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Interview
with Indie Comic Creator Troy Little
June 2011 City: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Comics: Angora Napkin, Chiaroscuro Websites: www.meanwhilestudios.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? Troy Ive been reading & drawing comics for as long as I can remember. I almost gave them up as a lost cause after the early 90s, but then I discovered indy comics like Bone, Cerebus, & Strangers in Paradise. I never looked back. QRD What was the first comic book you ever bought? Troy Im not sure, but I very clearly recall getting Marvels Star Wars #15 from a spinner rack & reading it in the waiting room at the doctors office. QRD How old were you when you put out your first comic? Troy 25 years old. Chiaroscuro #1, September 2000. QRD What decade do you think produced the best comics? Troy Im not partial to any decade, I just like good comics regardless the era. QRD Why comics instead of just writing or drawing? Troy Its the best of both worlds! I love the hybrid. When I think of writing a novel, it usually evolves into a comic story. Im too visual to rely only on words & I like what the art brings to it. QRD Do you see mini-comics & indie comics as paths to mainstream comics or as their own unique media? Troy Theyre their own thing, its up to the creator what his/her agenda beyond that is. I like being on the indy side of things, it affords more freedom. Besides, I never had any desire to draw Batman or Spiderman as a career goal - Im more interested in telling my own stories. QRD How many copies of your comic do you print in your first run? Troy I think it was close to 2000 on issue #1 & down to 1000 by issue #7 when I ceased self-publishing. QRD How much do you think comics should cost? Troy $2-$3? Beats me, Im pretty much a graphic novel buyer these days. QRD How many books do you produce a year & how many would you like to? Troy If Im lucky, 1 book every 2 years (graphic novel), but Im hoping to pull down a book a year in the future. QRD Do you think stories should be serialized or delivered as complete works? Troy Depends on the story. Like I said earlier, I pretty much only pick up collected books. QRD How are comic strips different than comic books & which medium do you prefer? Troy I guess the obvious thing is the strips are often 3-4 panel gags & not extended narratives. Both have their place. I prefer creating longer form stories, but enjoy both mediums. QRD How long is it from when you start a comic until its printed? Troy Too long. Years. QRD What do you better with your comics now than when you first started? Troy The art gets better. QRD At what point in the artistic process do you work digitally? Troy Scanning the artwork for print & any colouring. Beyond that Im very much rooted in the traditional method right down to hand lettering. QRD What do you think of digital comics & webcomics? Troy Some are great, most are not. QRD Do you prefer working in color or black & white? Troy I prefer B&W, but Im seeing the merits of adding colour. Its just tedious. QRD How many different people should work on a comic & what should their jobs be? Troy I generally like books by a single creator, but there are plenty of great collaborations out there as well. QRD How do you find collaborators? Troy I dont. QRD How tight do you think a script should be as far as telling the artist what to draw? Troy The writer needs to leave room for the artist to do their job. I doubt I could draw for Alan Moore. QRD What comic book person would you be most flattered to be compared to? Troy Dave Sim (which Alex Robinson & I were referred to - with pride - as Magpies on his wiki page). People have made allusions to John K. as well. QRD What do your friends & family think of your comics? Troy They seem to like them I guess. QRD What do you think of superheroes? Troy I dont bother with them really. The early 90s ruined those books for me for life. QRD Marvel or DC? Troy Neither. Fantagraphics, D&Q, Top Shelf, First Second (etc) are more my style. QRD What comic characters other than your own would you like to work with? Troy I cant think of any really. QRD Ideally would you self-publish? Troy I have in the past & I may again in the future. QRD What conventions do you try to attend & why? Troy I like the indy cons like TCAF (my fave), APE, & SPX. QRD What do you do to promote your books? Troy Hustle them on the net mostly. Maintain a blog(s) & update them a few times a month. Nothing crazy. QRD Do you think your comics are well suited to comic shops or would sell better elsewhere? Troy Sure, but I think they belong in mainstream bookstores as well. QRD What other medium would you like to see some of your comics made into (television, film, games, action figures, etc.)? Troy My book Angora Napkin was made into an animated pilot for Teletoon. Id like to make more of those someday. Maybe straight to video features? QRD Do you consider yourself a comic collector or a comic reader or both? Troy Less a collector now & more of a reader. QRD What do you see as the most viable mediums for comics distribution 10 years from now? Troy Probably a hybrid between Diamond & Amazon. Sort of like it is now I think. QRD What would you like to see more people doing with comics? Troy Original creator owned graphic novels that didnt involve superheroes. QRD Anything else? Troy Yes.
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