through high school and weekend classes at the Worcester Art Museum. My teachers pushed me to do better and that made all the difference.” 

Unsurprisingly the draw to comic art for Veronica over others is, “that it’s fun getting to basically draw a movie. While painting and photography certainly tell stories, this is a bit more literal for me.” The definition of a comic book according to the Oxford Dictionary is, “a magazine that presents a serialized story in the form of a comic strip, typically featuring the adventures of a superhero.” How many times have we sat through a MARVEL film, amazed at the acting and special effects, yet forgetting the artistry that came before the films? Veronica saw the power of this artistic medium, and that is what pulled her into the world of comic art.

Bill Eisner’s, “The Dreamer” awoke her desire to commit to comic art more seriously, followed by, “the work of Alex Toth, Marc Hempel, Mike Allred, Paul Grist and other comic artists.”

Emerging artists often struggle to attain financial stability through their craft, hence the term “starving artist”, and many hold tight to dreams or determination to get them through. During this phase of Veronica’s career, the biggest obstacle she had to overcome was, “The mental aspect of it is always the biggest hurdle. Not giving up or getting beat down is key. Endurance is the most important part, I think… I’ve been lucky that editors approach me now, but that was after five or six of sending in many packets of sample art, emails and cold calling. Once I got my first professional gig at Archie Comics in 2016, I tried to focus on being punctual to gain a reputation amongst the editors as being dependable.”

Veronica taught at the Worcester Art Museum for seven years, where she shared her passion for art and experience about the realities of pursuing a career as an artist in any medium. Upon reflection, Veronica said, “I hope my students felt the enthusiasm I have for art, I certainly was inspired by theirs. I also hope they do not see being an artist as a job on a pedestal.” Although she no longer serves as an art instructor, Veronica still has sage advice up her sleeve for her former students wishing to pursue a career as an artist.

“To do this as a career means not every piece of art has to be a form of therapeutic expression, nor is it an extension of the self. I hope they also learned that an artist will do thousands of terrible drawings before hitting their stride. Again, it’s about endurance.” 

Endurance is critical for artists throughout their career, it helps them remain flexible, bending through the tumultuous storms the industry may send their way. Artists of every medium were pounded with an unexpected gale when the Covid-19 Pandemic hit and changed how art was created, viewed, and accessed.

The impact that the pandemic had on Veronica and her team has been tangible, “First, Covid shut down our supply chain, so we were furloughed from working on comics for a long time, then the convention circuit shut down. It was a real downer because our publisher Dark Horse Comics was set to really promote the heck out of our creator owned book called “Blackwood” and that was put on hold so it kind of got lost in the shuffle. Hopefully, it’ll come back.” 

Veronica offered parting advice for aspiring creatives, “Putting in tons of time grinding away to hone your craft, eventually someone will take notice, and the ball will start rolling. Then you spend a few years just trying to meet deadlines, sometimes the quality suffers. At that point, the quality must become the focus again, but the editors have worked with you long enough to trust the end result will be good.”

In “The Dreamer” the fortune teller emphatically tells Billy, “In times like these, what counts is dreams…I sell DREAMS!” What Veronica has achieved is the dream of every artist, as she said herself, “It’s a struggle balancing being creative and commercial sometimes, but the important thing is to stay with it. When it works it’s the most amazing feeling.” 

If you are interested in learning more about Veronica and her work you can follow her on Instagram @itsveronicafish or visit her website Veronicafish.portfoliobox.net.