Jan. 2002
with Roger Langridge
See our feature in Creator of the Month too.What's new in the world of "gifted idiot comics"? Any new up-and-coming stuff we should know about?
Well, the "Gifted Idiot Comics" idea, which was the imprint I used to do my minicomics under, has transmogrified itself into Hotel Fred Press. If I reprint the minicomics in the future, that's the imprint I'll be using. And Hotel Fred Press is going to be publishing Fred the Clown for the foreseeable future...
What titles have you produced? Are they all still available? If so, where from?
The minicomics include Bloody Hell #1, Doctor Sputnik #1 and 2, Fred the Clown #1 (not to be confused with the recent 32-page comic), Fred's Dream, Frankenstein Meets Shirley Temple and The Fabulous World of Things. I've sold out of the minicomics temporarily, but they are all downloadable from my website (www.hotelfred.com) as PDF files. Fred the Clown #1, the full-sized comic which came out in September, is still available in some comic shops or you can order it from me directly, again through the website.
You've recently had success in getting "fred the clown" published and it's great to see his face leering at us from forbidden planet's shelves. Any plans for the publication of any of your other characters, "doctor sputnik" for instance?
That would be great, of course. Possibly a one-shot special, one of these days. I don't know if he's got a regular series in him...
Is fred your favourite character or was he chosen for his popularity with the readers?
I think with Fred the Clown I've found my "thing". Everything about Fred feels right. So I decided to run with Fred as my first self-publishing venture because right now that's where my enthusiasm is. I'll stick with the character as long as I still have that feeling about him, then I guess I'll try to move on to something else before it gets stale...
How long have you been producing your own comics?
Drawing them since I was six years old. Publishing (in some form or another) since 1988.
what/who are your inspirations?
How long have you got? Okay, top of the list is Spike Milligan (specifically The Goon Show). Carl Barks is pretty high up there. Kurtzman & Elder. E.C. Segar. Monty Python. Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Robert Clampett, Max & Dave Fleischer. Just about any American newspaper strip cartoonist before 1940 or so. Lots of others, I could go on all night.
Any advice for us budding amateurs?
Practise lots. Set yourself goals and stick to them. Finish what you start. Learn to manage your time efficiently and be as productive as you can. The way you get good is by constantly doing. Beyond that, I'd say try to be as original as you can and avoid cliches wherever possible. This is all pretty obvious stuff, I guess...
purely personal question. Any fred merchandise out there yet?
I've never been much into merchandise personally, but I know a lot of people are... what did you have in mind? T-shirts, mugs, that sort of thing?
if you could be any creature at all what would you be and who/what would you stomp?
I'd like to be a daffodil. I'd stomp aphids.