We got in touch with The Ward Brothers and asked them some questions related to their work. First, we were wondering what inspired the artists to start creating their ‘Fairly Good Comics’. We learned that: “We have been making comics since we were kids and were obsessed with the Beano and Dandy comics when we were growing up. We currently run a greeting card company called Quite Good Cards and have sold over a million cards worldwide. We love doing that, but it doesn't allow us to dive into the longer-form stories we enjoy. So, to scratch that creative itch, we set up @FairlyGoodComics.”
When asked how they come up with ideas for new comic strips, Eddie and James responded: “We both make notes of funny things we see and hear, then meet up to chat about the ideas, usually over a pint or two. We sift out the shite, and hopefully, we're left with at least one idea we like.”
Some characters in The Ward Brothers’ series seem to make recurring appearances across different strips. We were curious how the creators of ‘Fairly Good Comics’ approach developing characters that fit the tone and style of their work. They shared with us:” The characters are based on people we know or have met. Our plan is to create a whole world of these characters and, rather like a traditional sketch show, have them return when an idea fits the character.”
Next, we wanted to explore the comedic influences that have shaped The Ward Brothers’ cartoon work. Here’s what we found out from Freddie and James: “For TV, we like The Office, Alan Partridge, Brass Eye, and The Thick of It. Our mother and father are unintentionally hilarious (maybe just to us), which helped. But most importantly, our shared love of the pathetic and preposterous nature of the human experience always makes us laugh harder... Well, that and farts.”
Finally, the artists shared the message they hope readers take away from their comics: “We’d hope that people find our comics relatable, daft, and hopefully mildly amusing.”
