When asked how the idea of making comics came about, the artist explained: “I’m an animator by trade, and while I love animation, it takes absolutely ages and/or lots of money to make. I stumbled across the notion of taking ideas I had for animated stories and jokes and making them as comics as a way of satisfying my urge to create and share work without having to spend ages and ages putting that work together.”
Like many of us, it took Mike some time to get into his dream career: “I worked in a fast-food restaurant and a liquor store when I was a teenager. After that, I’ve kicked around in animation, design, and art jobs for the last 10 years. I like the experimentation that comes with creative work. Because two animation gigs are never quite the same, there is always room to learn and creative problems that need to be solved.”
Mike says that it’s amazing to be reaching so many people with his art: “I’m so grateful that anyone wants to read these stupid comics, and I have so much fun making them and putting them out there and then seeing what people respond to. My followers often make funnier jokes in the comments than happen in the comic so posting stuff is always a good time for me.”
We asked Mike what advice he would give to aspiring comic artists, to which he replied: “If you can make yourself laugh while making something, half the battle is already won. Then you just need to get it out in front of people. I find the community over at Reddit is amazingly supportive and is a great place to get eyeballs on your work that wouldn’t normally come across it. Otherwise making work that is interesting and funny to you more than what you think will get clicks is super important.”
