What projects are you currently working on?
Directly after finishing The Squirrel Machine, I jumped right into another long-term graphic novel called Ectopiary (read online in English HERE) with the barest notion of an plot outline. It’s intended to be a science-fiction about a lonely little girl who befriends aliens from outer space. I’ve drawn over 130 pages, and I’ve yet to get the main character to the moon.
I’ve also been working on COCHLEA & EUSTACHIA (read online in English HERE). None of my comics fall neatly into any genre definition, and this one is impossible to categorize. The “stories” center on the misadventures of a pair of scantily-clad lookalike nymphets. For me personally, it’s a slapstick parody of the sombre, over-serious surrealist comics I drew as a teenager; a curious recursive aesthetic guaranteed to alienate every reader.
The third graphic novel in the works is DELIA (read online in English HERE) in collaboration with my wife, Krissy Dorn. DELIA is a story featuring cute anthropomorphic squirrels being terrorized by giant robotic monsters. I provide the pencils and dialogue and Krissy takes on the laborious task of inking my (often) indecipherable pencil scrawls.
Among other projects, I’m slowly aggregating an animated cartoon based on COCHLEA & EUSTACHIA. I may complete it before the end of the decade.
Which instruments/tools do you use to draw?
I’ve been drawing and self-publishing comics since I was eleven years old. Despite attempts to graduate to more advanced instruments over the years, I still prefer the cheap pens I’ve used since I started. I’m very emotionally attached to the idea of keeping comics-making the same “fun” activity that so animated me in my youth. Since I don’t make any real money drawing these things, I never quite adjusted to using “professional-level” tools. Right now, I use Fine Point Pilot V-Ball pens for the majority my line work. For paper, I use off-white 80lb Stathmore Drawing Paper which is fairly inexpensive and doesn’t strain the eyes with glare from the lights.
Do you have any peculiar habits or routines before starting to draw?
You may be disappointed that the only pre-cartooning ritual I have is brewing a fresh pot of cheap coffee and locating the correct prescription glasses so I can see what I’m doing.
Do you have books or comic books you keep close by when you draw?
There is no place in my house where I am not surrounded by books and comic books. I do frequently grab books at random for idea-filching. I have no particular favorites at the moment. Lately, I’ve been reading trashy 1950’s-70’s science fiction.
Are there certain objects in your studio which you’re particularly attached to?
I have lots of trashy knick-knacks that I pick up at flea markets that amuse me. Some favorites are the glazed ceramic gargoyle heads made by some high school students. Also, I like to the cheaply-made plastic busts of famous composers that glower at me while I hunch over my drawing table.
