Bored Panda reached out to Dennis Gagne, the cartoonist behind Real Funghi Comics.
When asked about what inspires the unique humor in his Real Funghi Comics, Dennis explained, "I grew up as the youngest of three boys and in the early 90s my older brothers would sneak me into the living room to watch the Simpsons behind my parents' backs. I've also watched a lot of Kids in the Hall, Mel Brooks and David Lynch movies growing up so it's left me with an odd sense of humour. Our home had a lot of books including Far Side, Garfield and Peanuts anthologies and picked up whatever comic I could get from the magazine rack at the grocery store. I really enjoy humour that tells a story but also punches up. I deal with anxiety and have also faced bullying in my life. Despite that, my brain doesn't seem to want to let me get down on myself too often, so at times I find funny things in some dark places.
Discussing how his artistic process has evolved since he started creating comics, he shared, "Going back to my childhood, my brothers were both very athletic and I was the artsy kid. So while they took to the field, I took to the page and fell in love with drawing comics. I first started drawing superhero comics but quickly started cartooning as I found there was more humour in my work than action. Outside of high school art classes and some courses I took in my spare time, I have no formal art education. I picked up doing digital art a few years ago and have found my work improved since I started. Nowadays I find I'm developing more of an artistic shorthand as my style is starting to coalesce into something that I find speaks to me. I feel that I have more confidence in my comic making but not enough of an ego to think I've learned everything."
When asked to share a memorable moment or reaction from a fan that has stood out to him, the artist revealed to us, "A couple of years ago I drew a fantasy comic strip about a helmet that turns people into bottles. Wherever I posted it, the people commenting really had fun with it! It was the first time I felt that I really struck a chord with readers as they engaged with the comic and between themselves. It felt very inspiring to the point that I'm working (very slowly) to make that a long form comic. I also really appreciate the times I've seen my comics be translated into other languages and notice (through translation apps) that people enjoy my work. It makes me feel like the world is a bit smaller and more whole that someone in India or Turkey can enjoy a d*** joke as much as I do."
Discussing how he chooses the themes for his comics and if there is a message he aims to convey, the artist said, "I keep a notebook or my phone near me at all times because themes and ideas tend to strike me while I'm zoning out in the bathroom or during meetings when it's not my turn to talk. I really try to stick to what I know. It's why I've made so many comics making fun of Batman. It's something that I love reading but as a socialist I can't help but see the holes in these comics pretty clearly and it just makes for funny jokes. It's how I try to approach most subjects: we live in a ridiculous world and we can't help but engage in it ridiculously. It's something that I'm not above either. If there's a message it's that there's enough bad in the world caused by powerful people that we should be able to laugh at them and not at our comrades. So my goal is to see odd and wonderful things around me and just laugh about it and hopefully bring some levity into people's lives."
Finally, when asked what advice he would give to aspiring comic artists who are just beginning their journey, Dennis thoughtfully advised, "Never be afraid of change. When I first started out I drew comics about robots and then got dissatisfied with it. There was a part of me that thought that I was failing at making comics but instead of quitting I just changed what I was doing. It took me a few years before I landed on something that hit a chord with myself and with readers. So don't look at feelings of dissatisfaction or 'failure' as an ending, it's an opportunity to move on to something else. Also, make friends in this medium. I have made a lot of friends through this and that is something that keeps me going. There's a big enough community in webcomics that you'll find people to connect with, so don't get too far up your own a**."
