I get asked questions sometimes. Often, I get asked the same question more than once. I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘frequently’ but… now and then. So, since these things happen, and I have this wonderful place to write about things I decided to make a FAQ post… or an IAQ post. Or whatever.
So, without further ado; here they are.
The Infrequently Asked Questions
So who the fuck are you, anyway?
I’m an Irish-Australian geek who likes videogames, comic books, science fiction and horror novels. I eat meat, have my tongue pierced, am shamelessly flirtatious, enjoy sharp witticisms and decided that instead of just experiencing popular culture, it might be nice to try and participate in it.
So, you decided to make a comic?
Yeah kinda. I mean I’ve been writing forever anyway; horror and science-fantasy novels mostly but I’ve never had anything published. I love the written word and I love manipulating words to achieve my own needs but I also love sketching and drawing and I don’t think I am half bad at it. So why not combine the two?
Cuddles?
Is that combination. The first of them at least. If it goes well, and I don’t really see why it shouldn’t, I would like to take some of my other written series and turn them into graphic novels too.
So what is Cuddles about? You’ve not been very specific
True.
Cuddles is the story of a demonically possessed stuffed rabbit who after two centuries of murdering human children, and at the behest of a powerful, unnamed and abstractly motivated being is forced to partner-up with his most recent intended victim and hunt the supernatural evil of this world: vampires, werewolves, mummies, ghosts, demons and swamp monsters to name a few.
In the background of all this, another group of demons lead by the fallen angel Sedredzael are also busily working towards their own goal; one which happens to involve the annihilation of pretty much everything that exists.
Sounds… depressing. Can’t you write about happy things?
Tried. I suck at it and really, it’s less depressing and more OMG THAT’S AWESOME! Seriously. I wouldn’t lie to you.
So Cuddles is a good guy then?
Sort of. He is doing good things, but it isn’t really his choice. I hate the term anti-hero but yeah, I suppose it applies. Deep down, I guess my stance is that not all demons are created equal and they aren’t all total jackasses.
Sedredzael though. He’s a dick.
New topic. What things influence your work?
Lots of stuff. I listen to music a lot when I draw and write. Everything from popular stuff to obscure stuff. I’m not really picky when it comes to music although I’m a fan of neither country nor RnB. I also draw from a deep well of psychological issues I will not go into, but which are all helpful. I have an overactive imagination, dream about weird shit all the time, and quite like that.
In terms of the written works that inspire me I would have to say that the work of authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley and Guy De Maupassant have always held an influence over my artistic endeavours. As a fairly areligious person, I think the dark and often nihilistic outlooks held by many of these authors’ works is something that I use to make sense of my own world.
More recently people like Robert Kirkman and Cameron Stewart have been an influence, as well as artists like Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard, Ian McConville and Alex Pardee. Hell, even the guys from Penny Arcade and SMBC – who may have vastly different stylistic and content aspirations to my own – have been instrumental in giving me the confidence to even try this. I don’t presume that I will ever be as well known as PA or as successful as Robert Kirkman or even as good as Alex Pardee.
I just wanna give it a go.
So what do you do when you aren’t doing this?
I teach at high school. I take photographs. I make soup. I eat cookies. I play Xbox and Playstation. I try to be a good person. I generally fail at that last one.
Cuddles is kind of… anti-religious isn’t it?
I wouldn’t go that far. It’s not anti-religious as much as it simply borrows from many theologies and applies them to a new narrative. It won’t be saying anything bad about religion or the people who are invested in it because while I may not believe in any gods, I uphold everyone else’s right to if they choose to.
It does take liberties with religion that are aligned more with the historical representation of history than the biblical one.
When will Cuddles be out?
Hopefully the start of 2011 but since I am doing the whole thing myself, and as we mentioned I don’t get any money for it, it’s a tentative date.
Will you do more of these
Yes. This was sort of an intro and had most of the most commonly asked questions I get about the comic and myself. If I get more, which I will I am certain, I shall do another post. In the mean time; send your questions to me by email :)
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