Bored Panda got in touch with the author of ‘Simon Said Comics’ to find out more about him and his series. Asked how comic art came into his life, Johnson said: “I used to collect the Beano and Dandy comics as a child and later moved onto The Simpsons and Futurama comics in my early teens. I always wanted to make my own comics and took great inspiration from these comics.”
We also wanted to know if art has always been present in Simon’s life. He shared with us: “Art has always been present in my life, if I wasn't outside playing sports I was inside drawing or painting my own stories and creating comic books to give to friends on the school playground.”
The artist continued: “I started making comics after finishing university where I studied animation. I always wanted to make cartoons but the amount of time it took to animate meant I couldn't make all the stories I wanted to make, so I switched to comics so I could share my ideas and make people laugh faster. A lot of my ideas come from interactions with friends and family, I love socializing with my friends and playing sports almost every day. I'd like to think that makes me fun in real life too!”
We were interested in where Johnson’s inspirations usually come from. We found out that: “I like to watch animated TV shows and create comics using the inspiration I get from them and from real-life interactions. I always thought it would be great to see what my friends looked like drawn in my cartoons, so I put it into action. I create my comics whenever I feel inspired. Sometimes I make 5 comics in a week or two or three a month, I try not to force that creative feeling.”
We were also curious which popular comic series created by other artists are Simon’s favorite. He said: “Heck If I Know It comics by Charlie Higson is one of my favorite webcomics, or The Other End comics are great too. I love their art style and humor.”
Lastly, we wanted to know more about the artist and what he usually does in his free time, while not working on another comic strip. Simon Johnson told us: “I like to play football (soccer), run, go hiking with my girlfriend and spend time with my friends and family. I play the occasional video games and love going to the cinema too.”
