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FLIGHT 3: Dave & Joey Introduction
Throughout these interviews the term all-ages keeps coming up and you’ve said you just wanted to make a fun story for your FLIGHT contribution, but the story itself seems a bit… subversive. While being fun and hopeful it also touches on some serious issues like job security, corporate tactics, depression, immigration… while you wanted to tell a story that was fun, was the deeper meaning intentional or was it perhaps something that grew from the unconscious and bled itself onto the page? The subtext is definitely intentional. Even though it’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, the first half of the comic focuses on frustration from having your livelihood taken away from you, and feeling powerless to do anything about it. I wanted to create something that would have an equal balance of whimsy and sadness. Like most of my comics, it plays with the contrast of high fantasy and day-to-day reality. And with Flight, the extra-cool part was being able to make the colour choices symbolic as well. Everything turns gray once the depression begins… you see the insides of rabbit apartments, which are made up of earth tones to reflect grass and dirt… the evil birds are red to evoke the threat of Communism or Nazi invasion. It all makes for good shorthand when you have a simple art style like mine. Aside from Communism or Nazi invasion, the image of the ‘Bird Seed Inc’ building actually made me think of the Golden arches. Ha! I think that’s one of those happy accidents. I just wanted the building to go from looking like a bunny head to a bird. So the golden arches are meant to evoke the wings. But I guess the McDonalds subtext, worked itself right in there! Creepy! Speaking of all-ages, you deal with the subject of what’s appealing and appropriate for a younger audience day in and day out as editor for Nickelodeon Magazine. Does your position of being both an editor and a creator sometimes collide? Being a cartoonist on the side, I can totally relate with the artists and writers I work with. Chris Duffy (senior comics editor) and I both genuinely love kids comics (and pretty much every other kind of comic), and are huge fans of all the people we use in the magazine.
I guess it might sound cool on your resume. But I kind of doubt being in Nickelodeon Magazine really helps cartoonists in terms of exposure or creating future customers for their own works. Our readership is mostly 8-12-year-old kids, who don’t usually go to comic shops or conventions, let alone seek out additional projects by their favourite artist. So even though a million kids a month read Patty Cake or Grampa and Julie strips in Nickelodeon Magazine, the comic book versions by SLG or Top Shelf aren’t exactly sure-fire hits in the direct comics market. One positive trade-off, though, is the complete freedom to hire someone like Johnny Ryan to do comics for us, even though his other published work (Angry Youth) is totally inappropriate. I personally love to discover new artists who could do something unique and different, that kids would also appreciate. Especially if it makes us laugh. More than anything else, the kids who read our magazine expect comics to be funny. They don't really care whether Mike Mignola, Ellen Forney or someone straight out of art school drew it! Do you have a dream-list of artists or writers you’d like to see get involved with the magazine? We asked Frank Miller to draw a SpongeBob comic back when the movie came out. He considered it, but was too busy making his own movie or something. Chris Duffy tried to get Bill Waterson to come out of retirement and do a comic cover (or pretty much anything he wanted), but couldn’t make it happen. I may try and follow up on that at some point. Do you find there’s difficulty in appealing to an audience with dwindling attention spans as younger audiences have an over abundance of stimulation already available to them? Not really. Kids will always seek out things that will make them laugh. And Nickelodeon Magazine is filled with parody, gags that are actually funny, and unique comics, as well as interesting articles, bizarre facts, etc. Video games and iPods still have a long way to catch up in those fields, and the Internet still hasn't completely replaced the coolness of receiving your favourite magazine in the mail or convincing your parent to buy it for you at the grocery store. JAX EPOCH AND THE QUICKEN FORDBIDDEN was probably my first exposure to your work [That and TEEN BOAT] and it’s had quite a long and successful shelf life. Has JAX been something that had always been laid out on a specific path or do you find that having continuously worked on it for so long that your initial plans have changed? John Green and I created the series when we still in art school, and probably over-ambitious about what we hoped to accomplish. We envisioned Quicken Forbidden as an epic series about an apocalyptic battle between magic and reality along the lines of Akira (specifically the manga series). After several years of self-publishing, we became humble and certainly more realistic in our goals. I started finding ways to speed the story up so we could resolve most of the major plot threads by Issue 15. Sadly, the realities of self-publishing made it impossible for us to keep going past our 13th issue. Which is where AiT/Planet Lar stepped in and became our knights in shining armor, when then offered to publish the trade paperback collections (which we re-dubbed Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden). The collections have really given the series a long shelf life and allowed people to digest the story in much more satisfying chunks. They also allowed us to extend sequences and fine-tune mistakes we made along the way. Originally, I thought it would be cool if the series ended with a really downbeat ending. Jax, guilty of destroying her home dimension, is forced to sacrifice herself to save the rest of universe. But now I realize, killing the main character of your comic series can be a cruel blow to the fans that have invested so much time in caring about them. But we got to have our cake and eat it too, by killing her off in the last issue we self-published. And then we can resurrect her for an extended epilogue in the third and final trade paperback! That’s what John Green and I are currently working on, with the hopes of having it come out by next year.
The fans John and I have met seem to be really supportive and insanely patient. Usually they’re just happy that the series is still being continued, because they had trouble finding/ordering back issues from local comic shops. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot by getting caught up in day jobs and freelance gigs, so there have been some really long gaps between issues. But we’ve tried to make up for that by hitting as many conventions as possible and always putting all of our heart and soul into each issue. I always think it’s cool that Jax fans tend to lend out their copies of the books to friends and then end up buying replacement copies when they see us at conventions. I usually give them extra buttons and stickers to thank them for spreading the love. For that matter, ASTRONAUT ELEMENTARY, is this a project that has solid plans or do you find yourself coming up with new material week by week? I draw it week to week, but the overall story line is completely charted out. Over the course of the school semester, each of the students' story lines start to become more intertwined, introducing elements that start off small but increasingly build towards a climax that will involve all of the students and their graduation from elementary school. FLIGHT has a majority of creators with strong animation ties, but you’ve worn many hats yourself, tell us about Dexter’s Lab: Chicken Scratch and your experience with seeing your work adapted for the big screen? Well, it was loosely adapted from an issue of the Dexter's Lab comic book that I wrote. Same title, same set-up, but it spikes off in a different direction and ends dramatically different. When they adapted other Cartoon Network comics into episodes of their respective TV show, the comic writer usually got a small "inspired by" credit. But since "Chicken Scratch" was adapted into a short to run before the Power Puff Girls movie, it didn’t go through the same production stages. I was also told after the fact, that Genndy Tartokofsky didn’t feel I deserved credit, because I never would have wrote the comic if he hadn’t created the TV show in the first place. Which really bummed me out, because I really was a big fan of his. I still think Dexter’s Lab was one of the best cartoons ever. AGNES QUILL for Slave Labor Graphics, will this be a collection of the webcomics or a continuation? How would you describe the title to new readers? Agnes Quill is a teen detective/horror series with lots of Indiana Jones style high adventure. It’s set in a city called Legerdemain, which is built around a cemetery the size of central park. Agnes’ family is known for being able to talk to ghosts, so they tend to bother her with their problems. The book will be out in October from Slave Labor Graphics and will include all the online stuff, but also a ton of material that is completely new. Mostly prose material that fleshes out the unique city that Agnes lives in, and gives lots of background into her family heritage. There are journal entries and newspaper clippings that add up to an illustrated novella. How do you find working on Agnes compared to other projects? When people think of SLG, Dave Roman isn’t the first name that springs to mind when you consider the tone of other projects you’ve done. I tend to have very eclectic tastes that trickle down into the types of stories I want to tell. I think SLG puts out the most diverse line of comics of any publisher, ever. Street Angel, Life of a Fetus, Patty Cake and Friends, Bear, Halo and Sprocket, Serenity Rose, Pirate Club, Squee…they cover a lot of different sensibilities and art styles. And the books they published by Evan Dorkin and Andi Watson in particular were a huge part of what made me first want to work in comics. I know they’re often referred to as the “goth comics” publisher. But even more so, Slave Labor is a company that puts out comics that have a sense of humour. Often a dark, twisted, sense of humour. And even though Agnes is way serious compared to Teen Boat, or Astronaut Elementary… there’s a lot to it that is playful and absurd.
Life Meter Comics spun out of the realization that lots of cartoonists I know, at some point, have drawn an awesome rendition of Mario, Link from the Legend of Zelda, or some other game icon in their sketchbooks. Zack Giallongo had a picture of Pit from Kid Icarus that made people flip out when they saw it. The two of us shared a table at a convention where it seemed like every other person was wearing a Nintendo nostalgia shirt, or cosplaying as Princess Toadstool. It just put a spotlight on how many people probably had a deep emotional connection with video games. So we started encouraging our friends to execute any crazy ideas they had floating around in their heads that involved a video game character. We just asked that it be true to the spirit of the source material, and not be a parody. That way it would be a total tribute to the stuff that inspired us as artists. By collecting it all on one website (which was designed by Stephanie Yue), it makes it easier for gamers to find and appreciate the pieces without having to search through a million individual artist blogs. Do you feel you’ve reached a bit of an untapped market here? This isn’t like one of the big companies doing some licensed project but really seems to speak true to the fans and nostalgia of the classics. I personally don’t know shit about video games and remember very little about the games of my childhood, but I can look at something like the Frogger strip and get it right away. Well, there seem to be a lot of parody comics on the internet about videogames. And, lots of comic strips about the ins and outs of the videogame industry. But with Life Meter, it’s just a total love letter to the games themselves. It’s for and by kids who grew up in the 80s or 90s who view these characters as icons the way most people see Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and so on. People get excited drawing these characters they don’t own, not for personal gain, just simply for the fun of it. The site allows us to connect all our childhoods together and have a big nostalgia party. For more Dave visit Yay-Time.Realmsend.com.  Joey Weiser
For those new to THE RIDE HOME, tell us about the van gnome and what moved you to tell this tale? The Ride Home is about a gnome named Nodo who lives in a human family's van in present day suburbia. However, during a trip to the city, he gets chased from the van and loses his speeding home! So, he has to find his way back through the city, meeting other modern and not-so-modern creatures and characters along the way. The story revolves around the theme of "home" and what home is. You know, is it a place? Is it an occupation? Is it people? Is it a way of life? That kind of thing. Each destination and group of characters that Nodo comes across is a different example from those questions and others. Of course, this isn't how it started. It just started from the concept of a "Van Gnome" and a fun story with Sewer Dragons, Junkyard Trolls, etc. But as I was writing it, I realized that it was pretty much the issues that I was dealing with finishing up college and figuring out where I go next. So Nodo’s ‘love interest’ has ground in real life as well? Oh yeah, totally. Flora is a key character in the story. However, I intentionally made her and Nodo's relationship ambiguous. I want her to potentially represent platonic friendship as well as love. There isn't any sort of big "FLORA! I LOVE YOU!" declaration in the story, so that if you want she can represent a good friend. But for me, she definitely represents my 'love interest,' the lovely and talented Michele Chidester, so that can probably be seen in the subtext. She's a huge part of my life, and so, in my mind, she has become "home" for me, not to give anything away, ha ha... You’ve had quite a few stories in anthologies introducing new characters and fun situations, what about THE RIDE HOME had to be serialized and expanded compared to other tales? I certainly think The Unremarkable Tree Frog has a future. Ha ha, actually the plan for Tree Frog was that he was going to be my first large story. Tree Frog is a character that I've had forever, and started as a Tick rip-off, eventually growing into a more auto-bio form. I was going to continue doing Tales of Unusual Circumstance issues, as sort of my Eightball or whatever, and serialize Tree Frog's "adventures" there. However, even though I really liked the second story that I did, it felt more like a chore, and I didn't really have a clear sense of where I wanted to go with it. Tree Frog is very dear to me, so I want to get to him when I'm ready... However, as this was going on, I was starting to think about a fun story with a lot of possibilities, and that was The Ride Home! I tinkered around with it for a while, first only creating Nodo, and the Sewer Dragon Ferdinand, and then expanding it a bit until I felt like it was the story that I wanted to tell!
Currently you’re look for a publisher for THE RIDE HOME correct? What steps have you taken to marketing your work? Yes, that is correct. I actually, just finished inking the final pages recently, and still haven't got a publisher. Anybody want it?? Ha ha, seriously though, when I had about two thirds of it complete, I finished the pencils and made several mock-up copies that I've sent to various publishers. You can see what the mock ups are at my livejournal here if you're interested. Michele & I bound them ourselves. They look super-spiffy. I wanted the publishers to be able to read the whole story, because I think that it speaks better for itself than any sort of pitch I could have put together. I contacted the publishers and mailed many of them out with cover letters and all that. Also, SCAD [The Savannah College of Art & Design] had its yearly "Editors Day" event where editors from several different companies visit and give portfolio reviews. I had graduated from SCAD, but I still went and gave copies to a few of the editors in person. The feedback I'm getting has been positive, but I have received some "no thank you’s”, some "maybe’s”, and I'm still waiting to hear back from a few others. It's a tricky thing, but I'm not getting too hung up about it. In a few months I'll have a better idea of how that's going, and if I'm going to pursue the Xeric, which is another option.... Before that, of course, I created the website, which I consider marketing as much as sending copies to folks around the country is. I definitely contacted publishers when I started the website, and hit the message boards any time the site reaches a new chapter. In fact the site is approaching the final chapter in just a few weeks (might even be there by the time this interview is up), so I'll definitely be making some big announcements soon. What sort of influence has living in Savannah had on your work, particularly being surrounded by so many young artists?
However, my greatest benefit may have been the friends that I made there. There's a large variety of work coming from the students in the Sequential Art department, but I eventually found my little indie-comics hub. Being friends with awesome cartoonists like Eleanor Davis, Drew Weing, Chris Wright, JP Coovert, and David Yoder (just to name a few!) was really great. We all had an effect on each other, artistically, and helped each other grow in unique ways. Also, I wouldn't have known about mini-comics, or gone to good conventions like SPX or FLUKE, or have been motivated to build myself a website or any of that without them. It was really important. Outside of FLIGHT many of the contributors continue to fashion all-ages stories, yourself included. What’s the appeal for you to tell stories in that approach? It's just the type of story that I'm writing. I don't really have that in mind as a purpose, but it is something that I'm aware of. I suppose that, even though I have contemporary influences, the cartoons that I watched and the comic strips that I read as a child have probably have had a stronger, more lasting, hold on me. After doing many different kinds of stories, what I really want to do now, is tell actual all-ages material. I want it to be enjoyed by children just as much as adults. My stories are about things that I am thinking about, and stories that I would like to read. But knowing the kind of material that I produce, I'd love for children to read it. Do you find your stories may stand out as they’re fun and easy whereas lately the mainstream is overfilling with a heavy and serious tone? I hope so. It's hard to say. Stuff like Owly and Spiral-Bound are definitely a relief after wading through all the grit and grime in other comics, but it's hard to say. I read mainstream books as well as alternative books for many years, before I had to cut out monthly titles from my budget. I think there's a place for them, but not what I'm really into anymore. What I really want to accomplish with The Ride Homeis to tell a good adventure story. I thought more stories like it were around, but as I really looked, there weren't as many as I thought. Bone was of course a huge influence, and is an adventure story for sure, but I think this quality is what will really make The Ride Home stick out.
Anyway, getting back to the issue of fun & light tones in my comics, that was sort of a decision that I made a few years ago. I was doing a lot of ironically cute, but sort of miserable comics. They had a good bite, and I still think that they were strong. Then I did a 3-page dinosaur story for the FLUKE anthology a couple years ago, and that was sort of an important realization moment. It was totally light hearted and 100% fun. Strangely enough, I felt a HUGE sense of relief pass over me as I was working on it, and it was much more enjoyable. Ever since then, I've been more into creating optimistic comics. I realized that I'd rather feel better, and I'd rather make others feel better, than just add to the already overwhelming misery that floats through the world... For more Joey visit Tragic Planet.com. Introduction
 Interviews Conducted by Co-Editor in Chief, Jonathan Ellis. E-mail Us To Comment On This Article.  PopImage Forum - Discuss this message at the PopImage forum. E-Mail Us - E-Mail Us To Comment On This Article. Flight Comics.com PopImage FLIGHT 2 Interviews Industrial Archive - Read past Industrial articles |
