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QRD #51 - Indie Comics Interview Series
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Indie Comic Creators Interviews:
‘Lil
Kimberlee Traub
Liz Suburbia
Michael Anthony Carroll
Mike Kitchen
Sloane Leong
Troy Little
Wayne Wise
Blair Kitchen
David Lawrence
Dawn Best
ED
Gary Scott Beatty
Jack Knifley
Jason Strutz
William Schaff
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Interview with Indie Comic Creator 'Lil
June 2011
Name: ‘Lil
City: Unknown
Comics: Tiny Tommy Comics
Websites: tinytommycomics.com

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

‘Lil – I used to read/play around with newspaper comics as a little kid.  Then when I was a bit older I made my own comics, but never read any until I got into some Vertigo/Dark Horse stuff through a boyfriend late in high school.

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

‘Lil – A trade paperback of Transmetropolitan.

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

‘Lil – About 12. 

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

‘Lil – This past decade.

QRD – Why comics instead of just writing or drawing? 

‘Lil – I do those things too, but I like that in comics you can create complex stories within a visual world. It doesn’t have to be as perfect as writing does, to me. The medium is more free/shorthand. 

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

‘Lil – More so the second one from my experience. 

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

‘Lil – Usually 12-20.

QRD – How much do you think comics should cost?

‘Lil – If it’s a xerox, not very much unfortunately. Special covers or whatever would justify slightly higher costs. 

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

‘Lil – I make maybe half a dozen, with 1-20 copies of each. I’d like to make hundreds....

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

‘Lil – Whatever works! 

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

‘Lil – Both are great! I think you can do a lot, or not very much, within either medium.

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

‘Lil – Maybe a few months, maybe years. I don’t make comics with print in mind.

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

‘Lil – Perspective & shading – working from different angles, having form, environment & light that’s more real.

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

‘Lil – After I draw, I scan the comics in & tweak out any little mistakes with Photoshop. Sometimes I draw out of order too, so I’m putting the frames in order digitally.

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

‘Lil – I think they’re awesome, but it’s hard for me to read long comics online, like full comic book sized stories are hard to read.

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

‘Lil – Black & white.

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

‘Lil – One, haha. But really, whatever works for the artists involved. I know some illustrators who really shouldn’t be writing their own scripts, & vice versa... yet it brings something special when they do end up doing everything for their comics – they’re awkwardly trying to work with what they’ve got, & I like that.

QRD – How do you find collaborators?

‘Lil – I’ve never done a comic with anyone, but I’ve made art with my comic characters with other artists, mostly street artists/art, who I meet wherever.

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

‘Lil – I’m sure there’s no real answer to that. The scripts I make for myself are super tight down to intense details, but I don’t know if I’m making those details as more of a writer or an illustrator when I’m in the planning stage & I don’t know how I’d work best in a team. I’m sure it’s different in every partnership.

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

‘Lil – Early Charles Shultz.

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

‘Lil – Some of them really seem to enjoy them.

QRD – What do you think of superheroes?

‘Lil – I think they’re interesting in concept, but often not my thing in practice.

QRD – Marvel or DC?

‘Lil – DC, haha.

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

‘Lil – The characters from the new series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The pony characters are pretty rad & the design is super tight. Also Peanuts characters since I rip off their basic design a lot in my own comics. I like round design. & I think I’d have fun merging my world with either of those.

QRD – Ideally would you self-publish?

‘Lil – Hell no.

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

‘Lil – I go to zine fairs because they’re affordable & it’s what people I know are doing. I’ve never been to a legit comic convention, but I’d like to try it sometime. I’m sure 95% of the people there would be like, what are you doing... 

QRD – What do you do to promote your books?

‘Lil – Post them online, sell them at zine fairs & art galleries.

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

‘Lil – I think my comics could be if they were ever professionally bound, but they’d be in that section where serials of newspaper comics & indie graphic novels are kept. Right now my handmade releases are pretty destined for zine racks.

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

‘Lil – Because my comics are about rag dolls, I’d like to see little dolls of them for fun. I love the idea of my comics being animated, for TV or internet or whatever. That’s kind of a dream.

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

‘Lil – I really just read books on philosophy, my comic reading is super limited. I read a few comics online though, so I’m a web comic reader... & I love good, thoughtful comics, I just never make it out to find any I want to read. 

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

‘Lil – Virtual reality comic experiences via phone implants, or graffiti on the relics of post apocalyptic civilization; whatever comes first.

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

‘Lil – Working through complex inner dialog or making things I relate to, like comics about unemployment & being hungry all the time, or kids spray painting.  I want to find someone making comics about worshipping the devil & smoking meth in small town America.

QRD – Anything else?

‘Lil – Everything is a comic. Also thanks for doing this.