Interview with Evan Dorkin

"All artwork
copyright Evan Dorkin"

I could skew this article to say that I was looking for a professional comic book artist’s opinion on webcomics and the future thereof, but I think it’s pretty obvious that I am just a big nerd that loves Evan Dorkin and wanted to see if he would answer my questions if I sent them to him. Of course he did or this wouldn’t be much of an article.

If you don’t know who Evan Dorkin is you are missing out on one of the angriest, violent misanthropes working in comics today. Evan is probably most famous for his over the top violent duo Milk and Cheese (dairy products gone bad!) and his own comic Dork which plays like the angriest sketch comedy show you’ve ever seen. Evan’s art (and blog) is painstakingly detailed. He currently is living in New York and works with his wife, Sarah Dyer as freelance comic book writers and artists. Evan is notorious for being somewhat of a curmudgeon who doesn’t put up with a lot of bullshit.

Which makes it all the more awesome that he took five and answered my questions!

 

STUMBLEBUM STUDIOS:  Do you read any webcomics, if so which ones?

EVAN DORKIN:  I've probably read only about five or six webcomics in my life and I couldn't even tell you what the names of them were. I don't have a problem with the format or feel webcomics are inferior to print comics or anything, I just don't go looking for webcomics, have little time to read the ones people send me links to, and find reading anything on a computer screen hurts my eyes after a few minutes. I've read a few old John Stanley print comics someone posted online, that's about the most time spent looking at comics on my monitor. Sorry.

SS:  There are a lot of free comics and bootleg scans on the internet, do you feel like the internet has hurt or helped the comic industry?

ED:  I really couldn't say. I don't think it's hurt anyone, really, not yet at least. It hasn't hurt me. Personally, if I had more time I'd post some of my old comics on my site and let people read them for free. I feel if the material is worth a damn to anyone, a number of those reading it for free would want to have a copy for their shelves. As long as folks aren't threatening my copyrights I'm not worried. As for the industry at large, I have no idea what's going on anymore. Whatever.

SS:  What do you see in the future for comics and the internet?

ED:  More comics. Perhaps an actual system where someone can make money doing comics directly for the web, perhaps not. Smart people figuring out how to use the web to their advantage. More assholes posting dumb shit on message boards. More of the same.

SS:  You and Sarah Dyer hock your wares on houseoffun.com, any tips for other people creating and selling their own comic merch?

ED:  We don't sell our merchandise ourselves, we have a webstore linked to our publisher's webstore. I know very little about selling merchandise, past endeavors in producing our own merchandise and whatnot were always a way to make cool stuff, not really to make money. Small stuff like buttons, we made our own Milk and Cheese beer mugs a ways back, pre-internet. I guess all I can say is make cool stuff and don't gouge the readers. Don't expect to get rich, either.

SS:  What's a good time for me to come by and fix your toilet?

ED:  Seventeen o'clock.

 

Check out Evan and Sarah’s at www.houseoffun.com
Also Evan’s blog at www.livejournal.com/users/evandorkin

And as always check out Dave's mindless pap at http://www.culturalvoid.net