Marfed - Furry Comics

“All over folklore and mythology you find dragons, sea serpents and ghosts. Nessie, Mermaids, bigfoot, The chupacabra. Did you think people just made those up for fun?”

Shy college freshman Michelle Jocasta is away from home and out on her own for the first time. Quickly becoming fast friends with some unusual residents of her dorm, the unfeasibly tall and green haired Jim, the perpetually sullen Greg and bubbly roommate Merial. Settling into a routine of study, deadlines and essays it’s an encounter with a mysterious hooded figure that changes her life in more dramatic ways as she is thrust into a world she never knew existed, one which is hidden between the cracks of our world, or more often in plain sight. One filled with magic and danger, hidden cities, punk rock pegasuses and rockabilly wolves. With medallions and ‘super advanced magic’ the magical citizens of Skin Deep stay hidden amongst humans. Even within this strange world Michelle is still unique, discovering her ‘turning’ has revealed her to be the last of the sphinxes, a race that along with dragons were once believed to be extinct.

Visually wonderful and filled with fascinating characters and backdrops, Bing’s sense of wonder and love of mythology is clear in every panel as she populates her world with creatures and drawn from every corner of fantasy, and a wide rang of mythologies, revelling in the unique and the obscure. It shows an astounding amount of research and appreciation of the subject as Skin Deep has so far featured a whole bestiaries  worth of mythical beasts ranging from well known ones; your dragons, satyrs and centaurs to the more esoteric such as totem animals of the Native American and African myths or harpies from classical greek legends. Some such as the creepy yet lovable bugbear Alex, whom I was convinced had to be an original creation turns out to be a form of Hobgoblin from English myths, only slightly tweaked  and expanded upon here. The rules of of her setting, with the medallions the characters wear allow characters to use midforms, a form anywhere between their real and illusionary forms which  gives some truly imaginative and unique designs with a combination of features. Many often appear in human-ish forms like Jym, gangly green haired with a gryphons beak and paws.

One of the many joys of independent webcomics is witnessing an artist’s skills develop over time. Bing has been nothing more than exceptional over the comics nine year run. While the design of Skin Deep has always been strong as a new artist it’s first arc started out with charming but rough inks. The art style quickly became more refined and polished as she hit her third arc and found her own unique style with more defined lines and gorgeous intricate backgrounds. I liked Skin Deep from the very first page, but it was Exchanges where I  fell in love with it. Set over a matter of a few days and over two years for Bing to complete, Exchanges is a stunning achievement in terms of both art and storytelling. Breathtaking in it’s scope and vibrancy of the characters. As well as the more confident art, with her fluid cartoony style Bing really hits her stride in terms of storytelling and narrative,  finding her own voice which giving each of her characters a distinct one of their own with the funny and witty dialogue.

Set in Liverpool, an anxious Blanche ‘comes out’ to his long friend Tony, revealing that he is in fact, not gay, but a white stag and after the initial shock introduces him to his home, the Liverpool Avalaon. Concealed within a crumbling Liverpool warehouse, a whole city and it’s inhabitants live away from the human world. Through the first part of the arc, like Tony, the reader is treated to a tour of the Avalon as the perspective drifts between groups of characters following them for a while until it lights upon something more interesting and picks up with that thread, weaving together many ongoing narratives happening in the same places and giving the places a sense of complexity and liveliness.  The device of moving around the Avalon with characters crossing paths feels almost filmic and feels like a natural and flowing way to introduce the reader to such a huge number of characters in a matter of pages.

The arc ultimately culminates in heartbreak, with recently stirred up feelings of rejection as jym prepares to leave for America leaving his long time friend and ex-boyfriend Lorne behind in the Avalon. Lornes internal conflict is played out against the spectacular backdrop of a showy ‘fight scene’ between two of the Avalon’s colourful residents. Forbidden from fighting , they engage in a rythmic, no contact ballet. As a heartbroken Lorne looks across the combatants to a unfazed Jim before walking away. One page shows the fighters in a simplified, almost chibi form before the action explodes back in a flurry of detail and colour. The sense of pacing and pathos is masterful.

With two main casts and such a complicated lore heavy story Skin Deep could easily become claustrophobic and unwieldy but in her expert hands she uses this all as an advantage giving the world a wonderful fleshed out, lived in feel. The two main casts are only just meeting now as certain storylines begin to converge. It’s all the more satisfying for the time spent with these characters. After all the meticulous development, they feel like old friends and the groups finally meeting is a delight. The relationships between the characters are wonderful as Bing crafts a narrative in parts about friendship, family and acceptance. About being comfortable with yourself and finding your place in the world. With a gigantic cast Skin Deep explores this from several different angles with the recently turned and reluctant Michelle wanting at first to return to normality, those who grew up within the Avalons and even those like Sam who appear ‘normal’ but crave the weird and wonderful life of those around him.

Skin Deep also has some deep and meticulous world building behind it, with a few hundred extra pages of material and lore, with it’s own wiki including a bestiary with details of the myriad of creatures included. Every detail has been thought out yet seems spontaneous and fresh. A particularly memorable example is the Liverpool Avalon’s resident medical practitioner, a peculiar mix of vet and doctor. Glimpsed only in extra material Bing has produced for her eager and inquisitive fans. Even with only two drawings his character is well defined, scared and world weary you instantly get a sense of the responsibility he carries, caring for the Avalon’s magical residents, very few of them alike. The humorous aside of him debating the merits of live gryphon birth vs egg birth, decked out in thick protective gloves all the while, gives us a glimpse into his character and the daily obstacles he faces. Having never appeared in the comics, it’s just another example of the level of detail and depth Bing strives for and lavishes upon her already layered and fascinating world. It’s a comic that rewards it readers and encourages engagement with the creator. With so much backstory and lore to delve into Skin Deep isn’t a quick read but is never less than engrossing, presenting a rich world you’ll find yourself wishing you could escape too.

Between Skin Deep, cosplay construction, contributions to anthologies and the inking of the excellent Eth’s Skin, Kory found time via email to talk about creatures, world building and her comic.

Jason Karlson: So, Why did you start writing/drawing Skin Deep?

Kory Bing: I had been working with the Skin Deep world and characters for years before I actually started drawing and posting it. It was something I started playing with during High School and by the time I finally started drawing it, it had become something I couldn’t NOT draw. Does that make sense?

JK:  The architecture in your comics seems very solid, real and drawn with beautiful intricacy, Are the buildings and locations based on real life locations, imagination or combination of both?

Gosh, thank you! A lot of the buildings are based on real places. The Springfield Avalon is inside a theater-turned-radio station in Springfield, Missouri, and the Liverpool Avalon is inside a real abandoned warehouse in Liverpool. I don’t like stating its name directly, I think it is fun if people have to sleuth that out themselves. Michelle’s mother’s house is a house from my hometown that I’ve always liked, and the inside of that house is the inside of my Grandmother’s house.  World building is something I really love, and the comic came directly out of years of building this world and wanting to share it.

Most of the places are either based on real locations or take details from real buildings. Most of the Liverpool Avalon’s buildings have elements from real buildings, mostly because I find it is easier to make convincing looking buildings if I use reference. There’s a lot of fun little details that are easy to overlook if you’re drawing by memory! I get to draw all my favorite parts of places. I love architecture, but I’ve never considered myself very good at drawing buildings, so Skin Deep is kind of my chance to get better at that. Since moving to Portland, Oregon, I’ve thought up of places that could be good Avalons, but whether they’ll show up in the comic or not I haven’t quite decided yet!

JK: A lot of the American casts locations seem to be rural (cabin etc) while the “English” Cast is in a more urban environment? is there any significance to this or simply to set the two apart?

I intentionally set Michelle’s part of the story in rural Missouri because that is where I grew up and I could never find stories set in such a place. I thought it would be a lot of fun to show off my neck of the woods. The purpose of the Liverpool cast was to give a different perspective from Michelle’s, so instead of a rural environment full of people who don’t know what they’re doing, it’s an urban environment full of people who live in the mythical community to the point where they find it blasé.

JK: While I love the first arc, the second, “Exchanges” is simply stunning in terms of artwork. There is a huge change in the artwork between the first two arcs, Does this just come from the plain fact of drawing so much to update the comic once a week?

KB: Completely. Nothing forces you to improve quite like needing to have a comic page done every week. Most of Orientations was done on twice-a-week updates and I was experimenting a lot to figure out how to make comics, which I’m sure is the reason for the dramatic art shift. It wasn’t intentional!

JK: A great deal of characters and creatures were also created by Sfe, how did this collaboration come about and how important is it to the comic?

KB: It’s incredibly important. I doubt Skin Deep would even be a thing if it weren’t for Sfé’s help and contributions. Back when I was still toying with the idea, he would ask me a lot of world building questions that would help me think about different aspects of the world I hadn’t thought of before, and talking about how various characters would react and interact really helped me flesh out the world. Over the years he created characters to live in the world and I loved them enough that they became pretty interconnected with the story I was creating.

JK: Are there any other creatures from mythology that you would love to use in Skin Deep, but don’t think you would be able too? If so, how come?

KB: Jeeze. Basically any creature that hasn’t already been in the comic. There are SO many good creatures out there to pull inspiration from, I can’t even start naming them

JK: Reading the comic a few elements reminded me of parts of X-men comics, with characters representing gay/trans issues and narratives (having multiple forms etc) is this an aim or am I inferring to much into it?

KB: The main “moral” of Skin Deep, I suppose, is that the idea of what is ‘normal’ is completely subjective, and to embrace that and try to understand that rather than being afraid of it. The allegory to those issues are intentional, although it’s also important for stories to actually include those issues and narratives without turning to allegory. I don’t want to imply that minorities are “mythical creatures” while the majority is “normal humans” and that sort of storytelling can be very problematic. In that regard, Skin Deep hasn’t done a great job of being diverse, and it’s something that I would like to improve on.

JK: Jim for instance is presented as being bi-sexual, do you think the magical characters having many and often fluctuating forms themselves would make them more open minded towards sexuality?

KB: The mythical community in Skin Deep likes to believe that being close-minded about sexuality is a strictly human problem and they have much more to worry about, but there are issues sometimes, especially with individuals who were raised outside of the mythical community.

JK: Which musicians do you yourself suspect of being a bugbear? What’s your evidence!

KB: Tom Waits. The Residents. Thom Yorke. Man Man. Primus. My evidence is “I want them to be and it’s my world so I can make it so!”

JK: There doesn’t seem to be any black and white easy answers in Skin Deep, and it’s fully fleshed out. For instance Michelle and Sam, one character wanting to “go back to normal” and run away from this world and the other desperate to join it…Did you set out to show the wildly differing  views and reactions to this secret world rather than just one side?

KB: I don’t want there to be any easy black and white answers in Skin Deep because there aren’t any easy black and white answers in the real world. Perspective is an important element of Skin Deep, and I want to show that individuals are varied, and personal experience differs wildly from one person to another. What one person wants won’t be what another person wants, and to be able to empathize with people who want different things than you want is an important part of living in the world.

Kory Bing updates Skin Deep at http://www.skindeepcomic.com/, while her personal blog featuring Skin Deep sketches and inspiration can be found at http://skindeepcomic.tumblr.com/.

“All over folklore and mythology you find dragons, sea serpents and ghosts. Nessie, Mermaids, bigfoot, The chupacabra. Did you think people just made those up for fun?”

Shy college freshman Michelle Jocasta is away from home and out on her own for the first time. Quickly becoming fast friends with some unusual residents of her dorm, the unfeasibly tall and green haired Jim, the perpetually sullen Greg and bubbly roommate Merial. Settling into a routine of study, deadlines and essays it’s an encounter with a mysterious hooded figure that changes her life in more dramatic ways as she is thrust into a world she never knew existed, one which is hidden between the cracks of our world, or more often in plain sight. One filled with magic and danger, hidden cities, punk rock pegasuses and rockabilly wolves. With medallions and ‘super advanced magic’ the magical citizens of Skin Deep stay hidden amongst humans. Even within this strange world Michelle is still unique, discovering her ‘turning’ has revealed her to be the last of the sphinxes, a race that along with dragons were once believed to be extinct.

Visually wonderful and filled with fascinating characters and backdrops, Bing’s sense of wonder and love of mythology is clear in every panel as she populates her world with creatures and drawn from every corner of fantasy, and a wide rang of mythologies, revelling in the unique and the obscure. It shows an astounding amount of research and appreciation of the subject as Skin Deep has so far featured a whole bestiaries  worth of mythical beasts ranging from well known ones; your dragons, satyrs and centaurs to the more esoteric such as totem animals of the Native American and African myths or harpies from classical greek legends. Some such as the creepy yet lovable bugbear Alex, whom I was convinced had to be an original creation turns out to be a form of Hobgoblin from English myths, only slightly tweaked  and expanded upon here. The rules of of her setting, with the medallions the characters wear allow characters to use midforms, a form anywhere between their real and illusionary forms which  gives some truly imaginative and unique designs with a combination of features. Many often appear in human-ish forms like Jym, gangly green haired with a gryphons beak and paws.

One of the many joys of independent webcomics is witnessing an artist’s skills develop over time. Bing has been nothing more than exceptional over the comics nine year run. While the design of Skin Deep has always been strong as a new artist it’s first arc started out with charming but rough inks. The art style quickly became more refined and polished as she hit her third arc and found her own unique style with more defined lines and gorgeous intricate backgrounds. I liked Skin Deep from the very first page, but it was Exchanges where I  fell in love with it. Set over a matter of a few days and over two years for Bing to complete, Exchanges is a stunning achievement in terms of both art and storytelling. Breathtaking in it’s scope and vibrancy of the characters. As well as the more confident art, with her fluid cartoony style Bing really hits her stride in terms of storytelling and narrative,  finding her own voice which giving each of her characters a distinct one of their own with the funny and witty dialogue.

Set in Liverpool, an anxious Blanche ‘comes out’ to his long friend Tony, revealing that he is in fact, not gay, but a white stag and after the initial shock introduces him to his home, the Liverpool Avalaon. Concealed within a crumbling Liverpool warehouse, a whole city and it’s inhabitants live away from the human world. Through the first part of the arc, like Tony, the reader is treated to a tour of the Avalon as the perspective drifts between groups of characters following them for a while until it lights upon something more interesting and picks up with that thread, weaving together many ongoing narratives happening in the same places and giving the places a sense of complexity and liveliness.  The device of moving around the Avalon with characters crossing paths feels almost filmic and feels like a natural and flowing way to introduce the reader to such a huge number of characters in a matter of pages.

The arc ultimately culminates in heartbreak, with recently stirred up feelings of rejection as jym prepares to leave for America leaving his long time friend and ex-boyfriend Lorne behind in the Avalon. Lornes internal conflict is played out against the spectacular backdrop of a showy ‘fight scene’ between two of the Avalon’s colourful residents. Forbidden from fighting , they engage in a rythmic, no contact ballet. As a heartbroken Lorne looks across the combatants to a unfazed Jim before walking away. One page shows the fighters in a simplified, almost chibi form before the action explodes back in a flurry of detail and colour. The sense of pacing and pathos is masterful.

With two main casts and such a complicated lore heavy story Skin Deep could easily become claustrophobic and unwieldy but in her expert hands she uses this all as an advantage giving the world a wonderful fleshed out, lived in feel. The two main casts are only just meeting now as certain storylines begin to converge. It’s all the more satisfying for the time spent with these characters. After all the meticulous development, they feel like old friends and the groups finally meeting is a delight. The relationships between the characters are wonderful as Bing crafts a narrative in parts about friendship, family and acceptance. About being comfortable with yourself and finding your place in the world. With a gigantic cast Skin Deep explores this from several different angles with the recently turned and reluctant Michelle wanting at first to return to normality, those who grew up within the Avalons and even those like Sam who appear ‘normal’ but crave the weird and wonderful life of those around him.

Skin Deep also has some deep and meticulous world building behind it, with a few hundred extra pages of material and lore, with it’s own wiki including a bestiary with details of the myriad of creatures included. Every detail has been thought out yet seems spontaneous and fresh. A particularly memorable example is the Liverpool Avalon’s resident medical practitioner, a peculiar mix of vet and doctor. Glimpsed only in extra material Bing has produced for her eager and inquisitive fans. Even with only two drawings his character is well defined, scared and world weary you instantly get a sense of the responsibility he carries, caring for the Avalon’s magical residents, very few of them alike. The humorous aside of him debating the merits of live gryphon birth vs egg birth, decked out in thick protective gloves all the while, gives us a glimpse into his character and the daily obstacles he faces. Having never appeared in the comics, it’s just another example of the level of detail and depth Bing strives for and lavishes upon her already layered and fascinating world. It’s a comic that rewards it readers and encourages engagement with the creator. With so much backstory and lore to delve into Skin Deep isn’t a quick read but is never less than engrossing, presenting a rich world you’ll find yourself wishing you could escape too.

Between Skin Deep, cosplay construction, contributions to anthologies and the inking of the excellent Eth’s Skin, Kory found time via email to talk about creatures, world building and her comic.

Jason Karlson: So, Why did you start writing/drawing Skin Deep?

Kory Bing: I had been working with the Skin Deep world and characters for years before I actually started drawing and posting it. It was something I started playing with during High School and by the time I finally started drawing it, it had become something I couldn’t NOT draw. Does that make sense?

JK:  The architecture in your comics seems very solid, real and drawn with beautiful intricacy, Are the buildings and locations based on real life locations, imagination or combination of both?

Gosh, thank you! A lot of the buildings are based on real places. The Springfield Avalon is inside a theater-turned-radio station in Springfield, Missouri, and the Liverpool Avalon is inside a real abandoned warehouse in Liverpool. I don’t like stating its name directly, I think it is fun if people have to sleuth that out themselves. Michelle’s mother’s house is a house from my hometown that I’ve always liked, and the inside of that house is the inside of my Grandmother’s house.  World building is something I really love, and the comic came directly out of years of building this world and wanting to share it.

Most of the places are either based on real locations or take details from real buildings. Most of the Liverpool Avalon’s buildings have elements from real buildings, mostly because I find it is easier to make convincing looking buildings if I use reference. There’s a lot of fun little details that are easy to overlook if you’re drawing by memory! I get to draw all my favorite parts of places. I love architecture, but I’ve never considered myself very good at drawing buildings, so Skin Deep is kind of my chance to get better at that. Since moving to Portland, Oregon, I’ve thought up of places that could be good Avalons, but whether they’ll show up in the comic or not I haven’t quite decided yet!

JK: A lot of the American casts locations seem to be rural (cabin etc) while the “English” Cast is in a more urban environment? is there any significance to this or simply to set the two apart?

I intentionally set Michelle’s part of the story in rural Missouri because that is where I grew up and I could never find stories set in such a place. I thought it would be a lot of fun to show off my neck of the woods. The purpose of the Liverpool cast was to give a different perspective from Michelle’s, so instead of a rural environment full of people who don’t know what they’re doing, it’s an urban environment full of people who live in the mythical community to the point where they find it blasé.

JK: While I love the first arc, the second, “Exchanges” is simply stunning in terms of artwork. There is a huge change in the artwork between the first two arcs, Does this just come from the plain fact of drawing so much to update the comic once a week?

KB: Completely. Nothing forces you to improve quite like needing to have a comic page done every week. Most of Orientations was done on twice-a-week updates and I was experimenting a lot to figure out how to make comics, which I’m sure is the reason for the dramatic art shift. It wasn’t intentional!

JK: A great deal of characters and creatures were also created by Sfe, how did this collaboration come about and how important is it to the comic?

KB: It’s incredibly important. I doubt Skin Deep would even be a thing if it weren’t for Sfé’s help and contributions. Back when I was still toying with the idea, he would ask me a lot of world building questions that would help me think about different aspects of the world I hadn’t thought of before, and talking about how various characters would react and interact really helped me flesh out the world. Over the years he created characters to live in the world and I loved them enough that they became pretty interconnected with the story I was creating.

JK: Are there any other creatures from mythology that you would love to use in Skin Deep, but don’t think you would be able too? If so, how come?

KB: Jeeze. Basically any creature that hasn’t already been in the comic. There are SO many good creatures out there to pull inspiration from, I can’t even start naming them

JK: Reading the comic a few elements reminded me of parts of X-men comics, with characters representing gay/trans issues and narratives (having multiple forms etc) is this an aim or am I inferring to much into it?

KB: The main “moral” of Skin Deep, I suppose, is that the idea of what is ‘normal’ is completely subjective, and to embrace that and try to understand that rather than being afraid of it. The allegory to those issues are intentional, although it’s also important for stories to actually include those issues and narratives without turning to allegory. I don’t want to imply that minorities are “mythical creatures” while the majority is “normal humans” and that sort of storytelling can be very problematic. In that regard, Skin Deep hasn’t done a great job of being diverse, and it’s something that I would like to improve on.

JK: Jim for instance is presented as being bi-sexual, do you think the magical characters having many and often fluctuating forms themselves would make them more open minded towards sexuality?

KB: The mythical community in Skin Deep likes to believe that being close-minded about sexuality is a strictly human problem and they have much more to worry about, but there are issues sometimes, especially with individuals who were raised outside of the mythical community.

JK: Which musicians do you yourself suspect of being a bugbear? What’s your evidence!

KB: Tom Waits. The Residents. Thom Yorke. Man Man. Primus. My evidence is “I want them to be and it’s my world so I can make it so!”

JK: There doesn’t seem to be any black and white easy answers in Skin Deep, and it’s fully fleshed out. For instance Michelle and Sam, one character wanting to “go back to normal” and run away from this world and the other desperate to join it…Did you set out to show the wildly differing  views and reactions to this secret world rather than just one side?

KB: I don’t want there to be any easy black and white answers in Skin Deep because there aren’t any easy black and white answers in the real world. Perspective is an important element of Skin Deep, and I want to show that individuals are varied, and personal experience differs wildly from one person to another. What one person wants won’t be what another person wants, and to be able to empathize with people who want different things than you want is an important part of living in the world.

Kory Bing updates Skin Deep at http://www.skindeepcomic.com/, while her personal blog featuring Skin Deep sketches and inspiration can be found at http://skindeepcomic.tumblr.com/.

Ryan Browne comes up with more idea in an hour than most of us will in a lifetime. Don’t believe me? Blast Furnace: Recreational Thief is the unfiltered and unedited product of an offkilter creator working at full tilt. One page an hour, five days a week with zero planning and definitely no script has lead to the unhinged “stream o’ consciousness lunacy” and contender for number one book you can never read in public that Browne is now kickstarting after reaching blasting past it’s initial goal of $15,000 in under three days.

More familiar to most as the mind behind the wildly inventive insanity of God Hates Astronauts, which is just wrapping up a successful ten issue run over at Image, his improvisational dogme cinema style webcomic project MANAGES to somehow be more creative and frenzied. Loosely centred around the wild capers of handlebar mustachioed Ernest Furnace, a recreational thief who as the title implies will steal anything for the fun of it. Often derailed by bonkers flashbacks and tangents and filled with “hideously deformed men who look just like a horse, lil’ Draculas, and electricity shooting handlebar mustaches”. Brownes cast of colourful cast of creatures and animal people return ensuring an visually arresting read.

Along with the first volume of God Hates Astronauts, Browne has also previously kickstarted Blast Furnace three years ago in a black and white edition. This time around the comic has been updated with six more issues of frenetic madcap action and has been glorious coloured for all of the expanded 208 pages. Appropriate for a comic about a thief, the rewards here as equally enticing with. Ranging from $10 for the PDF, $25 for the physical book up the higher tiers which include multiple copies of the book, t-shirts, action figures and signed pictures of Browne’s already comic book famous cat.

Jason Karlson: Crab Headed people! In both comics! What is it with crabs? Should we be worried?

Ryan Browne: Maybe? I think I’m a little worried myself! Crabs are just so fun to draw, but on Blast Furnace, I kind of regret incorporating them. Since I only have one hour to write and draw each page, it makes really hard to draw crabs without going over on time. Way too many legs!

JK: What’s prompted you to carry on Furnace and kickstart a second expanded colour edition?

RB: Everything with God Hates Astronauts was extremely labour intensive. With Blast Furnace, the finish level in the drawings takes a back seat to the immediate storytelling. It’s considerably more relaxing to just make stuff up and not have to worry about how cool it looks. After ten issues of writing, drawing, and designing GHA on a monthly schedule, I returned to Blast Furnace because it is mainly focused on the joy of making comics and telling stories.

JK:As an artists who has ran a fair few successful kickstarters now, does it get any easier or less worrying with each one? Surely being funded in three days must be a confidence booster?

RB: It’s extremely scary. You never know if something is going to hit with your fans and what your expectations should be. With Kickstarters, there is soooo much that can go wrong in the process that it will never be a relaxing experience–but so far it’s be extremely rewarding and flattering. I love being able to connect directly through my fans and that’s something you just don’t get through a big publisher.

JK:Was there a point in the creation of Furnace that your self imposed strict rules started to grate on you at all? Are there any parts of Furnace you enjoyed drawing the most?

RB: No, the rules make it liberating and stress free. The one thing that bogs me down is the length of it. 262 story pages is intimidating as hell! I really like drawing Blast Furnace as a character. Flaming ties can be really dynamic and fun!

JK:God Hates Astronauts already feels pretty unfiltered, how does coming up with ideas,  the writing and drawing process differ between the two?

RB: Well GHA has a lot of going back and forth and refining the story. Really working hard to make things line up and click into a fun narrative. With BF, the whole attitude is “let’s try this and I’ll figure out how it ties in later.” At first that was scary, but now I have enough faith that I’ll figure it out somehow.

Blast Furnace: Recreational Thief is still available to fund for another month at kickstarter and can be read for free on tumblr.

Ryan Browne comes up with more idea in an hour than most of us will in a lifetime. Don’t believe me? Blast Furnace: Recreational Thief is the unfiltered and unedited product of an offkilter creator working at full tilt. One page an hour, five days a week with zero planning and definitely no script has lead to the unhinged “stream o’ consciousness lunacy” and contender for number one book you can never read in public that Browne is now kickstarting after reaching blasting past it’s initial goal of $15,000 in under three days.

More familiar to most as the mind behind the wildly inventive insanity of God Hates Astronauts, which is just wrapping up a successful ten issue run over at Image, his improvisational dogme cinema style webcomic project MANAGES to somehow be more creative and frenzied. Loosely centred around the wild capers of handlebar mustachioed Ernest Furnace, a recreational thief who as the title implies will steal anything for the fun of it. Often derailed by bonkers flashbacks and tangents and filled with “hideously deformed men who look just like a horse, lil’ Draculas, and electricity shooting handlebar mustaches”. Brownes cast of colourful cast of creatures and animal people return ensuring an visually arresting read.

Along with the first volume of God Hates Astronauts, Browne has also previously kickstarted Blast Furnace three years ago in a black and white edition. This time around the comic has been updated with six more issues of frenetic madcap action and has been glorious coloured for all of the expanded 208 pages. Appropriate for a comic about a thief, the rewards here as equally enticing with. Ranging from $10 for the PDF, $25 for the physical book up the higher tiers which include multiple copies of the book, t-shirts, action figures and signed pictures of Browne’s already comic book famous cat.

Jason Karlson: Crab Headed people! In both comics! What is it with crabs? Should we be worried?

Ryan Browne: Maybe? I think I’m a little worried myself! Crabs are just so fun to draw, but on Blast Furnace, I kind of regret incorporating them. Since I only have one hour to write and draw each page, it makes really hard to draw crabs without going over on time. Way too many legs!

JK: What’s prompted you to carry on Furnace and kickstart a second expanded colour edition?

RB: Everything with God Hates Astronauts was extremely labour intensive. With Blast Furnace, the finish level in the drawings takes a back seat to the immediate storytelling. It’s considerably more relaxing to just make stuff up and not have to worry about how cool it looks. After ten issues of writing, drawing, and designing GHA on a monthly schedule, I returned to Blast Furnace because it is mainly focused on the joy of making comics and telling stories.

JK:As an artists who has ran a fair few successful kickstarters now, does it get any easier or less worrying with each one? Surely being funded in three days must be a confidence booster?

RB: It’s extremely scary. You never know if something is going to hit with your fans and what your expectations should be. With Kickstarters, there is soooo much that can go wrong in the process that it will never be a relaxing experience–but so far it’s be extremely rewarding and flattering. I love being able to connect directly through my fans and that’s something you just don’t get through a big publisher.

JK:Was there a point in the creation of Furnace that your self imposed strict rules started to grate on you at all? Are there any parts of Furnace you enjoyed drawing the most?

RB: No, the rules make it liberating and stress free. The one thing that bogs me down is the length of it. 262 story pages is intimidating as hell! I really like drawing Blast Furnace as a character. Flaming ties can be really dynamic and fun!

JK:God Hates Astronauts already feels pretty unfiltered, how does coming up with ideas,  the writing and drawing process differ between the two?

RB: Well GHA has a lot of going back and forth and refining the story. Really working hard to make things line up and click into a fun narrative. With BF, the whole attitude is “let’s try this and I’ll figure out how it ties in later.” At first that was scary, but now I have enough faith that I’ll figure it out somehow.

Blast Furnace: Recreational Thief is still available to fund for another month at kickstarter and can be read for free on tumblr.

It’s amazing what a post credits scene and the right creative team can accomplish for even the most ridiculed and belittled comics characters. Once an iconic and important character in Marvel’s history all it took was one truly awful movie, widespread misconceptions and fierce disagreements between the company and creator Steve Gerber to overshadow the work on his wildly inventive, silly and hysterical five year stint with the melancholy mallard. Until December at least Howard now stands as one of the most rehabilitated properties connected with Lucasfilm. When the new series was announced it felt more an inevitability than a shock. Howard back in his own title again? Obviously! Zdarsky as writer? Well of course! Why did it take this long to set up? However beyond the novelty and initial laughs to be had at one of comics more eccentric ‘new’ talents working on a character reduced to an industry joke, Howard the Duck is already a whip smart book with genuine warmth and real humour.

Throughout the original Gerber run and beyond Howard the Duck has always been a comic that thrived on it’s cameos, with Spider-Man swinging in as early as the ducks second issue. On other titles this reliance on other more well known characters might be considered a weakness but here it works as a strength. Luckily it’s one of the many aspects continued in the new series and a clever choice by Zdarsky. He clearly has a deep knowledge of the source material and of a love of all things marvel. Especially it’s strange and silly corners. Chips irreverent humour and fond jabs at it’s weird history is evident on every page as he takes us on a mirthful, magical mystery tour of the Marvel Universe. Already in the first arc contained in this volume the far reaching reference include Morrison and Millar’s mid nineties creations the Skrull Kill Krew (Marvel Edge? Anyone?), Aunt May marrying villains and Reed Richards propensity (seriously once is sketchy. Twice is…worrying) for turning hostile alien invaders into cows.

In five issues Doctor Strange, The Fantastic Four, She Hulk and the much missed legal team all make it onto the pages with Howard, now self employed as one of Marvel’s many private eyes, surely the career b-plan for their stable of characters. It’s a tactic currently being employed by the team on Groot’s solo book to great effect and gives both comics a greater depth and scope as well as a distinct place and impact over the rest of the Marvel Universe. If comics cohort and fellow brimper Matt Fraction’s run on Hawkeye was “what he does when he’s not being an Avenger” than Howard’s wide circle of friends definitely gives Zdarsky the chance to showcase a lot of other heroes on less than noble and productive days.

Oh, and fun. Lets not forgot cameos are fun! Everyone likes to see their favourites show up, and Zdarksy likes them too. Like Gerber he has your friendly neighbourhood Spider-man show up pretty early on, even if it is only to poke fun at the webhead. Here, tongue firmly in cheek he comically reduces the wallcrawler down to the essential and most easily recognisable character traits for comic effect. Playing up his basic concept to absurd and hilarious levels makes for some of the books most noteable laugh out loud moments. With strong hints that Aunt May might be a supporting character when the book returns later this year (please, please be true!) we could see Parker as Chip’s whipping boy for the foreseeable future. The only minor misstep in my mind is the appearance of Guardians of the Galaxy. While it’s a downright funny issue it’s the only one that feels slightly forced, perhaps owing to these also once fringe characters now being hot properties. Again the issue is uproarious and farcical with witty repartee between Howard and a certain racoon, but as a second issue is does rather derail the pacing and the development of the new partnership with Howard and the books other lead, Tara Tam.

Quinones playful and energetic artwork (expertly inked by Rivera) along with his strong and innovative panel composition also makes Howard the Duck one of the most unique and striking books on offer right now. While a world away from Gerber’s look, Quinones style feels like an appropriately fresh and modern take on the cantankerous canard. Every characters is wonderfully detailed and sharp, and his comical and varied facial expressions make for some of the best moment in the book while Rico Renzi’s coloring gives the book a bright and bold feel, his bright hues perfectly complimenting the already dynamic artwork. Perfect for a book filled with bright spandex clad heroes. Not forgetting of course, Jason Latour who lends a hand for some of the volumes shorts. A more scrappy and sketchy style that lends itself well to the short, ridiculous backups.

Zdarksy and Quinones definitely share a vision for this comic and  have crafted a fitting reintroduction for Howard back onto the comic book shelves. Even with a handful of guest appearances over the years and a Marvel Max series, this feels like the natural extension of the ducks original outing and is already up there with the likes of other comedy driven titles like Squirrel Girl and the Superior Foes of Spiderman.

It’s amazing what a post credits scene and the right creative team can accomplish for even the most ridiculed and belittled comics characters. Once an iconic and important character in Marvel’s history all it took was one truly awful movie, widespread misconceptions and fierce disagreements between the company and creator Steve Gerber to overshadow the work on his wildly inventive, silly and hysterical five year stint with the melancholy mallard. Until December at least Howard now stands as one of the most rehabilitated properties connected with Lucasfilm. When the new series was announced it felt more an inevitability than a shock. Howard back in his own title again? Obviously! Zdarsky as writer? Well of course! Why did it take this long to set up? However beyond the novelty and initial laughs to be had at one of comics more eccentric ‘new’ talents working on a character reduced to an industry joke, Howard the Duck is already a whip smart book with genuine warmth and real humour.

Throughout the original Gerber run and beyond Howard the Duck has always been a comic that thrived on it’s cameos, with Spider-Man swinging in as early as the ducks second issue. On other titles this reliance on other more well known characters might be considered a weakness but here it works as a strength. Luckily it’s one of the many aspects continued in the new series and a clever choice by Zdarsky. He clearly has a deep knowledge of the source material and of a love of all things marvel. Especially it’s strange and silly corners. Chips irreverent humour and fond jabs at it’s weird history is evident on every page as he takes us on a mirthful, magical mystery tour of the Marvel Universe. Already in the first arc contained in this volume the far reaching reference include Morrison and Millar’s mid nineties creations the Skrull Kill Krew (Marvel Edge? Anyone?), Aunt May marrying villains and Reed Richards propensity (seriously once is sketchy. Twice is…worrying) for turning hostile alien invaders into cows.

In five issues Doctor Strange, The Fantastic Four, She Hulk and the much missed legal team all make it onto the pages with Howard, now self employed as one of Marvel’s many private eyes, surely the career b-plan for their stable of characters. It’s a tactic currently being employed by the team on Groot’s solo book to great effect and gives both comics a greater depth and scope as well as a distinct place and impact over the rest of the Marvel Universe. If comics cohort and fellow brimper Matt Fraction’s run on Hawkeye was “what he does when he’s not being an Avenger” than Howard’s wide circle of friends definitely gives Zdarsky the chance to showcase a lot of other heroes on less than noble and productive days.

Oh, and fun. Lets not forgot cameos are fun! Everyone likes to see their favourites show up, and Zdarksy likes them too. Like Gerber he has your friendly neighbourhood Spider-man show up pretty early on, even if it is only to poke fun at the webhead. Here, tongue firmly in cheek he comically reduces the wallcrawler down to the essential and most easily recognisable character traits for comic effect. Playing up his basic concept to absurd and hilarious levels makes for some of the books most noteable laugh out loud moments. With strong hints that Aunt May might be a supporting character when the book returns later this year (please, please be true!) we could see Parker as Chip’s whipping boy for the foreseeable future. The only minor misstep in my mind is the appearance of Guardians of the Galaxy. While it’s a downright funny issue it’s the only one that feels slightly forced, perhaps owing to these also once fringe characters now being hot properties. Again the issue is uproarious and farcical with witty repartee between Howard and a certain racoon, but as a second issue is does rather derail the pacing and the development of the new partnership with Howard and the books other lead, Tara Tam.

Quinones playful and energetic artwork (expertly inked by Rivera) along with his strong and innovative panel composition also makes Howard the Duck one of the most unique and striking books on offer right now. While a world away from Gerber’s look, Quinones style feels like an appropriately fresh and modern take on the cantankerous canard. Every characters is wonderfully detailed and sharp, and his comical and varied facial expressions make for some of the best moment in the book while Rico Renzi’s coloring gives the book a bright and bold feel, his bright hues perfectly complimenting the already dynamic artwork. Perfect for a book filled with bright spandex clad heroes. Not forgetting of course, Jason Latour who lends a hand for some of the volumes shorts. A more scrappy and sketchy style that lends itself well to the short, ridiculous backups.

Zdarksy and Quinones definitely share a vision for this comic and  have crafted a fitting reintroduction for Howard back onto the comic book shelves. Even with a handful of guest appearances over the years and a Marvel Max series, this feels like the natural extension of the ducks original outing and is already up there with the likes of other comedy driven titles like Squirrel Girl and the Superior Foes of Spiderman.

For well over a decade now Fantagraphics have published the deadpan comics of Norwegian cartoonist John Arne Sæterøy, familiar to many by his pen name, Jason. “I’ve been both surprised and grateful” explains Jason over e-mail at finding an audience outside of Europe “Originally, I expected foreign royalties to be sort of a pleasant bonus. Maybe enough to go on a vacation or something. I’m still waiting for the moment when I have to go back to having a real job”. September will see the release of If You Steal his first book since 2013’s sombre, Chandler inspired Lost Cat. Eleven new tales make up his new book featuring giant reptiles, assassins, ruminations on the JFK assassination and Irish singer songwriter, Van Morrison, his work here presented as a horror comic. This time around Jason is once again returning to the short story format with this book. “If in the middle of twenty page story you discover it doesn’t work that’s one thing” says the artist on the shorter French album books he is most well known for, “If it’s in the middle of a 200 page story, that’s something else. Luckily that hasn’t happened so far”

Historical figures, horror favourites and sci-fi classics are all fodder for Jason’s melancholic stories. This time around one of his short stories stars Mexican Painter Frida Kahlo, here recast as an assassin for hire. “Some I draw just because they are fun to draw as animal characters” he divulges on his inclusion of historical figures in his work, “Take Frida Kahlo, Her iconic quality”. Others he admits have more significance for him. His literary heist comic The Left Bank Gang has a group of the 20th century’s greatest writers, Fitzgerald, Joyce, Pound and Hemingway re-imagined as struggling cartoonists. Attempting to pull of a high stakes bank heist the book is equal parts biography, revisionist history and hysterical crime caper as well as being one of the few books Jason has expressed an interest in revisiting. “For Hemingway it was an interest in his life. I read a lot of biographies about him” says Jason on the writer “The idea for a comic about him came later. I want to draw another album with Hemingway. It would take place during World War II, it’s a totally different story so I wouldn’t call it a sequel”.

Known for his solitary, often silent anthropomorphic protagonists his stories are often characterised by high concept ideas that combine the high brow with pop culture staples. First encountering his work through the silent, text free Sshhhh! I was immediately impressed with how deceptively simplistic Jason’s ligne claire style is on the surface, depicting the deep melancholy and dark humour within. Even in his other books his characters are often silent for a lot of the time, their dialogue clipped and to the point. Throughout his comics small gestures and silences speak volumes, portraying his characters more than masses of text ever could. Stories are expertly told through facial expressions, action and more often than not, inaction. If You Steal, as with his other books finds the absurd humour arising from the comics high concepts. Time travelling to kill Hitler, zombie apocalypses and musketeers in modern day are all hilarious in their pitch black delivery but often serve more as frameworks for him to hang deeper stories over. Jason’s work predominantly explores themes of isolation, loneliness and the difficulties of human interaction through his trademark dry wit and offbeat mastery of dark comedy. Some stories leave you smirking and laughing, others heartbroken and devastated. The majority of them, both.

If You Steal is available to order from Fantagraphics books.

For well over a decade now Fantagraphics have published the deadpan comics of Norwegian cartoonist John Arne Sæterøy, familiar to many by his pen name, Jason. “I’ve been both surprised and grateful” explains Jason over e-mail at finding an audience outside of Europe “Originally, I expected foreign royalties to be sort of a pleasant bonus. Maybe enough to go on a vacation or something. I’m still waiting for the moment when I have to go back to having a real job”. September will see the release of If You Steal his first book since 2013’s sombre, Chandler inspired Lost Cat. Eleven new tales make up his new book featuring giant reptiles, assassins, ruminations on the JFK assassination and Irish singer songwriter, Van Morrison, his work here presented as a horror comic. This time around Jason is once again returning to the short story format with this book. “If in the middle of twenty page story you discover it doesn’t work that’s one thing” says the artist on the shorter French album books he is most well known for, “If it’s in the middle of a 200 page story, that’s something else. Luckily that hasn’t happened so far”

Historical figures, horror favourites and sci-fi classics are all fodder for Jason’s melancholic stories. This time around one of his short stories stars Mexican Painter Frida Kahlo, here recast as an assassin for hire. “Some I draw just because they are fun to draw as animal characters” he divulges on his inclusion of historical figures in his work, “Take Frida Kahlo, Her iconic quality”. Others he admits have more significance for him. His literary heist comic The Left Bank Gang has a group of the 20th century’s greatest writers, Fitzgerald, Joyce, Pound and Hemingway re-imagined as struggling cartoonists. Attempting to pull of a high stakes bank heist the book is equal parts biography, revisionist history and hysterical crime caper as well as being one of the few books Jason has expressed an interest in revisiting. “For Hemingway it was an interest in his life. I read a lot of biographies about him” says Jason on the writer “The idea for a comic about him came later. I want to draw another album with Hemingway. It would take place during World War II, it’s a totally different story so I wouldn’t call it a sequel”.

Known for his solitary, often silent anthropomorphic protagonists his stories are often characterised by high concept ideas that combine the high brow with pop culture staples. First encountering his work through the silent, text free Sshhhh! I was immediately impressed with how deceptively simplistic Jason’s ligne claire style is on the surface, depicting the deep melancholy and dark humour within. Even in his other books his characters are often silent for a lot of the time, their dialogue clipped and to the point. Throughout his comics small gestures and silences speak volumes, portraying his characters more than masses of text ever could. Stories are expertly told through facial expressions, action and more often than not, inaction. If You Steal, as with his other books finds the absurd humour arising from the comics high concepts. Time travelling to kill Hitler, zombie apocalypses and musketeers in modern day are all hilarious in their pitch black delivery but often serve more as frameworks for him to hang deeper stories over. Jason’s work predominantly explores themes of isolation, loneliness and the difficulties of human interaction through his trademark dry wit and offbeat mastery of dark comedy. Some stories leave you smirking and laughing, others heartbroken and devastated. The majority of them, both.

If You Steal is available to order from Fantagraphics books.

Lately life has been full of these weird little coincidences. Last week I started on what I’ve been jokingly calling a super-secret project for another website at the encouragement from one of it’s other contributors. Part of this was writing about the web comic Furpilled. Drawn by Leo Magna it’s a delightful anthropomorphic slice of life comic featuring a colourful cast of LGBT characters in Santa Monica, California. Focusing on the everyday exploits and romantic lives of this group of friends, it ran for eight years, won an Ursa Minor Award and ended in 2011. In the upcoming article I encourage people to check it out, making the claim that it still deserves some attention after all this time, and sang the praises of his new comic Perception.

The very next day, after a four year hiatus he sends out a message that Furpilled will be back, with both comics alternating and updating once a week. Surprised and delighted by it’s return I got in contact with Leo Magna to talk about the sudden announcement and his plans for the future.

What’s been happening in your own life that has prompted you to revisit the world of Furpilled and How much of this was fans asking for more?

Well, when I decided to end the comic it was because it was at a good point to end it, and my life was about to get hectic. I was about to move across country for school, so I figured that it was time. All of the stories for the characters were converging to a point where it seemed appropriate to stop. Now that I am done with school and I have more time on hand, I figured that it could be a good time to re-start it. I get at least one message a week regarding the comic, so the fans asking for it is definitely a big factor for it.

Did you ever expect there to be such a dedicated fan base for the comic even after all this time, considering that you originally intended it to be only a handful of pages?

Honestly, no, I never thought that there would be such a dedicated fan base. To this day it surprises me. And I am really thankful for them. They are why I’m still drawing.

The series came to an end four years ago and tied up a lot of the loose ends and story-lines. Did you want this to be a definitive ending at the time, or was it always your intention to write more stories with the characters? Will it be picking up where it left of or four years later?

Because Furpilled is a slice-of-life comic, there are always stories to tell. The stories really will never end until I decide to drive all the characters off the cliff.

Time has passed, yes. So there will be a time gap for Husky and the gang. This new series will pick up four years after we last saw the gang, and we get to see where they are now. The majority of the stories will take place four years after, but some of them will be from that gap.The previous ending was appropriate for the problems that the characters were facing then. Andy and Indigo starting up as a couple, Husky and Saetto getting over their exes and start trusting each other, Chris letting go of his past and ending a bad relationship.

Out of all the cast, is there a character you would like to develop more in the new run that you didn’t get a chance to originally? Is there any character you feel more confident in writing after this time away from them?

For this new series I want to focus more on Husky, Andy, and Indigo. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I think their stories will be interesting because they will be so opposite. I’ve always liked contrast like that.

In Furpilled the characters, although they had difficulties and low points,always had a strong supportive social group. What led you to want to explore the other side of this with Perception? Which side have you experienced the most in your own life?

The strong social circle that all the characters in Furpilled have is based on my own circle of friends. After having moved away from them, and after so many years in the LGBT community, I started to realize just how lucky I was to have them all. I never felt out of place with them because they were all equally as eccentric as I am. Very few of them were “straight” in the strict sense of the term, so my sexuality was never really an issue. When I started Furpilled, they definitely were my inspiration, so while we touched on the subject of coming out, we never really had stories for that.

All the characters in the comic are openly gay (or bisexual) and older in age than the characters in Perception. Perception is meant to explore what it’s like to come out, and discover that you’re not the only one out there that’s different. There is also this added pressure that Joe feels to want to have his fraternity brothers perceive him as a regular guy, because he thinks that they are all just regular guys. But that’s the funny thing, there is no such thing as a “regular guy”. That’s where we start in the story, with Joe waking up from a drunken one night stand with another guy, and immediately regretting it.

The landscape in terms of LGBT in America has changed substantially in the last four years since Furpilled ended. Although still not fully accepted at large, there has been progress with marriage rights and such. Will any of this play into the comic and to what degree? Are there any particular changes you would like to explore?

Oh gods yeah! Can you believe it! four years ago I couldn’t get married, and how here I am thinking about dinner for my husband! It’s crazy! And it’s not just here, all over the world things are changing. It’s a great time to be alive. These new chapters will definitely touch on that. I don’t want to give too much away as far as ideas go, but count on marriage and transgender issues coming up.

The cast is made up mostly of LGB characters, with Ian being non gender binary. Have you ever considered including a trans character in the comic?

Well, I don’t think this was expanded much in the comic, but Ian’s ex (she shows up briefly) is transgender, so the thought was always there. As for these new stories, spoilers, Yes.

What else in terms of mainstream or furry comics are you enjoying right now?

Neil Gaiman picked up Sandman again, and I can’t tell you just how much I love that. As far as furry comics, Circles just ended last January, and it broke my heart. There are a couple of online comics that update on FurAffinity that I like to keep up with, Seattlefur by RainYatsu, and Deceit by Mad-Dog.

As with other story titles in Furpilled this one is derived from a song? Are there any clues we could glean from listening to the Goldfish track?

Yes, Goldfish – Choose your own Adventure. And no, there aren’t any clues, really. I love to listen to music when I draw, so I put on random songs. For every chapter, though, a song will come up that just resonates with the theme of the story. Then I proceed to listen to it on a loop until I’m done with the chapter.

Both Perception and Furpilled will be updating exclusively through Leo’s Patreon Page. The first four volumes of Furpilled can be read online or purchased from Sofawolf Press

Lately life has been full of these weird little coincidences. Last week I started on what I’ve been jokingly calling a super-secret project for another website at the encouragement from one of it’s other contributors. Part of this was writing about the web comic Furpilled. Drawn by Leo Magna it’s a delightful anthropomorphic slice of life comic featuring a colourful cast of LGBT characters in Santa Monica, California. Focusing on the everyday exploits and romantic lives of this group of friends, it ran for eight years, won an Ursa Minor Award and ended in 2011. In the upcoming article I encourage people to check it out, making the claim that it still deserves some attention after all this time, and sang the praises of his new comic Perception.

The very next day, after a four year hiatus he sends out a message that Furpilled will be back, with both comics alternating and updating once a week. Surprised and delighted by it’s return I got in contact with Leo Magna to talk about the sudden announcement and his plans for the future.

What’s been happening in your own life that has prompted you to revisit the world of Furpilled and How much of this was fans asking for more?

Well, when I decided to end the comic it was because it was at a good point to end it, and my life was about to get hectic. I was about to move across country for school, so I figured that it was time. All of the stories for the characters were converging to a point where it seemed appropriate to stop. Now that I am done with school and I have more time on hand, I figured that it could be a good time to re-start it. I get at least one message a week regarding the comic, so the fans asking for it is definitely a big factor for it.

Did you ever expect there to be such a dedicated fan base for the comic even after all this time, considering that you originally intended it to be only a handful of pages?

Honestly, no, I never thought that there would be such a dedicated fan base. To this day it surprises me. And I am really thankful for them. They are why I’m still drawing.

The series came to an end four years ago and tied up a lot of the loose ends and story-lines. Did you want this to be a definitive ending at the time, or was it always your intention to write more stories with the characters? Will it be picking up where it left of or four years later?

Because Furpilled is a slice-of-life comic, there are always stories to tell. The stories really will never end until I decide to drive all the characters off the cliff.

Time has passed, yes. So there will be a time gap for Husky and the gang. This new series will pick up four years after we last saw the gang, and we get to see where they are now. The majority of the stories will take place four years after, but some of them will be from that gap.The previous ending was appropriate for the problems that the characters were facing then. Andy and Indigo starting up as a couple, Husky and Saetto getting over their exes and start trusting each other, Chris letting go of his past and ending a bad relationship.

Out of all the cast, is there a character you would like to develop more in the new run that you didn’t get a chance to originally? Is there any character you feel more confident in writing after this time away from them?

For this new series I want to focus more on Husky, Andy, and Indigo. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I think their stories will be interesting because they will be so opposite. I’ve always liked contrast like that.

In Furpilled the characters, although they had difficulties and low points,always had a strong supportive social group. What led you to want to explore the other side of this with Perception? Which side have you experienced the most in your own life?

The strong social circle that all the characters in Furpilled have is based on my own circle of friends. After having moved away from them, and after so many years in the LGBT community, I started to realize just how lucky I was to have them all. I never felt out of place with them because they were all equally as eccentric as I am. Very few of them were “straight” in the strict sense of the term, so my sexuality was never really an issue. When I started Furpilled, they definitely were my inspiration, so while we touched on the subject of coming out, we never really had stories for that.

All the characters in the comic are openly gay (or bisexual) and older in age than the characters in Perception. Perception is meant to explore what it’s like to come out, and discover that you’re not the only one out there that’s different. There is also this added pressure that Joe feels to want to have his fraternity brothers perceive him as a regular guy, because he thinks that they are all just regular guys. But that’s the funny thing, there is no such thing as a “regular guy”. That’s where we start in the story, with Joe waking up from a drunken one night stand with another guy, and immediately regretting it.

The landscape in terms of LGBT in America has changed substantially in the last four years since Furpilled ended. Although still not fully accepted at large, there has been progress with marriage rights and such. Will any of this play into the comic and to what degree? Are there any particular changes you would like to explore?

Oh gods yeah! Can you believe it! four years ago I couldn’t get married, and how here I am thinking about dinner for my husband! It’s crazy! And it’s not just here, all over the world things are changing. It’s a great time to be alive. These new chapters will definitely touch on that. I don’t want to give too much away as far as ideas go, but count on marriage and transgender issues coming up.

The cast is made up mostly of LGB characters, with Ian being non gender binary. Have you ever considered including a trans character in the comic?

Well, I don’t think this was expanded much in the comic, but Ian’s ex (she shows up briefly) is transgender, so the thought was always there. As for these new stories, spoilers, Yes.

What else in terms of mainstream or furry comics are you enjoying right now?

Neil Gaiman picked up Sandman again, and I can’t tell you just how much I love that. As far as furry comics, Circles just ended last January, and it broke my heart. There are a couple of online comics that update on FurAffinity that I like to keep up with, Seattlefur by RainYatsu, and Deceit by Mad-Dog.

As with other story titles in Furpilled this one is derived from a song? Are there any clues we could glean from listening to the Goldfish track?

Yes, Goldfish – Choose your own Adventure. And no, there aren’t any clues, really. I love to listen to music when I draw, so I put on random songs. For every chapter, though, a song will come up that just resonates with the theme of the story. Then I proceed to listen to it on a loop until I’m done with the chapter.

Both Perception and Furpilled will be updating exclusively through Leo’s Patreon Page. The first four volumes of Furpilled can be read online or purchased from Sofawolf Press

She has always been a character referred to by both readers and creators alike with a warm fondness, yet with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, both Erica Henderson and Ryan North have fleshed out Doreen Green, aka Squirrel Girl into a more complex and rounded character beyond the knowing jokes and geek trivia lists. This issue rounds of the first arc and last issue of the surprise hit of the year before she returns in October with a new number one and juggling the responsibilities of college and her position on the New Avengers team. She goes from well-liked comedy character to star of two books in only eight issues.

Norse menace Ratatoskr’s plans finally come to fruition as she continues to turn people against each other using their own insecurities and mistrust. Our heroine and her friends race to put a stop to her smack talk and save the world. Throughout its first seven issues the series has always had an emphasis on nonviolent conflict resolution, which might sound counterintuitive for a superhero book, but North makes it work. Leading Squirrel Girl and company to seek out more creative methods for dealing with her would-be foes makes for a far more interesting read. It’s the perfect series for anyone seeking non-stop action and adventure without the dull repetitiveness of the bif-pow superhero slugfests. Oh sure, Squirrel Girl isn’t afraid to throwdown with the best of them when push comes to shove. Even when shove comes to out and out brawling, but in true Marvel fashion she’s currently slugged more of her fellow heroes than she has villains. This issue is no exception. With New York under the threat of destruction yet again, Doreen and her team set about finding ways to defeat an enemy who can turn the strength of the Earth’s heroes against them.

A comic can live or die by its supporting cast, or lack thereof and North and Henderson know this adding some of the most interesting creative and flat out funny additions to the 616 in years. Koi Boi and Chipmunk Hunk are hilarious and great new characters but it’s the no-nonsense Nancy Whitehead, who finds herself Doreen’s roommate, who is the particular standout. With Earth’s mightiest heroes having succumb to Rataskrs poisonous whisperings she takes center stage helping out the Asgardian heroes, once again using brains not brawn. The moment when she cuts through the overly complicated superhero dramatics to point out the single, simplest solution is one to behold. Even Tippytoe gets development. After sulking on Nancy’s shoulder throughout the conflict she makes the the ragtag team of animal themed superheroes that they need to make more of an effort to include her and communicate. She also offers great physical comedy in a book already packed with panel upon panel worth of humour.

North continues to be as inventive as ever with his writing employing the kind of tricks and touches that wouldn’t look out of place in his equally loved run on Adventure Time. His use of seemingly offhand throwaway jokes returns in this issue as Nancy’s headcanon, fanfiction creation Cat Thor comes to life with the aid of Asgardian’s resident trickster god in some of the funniest moments this issue. I’m sure a cosplay of an in comic cosplay that will surely end the world as we know it must only be a few days away at most. It’s an overwhelmingly positive book that North and Henderson have created and truly what comics should be about. Writing Squirrel Girl as an defiantly upbeat character who sees the very best in people, even villains, is a welcome change from the norm and her rousing speech towards the end of the conflict with Ratatoskr is most definitely one of the best examples of the positive power of comics.

Henderson’s art is on top form again, this time around getting to draw a few more heroes including her brilliant renditions of Thor, Odinson and Spider-Man. I’d urge North to write bigger and bolder team up issues in the future if only to see Henderson tackle all the Marvel Universe’s myriad numbers of characters on the page in her own playful and distinctive style. At the very least can we petition Marvel to enact a company wide initiative, like Jim Lee’s redesigns at DC, only with Henderson revamping the whole universes street wear? Seriously, off action superheroes and their friends have never looked so fashionable. In early issues her artwork focused mainly on the characters, some panels left with just solid coloured backgrounds.

While this worked give the book a fresh and bold feel to it, this time around she draws drawing some of her most complex pages so far including a stunning Asgard resplendent in it’s mix of futuristic cityscape and Norse flourishes. Let’s not forget the character design for new adversary Ratatoskr. Angular and menacing she has been a great villain and a seamless way to link The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and Thors together. Coincidentally, Ratatoskr’s Wiki page has already been updated as predicted in the issue, but unfortunately not to inform us of what a big baby she is.

An amazing finish to the first arc of Squirrel Girl’s adventures, Marvel’s decision to keep the same creative team in the wake of its company wide shake up means we will get to see more rodentine stories when she returns in October in both this title and taking on a bigger role in the going on the newly reformed Marvel Universe.

She has always been a character referred to by both readers and creators alike with a warm fondness, yet with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, both Erica Henderson and Ryan North have fleshed out Doreen Green, aka Squirrel Girl into a more complex and rounded character beyond the knowing jokes and geek trivia lists. This issue rounds of the first arc and last issue of the surprise hit of the year before she returns in October with a new number one and juggling the responsibilities of college and her position on the New Avengers team. She goes from well-liked comedy character to star of two books in only eight issues.

Norse menace Ratatoskr’s plans finally come to fruition as she continues to turn people against each other using their own insecurities and mistrust. Our heroine and her friends race to put a stop to her smack talk and save the world. Throughout its first seven issues the series has always had an emphasis on nonviolent conflict resolution, which might sound counterintuitive for a superhero book, but North makes it work. Leading Squirrel Girl and company to seek out more creative methods for dealing with her would-be foes makes for a far more interesting read. It’s the perfect series for anyone seeking non-stop action and adventure without the dull repetitiveness of the bif-pow superhero slugfests. Oh sure, Squirrel Girl isn’t afraid to throwdown with the best of them when push comes to shove. Even when shove comes to out and out brawling, but in true Marvel fashion she’s currently slugged more of her fellow heroes than she has villains. This issue is no exception. With New York under the threat of destruction yet again, Doreen and her team set about finding ways to defeat an enemy who can turn the strength of the Earth’s heroes against them.

A comic can live or die by its supporting cast, or lack thereof and North and Henderson know this adding some of the most interesting creative and flat out funny additions to the 616 in years. Koi Boi and Chipmunk Hunk are hilarious and great new characters but it’s the no-nonsense Nancy Whitehead, who finds herself Doreen’s roommate, who is the particular standout. With Earth’s mightiest heroes having succumb to Rataskrs poisonous whisperings she takes center stage helping out the Asgardian heroes, once again using brains not brawn. The moment when she cuts through the overly complicated superhero dramatics to point out the single, simplest solution is one to behold. Even Tippytoe gets development. After sulking on Nancy’s shoulder throughout the conflict she makes the the ragtag team of animal themed superheroes that they need to make more of an effort to include her and communicate. She also offers great physical comedy in a book already packed with panel upon panel worth of humour.

North continues to be as inventive as ever with his writing employing the kind of tricks and touches that wouldn’t look out of place in his equally loved run on Adventure Time. His use of seemingly offhand throwaway jokes returns in this issue as Nancy’s headcanon, fanfiction creation Cat Thor comes to life with the aid of Asgardian’s resident trickster god in some of the funniest moments this issue. I’m sure a cosplay of an in comic cosplay that will surely end the world as we know it must only be a few days away at most. It’s an overwhelmingly positive book that North and Henderson have created and truly what comics should be about. Writing Squirrel Girl as an defiantly upbeat character who sees the very best in people, even villains, is a welcome change from the norm and her rousing speech towards the end of the conflict with Ratatoskr is most definitely one of the best examples of the positive power of comics.

Henderson’s art is on top form again, this time around getting to draw a few more heroes including her brilliant renditions of Thor, Odinson and Spider-Man. I’d urge North to write bigger and bolder team up issues in the future if only to see Henderson tackle all the Marvel Universe’s myriad numbers of characters on the page in her own playful and distinctive style. At the very least can we petition Marvel to enact a company wide initiative, like Jim Lee’s redesigns at DC, only with Henderson revamping the whole universes street wear? Seriously, off action superheroes and their friends have never looked so fashionable. In early issues her artwork focused mainly on the characters, some panels left with just solid coloured backgrounds.

While this worked give the book a fresh and bold feel to it, this time around she draws drawing some of her most complex pages so far including a stunning Asgard resplendent in it’s mix of futuristic cityscape and Norse flourishes. Let’s not forget the character design for new adversary Ratatoskr. Angular and menacing she has been a great villain and a seamless way to link The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and Thors together. Coincidentally, Ratatoskr’s Wiki page has already been updated as predicted in the issue, but unfortunately not to inform us of what a big baby she is.

An amazing finish to the first arc of Squirrel Girl’s adventures, Marvel’s decision to keep the same creative team in the wake of its company wide shake up means we will get to see more rodentine stories when she returns in October in both this title and taking on a bigger role in the going on the newly reformed Marvel Universe.

Apologies for the late posting of this, it’s been a really busy week again. On Saturday I decided I need to get out of the house and wanting to go a bit further afield, ended up at the Leeds Zine Fair. I was on the fence about it, but a week full of general awfulness that came to a head on Friday resigned me to the fact that I needed a change of pace and scenery. I certainly got that in terms of scenery when I couldn’t find the venue. I managed to get to the road it was on and walked up and down the road, until finding it in the direction I was first going a little beyond where I gave up and turned around. In my defence it wasn’t signposted up the street at all, the only indication being the banner outside when you get to it.

With a few comics creators listed on the Footprint website, I thought there would be a bit more of a mix of comics and zines. It’s not going to be a popular opinion, but I’m not sure that zines are for me. It’s difficult to know where to start with them, and I don’t have a solid frame of reference to judge them on. I don’t understand them as a platform either. I get how historically they were cheap and easy way for people to communicate ideas on a range of niche or marginalised subjects in the past, but can’t wrap my head around how it now seems to that blogs and the like would be better suited to that? Surely they would be more effective and have a wider audience? However I can more than get behind people wanting to produce a physical object, I’ve mentioned more than a few times how I still prefer reading actual books to digital. While the organisers in producing there program and ‘zine in a day were using some really interesting print techniques, risographed and the like,  I found the cost of the majority of the very slim, handwritten and photocopied to be extremely off-putting.

Recently I’ve been making a more concerted effort to be to generally more open to people and have a more positive, accepting attitude and outlook on life. I’m also trying to be less rigid in my thinking so I’m more than open open to anyone willing to sing their praises, challenge me on their relevance and change my mind on them.  Perhaps the fact that they still have a very strong and dedicated fan base and passionate creators putting a lot of effort into the medium speaks to their appeal. I’d never deny anyone the chance to express themselves or limit that in anyway but at the moment I guess I just personally don’t ‘get’ them.

Regardless the main aim was to do something new, and it fulfilled that. I ended up chatting to a few people, a few like Nautical Mile Comics, I surprisingly knew already and still picked up a few things to make it worthwhile.

I went with the intention of picking up a few things from Kristyna Baczynski and despite wanting to reign in my spending a little bit, really wish I’d bought up a few more. I wrote a post about her comic Vessel recently and this time around I got Hand Me Down and A Measure Of Space. Once again I’m struck by how she illustrates the passage of time through her comic, some moments can linger while on other pages hundreds or years can pass by in a matter of panels. Both beautiful comics, I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing the longer story she has been working on this year.

One of the other two comics creators at the fair was Sophie Wright who had the adorable Meet Cute full of cute wolves and bunny rabbits in 50’s hairstyles and fashions. It’s a sweet little read told entirely though the casts facial expressions and actions, and I just couldn’t resist buying it.

Such a charming comic, I do however feel that after buying something like Baczynsk’s comics that Meet Cute might have been overpriced at £5 for a simple black and white comic. It’s stitched together but it’s simple print it doesn’t do justice to Wright’s delightful artwork. At the same time I think the sketch portraits of people she was doing at the fair on the fly were vastly under priced and left me wishing I’d have gotten one.

I’d been looking out for this one for ages and OK comics came through for me by having it back in stock. Jason Conquers America is a collection of rarities, interviews and tributes both from and too Norweigan cartoonist Jason. The inside cover has a full colour tribute featuring classic monsters by another of my favourite artists Mike Allred that makes this worth the price alone. I love the simple art and the deadpan humour of Jason’s comics and had already bought two of his other books this week. I’m hoping to interview him before the release of his next collection of short stories.

Third and last stop of the day, Forbidden Planet. On the way in I heard someone bemoaning that it’s more like a toy shop these days, and it does rather seem that way with the comics and books resigned to the basment. They’ve had the longest sale I’ve ever seen and have finally managed to pair them down into two unloved boxes near the stairs. I feel bad for Blank Slate Books overall. I’ve managed to buy all of Oliver East’s excellent Trains are Mint books for under a fiver. They were reduced to £2, but also, buy one get one free. So I grabbed Sleepyheads and got Playing Out for a friend as I already own it.I know unusual and non superhero books can be a bit of a hard sell at times but It’s a crime that Playing Out is in the £1 box! Set in Manchester with three teens, it should be instantly recognisable to anyone growing up in an English city who found the summer holidays dragging after three weeks. It’s one I might come back to on here in the future.

Apologies for the late posting of this, it’s been a really busy week again. On Saturday I decided I need to get out of the house and wanting to go a bit further afield, ended up at the Leeds Zine Fair. I was on the fence about it, but a week full of general awfulness that came to a head on Friday resigned me to the fact that I needed a change of pace and scenery. I certainly got that in terms of scenery when I couldn’t find the venue. I managed to get to the road it was on and walked up and down the road, until finding it in the direction I was first going a little beyond where I gave up and turned around. In my defence it wasn’t signposted up the street at all, the only indication being the banner outside when you get to it.

With a few comics creators listed on the Footprint website, I thought there would be a bit more of a mix of comics and zines. It’s not going to be a popular opinion, but I’m not sure that zines are for me. It’s difficult to know where to start with them, and I don’t have a solid frame of reference to judge them on. I don’t understand them as a platform either. I get how historically they were cheap and easy way for people to communicate ideas on a range of niche or marginalised subjects in the past, but can’t wrap my head around how it now seems to that blogs and the like would be better suited to that? Surely they would be more effective and have a wider audience? However I can more than get behind people wanting to produce a physical object, I’ve mentioned more than a few times how I still prefer reading actual books to digital. While the organisers in producing there program and ‘zine in a day were using some really interesting print techniques, risographed and the like,  I found the cost of the majority of the very slim, handwritten and photocopied to be extremely off-putting.

Recently I’ve been making a more concerted effort to be to generally more open to people and have a more positive, accepting attitude and outlook on life. I’m also trying to be less rigid in my thinking so I’m more than open open to anyone willing to sing their praises, challenge me on their relevance and change my mind on them.  Perhaps the fact that they still have a very strong and dedicated fan base and passionate creators putting a lot of effort into the medium speaks to their appeal. I’d never deny anyone the chance to express themselves or limit that in anyway but at the moment I guess I just personally don’t ‘get’ them.

Regardless the main aim was to do something new, and it fulfilled that. I ended up chatting to a few people, a few like Nautical Mile Comics, I surprisingly knew already and still picked up a few things to make it worthwhile.

I went with the intention of picking up a few things from Kristyna Baczynski and despite wanting to reign in my spending a little bit, really wish I’d bought up a few more. I wrote a post about her comic Vessel recently and this time around I got Hand Me Down and A Measure Of Space. Once again I’m struck by how she illustrates the passage of time through her comic, some moments can linger while on other pages hundreds or years can pass by in a matter of panels. Both beautiful comics, I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing the longer story she has been working on this year.

One of the other two comics creators at the fair was Sophie Wright who had the adorable Meet Cute full of cute wolves and bunny rabbits in 50’s hairstyles and fashions. It’s a sweet little read told entirely though the casts facial expressions and actions, and I just couldn’t resist buying it.

Such a charming comic, I do however feel that after buying something like Baczynsk’s comics that Meet Cute might have been overpriced at £5 for a simple black and white comic. It’s stitched together but it’s simple print it doesn’t do justice to Wright’s delightful artwork. At the same time I think the sketch portraits of people she was doing at the fair on the fly were vastly under priced and left me wishing I’d have gotten one.

I’d been looking out for this one for ages and OK comics came through for me by having it back in stock. Jason Conquers America is a collection of rarities, interviews and tributes both from and too Norweigan cartoonist Jason. The inside cover has a full colour tribute featuring classic monsters by another of my favourite artists Mike Allred that makes this worth the price alone. I love the simple art and the deadpan humour of Jason’s comics and had already bought two of his other books this week. I’m hoping to interview him before the release of his next collection of short stories.

Third and last stop of the day, Forbidden Planet. On the way in I heard someone bemoaning that it’s more like a toy shop these days, and it does rather seem that way with the comics and books resigned to the basment. They’ve had the longest sale I’ve ever seen and have finally managed to pair them down into two unloved boxes near the stairs. I feel bad for Blank Slate Books overall. I’ve managed to buy all of Oliver East’s excellent Trains are Mint books for under a fiver. They were reduced to £2, but also, buy one get one free. So I grabbed Sleepyheads and got Playing Out for a friend as I already own it.I know unusual and non superhero books can be a bit of a hard sell at times but It’s a crime that Playing Out is in the £1 box! Set in Manchester with three teens, it should be instantly recognisable to anyone growing up in an English city who found the summer holidays dragging after three weeks. It’s one I might come back to on here in the future.

Once again I’m confessing my ignorance, with something that clearly should have been on my radar a long time before it had a chance to hit it’s fourth edition. Buying directly from the big cartel site the combination of cheap price and page count had me convinced this would be another anthology where the contents outshine the production values. So I was surprised when it arrived a day later all glossy with it’s bookshelf worthy spine. It’s really worth pointing what a polished and professional production Dirty Rotten Comics is as anyone going through their proper website will see. The fourth edition of the comics anthology brings together over 40 comics creators over 90 pages and really encompases a wide range of styles, voices and approaches to the comics medium. While a few comics do have elements and themes in common, the intrusion of digital devices and irritating customers for instance, there really is no strict theme beyond a bunch of creative types having something to say.

Dirty Rotten Comics is a genre defying mix of different styles and approaches to comics including Fred Morris and Dominic Linton’s story “The Golden Leaf”, part illustration and part science textbook it’s one of many of anthologies stranger entries. Detailing various scientific processes connected to trees using simple illustrations. It’s an intriguing and oddly moving adition that dispute s what would be considered ‘comics’, or even if there is a proper definition anymore given the scope of the medium. There are several other additions that are a million miles away from the traditional strip or panel format such as Meckanical by Jack West-Oram comprising a single page illustration or Lydia Wysocki’s Gossip Girls that employs a striking wood cut print. All of them have a place in Dirty Rotten Comics and there is a genuine sense of inclusivity as newcomers and established artists share the same space.

I was extremely smitten with by Emily Rose Lambert’s Dreamscape. An achingly cute story of two adorable animal characters travelling through a series of dreamlike vignettes. It evokes the ephemeral nature of dreams and conveys that sense of disjointed dreamlike logic as the characters drift between seemingly disparate situations and emotions. Her sparse dialogue has the rhythm and mood of a fairytale. Sweet, whimsical and imbued with both trepidation and hope, it manages to cover a complete gamut of emotions in only two pages.

B. Mure and her wonderful pencil sketched diary comic about a week worrying about her sick, pet rat. Jey Levang’s tale of teenage demons and families, is another standout of the collection and reminded me of a Neil Gaiman short story, with the inversion of the dynamics between the ordinary and the occult. Dark, moody with an excellent punchline ending, Afterlife by James Wragg is a quirky rumination on the afterlife with an egyptian slant, while Harry Sussams equally delights with Press Start and it’s wonderfully cartoony art about the power of videogames to empower and bring people together.

Some of the artists included are undoubtedly very new to making comics and some of the contributions are extremely rough and ready. Yet, Dirty Rotten Comics turns this to it’s advantage and they somehow fit into the anthology as a whole. It’s refreshing to see artists at every ability level and from different disciplines and backgrounds being given a space in which to showcase their work, especially those who are at the start of their comics making careers and will doubtless benefit greatly from the encouragement and exposure. Overall it’s the gloriously anarchic, thumbing your nose attitude to authority that comes with British comics that makes Dirty Rotten Comics such a rare treat.

Dirty Rotten comics is available from their website. The fifth volume is set to be released on August 14th. 

Once again I’m confessing my ignorance, with something that clearly should have been on my radar a long time before it had a chance to hit it’s fourth edition. Buying directly from the big cartel site the combination of cheap price and page count had me convinced this would be another anthology where the contents outshine the production values. So I was surprised when it arrived a day later all glossy with it’s bookshelf worthy spine. It’s really worth pointing what a polished and professional production Dirty Rotten Comics is as anyone going through their proper website will see. The fourth edition of the comics anthology brings together over 40 comics creators over 90 pages and really encompases a wide range of styles, voices and approaches to the comics medium. While a few comics do have elements and themes in common, the intrusion of digital devices and irritating customers for instance, there really is no strict theme beyond a bunch of creative types having something to say.

Dirty Rotten Comics is a genre defying mix of different styles and approaches to comics including Fred Morris and Dominic Linton’s story “The Golden Leaf”, part illustration and part science textbook it’s one of many of anthologies stranger entries. Detailing various scientific processes connected to trees using simple illustrations. It’s an intriguing and oddly moving adition that dispute s what would be considered ‘comics’, or even if there is a proper definition anymore given the scope of the medium. There are several other additions that are a million miles away from the traditional strip or panel format such as Meckanical by Jack West-Oram comprising a single page illustration or Lydia Wysocki’s Gossip Girls that employs a striking wood cut print. All of them have a place in Dirty Rotten Comics and there is a genuine sense of inclusivity as newcomers and established artists share the same space.

I was extremely smitten with by Emily Rose Lambert’s Dreamscape. An achingly cute story of two adorable animal characters travelling through a series of dreamlike vignettes. It evokes the ephemeral nature of dreams and conveys that sense of disjointed dreamlike logic as the characters drift between seemingly disparate situations and emotions. Her sparse dialogue has the rhythm and mood of a fairytale. Sweet, whimsical and imbued with both trepidation and hope, it manages to cover a complete gamut of emotions in only two pages.

B. Mure and her wonderful pencil sketched diary comic about a week worrying about her sick, pet rat. Jey Levang’s tale of teenage demons and families, is another standout of the collection and reminded me of a Neil Gaiman short story, with the inversion of the dynamics between the ordinary and the occult. Dark, moody with an excellent punchline ending, Afterlife by James Wragg is a quirky rumination on the afterlife with an egyptian slant, while Harry Sussams equally delights with Press Start and it’s wonderfully cartoony art about the power of videogames to empower and bring people together.

Some of the artists included are undoubtedly very new to making comics and some of the contributions are extremely rough and ready. Yet, Dirty Rotten Comics turns this to it’s advantage and they somehow fit into the anthology as a whole. It’s refreshing to see artists at every ability level and from different disciplines and backgrounds being given a space in which to showcase their work, especially those who are at the start of their comics making careers and will doubtless benefit greatly from the encouragement and exposure. Overall it’s the gloriously anarchic, thumbing your nose attitude to authority that comes with British comics that makes Dirty Rotten Comics such a rare treat.

Dirty Rotten comics is available from their website. The fifth volume is set to be released on August 14th. 

“I was born to serve as a cog in a machine, a terrible and awful machine”

With just under four days left, there is still time to back artist John Mueller’s latest Kickstarter project to fund his comic, Oink. His grim and gritty tells the story of Oink, a pig man who resides in a city under the control of religious zealots who control his kind in a hellish Orwellian fashion. Described by the artist as a comic taking in many elements of his own experiences with the education system and how it’s often difficult for anyone who doesn’t fit the strict mould set out by it. The story of Oink is obviously very personal to the artist as it uses the extended allegory of the school system and takes it to screeching extremes making it both nightmarish and brutal.

First published over twenty years ago, Mueller has spent the last five years working the brutal and oppressively gloomy artwork for the new hardback Icon edition of his comic and from the from the samples shown on the Kickstarter, has developed into a much more confident artist with more ambitious panel composition. Oink is now 200% funded and with the success the artists hopes to fund the second and third volumes of his long running, which Mueller has “had mapped out in my head for the better part of 20 year”, of the series next year.

Jason Karlson: For those who didn’t read it the first time around, what is Oink about and how did the concept start out?

John Mueller: I began working on Oink in 1992. I had become interested in comics after reading Sin City, Judgement on Gotham, and Tell Me Dark. These were the three books that made me realize that I needed to be making graphic novels. I didn’t really think of myself as a ‘writer’ but I wanted to tell a story. The thing that everyone will tell you about writing is to write a story that is personal to you.

Oink is really a story about my experience in the public education system, which I referred to as the Public Slaughterhouse, a system where children’s dreams go to die. We all start out with these great ambitions as young kids and by the time the system is done with us we are trained to make practical career choices and not swing for the fences. What happened to being an astronaut, a president, or a scientist?

The system seemed to be designed to set me up for failure. I was bright, but I was not a math or science kid. I was artistic and a creative problem solver type, but nothing in the system seemed to value that very much. I received a lot of negative feedback at that time, and my grades were pretty terrible. I also had a hard time being contained in a chair for long periods of time, and I’m still that way today. I need to get up and move, moving helps me think and be creative. I spent most of my adolescent years believing what they were saying- that I was a failure. I would put myself in the desk for 8 hours a day and go home really sad and depressed. It’s like training wheels for a prison if you aren’t really succeeding isn’t it? People say ‘well that’s the real world.’ Is it? Is that what we’re teaching, obedience and apathy?

It really messed with my head at that age. Fast forward to Art School and I instantly became a 4.0 student and began feeling confident about my prospects in life. Why did I have to go through 12 years of feeling like a failure? I was just a round peg being jammed repeatedly into a square hole year after year. Under the surface, Oink is about that experience. The bad guy is my guidance counsellor who hounded me to NOT go to art school, he told me I was going to ruin my life.

JK: You also mention forging your own path as a theme of your work, since you started the original Oink, do you think there are a lot more routes for people wanting to get their work out there on their own terms?

JM: If this campaign proves anything, it’s that if you have a vision for your life, there is a way to make it happen in today’s world. I honestly never would have thought even a year ago that I would be as busy as I am with Skyshine and OINK, both crowd-funded, creator-owned projects and both doing really well within their respective fields. When I started out over 20 years ago none of this existed…meaning the internet. It’s amazing how quickly it has evolved, always seeming to make it easier for people to connect and find things they are interested in. So if you are a niche kind of artist like me this is the best it’s ever been.

JK: The project, redrawing Oink has taken a while and must have started before Kickstarter was even around, at what point did you know it was the perfect project for a Kickstarter, and what was the original plan to publish the new edition before this?

JM: When I started, I didn’t know what this project would be, there was no plan, just this desire to get back to my foundation. I just knew that I needed to do it. The original publisher had gone out of print and I was regularly hearing from fans who were asking me what was going on with the book. I started the remastering project in 2010, so I think Kickstarter was pretty new at the time. Kickstarter is the perfect venue for an artist like me, because backers look at not only your art, but also your story. My story is a comeback story and people seem to like those, at least I do.

JK: Did any parts of the story change in the time between the original and this version?

JM: Yes, I added quite a bit, and altered a lot of elements to set the foundation for the series going forward. OINK is connected to a larger world that I created called BEDLAM, which is sort of my own post-apocalyptic universe. My indie video game company Skyshine is producing a game set in that world…albeit a totally bonkers version. You can see the game on our website: http://www.gobedlam.com The game has mutants, marauders, Cyborgs, futuristic tech cities, and bizarre cults brought up in the ashes of our world…it’s like all the stuff I loved as a kid.

JK: This edition also features radically revised artwork, what lead to this decision after all this time? Were you worried about the reaction from fans of the original comic, and how do you feel about revised and edited comics in general?

JM: I love this edition; this is truly me as a fully evolved artist. I created the first book when I was 22 and I don’t mind saying that I was wearing my inspirations on my sleeve- Simon Bisley, Ted McKeever, and Bill Sienkiewicz. This new edition is really all me, for better or for worse. I wanted to update the book to reflect my growth as an artist. It kills two birds with one stone, I get to put OINK back in print and I get to show people who I am today. Most of the fans of the original series that I have talked to have been very supportive of this remastered edition. Regarding the idea of rebooted comics, I think when it is the original creator, I like it, but when it is for corporate interests I am not a fan.

JK: When you first started this, did you imagine it would be over 200% funded within the first few weeks, or did you have more down to earth expectations of it?

JM: I had pretty low expectations, I mean I was hoping it would resonate with people but it’s a dark science, these crowd funding campaigns…there’s really no telling. I’m ecstatic about the Kickstarter community embracing the project as it has, since OINK has always been a bit of a loner in comics. He just doesn’t fit into any genre or mold so I think the big comic news sites like CBR don’t know what to do with it, and it’s hard to stand out in a comic shop unless you are a monthly series…so Kickstarter…let’s do this!

JK: Your Kickstarter pitch mentions plans for the next two arcs of the Oink story as stretch goals, do you think you’ll find it strange to spend years on the first one, and suddenly be able to start work on the next two very soon after this one? Will those too be kickstarted when completed?

JM: I’m hoping to do another campaign for the sequel of Blood & Circus in 2016. These books require a lot of dedication and focus, so if I am able to do another book, I definitely want to produce it in a shorter time frame, but more of a full-time focus. I’m REALLY excited about its direction because it’s going to be so over-the-top with post-apocalyptic monsters for OINK to contend with. He will join a travelling circus with a bunch of freaks from Bedlam, so you can imagine it’s a great setting for some fun art and characters.

JK: Oink obviously features pigs, why do you think pigs are so often used in fiction like this?

JM: Pigs are probably most well known for their gluttony, just rolling in mud and being really fat and not giving a crap about anything but their own happiness. They are short-sighted, and can be devious to get what they want. I think it’s why they are so often used as an allegory for the fat successful politician or corporate CEO. With OINK, it’s more about the ignorant and misunderstood aspects of these animals. I sort of see the ‘masses’, of which I am one, as these misunderstood animals. The gluttonous fat cats think we’re all mindless consumers and they can do whatever they want to us and we’ll take and it and ask for more. When you look at the world it’s hard to not see the truth in that, but we all have a choice to ‘live the change we want to see in the world.’ I’m trying to do that in my own life and it’s been a rewarding experience. I don’t really spend much time trying to change the world around me but more of what’s going on inside myself. I’m happy for people who find happiness, and I want to help those who are struggling. I think that’s why I enjoy teaching art and working with young artists too.

Find Oink’s Kickstarter here.

It’s telling just how much of the limelight the larger comics companies take up online, that up until last week I’d never heard of Magnetic Press before. Their newly announced titles for 2015 are a strong mix of sci-fi and fantasy with two of them featuring lycanthrophy. Seriously, why have I never heard of this company before? I’m not going to be too hard on myself as this is only the companies second year. Mostly dealing with bringing foreign language and European titles to a wider market, the company has already released twelve titles as well as forty four digital ones in it’s first year alone.

Looking through their catalogue from last year the quality of their hardback editions are luxurious to say the least. Hardback, rounded corner, gloss elements on cover and thick paper stock. Their presentation of the material can only be described as lavish.

Going into it’s second year, it seems the company is extending it’s roster once again with another ten titles. While Magnetic Press has only revealed a few details with the promise of more information in the coming weeks, there are already a few titles that I am interested in and will definitely be checking out when they are released.

Klaw-French Edition cover- illustrated by Joel Jurion and written by Antoine Ozenam.

Klaw, illustrated by Joel Jurion and written by Antoine Ozenam.

Teenager Angel Tomassini has been hiding a dark and scary secret: when threatened he involuntarily turns into a violent and vicious Weretiger. He doesn’t know why, how, or what to do, because when he transforms, he loses control and people end up badly hurt. As if this isn’t enough for a kid to deal with, Angel is slowly learning his father is one of the biggest organized crime leaders in the city. And are there more like him? Are there… different creatures too?

Oh please, let there by other creatures too! A showing of An American Werewolf in London at a friends house at an impressionable age means I am forever obsessed with Lycanthropy and shape shifting. Apparently Klaw has been around in French for quite some time now, even the press release describes it as “wildly world-popular”. Which makes it baffling that I’ve never heard of it before. Belonging to a fandom that pounces on anything with even a whiff an anthropomorphism, I’m a little surprised that no one else has pointed this out to me, even more so having attended European conventions before.

From a little scouring about it seems that Magnet Press will be releasing the first five issues of this as a hardback graphic novel. Not speaking any French I can’t comment on any of dialogue from the pages I found online, but the artwork is simply gorgeous, really vibrant and dynamic. With four “tomes” of material already out there, this will hopefully be a series to enjoy for a long time to come.

From the original French language edition

From the original French language edition

Love: The Fox- French Edition Cover-illustrated by Federico Bertolucci and written by Frederic Brremaud.

Love: The Fox, illustrated by Federico Bertolucci and written by Frederic Brremaud.

The second volume in the award winning, lushly illustrated, wordless graphic novel series, Love: The Fox follows a spry, intrepid, one-eyed fox during an average day of foraging when a natural disaster erupts. Readers are taken on a thrill ride as animals of all shapes and sizes react to the danger, but the fox inexplicably runs towards the fire, braving daunting obstacles and even larger predators to reach a desperate location in the heart of the storm

Like Klaw this one’s been available in France and Germany for an age now. This wordless tale is a day in the life narrative following, you guessed it, a fox. Completely without dialogue it’s the breathtaking artwork from Bertolucci that tells the story here and as usual I’m fascinated to see how artists convey emotions in a purely visual manner. As with Klaw and this being the second volume of  this series, it already has the selling point of having more to follow. With the third in the series, Love Lion already completed and the fourth, featuring a T-rex being finished by Bertolucci in the very near future. Even though it doesn’t have the issues surrounding translation it does appear to be out of print. Even if that wasn’t the case, after seeing Magnetic’s website I’d still rather have waited on their plush hardback version.

Bitten, created by Cornelia Funke, written by Raul Garcia, and illustrated by Francisco Herrera.

Entering high school is tough enough as it is, but how do you cope when you’ve also just been bitten by a Werewolf? This beautifully illustrated, madcap all ages adventure is like a classic 2D animated feature in print!

Another werewolf themed book, this time from German author Cornelia Funke, the mind behind the Inkheart trilogy of young adult books. Out of the three I’ve picked out, Funke is the only person who’s work I have had previous experience with, having read the first in her trilogy many moons ago. This time around werewolves are the centre of her story as high school student finds himself bitten by one of the creatures of the night. The artwork instantly reminded me of a cute, Saturday morning cartoon so it was unsurprising to find out that both the writer and artist have worked in animation for Disney.

As well as the comics, the two art books Angelarium and Robot Envy also look really interesting. It’s definitely a company who I’ll be keeping an eye on in the future.

Being of modest means, in the past I have shamefully bought comics due to page count alone. Quantity counts when strapped for cash and I’d usually choose comics with a bit more meat on their bones. Although I’m slowly collecting Hellblazer trades they’d always be at the top of my list when they came out due to their huge wodge of pages and densely written style that would take me a few weeks to chew through. Recently being a little bit more financially relaxed and delving deeper into the small press and independent scene I’m discovering more often that the best comics can be both beautiful and brief.

Vessel is an independent comic from Leeds artist Kristyna Baczynski. It stars an unnamed protagonist who completes her education and finds herself immediately stuck in an all too familiar procession of banal and ultimately interchangeable jobs. Baczynski captures the feeling of quiet mundanity here perfectly in a series of repeated patterns, her character stood in the same pose and expression in each and every one, with only the hats name badges changing. She finally realises after what could be years of these jobs that her own inaction, that she has to make her life happen as she rushes out into the world. While the subject matter is as well travelled as her heroine by the end of the comic, Baczynski’s unique voice and artistic style ensures she still has something fresh to say on the matter. It’s powerful and deeply affecting, especially to someone like myself who might be realising that life doesn’t happen on it’s own.

Baczynski’s artwork in general is stunning and he unique style and strong playful lines are used to great effect in Vessel. Her pages are both expansive and intricate when needed and filled with delightful little details and flourishes. One element in particular is her use of water to illustrate and express some of her themes. Referring to the title, our protagonist imagines herself as a vessel filling up with knowledge. Eventually the central character finds her own meaning, filling her life up with all the desperate pieces around her to make a whole.The second instance is drawing her character with waves moving around her, brilliantly expressing the idea of life happening and time moving around you, waiting for something to happen rather than living in the now.

Before her travels her life is restricted to single pages and panels before opening up to widescreen, cinematic double spreads. At the start of her escapades, on the first double page spread, our adventurer stands elated, poised and thrust forward at the edge of a cliff. As she leans forward your eye is deliberately drawn across the page to the wide open landscape. It gives the comic a strong feeling of action and forward momentum, conducive to a story about travel and adventure.

It’s definitely worth noting the clever and effective colouring she employs in Vessel, using a limited palette throughout. The pages are all blue until her epiphany and setting off into the world, when colour is literally added to her life. Subsequent pages limit themselves to three colours per double spread until the very last one showing the traveller with her collection of trinkets which combines all of the colours from the previous pages. It perfectly illustrates the accumulation of her encounters.The physical objects show a patchwork of experiences made manifest in “a collage of passport stamps, trinkets and anecdotes”. Baczynski deftly condenses a sense of a lifetime of travel and experiences into such a short comic, with the last few pages showing objects from her travels, skilfully hinting about unseen adventures.Care has been taken to ensure that Vessel itself could join those prized possessions, being risograph printed on thick glossy card stock, and hand stapled.

Showing it to my partner he enjoyed it and liked the artwork but wasn’t quite as taken with the romanticism of travel or the thought of leaving it all behind as I was. While it’s extensively about travel, I think it prevented him from seeing the much larger point this story makes. The beautiful and touching message at the heart of this comic, of having a rich, full life well lived. I think, giving it another shot, he’d really appreciate what Baczynski depicts here, of being able to look back as this messy, cluttered life and feel content. While the travel and exotic locations give the comic it’s quick pace and momentum, as well as showing of the artists skills, allowing her to draw far flung vistas and even alien looking worlds, it also visually emphasises a point of encouraging us to get out there and open ourselves up to new and enriching experiences. As the protagonist tells us “This might be wisdom, I don’t quite know”.

More of Kristyana Baczynski’s work can be found on her website while Vessel and other comics can be purchased from her Etsy site 

Having spent the last week and a half in daze, both rushing about in the last hectic days of work before summer all the while both simultaneously worrying about having nothing to write about or the time to really find anything, it’s a relief to have a handful of things fall into my lap in the last few days. If anything it reminds me to just ask around and that generally the comics community online, especially on twitter is eager to give you recommendations on new things and promote each other.

One thing I bought on a whim from a chance encounter online was the comics anthology Dirty Rotten Comics. I’d never heard of them before now and needless to say I didn’t expect anything so polished and professional in it’s presentation. It’s a delightful mish mash of comics talent from around the UK that I fully intend to dig into with a full review in the next few days. However I did wan’t to talk one comic in particular separately.

Emily Rose Lambert, is an illustrator and first class graduate from Loughborough University who works as a greetings card designer. Her work encompasses comics, design and illustration, often featuring repeating patterns, showcasing a preoccupation with indigenous American culture, nature and animals.

Dreamscape is the lovely, achingly cute story of two adorable animal characters travelling through a series of dreamlike vignettes that evokes the ephemeral nature of dreams and conveys that sense of disjointed dreamlike logic as the characters drift between seemingly disparate situations and emotions. The story floats effortlessly from the fantastical, one of the figures breaking into fragments, one lovingly patching up the other with clay and leaves to the more everyday, as the dreamers enter a birthday party late and unable to sing along with the other revellers. From the small embarrassments that gently gnaw away at us in the night to the gentle sense of dread as an unknown figure watches us from afar, each instance captures the moments in dreams where feelings seem always just a little too close to the surface, more immediate and raw.

On her own blog, Emily briefly describes her process behind the comic revealing an early draft that she had begun creating digitally until, as she puts it a “boost of confidence in using ink and pencil” promoted her to switch over to more traditional methods resulting in the final comic. It’s a decision that definitely works in her favour, as does the restriction to black and white owing to the anthology it’s collected in.

The first draft almost seems too solid, too real while the traditional hand drawn panels fit the otherworldly tone of the story perfectly. The final version with the soft pencils and ink give her story a suitably intangible feel in the way that dreams often are. A sense that if you tried to bring it any more into focus, recall it in more detail, it would fade away. The sudden sadness upon awakening as you desperately grasp at details that moments ago seemed so clear become more fleeting and blurred around the edges the harder you concentrate on them. Only half remembered,  leaving you only a feeling or a vague sense of them.

The comic ends where it begins as one of the figures looks out onto the stars once more, again emphasising it’s roots in dream logic and the recursive, circular nature they sometimes taken on, with motifs or events being repeated over and over. Her sparse dialogue has the rhythm and mood of a fairytale. Sweet, whimsical and imbued with both trepidation hope,it manges to cover a complete gamut of emotions in only two pages.