Since we’ve been sharing Stephen’s comics since 2021, we were wondering how they have evolved over time.
“I've abandoned so many elements that there should be a Lost Creative Ideas Shelter. Please, won't you adopt a discarded idea today? Little Timmy the cashier needs a home. The comic was always just a fun way to draw out observational ideas. I loved to write about the workplace, but there were so many strips about workplaces that I held back. I don't think I would change anything. The pandemic offered a release valve to write about retail during that horrible time, so it all worked out.
Just an idea, but what if "Adult Children" got adapted into an animated series, but the artist had zero control over it, what’s the absolute worst creative decision they could make?
Stephen shared his opinion: “Besides setting it on Mars? The spacesuits and gravitational differences could be interesting, but it would be a different show. There are so many ways to mess up a show with the writing, that it's hard to pick one. I think the voice casting is the quickest way to mess up an animated show. I don't envy casting directors.”
Sometimes, we as the readers would never even notice some small details that artists internally agonize over. Stephen shared what bothers him the most: “I was just talking to a friend about this. The character's head. Most companies have model sheets for their characters. The head is very important. If you get the head wrong, people will notice immediately. It's the first thing readers point out in comic books when a new artist takes over. You could put six fingers on every hand and possibly get away with it, but if you get the head wrong, you're doomed.”
Lastly, we asked, what’s a completely ridiculous hill Stephen is willing to die on when it comes to comics, humor, or art in general?
He wrote: “The old writers' adage of ‘show me, don't tell me’. I hear from a lot of would-be writers who will totally die on that hill. Writers are never supposed to explain what they can show. I have plenty of examples that show the contrary, but my favorite is the character of Kramer on the show Seinfeld. Michael Richards, playing Kramer, was so funny explaining a scene that they were going to film, that the best move was telling instead of showing. I like exceptions to rules. And hills. No dying is necessary.”
