| Megaton Man takes over cyberspace
This is an interview with Mac user and comic book artist Don Simpson, who invented the popular superhero parody Megaton Man in the eighties, and currently is publishing the character in Erik Larsen's comic book Savage Dragon, and also on his site Megatonman.com
 MacCreator: Don, how long have you been making comics? And how long professionally?
Don Simpson: Megaton Man #1 came out in 1984. That was my first full comic book. Before that I'd only done short pieces and samples.
MacCreator: What has been the hardest thing to learn to do well in making professional comics?
Don Simpson: I think the thing that comes the slowest is the 'big picture', learning how to construct long stories that unfold over many issues, or in my case, many weeks on the Internet. I'm still learning how to keep reader's interested, keep them coming back, what they're expecting, how to tease those expectations. I'm not sure I'm getting any better after all these years, but I'm more conscious that having a strong sense of the overall flow of a story is key to success with the kind of thing I'm trying to do.
MacCreator: What is the most rewarding aspect of making comics?
Don Simpson: To take something from my imagination and to realize it in tangible form. That used to mean putting it down on paper; now it means uploading it to my website. But essentially it's seeing whether or not some crazy notion I have will work or not. It's really satisfying bringing something into existence that didn't exist before, good or bad. I don't get the same thing at all from illustrating somebody else's ideas.
MacCreator: Comics are selling very poorly today compared to ten years ago. Do you think they have a future on the web? What is needed still for them to succeed well there?
Don Simpson: People will determine what their online habits will be. Are they going to download a strip every week, every day? Is there a sufficient audience for that? I'm not sure. The key, as always, is hooking people, and telling a story that will intrigue them, keeping them coming back.
MacCreator: What advice do you have for a comic artist who want to make his own site?
 Don Simpson: It's important to update regularly, on time. You have to have new material on a regular basis if you want an audience to keep coming back. I'm not sure what the optimum amount is; I wish I could do a daily, but frankly I'd need to be making more money from it to devote to it full time. I just got an email from a young dude who says that all comic pros miss there deadlines, so why should he be expected to make his? He wants to be a writer. I told him, those lax habits are what have been killing the comic book business for the past generation. The web, if anything, demands even more discipline, self-discipline. Come up with a schedule and stick to it. I've kept to a weekly for nearly four years now. That's not a lot for me, because I could produce a heck of a lot more material that one strip a week. But it's amazing that I've kept to it, considering all the possible distractions. And I think it's beginning to pay off.
MacCreator: Do you feel that today's 56k modems and 768x1024 screens are sufficient for your artistic expression to flourish, or do you look forward much to future advances in Net transfer speeds and monitor sizes?
Don Simpson: You work with what you've got, then hope for improvements. I think for static images the present web is fine.
MacCreator: It might seem like comics is threatened severely by "moving media" such as computer games. On the other hand, pure text books, like novels, are selling better than ever. Why do you think it has gone wrong for comics, and how will they survive?
Don Simpson: I think Flash animation is over-rated. It's cheap and it looks cheap. Comics that are beautifully drawn don't look cheap, even if they don't move. And above all story and character are important. That's why novels are still around. I don't think the answer for comics is to have lame animation, bad voices, stupid music and queer sound effects. I think comics need to stick to being comics, either in print or digital.
That's what went wrong in print, by the way. Too much emphasis on paper quality, painted styles, deluxe package. None of that covers for weak story, bad drawing, uninvolving characters. Same with the web.
MacCreator: Have you looked at emerging technologies like e-books, future electronic paper, etc, and do you think they may mean something for future comics? (Publishing costs, for instance.)
Don Simpson: All I know is what I read in the Wall Street Journal. I suppose I'll try whatever comes along. But I'm not wasting any time daydreaming about it right at the moment.
MacCreator: How long have you had your site?
Don Simpson: We went online February 15, 1996. I had a brilliant intern, Dave White, who got me set up. I then learned html and all that after he moved on. He cartoons online too, at wfc.com. His strip is called The Japanese Beetle. He does it daily, and I don't know how he manages.
MacCreator: Do you prefer GIF or JPEG for your comic pictures online, and why?
Don Simpson: I went with JPEG, which at the time meant a bigger file. I guess I still have a 'print' eye, which still needs a smoother, hi-res look. I guess this is the online equivalent of asking, "What type of pen nib do you use?"
MacCreator: Any tips regarding picture compression?
Don Simpson: I compress them to about 3 in Photoshop. I just go by what looks okay. The original files are much higher resolution, and I look forward to showing those to people in larger, clearer formats someday.
MacCreator: What would you like our readers to know about your character Megaton Man?
Don Simpson: He is not the Tick! He came before the Tick. The Tick is a watered-down ripoff of my work. I'm tired of hearing myself bitch about this, but it needs to be said. Ben Edlund should ride somebody else's idea for awhile, maybe get his own.
Megaton Man is funnier, more complex, better drawn. And some of the supporting cast are even more memorable. I'm looking forward to the next year of the online storyline.
MacCreator: Do you create any art on the computer, or do you do everything on paper?
Don Simpson: The MM serials start on bristol board, like all my comics. But I use the computer to correct little things, and more and more to create things outright.
MacCreator: Do you prefer to write your own stories, or do you like to work with a writer?
Don Simpson: For me the challenge is to see what I can come up with. It's a learning experience. I'm here, I feel, to see what I can bring to life that doesn't already exist. I'm not here to illustrate somebody else's ideas of perpetuate some other company's trademarks. If I were, I'd be penciling Spider-Man. Megaton Man is all new and it's all mine, for better or worse.
MacCreator: What is the particular aesthetic that appeals to you about a comic book, or a comic page?
Don Simpson: I'm not sure that there's anything appealing about comics per se. It's kind of an antiquated, obsolete format. And most adults either can't or refuse to read them, solely based on the confusing complexity of the pages, I believe -- not because superheroes have ruined the medium, as some have maintained. But the drawing and writing interest me. There's really no advantage to having multiple images on a page; I think that's a vestige of when epics were carved onto walls. More and more I do one-panel strips, because I guess it makes sense to focus the reader's attention on one image at a time. I still do strips and multi-panel pages, of course, but that's mostly out of tradition or habit at this point.
MacCreator: Do you ever have any particular messages in your comics? (about life, society, whatever.)
Don Simpson: I hope so.
MacCreator: How long have you used computers? And Macs?
Don Simpson: The first computer I bought was a Mac in 1993. I use Windows as well now but I'm still on the Mac side for my own stuff. Adobe Photoshop, the principal program I use to color Megaton Man, is pretty identical on both platforms, and I teach a class in it on Windows machines at the community college.
MacCreator: Do you still use a Mac? Which one?
Don Simpson: The present one is a 6500/250, running OS 8.1. I'm loathe to update anything because if it ain't broke, don't fix it! I'd love a faster machine, but this one is fine for right now.
MacCreator: What is your dream system?
Don Simpson: Whatever the fastest thing is, I guess.
MacCreator: Do you think it makes a difference what computer platform one uses? How?
Don Simpson: Not to the art. It's personal preference. I'm a big Mac crybaby, basically. I find Windows frustrating at times, but that's just because I don't use one every day. Macs are frustrating too. And Apple, as a company is no better than any other company. My 56k modem didn't work for over a year and Apple felt it was perfectly reasonable to keep me and other users waiting for a firmware update. The computer industry in general markets all kind of stuff that just isn't tested and ready to be marketed. I'm also annoyed at Adobe's ruthless roll-outs of updates to Illustrator, Photoshop, et al. Don't get me started.
MacCreator: Should one get the fastest computer available, or does it not matter?
Don Simpson: I'll let you know when I get my credit cards paid off. I think past a certain point it's overkill. I've got more technology on my desktop than I'm ever going to use. I'm a cartoonist, for crying out loud!
Visit Megatonman.com
- Stobblehouse |
