Sunday 9 March 2008

ROK Comics Creators: Dave Windett

Dave Windett has been with ROK Comics since its initial testing, providing character designs for the Creator Tool and working on other ROK projects. He has worked for a huge range of publishers during his varied career and is one of the few British artists to have drawn for Bongo's Simpsons Comics.

Questions compiled by David Hailwood

How did you discover Rok Comics?

From John Freeman. I was one of the service's alpha testers.

How do you feel about Digital comics over Print based comics?

Both have their advantages and disadvantages, I am more interested in the quality of the work than the delivery method.

What's your greatest achievement in the comics field?

Over more years than I care to remember I've worked for most of the major publishers, but in this business it's not what you've done, it's what you're doing next.

What projects (both Rok Comics and non Rok Comics related) are you working on at the moment? �

I'm currently drawing a strip for The DFC, a new comic from publishers Random House. I will get back to Wacky World of Animals (my Rok strip) as time allows.

What advice would you offer to new cartoonists?

Keep drawing... practice... practice... practice...

What's your favourite comics related website?

The Beat, Blimey! It's Another Blog About Comics, Down the Tubes and Newsarama.

Where else has your work appeared?

British comics for Panini, DC Thomson, Egmont, Fleetway, and many others, European comics from Italy to Norway, and the odd American title. Advertising work, book and games illustration, T-shirts, and even kids shoes! My website has a list of everything I can remember.

Where/when did you get your first comics break?

The first comic I worked on was Thomas the Tank Engine for Marvel UK, but It wasn't until I started working on Duckula (for London Editions/Egmont) a couple of years later that I did any professional sequential work.

What comics are you reading at the moment (both web and print based)?

Online daily strips I read are Hagar the Horrible, Hi and Lois, Mutts, The Phantom, Rex Morgan, Over the Hedge, Girls With Slingshots and Nemi. Comic Books? Jack Staff and Owly but I generally wait for collections.

Whose work do you most admire in the comics field and why?

Alex Toth, Jim Aparo, Mort Walker, Dik Browne, Graham Nolan, Mike Parobeck, Paul Dini, Vaugn Bode... the list goes on. They are all great artists and more importantly great storytellers.


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