ROK Comic Creator Interview: Rodrigo Diaz Ricci

Ligeia the Vampire by Rodrigo Diaz Ricci.
An iPhone app is available

Ligiea the Vampire creator Rodrigo Diaz Ricci was born in Valparaiso, Chile. A graphic designer who worked in cartoons in Chile, he moved to Europe and saw his work published by several Publishing House in Italy and Greece. He now works freelance for digital publishing houses in the United States and Europe.

His first Ligeia the Vampire story is now available as a ROK Comics app.

ROK Comics: Where and when did you get your first comics break?

Rodrigo Diaz Ricci: Well, my first really comic break was Ligeia for ROK Comics when I first published it for mobile, three years ago now. This character has opened several doors in my life.

ROK Comics: Where else has your work appeared?

Rodrigo: Different places: I did some cover illustrations for the supplement Nine on the Elefterothypia newspaper in Greece, and a collaboration for Mondo Ignoto, a publishing house owned by Dario Argento in Rome. Reborn is a science fiction graphic novel that's been published on iPhone by Arrow Publications in the United States and other different Digital Publishing Houses.

ROK Comics: What's your greatest achievement in the comics field?

Rodrigo: Ligeia the Vampire, absolutely.

ROK Comics: How did you discover Rok Comics?

Rodrigo: Three years ago, I started publishing Reborn as a webcomics via Drunk Duck. I have a very good reception and a writer, David A J Berner [publisher of Broken Voice Comics] wrote a positive comment about it. I visited his web site and found the ROK Comics link and searched in my files for an idea that might work on mobile. I found my old comic strip Ligeia,  buried in the hard disk in the section "Possible Projects" --  and the rest is story.

ROK Comics: How do you feel about Digital comics over Print based comics?

Rodrigo: Digital Comics is a new experience for me, which has helped me bring my characters to a different public. It's a great opportunity for a new author, who can't easily break into the traditional media.

I would like to see Ligeia on paper at some point, I like the comics in paper -- but I think that digital and print can live together and complement each other.

ROK Comics: Do you think digital comics are reaching a new audience or expanding the existing one for print?

Rodrigo: I think the formula is to publish digitally and afterwards, if the idea is good, put out a print edition. I think there are a lot of people who are happy to read a comic on a screen, but, equally, they'd like a print copy of it too. I think this model of business is a great oportunity for the industry.

ROK Comics: Apart from your digital comics, what other projects you working on at the moment?

Rodrigo: It's a sign of the times but the only I comics I am working on are digital projects - I'm working on a European erotic comic and my own Ligeia stories.

I have a project for paper, a story featuring the Danube Bears, a mercenary group who feature in Ligeia: Treasure of the Vampire. It's a straight action adventure story [in the style of Brtish comics like Battle or Commando], set on the Eastern Front during World War Two, which I hope to publish in the future.

ROK Comics: What's your favourite comics related website?

Rodrigo: I have somany reference websites.In English I read Down the Tubes and sometimes Newsarama, but I read websites from Italy, Spain,Argentina and Chile. At the moment, I'm enjoying a lot of comic podcasts, too.

A sample page of Judge Dredd
by Rodrigo, to experiment with
new techniques

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

Rodrigo: Well, now that I work in comics, I don't have time to read them! But I do study different comics fron the web and my old paper collection.The last that I read was The Scorpion. I'm a huge fan of French bande dessines, and different European comics like Dylan Dog, Corto Maltese and others.

From the web, think  The Abominable Charles Christopher is very interesting. I have to say that I miss Zuda Comics and ROK's original site, which featured a number of new artists.

At the moment I read so many books (more than comics), such as The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Last Legion by Valerio Massimo Manfredi.

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

Ligeia the Vampire by Rodrigo Diaz Ricci.
An iPhone app is available

Rodrigo: That's a very difficult question. I admire so many from different periods. Warren publications like Eerie and Creepy, for example. Artists like Will Eisner, Milo Manara, Jodorowsky, Hugo Pratt, Alberto Breccia, Frank Miller, Pat Miles, Dave McKean and many more...

I think I admire all this people because all them were - or are - looking to find new sttyles for comic art. At the moment I think that the new way is the digital, which is offering plenty of opportunities to push the form in terms of storytelling, and surprise the reader.

ROK Comics: What advice would you offer to new cartoonists?

Rodrigo: That's a very difficult question because I still need to learn so many things about this wonderful art yet myself.  But the best advice I think is: to be a cartoonist you need to think like a Samurai and concentrate 100 per cent on achieving this. If you can't work very hard, 14 hours a day, seven days a week, you're not made for this job, because this is more than a Job: It's your Life. And like a cartoonist, a life full of sacrifices!

• Buy Ligeia: Treasure of the Vampires from iTunes


• Check out more of Rodrigo's work at: www.ligeia-the-vampire.com

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ROK Comics Creator Interview: Steve English

Steve English

Madd Science creator Steve English was inspired to draw cartoons by copying Walt Disney characters at the age of 5 or 6. Reading comics for himself at an older age inspired him to produce his own simply for fun, and that remained a hobby for many years.

"Although I eventually went on to do A level art I decided to study history and archaeology at university in the late 1980's and early 90's where I produced cartoons for the history society there," he says.

"After graduating I worked for a Christian student organisation, and after that as a church youth worker. However, a friend from university remembered my cartoons and asked me to illustrate a guide to theology. It was my experiences from that that made me want to become a full time cartoonist and I have been freelance for just over ten years."

Madd Science by Steve English

ROK Comics: Where/when did you get your first comics break?

Steve English: I suppose The Potted Guide to Theology and the following book, Peter's Cat (which was completely cartoon strips) could be considered to be the break that inspired me to become a freelance cartoonist. But it's hard work just trying to find the next cartooning job and I'm always looking out for the next break.

ROK Comics: Where else has your work appeared?

Steve: A few years back I did quite a lot of work for The Horrible Science Collection and Scooby-Doo World of Mystery, and I did a couple of spreads for The Horrible Histories Collection. Currently I have a football cartoon that appears in the Non-League Paper and I also do work for the Salvation Army in their children's magazine Kids Alive!.

ROK Comics: What's your greatest achievement in the comics field?

Steve: I am very proud of my current cartoon, Football Earth, which appears in four different publications across two continents. Also winning the 2007 ROK Comics humour competition with Madd Science was a definite highlight. It was great to be recognised like that.

ROK Comics: How did you discover Rok Comics?

Steve: I really can't remember now - it was possibly through a link found on Down the Tubes. Either way I just stumbled on it one day while surfing the net, and I thought it would be an ideal way of promoting Madd Science.

ROK Comics: How do you feel about Digital comics over Print based comics?

Steve: There is something very tangible about holding a printed comic and for me that is hard to beat. But because of the cost, print media and the distribution of it is mostly in the hands of a select few. Digital technology has put comic production into the hands of potentially anyone, at very little cost, and with the rise of portable computers reading a digital comic is going to feel more and more like having a printed comic. This will certainly lead to a lot more expression and creativity. The question is whether or not cartoonists will be able to make a living from it. I guess only time will tell.

ROK Comics: Do you think digital comics are reaching a new audience or expanding the existing one for print?

Steve: I'm sure they must be reaching new audiences, but the great thing about traditional comics is their collectability. So hopefully the market for printed comics will also be expanded by the demand for collecting what is seen on screen.

Samples of Football Earth by Madd Science creator Steve English

ROK Comics: Apart from your digital comics, what other projects you working on at the moment?

Steve: As I mentioned before, I currently draw a cartoon panel called Football Earth, about how animals play football, which features weekly in The Non-League Paper. It also had a short run in the BeanoMAX last year, and appears in a couple of soccer magazines in America. I am constantly trying to get more publishers interested in it and have recently submitted it to the Sports Journalists' Association to be judged for sports cartoon of the year.

In 2009 I produced my own comic, The Dead Sea Comic, which sadly only had a brief run. However I have another publisher interested and I am hoping to resurrect the project later this year.

ROK Comics: What's your favourite comics related website?

Steve: I would have to say Down the Tubes for the simple reason of keeping up to date with news about British comics and potential future work. There has been the odd occasion when I have missed something important so I have now made it my home page.

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

Steve: I subscribe to the new Dandy for my daughter, but of course I enjoy it too! I regularly plague the editorial team with submissions but so far they have turned me down. I see myself as mostly as a strip cartoonist (the newspaper type) so for inspiration I subscribe to Comics.com. They send me a whole load of newspaper strips by email every day for free.

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

Steve: I really admire newspaper cartoonists who can produce something funny and interesting every day of the year. Not surprisingly the really good ones burn out. So it is sad when you have to talk about the likes of Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) and Gary Larson (The Far Side) in the past tense. Those guys have probably influenced me more than any other cartoonist. They were consistently funny and full of surprises.

ROK Comics: What advice would you offer to new cartoonists?

Steve: Get a good computer and know how to use the internet. Get used to receiving lots of rejection letters and just be determined to succeed.

• Buy Madd Science for iPhone



• Check out Steve's Dead Sea Comics


• Check out Steve's Football Earth


• Follow Steve on Twitter

ROK Comics Creator Interview: Rich Diesslin

Rich Diesslin is the creator of The Mobile Gospel, one of ROK Comics first 'Creator Comic Apps'), published in partnership with an individual comic creator.

The project is based on the book of Luke from his Cartoon Gospel Series (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). He is also the creator of the KNOTS or Not scouting cartoons and a general single-panel cartoon called Out to Lunch. He is also the author and cartoonist of The Cartoon Ten Commandments and the cartoonist of A Journey Through Christian Theology, an anthology of theologians now in its second edition published by Fortress Press.

ROK Comics: Where/when did you get your first comics break?

Rich Diesslin: In 1990 my first book, The Cartoon Gospel, was published by a small
press. I put a partial manuscript together in 1986 and sent it out to all the Christian publishers I could find. A few expressed some interest and one came back with an offer to
publish it.

ROK Comics: Where else has your work appeared?

Rich Diesslin: Books, local newspapers, magazines, merchandise and greeting cards and my web site: www.the-cartoonist.com.

ROK Comics: What's your greatest achievement in the comics field?

Rich Diesslin: I've had several books published and I'm just now starting to get more active networking with other creators.

Quite a lot of my cartoons are available on merchandise now (t-shirts, mugs, etc.), which is helping to provide some steady income.

ROK Comics: How did you discover ROK Comics? 

Rich Diesslin: I believe my first contact was a message sent to me on MySpace from John Freeman. That took me to the company web site and I thought that it sounded like a really good idea.

I started uploading general, scout and gospel cartoons and was very pleased to be a finalist in their big competition back in 2008. I do single-panel cartoons but with guidance from John I was able to turn many into a serialized comics, including what he later dubbed" The Mobile Gospel".

ROK Comics: How do you feel about Digital comics over Print based comics?

Rich Diesslin: As a creator, I view all avenues of publication and good. They all have strengths and weaknesses, but overall it is just a way to deliver a visual laugh. I like digital comics, even though I still prefer to read things on paper, I believe I'm heading more and more digital as time goes on.

I create in Photoshop, so the digital part doesn't bother me at all and I can quickly convert my cartoons to just about any medium. ROK seems like an opportunity to see what the mobile device media will bring, and I was pleased to that the Mobile Gospel was selected as one of the lead-off iphone apps for ROK.

ROK continues to be on what I call "the bleeding edge" of digital comics delivery. Their original concept was good, and with the popularity of mobile, they should be able to smoothly transition over and stay a leader in the field.

ROK Comics: Do you think digital comics are reaching a new audience or expanding the existing one for print?

Rich Diesslin: Studies have shown an increase in the percentage of ebook sales vs. printed books, suggesting that it is increasingly replacing print media. I have no doubt that ebooks and apps are also reaching new audiences as well.

Recently I was pleased to find out that a 4-year-old girl (and her mom) were enjoying the Mobile Gospel. While my cartoons are mostly intended for youth and adults, the daughter really liked any book with cartoons and her mom finds it a good way to cover to bible lessons.

I think there will continue to be a role for print media, but a lot will change in the market place as we find out just what that role will be (also known as at what point the market share will level out). Right now, the trend is toward digital and the risks and costs associated with digital are much more conducive to publishing than tradition forms.

ROK Comics: Apart from your digital comics, what other projects you working on at the moment?

Rich Diesslin:  I should be releasing a new work this winter cartooning the Old Testament.

I haven't decided the best form for it, but I'm thinking my web site and an ebook might be the way to go.

Otherwise,  I continue to work on Out to Lunch and KNOTS or Not scouting cartoons.

ROK Comics: What's your favourite comics related website?

Rich Diesslin: Other than my own (www.the-cartoonist.com), I find The Daily Cartoonist blog is very good for keeping up with cartooning in the United States. Also, several papers in the US allow you to view comics online, and the Houston Chronicle even allows you to build your own link by selecting from several comics.

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

Rich Diesslin:  Not too surprisingly I like Pearls Before Swine, Zits, Baby Blues, Brewster Rockit, SpeedBump, Dilbert, Agnes, Drabble, among others.

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

Rich Diesslin:  Bill Watterson (creator of Calvin and Hobbes), Dave Coverly (SpeedBump), Scott Adams (Dilbert), Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), Tony Cochran (Agnes), Kevin Fagan (Drabble) and more ... mostly because they are (were) just consistently funny.

ROK Comics:  What advice would you offer to new cartoonists?

Rich Diesslin:  Love what you do, do what you love, but don't give up your day job (unless you can)!

• Buy The Mobile Gospel on iTunes

• Check out more of Rich's work at www.the-cartoonist.com

ROK Comics Creators: David Fletcher

David Fletcher was bom in England in 1952. At school, he excelled at drawing cartoons in the margins of his maths book and falling asleep. On leaving school he studied production engineering for five years, then jumped on a aircraft bound for New Zealand where he's lived ever since.

He was employed as an illustrator and cartoonist by New Zealand's largest daily newspaper, The New Zealand Herald for three years. But for the last twenty years he's been pretending to work from home as a comic strip, drawing a daily strip called The Politician and several weekly strips including The TV Kids which appears in the TV Guide. His cartoons are syndicated to Europe, Britain, Africa, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.

David lives in Auckland with his wife and two children. People still keep asking him when is he going to get a proper job...

Questions compiled by David Hailwood

How did you discover Rok Comics?

I was surfing the net one day and came across the ROK comics site, it sounded interesting so I sent in a new strip I happened to be working on. Does this mean I’m the only creator not to be personally invited to join ROK comics by John Freeman? [Probably! - Ed]

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

Ninety five percent of my income comes from print but most of the comics I read these days I read on the net, so both forms are pretty important to me.

What's your greatest achievement in the comics field?

My greatest achievement would be winning a Blue Peter badge when I was fourteen in a drawing competition they were running. It gave a spotty kid a heap of confidence, although it’s been all down hill since then. I suppose making a comfortable living out of drawing cartoon strips for the past thirty years is some kind of achievement!

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

I produce a daily syndicated strip, five weekly strips and when I have time some Crumb strips for ROK.

What advice would you offer to new cartoonists?

Produce stuff that appeals to you, not what you think will appeal to other people. Keep pestering editors, they’ll give in eventually.

What's your favourite comics related website?

No one favourite site, I like to find new comics by surfing around.

Where else has your work appeared?

My syndicated strip appears in newspapers in New Zealand, Australia, Africa, Malaysia, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark.

Where and when did you get your first comics break?

I was working on the staff of New Zealand’s biggest newspaper, The Herald, as an illustrator producing maps, graphs and diagrams when I was allowed to write and draw a weekly strip cartoon for the kids page. They liked it and before I knew it I was drawing four different weekly strips for various pages.

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

I like to get a daily dose of Zits (I’ve got a teenage son, so it’s very poignant.)

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

Anything in the Beano, and the Wizard of Id strip had a big effect on my style so Parker and Hart would be up there... and I love John Maybury’s sexy linework!

ROK Comics Creators: Michael Colbert

Los Angeles-based features and comics author Michael (Mike) Colbert is the creator of the critically-acclaimed SF comic Crazy Mary, one of several strips not only appearing on ROK Comcs but also being translated into Chinese for ROK Comics China. He says his first memory is seeing Star Wars and his writing influences include Warren Ellis, Grant Morrison, and Douglas Adams.

Crazy Mary, which has been drawn by artists that include Edawrd (X-Men) Woodward, prung almost fully formed in 1999 and was infused with pre-millennium tension, a fascination with the subjective nature of reality, and big explosions.

Questions compiled by David Hailwood

How did you discover Rok Comics?

John was my editor at Babylon 5 Magazine when we caught up last year he was looking for content and thus Crazy Mary found itself on ROK Comics.

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

I think it's a great idea and cell phone monkeys need to figure it the hell out.

What's your greatest achievement in the comics field?

The first collection of Crazy Mary stories, Trinity (so far)

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

My Rok Comics projects are Crazy Mary and Monsters with Beverages (with my Supermassive collective).

Non ROK work includes a ten-page story for "Ghost Assassin", Spak Daxler - Hero of the Ages for a comic series called Special Edition. That's the creation of a talented artist called William Blankenship, a series of interconnected stories -- everything from Skyfaring Pirates, to Troll detectives, to big dumb superhero battles. Spak Daxler is the big dumb superhero battle story - Spak and his team of governmentt funded superheroes fight a giant cybernetic lizard. It was great nutty fun and I hope to do more.

I'm also writing reviews and blogs and interviews for www.comicsbulletin.com and www.highspeedcomics.com.

What advice would you offer to new cartoonists?

Be consistent with the quality and quantity of the work. People are fickle and need their fix regularly. (By the way, I'm appallingly bad at taking my own advice).

What's your favourite comics related website?

Digital Webbing (www.digitalwebbing.com) -- and Comics Bulletin, and of course.

Where else has your work appeared?

My interviews have been on www.infinity.com and others. Other comics work is hitting more this year than before.

Where/when did you get your first comics break?

When Digital Webbing Presents took the first Crazy Mary story for issue #16

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

Print - Garth Ennis' Midnighter, The Boys, Warren Ellis' Fell, Black Summer and Gravel, some X-Men titles and IDW's new Doctor Who comic, which just came out here in the US. Online - Get Fuzzy, 9 Chickweed Lane, The Adventures of Doctor McNinja -- and I'm open to some suggestions.

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

Warren Ellis. I'd love to have a career like his and eight times out of ten, his writing is brilliant.

Rok Comics Creators: Josh Alves

Josh Alves is a Graphic Designer/Cartoonist/Stand-up Comedian residing in the very green and mostly cold state of Maine, who's been adapting his one frame Tastes Like Chicken cartoons into three frame ROK Comics for mobile. His work has appeared on DC Comics Zuda service and in many other places, with plenty more projects in the way...

Questions compiled by David Hailwood

How did you discover Rok Comics?

Toshiro de Smeyter [creator of Scoff, also on ROK Comics] found me on Comicspace, I checked his profile that led me to Scoff and Drink Like A Fish. The latter pointed me to ROK where I thought "My toons available for cell phones? Sweet!" and I registered.

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

Each have their pros and cons. As much as I love them both, there's something about holding a collected printed edition in your hands.

What's your greatest achievement in the comics field?

Acceptance into DC's webcomic imprint, Zuda.

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

Along with Tastes Like Chicken, I'm currently working on a full-length adventure for my character "Araknid Kid" that will be seen on SugarySerials.com later this summer [Sugary Serials is a comics anthology of all ages, full-color comics created with the sensibilities of the Saturday Morning Cartoon in mind. The anthology updates daily on the web, and each issue’s content is collected in print at month’s end - Ed]. I'm having a BLAST with this story. Also preparing for a submission for an anthology from Viper Comics, Parable 2. There are other collaborations in the works as well.

What advice would you offer to new cartoonists?

Doodle Daily. Experiment with various media. My work is traditionally founded (I love ballpoint pens) but digitally finished (inking/coloring/lettering)

What's your favourite comics related website?

My favorite are art forums where you can see other people's work and get critiques by the users (beneficial for both the artist and those looking at the art). These include Drawingboard.org (which is huge!) and Outcaststudios.com.

Where else has your work appeared?

My first daily comic strip Zeek And Dent appeared in the Bangor Daily News and also showed up in a kid's magazine, Kool Zone, in Malaysia.

Tastes Like Chicken appears on the web on ROK and is published in a local weekly paper.
Thistles is an 18-page story that will be appearing in the first "Parable" anthology that will be published through Viper Comics (the publishers of books such as Kazu Kibuishi's Daisy Kutter:

The Last Train and Josh Howard's Dead @ 17) later this year. [Parable is the brainchild of Mike Cowshell, more information on www.parablecomic.com - Ed]

"Araknid Kid", again, appeared on Zuda and will be appearing as part of Sugary Serials. Once that is "aired" I'm hoping to self-publish the actual comic (maybe there'll be an interested publishers...)

Where/when did you get your first comics break?

The Bangor Daily News.

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

High Moon (Zuda.com), Chris Sanders' Kiskaloo, Cow & Buffalo, Mal & Chad, Nobody Likes Tony Pony.... Spider-Man.....

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

Hands down, Dan Schoening (check out traditionaldanimatio.deviantart.com and you'll see what I mean), He's been doing work for DC and their online animations. His work has tons of character and a super sleek, unique animated look.

ROK Comics Creators: John Maybury

John Maybury, editor of the Comic Creators Guild annuals, is one of a small number of comics artist utilising ROK Comics for its 'mature readers' strand, reformatting his cult indie character Space Babe for mobile. John describes The Erotic Adventures of Space Babe 113 as "a naughty SF comedy". Too right...

Questions compiled by David Hailwood

How did you discover Rok Comics?

John Freeman gave me a promotional handout at the 2007 Bristol convention.

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

I wouldn't want to lose either.

What's your greatest achievement in the comics field?

Actually creating something.

What projects (both Rok Comics and none Rok Comics related) are you working on at the moment?

Space Babe 113, both in print and for ROK. I will also be starting work on editing the third Comics Creators Guild annual soonish.

What advice would you offer to new cartoonists?

Absorb as many influences as possible, but try to find your own voice.

What's your favourite comics related website?

Perhaps I should surf more often.

Where else has your work appeared?

Some fanzine/small press stuff in the UK. I've edited the first two Comics Creators Guild annuals.

Where/when did you get your first comics break?

Apart from fanzines, a strip I drew appeared in the short-lived (one issue) football comic Foul!

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

Nemi and Em in the free London papers. I'm not currently following any particular comic series at the moment, though Scarlet Traces was great.

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

This is very hard to answer, however the 1960's Marvel artists, particularly Steranko, Kirby and Ditko and many British newspaper strip artists, 'specially Sydney Jordan, had a big influence on me artistically. More recently, Lise's Nemi strip and Maria Smedstad's superbly minimilist Em strip have both impressed me.

The first few years of Terry Moore's Strangers In Paradise really grabbed me, as did Hiroshi Aro's Futaba Kun Change, Max Allan Collins and Tery Beatty's Ms Tree and Paul Grist's Kane.

• You can buy Space Babe 113 comics on-line from Soaring Penguin

Space Babe 113 is available in these London comic shops:

• Avalon Comics
143 Lavender Hill, London, SW11 5QJ

• Orbital Comics & Collectables
148 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0LB

• 30th Century Comics
18 Lower Richmond Road, Putney, London, SW15 1JP

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.

ROK Comics Creators: Paul Harrison-Davies

Paul Harrison-Davies is a modest but accomplished comics artist popular in British indie circles, whose work has been published in the Mammoth Book of Best New Manga. His upcoming strip for Accent Press' Robots anthology, "MY Robot!" has been adapted into a ROK Comic series.

Questions compiled by David Hailwood

How did you discover Rok Comics?

John Freeman told me about it.

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

Nothing beats paper for reading, but as long as it's good comics then I have no preference.

What's your greatest achievement in the comics field?

Nothing Rok Comics specifically [MY Robot - Ed], but I am working on a couple of kid friendly comics as well as attempting some more 'manga' style work.

What advice would you offer to new cartoonists?

I'm not really in a position to give advice. There's two things I wish I'd done though.

1) Practice more, never get lazy, just because you draw something well once doesn't mean you'll always draw it well.

2) Enjoy what you do. I tried for a long time to force myself to draw in a way that I wasn't interested in. It's best to decide if you just want to be published or if being published is secondary to what you want to create.

What's your favourite comics related website?

When I remember to look it's The Comics Reporter, mostly I just like looking at random blogs.

Where else has your work appeared?

The first Mammoth Book of Best New Manga, AccentUK's Zombies and Robots (released May 2008) anthologies and the odd small press title over the years - Solar Wind, Violent! and a few of Jason Cobley's Bulldog comics. I did my own self publishing for a bit, under the name 'Mo!' too.

Where/when did you get your first comics break?

Think I'm still waiting for my 'break', drawing 'MY robot!' has been closest to a break, just because I enjoyed it.

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

Ongoing titles I read are Jack Staff, Nexus, The Spirit, Glister by Andi Watson, Dungeon, Disney Comics and Stories and Uncle Scrooge. But I read a lot of one offs/GNs and the like, such as Kazu Kibuishi's Flight (and anything solo by the contributors), anything by Jason and Richard Sala, uh, a lot of Fantagraphics titles, Drawn and Quarterly, First Second, Top Shelf, that kind of thing. I also read lots of reprints of classic work (Popeye, Moomins, Gasoline Alley, Dick Tracy, Steel Claw, The Spider etc) that are coming out too which I often pick up.

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

Alan Moore, for being brilliant. James Kochalka for just following his muse. Lewis Trondheim for being so incredibly prolific and entertaining. It's an endless list in terms of talent though, so I'm even going to try!

Rok Comics Creators: Mychailo Kazybrid

Mychailo Kazybrid has been involved in the cartoon/comic book industry since 1975, mainly producing artwork on various licensed characters, plus promotional cartoons. His strips include Comic Cuts, (for Comics International), The Tick, Wallace & Gromit, Shaun The Sheep, Rattus Holmes (UN comic strip), Aachan Solvitz (a DVD series for World Vision), Do-Do Man (self-published and now running on ROK Comics), Count Duckula, Dangermouse, The Bash Street Kids, Dennis and Matt & the Cat, to name but a few. He has also produced cartoons for broadcast television.

Questions compiled by David Hailwood

How did you discover Rok Comics?

Good ol' Mike Conroy, editor of Comics International, passed on the information.

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

I firmly believe that there's room for both.

What's your greatest achievement in the comics field?

Whilst I'd like to think that I've not got to that point yet, I've worked on a number of strips that each in their own way have offered a sense of achievement. (Dear God, that was a good answer, if I may say so myself!)

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

On Rok Comics, I'm really enjoying putting together the Do-Do Man strips. As for other work, one of my projects involves the second book on a character, Rattus Holmes. These are being produced for the UN.

What advice would you offer to new cartoonists?

Two things. Consider going to university/college to do a good art foundation course. This way, whilst working on getting into the cartoon/comic industry, they can equally spend their time learning,

However, if they want to or not, the main thing is to practice 100 per cent. That means evenings and weekends too! It doesn't matter what I'm working on or if I'm in a quiet period, I still keep on practicing.

I guess that the other thing is to say, look to the best. If they're into adventure, check out and study the best artists on the market. Likewise, this would go for such as humour or manga strips. I know that I'm going to provide Lew with a red face again, but I've always been proud of the fact that I've shared comic pages with Lew Stringer.

What's your favourite comics related website?

Comic Community Art. Most of the artwork is simply to die for.

Where else has your work appeared?

Where to begin... I did three years with DC Thomson, drawing various characters. The first strip I did was Minnie The Minx, but I spent most of the time working on Bash Street Kids, either for the comic or for summer specials and a number of the pocket library books. I enjoyed my time with Brian Clarke as my editor at London Editions, this covered Masters Of The Universe, Duckula and Dangermouse, to name but a small few.

I also had a good time with Marvel UK on Transformers producing humour strips, i.e. Matt & the Cat, plus other titles. I produced strips for a pre-school type comic called Plus for 11 years. I enjoyed doing pencils on 11 books of The Tick. I've drawn Comic Cuts for Comics International for the last 101 issues and did four years producing cartoons for broadcast television. This was mainly for the YTV Calendar show.

I've also done promotional artwork for various companies, such as Frankie & Benny' and drawn daily cartoon strips for newspapers for six years.

What was the question?...

Where/when did you get your first comics break?

My first real comics break was back in 1984 with Marvel UK. I was lucky enough to get the chance to produce a new humour strip on their Transformers UK comic. What really added to the fun was that my editor allowed the strip to be based on characters that appeared in my daily cartoon strip with the Bradford Telegraph & Argus and The Manchester Evening News. It was great to take characters that I'd already drawn for a number of years and place them in a new setting. The original daily was simply called, Matt, however, once the artwork had been put together for the new series, for some reason, Matt & the Cat seem to fit much better.

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

I tend to buy Essential X-Men and The Avengers United, published in the UK by Panini Comics. Also from time to time, I pick up the Marvel Essential Books.

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

Where to begin? Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, David Finch, Ken Reid, Frank Bellamy, Leo Baxendale, Ron Embleton, Mike Noble... Yep, I could keep on going!

As to the reason I admire their work, these people are giants and it provokes me to keep on practicing!