Sometimes, when I get asked to do interviews about my comics, I wish people would ask me the sort of questions I want to answer. Everyone has asked me how I started making comics, what advice do I have to give someone else starting in comics, blah blah blah. Honestly, I don't feel that those are productive questions anymore. My answers are already on the Internet. Do I we really need to hear them repeated over and over again?
So here are the questions I wish, I wish, people would ask me.
1. You main character, Rachel the Great, is a virgin. Are you?
No.
2. Doesn't that make you a hypocrite?
Yes, if you want to hold me to a character I created when I was fifteen. My ideals have changed greatly as I've grown older.
3. Isn't that misleading, having a character based on you, even named after yourself who espouses ideals that you don't live up to?
Key words there, based on. I've always stated that Rachel in the comics is more like me when I was fifteen. Part of it is that the comics have been online so long. I've changed faster than she has.
Unfortunately, I was in the middle of a coming of age story arc when I went on hiatus, but I don't think I'll ever get to finish it, at least not on gURL.com. It's sad because the last impression we had of the characters was right before Things Began to Happen. It's not flattering to any of them.
4. What do you think of students who are thinking of majoring in sequential art?
Speaking from within the realm of comics, illustration and the like, it's a waste of money, at least at this point. You should major in graphic design and study comics on the side. The pay will be better in the long run, and your art will look better for it, I feel. Sequential art is best learned through creative writing, design, and animation courses. At least, that's my opinion. Also I don't know anyone who's making a living with a degree in sequential art other than Jennie Breeden, and not everyone can be Jennie Breeden. You don't actually need that degree to make comics or get paid to make them.
5. Do you really have an inflatable Trent Reznor doll?
Unfortunately, no.
6. How is Tuna?
Tuna died when I was sixteen. I miss him very much. That's why he's still in the comics.
7. Rachel and Bob.
No and no.
8. If the story kept going, would Rachel ever have gotten off her high horse?
Yes, first love(r)s have ways of knocking people off their pedestals.
9. Will you ever finish that story?
I would like to.
10. Why did you build rubifruit.com?
Because after all these years doing comics, I really love the community and the people. I wanted to give something back. They rallied behind me over my busted jaw. They've given me an award. I wanted a way to say thanks. That, and it makes me feel closer to everyone to help them get their work out there and seen by more people. I feel, I dunno, involved instead of a bystander. This way, if a member of Rubifruit makes a big splash in the world, I can think, wow, in a small way, I assisted them. In fact, because of the nature of the site's banner exchange, we all will have assisted them.
11. What plans do you have for rubifruit.com?
A facebook app and webcomics hosting, then who knows. It's my pet. Possibly paid advertising to help pay for the high bandwidth the exchange sucks up. But I would only want to sell impressions to other Rubifruit people, not to commercial businesses that have no place in the exchange.
And that's all. SO, what questions do you wish people would ask you? Posty post!
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- Rachel Nabors (
crowhen) wrote,