QRD – How old were you when you first got into comics & did you always stick with them or did you come back to them?

Derek – I was probably 3 when I first got interested in comics. I have always stuck with them.

QRD – What was the first comic book you ever bought? 

Derek – I believe it was an issue of Peter Parker: Spider-Man. I always found Peter Parker more interesting than Spider-Man. I liked to read Spider-Man, but skip the fights & anything with a costume. Then it is the story of a very paranoid & delusional young man that lives with his aunt.

QRD – How old were you when you put out your first comic? 

Derek – 17 or 18. I started a webcomic about an angel’s journey to find the daughter he had been forbidden to raise. I posted a page a week for a year. I never got too far into the proper story. I am going back to it.

QRD – What decade do you think produced the best comics? 

Derek – I’m going to say the 90s. For the most part mainstream comics dropped the ball, but the smaller press comics were great.

QRD – Why comics instead of just writing or drawing? 

Derek – I’m not that great at drawing or writing, but together I can make something fairly interesting.

QRD – Do you see mini-comics & indie comics as paths to mainstream comics or as their own unique media? 

Derek – I view comics as a whole as story-telling medium. The quality of paper & number of copies produced do not matter. 

QRD – How many copies of your comic do you print in your first run? 

Derek – So far I have printed 40 copies each time. No real reason for it.

QRD – How much do you think comics should cost? 

Derek – That really depends on how many pages are in it & how it was made. I’ll always pay more for something that will hold together for a long time.

QRD – How many books do you produce a year & how many would you like to? 

Derek – I put out 2 a year. I would like to produce 5 this year or a large collection.

QRD – Do you think stories should be serialized or delivered as complete works? 

Derek – I believe stories should be delivered as complete works. Not just in comics, I tend to buy complete TV series & watch them from beginning to end.

QRD – How are comic strips different than comic books & which medium do you prefer? 

Derek – Comic strips & books only differentiate in the amount of story you receive at a given time. Strips should only be used to show a single moment in time, anything longer should be put into book form. I love the original Flash Gordon strip, but I can’t imagine reading it four panels at a time.

QRD – How long is it from when you start a comic until it’s printed? 

Derek – Between 3 & 4 months. Print isn’t my top priority. 

QRD – What do you better with your comics now than when you first started? 

Derek – The art grows in leaps & bounds. I changed the type of pens & technique I used between the first & second chapter of Unicorns Changed My Life. I decided to use the same style for the sake of consistency. I won’t do that for the third chapter. 

QRD – At what point in the artistic process do you work digitally? 

Derek – Only for coloring.

QRD – What do you think of digital comics & webcomics? 

Derek – I believe webcomics will replace the comics people looked for in periodicals. I don’t think digital comics or floppies will last ten years.

QRD – Do you prefer working in color or black & white? 

Derek – I think my work looks better in color.

QRD – How many different people should work on a comic & what should their jobs be? 

Derek – The fewer the better. Two at the most.

QRD – How do you find collaborators? 

Derek – I meet them at cons or local comic shops.

QRD – How tight do you think a script should be as far as telling the artist what to draw? 

Derek – I feel artists should be free to go crazy so long as pacing & establishing shots (emotional & setting) are maintained.

QRD – What comic book person would you be most flattered to be compared to? 

Derek – Hopefully I am never compared to anyone. I’d like my work to be seen as unique.

QRD – What do your friends & family think of your comics? 

Derek – My friends & family don’t read comics. Wait. My brother reads some comics. He likes some of them.

QRD – What do you think of superheroes?

Derek – I think their super powers take a great deal of suspense out of the story. That is what makes Batman bad***.

QRD – Marvel or DC? 

Derek – Marvel.

QRD – What comic characters other than your own would you like to work with? 

Derek – John Constantine.

QRD – Ideally would you self-publish? 

Derek – I would rather have someone else do the printing.

QRD – What conventions do you try to attend & why? 

Derek – S.P.A.C.E. draws in my kind of audience, but Ohayocon has the type of dealers’ room I could & have gone broke in.

QRD – What do you do to promote your books? 

Derek – I advertise with Project Wonderful from time to time.

QRD – Do you think your comics are well suited to comic shops or would sell better elsewhere? 

Derek – My comics do better in an online store.

QRD – What other medium would you like to see some of your comics made into (television, film, games, action figures, etc.)? 

Derek – I would like to see my characters as action figures. I have a clay figurine of Mullo that I love.

QRD – Do you consider yourself a comic collector or a comic reader or both? 

Derek – I used to be a collector. I tried to get every appearance of Alex Summers. After he was brought back a second time I stopped.

QRD – What do you see as the most viable mediums for comics distribution 10 years from now? 

Derek – Webcomics & large print collections.

QRD – What would you like to see more people doing with comics? 

Derek – I would like to see more long running characters reach a conclusion.

QRD – Anything else? 

Derek – I would like to mention that my webcomic Croston’s Method Comix is in a contest. If enough people go to www.methodcomix.com & click the like button under the individual strips/pages I could win $500. That would be a great way to show your support without spending any money.