An Interview with Tom Oliver

I love reading a good web comic from time to time during my internet browsing time. I was recently linked by a friend to Tom Oliver (Inyuo on deviantART), who not only creates excellent comics, but game themed ones at that.


I got the opportunity to chat with Tom about his comic strips, gaming, and future projects. 

Q. Hello! Could you introduce yourself for my readers?

Hi, my name is Tom Oliver (more commonly known on the internet as Inyuo) and I sporadically make comics about videogames!

Q. You draw a lot of gaming comic strips. What inspired you to start creating them?

Well, the simple and somewhat vague answer to this would be ‘videogames’ and ‘comics’. As a kid I used to nag my parents to buy me something called Sonic the Comic, which was probably my first experience of comics and games being combined into a single thing. This sparked an avalanche of horribly-drawn Sonic the Hedgehog comics, and it all just sort of carried on from there. And despite 15 years of practice, I still can’t draw Sonic properly.

Actually making comic strips has escalated in the last 5 years, thanks to discovering webcomics. The first gaming webcomic I got into was VGCats, which is a pretty good place to start as it wasn’t excessively copy/paste visuals or wordswordswords. This got me back into making comics to show off to my mates, often about videogames or films or whathaveyou, and they must have been met with enough positive feedback as I kept making them!

Q. Is there a particular game or series that you enjoy creating comic strips for in particular?

Aaaahh this kind of changes continuously, but if I had to say one off the top of my head, it would probably be the Ace Attorney series. The characters are incredibly animated and personality driven, which makes them dead fun to draw. There’s also a lot of material to make comic strips out of, particularly if you look past the “he says objection a lot imma make a joke about that!”.

That said, I’m pretty sure that a disproportionate amount of my doodles consist of Link from Legend of Zelda. I would like to say I spend a lot of my time drawing less well known and perhaps more personal characters, but no. If I’m drawing something in the back of a notebook, it’s probably Link.

Q. Have you got a comic strip that you are most proud of so far?

This also varies a lot, often depending on what game I’ve been playing recently, but I’m always rather happy with the Party In My Pants comic. If I look back through my gallery, I normally stop on this comic and compare it to what I’ve been drawing recently, then start worrying that I’ve actually regressed in comic-drawing ability. Sure, the joke’s nitpicky, but I still love the expressions and am impressed that I actually made a comic that has over 4 panels and doesn’t look quite so rushed.

Honourable mention also goes to Tone Depth. I had a lot of fun drawing that horse. 

Q. In your experiences, how has it been sharing your own gaming comics to the internet populous so far?

It’s been relatively smooth, actually! Granted, I haven’t made it any further than Deviantart, which is a bit like the paddling pool of the internet in terms of critics, but responses are generally positive and I don’t think I’ve ever received any out-and-out hatemail (I’m thanking my internet obscurity for that!).

When submitting a comic to the interwebs, though, it is a little disheartening when it either doesn’t do as well as you’d hoped or better than you think it deserved, purely based on the popularity of the game it was about. It’s nice to think that a comic strip’s popularity is a reflection of how funny or well made it is, but I do tend to see a correlation between “popular game” and “lots of hits”. Then again, making comics with as dedicated and varied fanbases as video games, people are obviously going to focus on the games they know, and avoid the comics of stuff they haven’t played, regardless of the actual comical content. I know I’m a pretty terrible person for sticking to series that I’m aware other people also enjoy, but I just hope I don’t end up churning out mindless comics of Super Mario solely because people will like anything with Super Mario in it.

The reverse of this, of course, is that if I ever manage to make a popular comic of an unheard-of game, then it must be a pretty damn good joke!

Q. Can you recommend a game or two for my readers to play?

Yes I can! I have no real reason for suggesting these other than the fact they are hands down my favourite games, but go play Skies of Arcadia and Jet Set Radio Future! The former is all about floating islands and air pirates and flying ships shooting each other, and the latter is an incredibly stylish, incredibly ridiculous game about rollerblading gangs blowing up robots with graffiti! It’s got 

Q. And finally, what's next for yourself?

Well first I’m planning to finish my degree! I’m currently a Third Year Biology student in England, which means that this is my final year of university and the workload really gets piled on! Unfortunately, that pretty much guarantees that comics will be as infrequent as ever, though I’m still going to try and keep the account as active as I can (excusing general laziness).

And while it’s not on the cards at the moment, a proper website will probably be up some time in the future: they aren't exactly expensive and it would be nice to upload comics to somewhere that’s a little more personal. The most important thing about this, though, is that first I need to ensure I can update regularly, which I really, really don’t at the moment. This will easily be my biggest downfall if I don’t get it right, so I think I’m going to wait until I am well and truly prepared.

Finally, I’ve been messing around with a bunch of my own regular, non-videogame comic projects that may make their way onto my deviantART account. As much as I enjoy gaming comics, it’s good to tinker with original stories and characters to see how well I can portray my own ideas and storytelling. That said, I don’t have anything substantial to show for it at the moment so I probably should keep schtum!

Anyway, thanks for the interest in my comics and giving me the opportunity to be interviewed! There are a lot of fantastic webcomics out there, but I hope this helps answer any questions there were about mine in particular, or has intrigued people enough to go check them out!

An Interview with Zac Gorman

When I have some free time to aimlessly browse the internet, I always enjoy reading a few web-comics. It was during one of these browses one day that I stumbled across Zac Gorman. Zac brings to life a host of Nintendo characters in his work, but, being a self-confessed Zelda buff since Link's Awakening, it was his Zelda comic strips that resonated with me the most.

I got the opportunity to question Zac on his obsession with Zelda, his comic book experiences, and much more.

Magicalgametime.com

Q. Hello! Could you introduce yourself to my readers?

A: Hi! I'm Zac Gorman, and I make comics at MagicalGameTime.com under the handle idrawnintendo.

Q. You draw a lot of Zelda comic strips. What is it about the Zelda series that appeals to you so much?

A: The thing that really got to me about Zelda, is that at the heart of everything, you have this little kid going up against seemingly insurmountable odds and never giving up. Link's got this unfaltering moral compass, but my goal with doing Zelda comics, is to show some of the immaturity, the fear, all those sorts of emotions that would come with being an actual little kid in his predicament, and then showing how he carries on in despite all that.That's what the Triforce of Courage is all about. It's about facing your fears simply because it's the right thing to do, more than it is about never being afraid in the first place. I always preferred the Zelda games where Link was a bit younger, for that reason.

Q. Is there a particular strip you are most proud of?

A: Not really. It's always interesting to me though, when I'll finish one that I think is my best yet, and then it doesn't get the reaction I was hoping for.

Q. How has the response to your Zelda strips been so far?


A: The response has been awesome! I mean, aside from the sheer number of
Tumblr followers, twitter followers, traffic, etc., it has been really nice to hear from a lot of people, telling me that a comic I did, or a print I did, really resonated with them in a very personal and emotional way. That's the advantage of the subject matter, I guess. These games and the intimate experiences that I had with them, which I try to show in my work, are very similar to the experiences that a lot of other players had.

Q. Have you got any advice for those wishing to create their own gaming comics?

A: Well, I guess that for me, when I'm working, it's always been less about the specific details of a particular universe, and more about the larger themes of that story. So, if I had to offer any advice to somebody who wanted to make comics about games, I suppose that it's that you should probably worry less about what hand Link's sword is in, or what color the beads in Red XIII's hair were, and think more about why you fell in love with these games, what they really mean to you, and what made your experience with them special or meaningful. I think that's the distinction between doing fan art and doing a comic about a particular game. Free yourself up a little and just have fun with it! Make it yours and make it personal.

Q. You've drawn other excellent game art before. Do you plan to create a series of animated comic strips, like your Zelda set, for another gaming series?

A: I've done a few Earthbound comics also, but most of the other ones tend to be one-shots of a particular game. Honestly, there are only a few series that have ever really impacted me in a way that I feel like I'm capable of making comics for them that are more than just your usual joke strip; Legend of Zelda, Earthbound, some of the Final Fantasy series, and some slightly less popular titles like Vandal Hearts and Suikoden also had a pretty big impact on me...but this isn't to say that I don't like other games! I know it sounds like I only play decade-old JRPGs, but that's not true, they just happen to be some of my all-time personal favorites. Right now, I'm mostly just biding my time until Skyrim comes out by playing older games and indie titles.

Q. Are there any games you think my readers should play?

A: The one game that I always have to insist that people play is Mother 3. Also, if I meet somebody who hasn't played Earthbound--play it! My favourite Zelda game is Link to the Past, although obviously it's a tough choice between that one, Ocarina of Time, and Wand of Gamelon for the CD-i. Most people I talk to though have already played all my favorite games. How about Panic! for the Sega CD? I used to love that game when I was a kid and I'm pretty sure that nobody out there played it.

Q. And finally, is there anything new in the pipeline for yourself?

A: I'm working on some new comic projects, but I hate to talk about things before they're done. A lot of hollow talk tends to get thrown around by us cartoonists about the next great graphic novel that we're working on, but until you have something to show for it, it's all just talk. All that I can say for certain is that I plan to continue making comics as long as people keep reading them!

An Interview with Andy Kluthe

I love reading a good comic strip whenever I have a few moments to spare online. I stumbled upon Andy Kluthe's work a short time ago, and loved the gaming related strips in particular.


Andy kindly agreed to an interview to discuss his comic strips, gaming, and more.

"Fan Participation"

Q. Hello! Can you introduce yourself to my readers?

A: Hi, my name is Andy Kluthe.  Some of you may (or may not) know me for making arts and sticking them on the interweb.  I’m run a weekly web comic called Nerd Rage.

Q. You've created a lot of game inspired comics. Do you have a favourite?

A: My comics are like my children. I love them all equally.  Except for the one that’s secretly my favorite.

In all honesty, though, my favourites are the ones that people like the best.  If you’re writing a humor-based comic and no one is laughing, you’re doing something wrong.  I enjoyed drawing Fan Participation, if only because I was so sad to see Legends 3 get canceled.

"Duke Nukem...Forever"

Q. You've done a broad range of comic strips now. How has the response been to them, and is there one that seems to gain a lot more attention than the rest?

The response has been…interesting.  Sometimes I work on one that I think will be really popular and it kinda goes unnoticed.  Then I’ll do one that I don’t think is all that funny and it’ll be a wild success.  I never expected Facebook Creepers to be so popular.  Dr. Rageguy, PhD didn’t get much attention when I first drew it, but recently took off on Reddit.  I think the site hit a record for most visits that day.

But as far as most attention goes, Facebook Creepers was very popular.  The Metroid: Other M comic was very popular.  Uh, both the comics that involve ponies were popular.  Chicks, Chicks Everywhere was popular.  The most recent comic, 25 Candles, brought the website down due to traffic.

"25 Candles"

Q. I'm currently loving the Nerd Rage comic. What inspired you to create this?

To be honest, I didn’t start Nerd Rage with plans of doing it as an ongoing strip.  I was making one-shot strips because I had topics I thought were funny and made for good jokes or commentary.  Anyway, they say to write what you know – these were my interests, so I followed the related news closely.  When I first used the two main characters, I thought I was using them for a one-shot comic.  But then I drew another comic about them.  And another.  The comic sort of took a life of its own…

I was drawing one or more strips a week, so the next logical step was to put a title on it and make it official.

Q. Have you got a favourite game, console or games company that you enjoy basing comic strips on?

Really, whoever is trending makes for the best comic.  I usually try to pick a subject that’s ‘big’ news that week or the week before (not always, but usually).  Fan backlash/support is always a good gauge for what material will be funny.

As for consoles or companies I like, I grew up with Nintendo.  I’ll probably always love their properties, despite some recent missteps. Valve is a great company; they make really great stuff.  And I’ve been impressed with Sony’s offerings, too; they seem to keep getting better.

"E3 2011 In A Nutshell"

Q. Any advice for those wishing to create their own gaming comic strips?

Don’t stop drawing, don’t stop writing.  Those are two skills you need if you’re going to do a comic.  You want to keep these skills polished.

Don’t expect it to be easy, either.  A lot of people underestimate how much time goes into drawing a comic or how hard it can be to keep it consistently funny.

Q. Can you recommend a game for my readers to play?

Anyone that hasn’t played Super Metroid, please do yourself a favor. Go buy a copy at your local used game shop, eBay, flea market, whatever.  If you are one of those poor souls who do not already own a Super Nintendo, go to your local used game shop, eBay, flea market, etc. and buy a SNES, then see step one.  Or buy it on Wii shop, since it’s available for the virtual console.  It’s one of my all-time favourite titles

Modern games:  Team Fortress 2. I’ve owned TF2 since release, but Valve still regularly roles out updates.  My hats off to you, Valve (see what I did there?  Get it?  Hats?).  Anyone who doesn’t have Team Fortress 2 should go buy a Super Nintendo and play Super Metroid—er, I mean get on Steam and play TF2, because it’s now free to play.

My other big time-waster is Minecraft.  Like Notch needs another recommendation, the game has already made him some sort of millionaire, but me and my friends still have fun with Minecraft!  Plus, 1.8 just came out!  You don’t even have an excuse to not be playing Minecraft right now!

"An Uncharted Proposal"

Q. And finally, have you got anything new in the pipeline?

I have a script for another multi-part series of strips, like Chicks, Chicks Everywhere and More Ponies, More Problems.  There’s a trade off, though, since you can’t stop to do a topical strip mid-way through a continuing story.  I hope to do that sometime in the future.