Reality Amuck™

Far warning, this is a giant wall of text and probably will not hold anyone's interests other than my own, but if you really want to know what drove me to where I am today with comics, most of it is here. I may make this into a stand alone page later -Tov

Cartoonists are often asked who their influences were, or why did they go into cartooning. I am always interested to hear their answers. Sometimes I'll hear a new name that leads me into a voyage of discovery as I seek out some obscure artist or cartoonist's work.  Most times I'll hear some pretty standard answers. Over the years I've noticed certain patterns. Cartoonists in a similar age group will generally list similar cartoonists as being influential.  Most of my generation were heavily influenced by Watterson, Breathed, and possibly Davis. I think all cartoonists that I've ever met were effected in some way by Schulz and I think in the future we'll see more and more young artists listing web cartoonists as their biggest influences.

In an attempt to jump the gun a bit, and hopefully not sound too fanboy-ish, I would take a moment and list my 'heroes' and inspirations in comicking. I thought I'd make a list of the cartoonists, artists and writers who have either inspired me in some way or have done something in the world of comics that impressed me significantly. Writing this in March 2010, I'm interested in coming back in a few years and seeing how the list holds up.

1. George Herriman (1880-1944)

When I was really young, maybe about five, my Grandmother gave me a book. Published in 1946 it contained a collection of Krazy Kat comic strips from the 1930s. This is one of my earliest memories of comic strips. I must have read that book a thousand times or more. Looking back, I can still remember when a few years after receiving the book, I made a leap in understanding. I went from laughing at the silly cat getting hit in the head with a brick to understanding that Herriman was crafting jokes and personality dynamics. Playing on archetypes in a way that would shade the way I read stories and books for the rest of my life.

2. Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000)

Everyone has heard of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts. I grew up reading Peanuts in the newspaper and the collections in my school library. Where Herriman showed me that cartoons existed, Schulz showed me that cartoonists existed. I think if I could only list one person as being the reason I first picked up a pencil and tried to draw a cartoon I would have to list Mr. Schulz. When I grew up Peanuts merchandising was everywhere. I was able to easily feed my obsession with all things Charlie Brown from tee-shirts to toys and plenty of books for reference. Once I found an interview with Mr. Schulz that talked about the types of pens he used, the paper, etc. I held on to that magazine clipping for years, revering it as some kind of window in to the secret life of a cartoonist.

3. Neal Adams

Growing up I loved to read comics. Superman, Batman and Green Lantern were my first choices. When I thought of these heroes the image that formed in my mind was in the style of Neal Adams. His work with Dennis Adams on the DC Comics titles set the style and tone of these characters that I would judge all others against for the rest of my life. More than just his inspirational art, however, has been his tireless efforts for Creator's Rights. His crusade has led to major changes in the way that creators are treated in the comic industry with regards to their work.

4. Scott Kurtz

In the late 1990s I became deeply obsessed with an MMORPG called EverQuest. Countless hours were played as I tried to level up my Half-Elf Ranger. Someone sent me a link to a gaming comic called "Ding!" by Scott Kurtz. It was hilarious and I wanted to see if there was more. After a quick HotBot search I discovered his other work PvP and more importantly I discovered a world of web comics.

It has been interesting to watch Scott grow from those early days to the webcomic empire he is building. Love him or hate him (I've done both) you cannot deny that he has truly helped grow a new industry.

5. Barry T. Smith

Whereas Scott Kurtz led me to discover a world of online comics, it was Barry T. Smith who showed me (via his tutorials) that I could create webcomics. After advancing from just reading comics about the games I was playing at the time, I found a greater world online from the links on Barry's page. I discovered that I too could be a cartoonist again. I didn't need a newspaper or a syndicate. I could put everything out there all by myself.

Since then many people have discovered web comics and there are tons of tutorials about how to make your own webcomics, but Barry's was the first one I found back when webcomics were all shiney and new. I followed his process to make my own comics for years, and I still use some of the basics he taught me everyday when I work on my own comic now. It is safe to say that if any one person is responsible for me creating comics now it is Barry T. Smith.

6. D.J. Coffman

I found D.J.'s work Yirmumah shortly after I started making my own webcomic. At the time I was just beginning the deepest period of my obsession with webcomics. His unique style and wit kept me laughing. His blog was always informative. It was years later, however, that he made the greatest impact upon me.

I was struggling with my current job and felt completely trapped, drained, and as if all my dreams were slowly evaporating. I had been following D. J. for a while on Twitter, and he had kindly followed me back. I tweeted "Feels like everything is spinning out of control this year." and then, "Maybe I should just quit and follow my dreams for once. Maybe I should be 1st now."  A couple minutes late I received a Twitter reply from D. J. "@tovias now is the time. Follow your heart." He probably never knew how huge that tweet was for me. It was this tweet that I printed out and kept next to my desk. It was this tweet that I looked at when I felt like giving up. And it was this tweet that I remembered when I sat in my supervisor's office the day I made the biggest decision of my life.

7. Brad Guigar

Brad was the first online cartoonist and only the second cartoonist in general that I ever met (the first being Martin Nodell). I had picked up his "The Everything Cartooning Book" when it came out in late 2004 and read it cover to cover more than a few times. I still keep it within arm's reach of my drawing area for quick references or a minor sanity check.

Listening to Brad on podcasts and talking to him at conventions has led me to believe he is the voice of professionalism in webcomics. The business principles I have learned from him will guide me to success (if I tighten up and apply them). I could easily do worse but I would be hard pressed to find a better example in how to conduct myself as a business man.

8. Onezumi Hartstein

Since I started talking to Oni online she has been nothing less than a bundle of positive motivation for me to continue creating my comic. She is a collection of all of my previous inspirations bundled into one. By way of tweets, messages, e-mails, postcards, blog posts, online tutorials and more she has been a bright light on some very dim days for me. I will always be grateful.

Scott first showed me webcomics existed. Barry showed me that I could make them. D. J. showed me that my journey had a path, I only had to choose to take it. Brad showed me how to be a professional. Onezumi reminded me to keep going forward.