CREATORS | BEVIS MUSSON |
Current Project: ODDCASES, an online comic at Opi8.com.
Favorite personal project to date: It's a close call between ODDCASES and THE QUEEN OF DIAMONDS. Probably the ODDCASES story I'm working on at the moment though, Oddcases: The Nasty Little Man.
Work outside of comics: Librarian and admin assistant for a consultant engineers.
First introduction to comics: Probably THE BEANO and THE DANDY. I also had a few Superman annuals when I was really little.
Most influential comics/creators on your life or career: Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Mike Carey, Peter David and Greg Rucka on the writing side. Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs, Tim Sale, Steve Sadowski, Peter Gross and Olivier Coipel on the art side. There are more as well, but those are the ones that spring to mind. Outside of comics I'd say writers like Saki, Margaret Stuart Barry and Mervyn Peake have been big influences and the whole of the Impressionist and Pre-Raphelite art movements have influenced the way I draw too.
Current favorite comic: It's hard to name just one, so I'll name a few. SUPERGIRL, LUCIFER, LEGIO, FLASH and QUEEN & COUNTRY are ones that I definitely look forward to each month. I'm quite keen on online comics too, especially ADAM & ANDY, KYLE'S BED & BREAKFAST and DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY.
All time favorite comics: V FOR VENDETTA probably. SANDMAN as well.
How do you spend time when not working on comics: Sleeping mostly.
Favorite LGBT character in any media: Willow from BUFFY and Jack from WILL & GRACE.
One person you'd like to meet: Ute Lemper. She's probably one of my biggest idols.
What comic book character would you like to be, and why? Black Canary, just because she kicks arse.
Last good movie you saw: I watched ROMY & MICHELLE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION last night. I'd forgotten how much it makes me laugh. At the cinema it was probably SPIDER-MAN. I saw EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS a little while back, too, and I enjoyed it a lot. Not sure it counts as a 'good' film though.
Last good book you read: CORALINE by Neil Gaiman. Very creepy and utterly fantastic. And I'm reading KRAZY KOW SAVES THE WORLD at the moment. I'm going through a bit of a children's book phase.
CDs you're listening to now: HOMETIME, the new album from Alison Moyet, PUNISHING KISS by Ute Lemper, RETROSPECTIVE by The Indigo Girls, and NINE OBJECTS OF DESIRE by Suzanne Vega are also pretty much always in my CD player.
What aspect of the comics medium draws you to work in it?: It's fun. That's it really, I enjoy doing it and what more reason do you need than that?
What does the phrase "gay sensibility" mean to you? Not much really. It kind of makes the assumption that all gay people think alike and they don't. I find certain things funny that others don't but that's as much to do with how and where I was brought up as anything else. I probably view the world in a slightly different way from how I would if I were straight but again that's not to say that every other gay person thinks the same way I do.
Does your queerness impact your work? I guess to a certain extent it does, but not consciously. I write and draw gay characters but that's not all I do. The Queen Of Diamonds is gay because he's loosely based on me, and Jani & Clarissa in ODDCASES are gay but I don't write them. I don't think Alistair Pulling picked me as the artist for the series because I'm gay, I think it just sort of happened that way. My sexuality does impact on the way that I draw men simply because I tend to draw men I find attractive, but I suppose that's no different from a straight male artist drawing sexy women.
What advice do you have for aspiring comics creators? Just do it. Don't let anyone discourage you and don't give up. It's hard work and it takes a hell of a lot of time to get anywhere but if you're enjoying what you're doing then carry on doing it. And don't fob yourself off with excuses like 'I don't have the time' or 'no big comics company will look at my work'. Make the time for yourself and if you can't get your foot in the door of a big comapny straight away, and to be honest how often does that actually happen anyway?, then try self publishing. The Internet is also a great place to get yourself noticed as well. If you can't set up your own website then there are loads of places that will host something for you. It's also a great way to get in contact with artists or writers to work with. That's how I first got started and I've not looked back since.
Comics career highlights: CUT being published by CYBEROSIA. Mike Carey agreeing to write an introduction for ODDCASES is pretty fantastic. too. And just the amount of positive feedback that we've had regarding things like ODDCASES has been a huge highlight for me. It makes it all seem so much more real in a way.
Read an interview with Bevis and Alistair.