Dave Contra shared thoughts on knowing when a comic is done, the evolving presence of death in his work, and how some pieces begin with an image that won’t leave him alone.
The artist mentioned that he knows a comic is complete when he finishes the last drawing. "This is because I do all the writing first and then panel-beat the hell out of it before I even start the drawing process. I learned this the hard way early on because I used to start the drawings first and then had all sorts of problems when it came to writing the text bubbles. But I still definitely post things and then notice mistakes after it’s too late.
Another thing is I get lots of 'help' from people on Instagram or Reddit who correct my grammar or 'historical accuracy.' Sometimes the advice is hilarious, they'll tell me why my comic is inaccurate or physically impossible. I mean, they're just comics — I figure I'm allowed to bend reality a little."
Some of Dave's work feels like it's not just observing life, but quietly shadowing it with a reminder of its end. We wondered if his relationship with the concept of death has shifted since he began making comics. "Actually, yes," the artist responded. "It's weird because I go through phases where I don't fear it, and become comfortable with the idea of it. And then I go through phases where I am absolutely deceived by it.
I think when I started doing comics, I was OK in general with death, despite the obvious sadness and emptiness of it all. Nowadays, perhaps because I think about it way too much, my relationship with the concept of extinction is perhaps a very confused one. I guess it's a concept that can be explored forever without ever reaching any satisfying conclusions. At least not without buying into a religion or something. But I can't see myself doing that."
Dave shared that his comics can start with a visual — an image he can't shake. "Actually, I'm currently writing a comic that originates from a sound (wind going through leaves in a tree). Sometimes I will be watching a movie, and I will get an idea based on what I might feel if I were the main character going through what he/she is going through. Other times, I will pull comics directly out of my own life experiences and memories. And sometimes I just turn my daily thoughts into comics. I always have my phone ready to take down notes so I don't lose the ideas. As sad as it may sound, my Gmail inbox is 80% emails to myself — comic ideas."
Dave just released a new comic book, "YOU ARE DERANGED FOR THIS," a compilation of what he feels are his best comics from the past four years since this all began. "It's a bit of a beast — 312 pages — and is available now on Amazon. The title is actually my favorite Reddit comment of all time. I did a comic called 'BYE MAX' where a guy chooses to kill his dog to save money on vet bills. That has proven to be one of my all-time most reported/complained about comics. One guy just replied with the comment 'You are deranged for this,' and I mentally banked it."
