From: [bv 446] at [cleveland.Freenet.Edu] (James S. Ottaviani)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Evan Dorkin, The Usenet Interview -6-
Date: 20 May 1993 13:15:25 GMT

Hey, we're back. Did you miss us? Have you ftp-ed Operation 
Crazed Ferret (a Cerebus Campaign '93 thing) yet? Would you 
stop reading this and go on to the real reason for this post, 
which is to find out what...

                         ***

...evan sez:

As for the latest news, I don't remember what I sent you on 
what I'm up to, and I'm too burnt out to get into it right now. 
Suffice it to say, we're working very hard here at the House of 
Fun, and the "Destroy all Comics" tour is underway, with three 
dates completed, six confirmed and others in the planning 
stages. It looks like Sarah and I may be doing a week in Texas, 
and the San Diego con looks definite again for this year.

Milk and Cheese, after two printer's delays, shipped the first 
week of May, and should be at shops by the time people read 
this. [It made it to southeast MI, but as Scowling Jim says, your 
mileage may vary -- jimO] Fight-Man hasn't even gone to the 
printers yet, your guess is as good as mine on when it will ship. 
I just send Dork #1 to Slave Labor to go to the printer's and I'm 
scripting the first Predator: Bad Blood full issue, as well as 
finishing up PC$!: The Blunder Years. I've been asked by Pat 
Moriarity to contribute a story for him to draw for his Big 
Mouth comic series [cool!]. Sarah and I completed the full 
painted cover to Deadline #52, which is of the band Fugazi. 
Sarah painted the background and the cel overlay of the band. I 
drew the band and whined a lot. I'm also drawing the cover to a 
Boston ska/bluebeat compilation that Dan of Bim Skala Bim is 
putting together. The CD, "Mash it Up '93", will have tracks by 
Bim, Steady Ernest, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and others. 
Sarah will color the CD art, which will feature some Pirate 
Corp$! cast members in the pit.

I'll get to the questions now, I've got to go to the bank and the 
post office soon. I've been up since 3 am, our schedules are 
shot, I don't even know what the hell day it is anymore. 
Anyway, the questions, of which there are a pitiful few, one of 
which is a quick answer and another which is really not a 
question but a bunch of something or other. I don't know, Jim, 
you should've picked someone popular to do this with after 
Sim, nobody seems to be too interested. Maybe I should get a 
job at Image...


Jeremy Holstein ([j--ls--i] at [skidmore.EDU]) -- When you say 
submissions, does this mean that the magazine is accepting 
submissions?  Of what sort of genre is the magazine in question 
(the one with the Kyle Baker cover)? Thanks, -Jer (ME!)

evan dorkin -- I'm a bit confused here. If you're asking about 
Instant Piano, no, we're not accepting submissions. Instant 
Piano is a five man anthology from Dark Horse, consisting of 
me, Kyle Baker, Mark Badger, Stephen DeStefano and Robbie 
Busch. We all devised the book in New York bars a few years 
ago to be a showcase for our supposed comedic talent and ha-
ha abilities. After much thumb twirling, we finally got our act 
together and will start the book any week now. I'm sure I 
discussed this project already last time. Anyhow, it's a self-
contained book, not an anthology open for submissions, 
especially if you're funnier than us.


Jason Yungbluth ([V 122 RCYC] at [ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu]) -- 
Alright, a question for Herr Dorkin: As an aspiring cartoonist 
myself, I am curious as to your techniques. What is your 
process, from start to finish? Do you use pen or brush? And 
what about reference? Also, how long does it take for you to 
complete a page?

evan -- You ask about my "techniques". I put "techniques" in 
quotes because I really haven't much of a clue as to my thought 
or work processes. I simply come up with a strip or story and 
draw it. I know it's more complicated than that, but as far as the 
writing is concerned, I mean, writing is writing. I don't really 
get into discussing "writing", I'd rather just write. If a reader 
enjoys what I've written, or "gets" it, I did my work. If the 
reader is stymied, I screwed up. Or he's an idiot. Happens both 
ways.
     The "art" is easier to discuss, because it's more technical, as 
far as the physical aspects of it. It's also easy for me to discuss 
because I have very little formal art training and generally am 
ignorant and don't know what the hell I'm doing. I don't think 
of myself as a draughtsman or an artist, I'm not a graceful 
illustrator, drawing does not come easy to me. Drawing is a bit 
of a chore for me, it's a way of getting my stories on paper as 
close to the way as I can see them as I write them. But I don't 
draw much for pleasure, I don't keep sketchbooks or doodle 
people on the ferry and all that. I take a lot of notes, instead. I'll 
never be a tremendous artist, I hope to be a capable cartoonist 
when all is said and done. But if I work at I think I can become 
a pretty decent writer.
     The art end of my work is steadily improving, though, 
mainly because I'm slowly developing a graphic sense and my 
inking is improving. If you look at my earlier work, I inked like 
a chimp on a moving bus. Awful, scratchy, unsure lines, no 
depth, messy, awful. Now I ink like a chimp who's stable. I 
don't use a brush much, it's alien to me, it had no "give" on the 
paper, it feels like I'm not doing anything while I'm using it. I 
use real crude and cheap art supplies. I'm willing to bet I have 
one of the cheapest/smallest supply layouts in all of comicdom. 
Basically, my comics work is done with a 2H lead holder 
pencil, sometimes a #2 pencil, a small cro-quill holder, cheap 
and laughable Hunt 109 (I think. I know them in the store when 
I see them -- 60 cents each!) pen nibs, a set of rapidographs, 
india ink, Q-tips for spotting large black areas, some brushes I 
keep in lousy shape, a toothbrush for spraying white ink for 
stars, a smattering of black magic markers...a bunch of circle 
and oval templates, some erasers, I use Marvel paper for all my 
work. Basically, I'm terrified and ignorant of work that can't be 
produced with the simplest tools. I'm awkward and skittish 
about color; I'm not experienced with media. Paint scares me. 
I'm really serious about studying "art" techniques, but haven't 
got the time to do it, and I'll admit I'm intimidated by it all. I 
feel I'm not where I want to be as a working cartoonist, how 
can I spend time on painting and graphics when my layout and 
inks still suck.
     Whatever...here's what I do on an average page of my crap 
-- I do a thumbnail sketch of the page, (often based on notes or 
a rough outline, which is my "first draft" of the "script") 
usually scripting the dialogue in the panel borders or right on 
the panels themselves (which is my "second draft"). Then I 
blow the sketch up on a xerox to the proportions of the full art 
page and trace the sketch onto bristol paper (from Marvel, 
usually) using a light box. I do pencils as fully as the page 
warrants;usually my pencils are pretty tight because I'm a 
pretty tentative inker. I need a lot of guidance when I ink. I 
then pencil the text in for placement and to see how it reads 
(also sort of a "third draft"). Then I letter the text, pretty 
crudely as I'll admit, with a rapidograph or three. I use the #2 
for general lettering, with thinner and thicker pens for "quiet" 
or "louder" dialogue and emphasis. Milk and Cheese's rants 
often are in thick marker, edged by rapidograph to clean the 
marker's "bleeding". Then I outline word balloons, either 
freehand or with templates. Then I rule the panel borders with a 
thick rapidograph. Then I fuck up a halfway decent penciling 
job with cruddy overdetailed inks, usually a combination of 
pen and rapidograph with a smattering of brushwork. Then I 
throw the pages around the living room, kick the table and start 
cursing; this really pisses Sarah off. I'm very lucky she puts up 
with me.
     So that's how I do my comic book magic. (There's a reason 
why no one asks me about my "art". People ask Jaime 
Hernandez or Charles Vess about art. Me they ask questions 
like, "Which Darren did you like better on "Bewitched?" And I 
can understand this.)


Hector K Lee ([h k lee] at [magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu]) --
...we're number one!
we get the job done!
we're dorkin!
     Sorry.
     As one who doesn't follow milk and cheese (hell, I can't 
even find milk and cheese most of the time),  a bibliography of 
your work tacked to the bottom of the interviews would be 
neat.  It would be pretty easy to do also.
     Nice to hear that you have some sort of continuing 
relationship as opposed to Neil "getting laid because of his 
accent" Gaiman or Dave "she tore my heart out so that she 
could spit pieces of it on the ground and jump on them and 
waited til I bent over to pick them up in order to kick me in 
front of a bus" Sim etc.
     What did you think of "Strictly Ballroom"?

evan -- ...now Hector, what kind of poem or school cheer is this 
shit? Is this a joke? Are you making fun of my name? I sure as 
hell hope not; a guy named Hector shouldn't throw stones. 
You're lucky you apologized, man.
     And you want a bibliography? Christ...I don't have time for 
this. If we have one in the computer I'll send it to Jim, if not, 
well, tough noogie. [next installment, I think] Besides, you 
don't need a bibliography to find the Milk and Cheese comics, 
you already said you don't follow it -- why did you even write 
in, Hector? To congratulate me on my relationship? You're 
very weird, Hector, and I'm really worried that people like you 
are walking the streets, driving cars, and teaching our children. 
How many copies of the "Death of Superman" did you buy and 
bag?
     Ha ha! I'm only kidding! Hector is a pal of Jim's, and I 
would never offend Jim's friends lest he write something 
disgusting and untrue about me on this cultish and bizarre 
computer network he's part of. I've got enough problems.

Well, that's all I've got to say. Sorry there's not much to go on, 
here, but y'know, "ask a mediocre question, get a mediocre 
snide answer..."

                         ***

Mediocre questions for Evan Dorkin? Cultish and bizarre 
comments? Requests for disgusting and untrue "facts" about 
"Evan Dorkin" Send them to me via reply
mail or (more directly) to
     [h--l--p] at [engin.umich.edu]

seeya
jimO
--