Canadian Web Comic Interviews

Jesse Dybka, Co-Author of "Adventure Chronicles"

I'm born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, as well as the other author, Tyler. We both attended Gloucester High School, where Tyler loved it so much, he decided to stay after graduating.

What was the first online comic you ever read?
I think the first was Penny Arcade, which is and always will be a classic.

What were your favorite comics growing up?
Hmm, I don't like most newspaper comics around here, but I loved Calvin and Hobbes. Bill Watterson did a lot for the newspaper comic industry, and also showed what a comic could do in the right hands. As for internet comics, the ones I read for many years before finding Keenspace were Penny Arcade, and a perennial favorite, Dr. Lobster.

Tell us how you landed began working on your web comic.
Well, Tyler and I decided that we wanted to start a comic, but because we were lazy, we were going to take the Dr. Lobster approach and use the same pictures each comic. This worked out well since my Paint Shop Pro skills were basic and rusty at best. They've improved somewhat since then, I hope. After waiting a few months for Keenspace to authorize us and all that, we got our feet wet.

What other writing or comics have you worked on?
I've done guest comics for Dr. Lobster and Badly Drawn Kitties, but TAC was my first and only comic where I'm a full-time "artist" and "writer." Those were put in quotation marks as not to offend real artists and writers.

For readers not familiar with your work, can you tell us something about this web comic?
Well, it seems to appeal to most people's sense of humour, somehow. Give it a look, and I think there's something you'll like, somewhere. It's just a comic about Tyler and I, nothing fancy.

Tell us how you acquired your artistic skills.
My artistic skills are shown on the section of the site entitled "Jesse's Art." It sucks, pretty much, but I think it's funny in it's badness. Tyler has always done the drawing for the comic, and continues to do so now.

What artists have inspired/influenced your artistic and writing styles?
Dr. Lobster is pretty much my biggest influence, not so much for style of humour (mine and Tyler's is pretty similar, even before we read Dr.L), but because they showed that a stupid webcomic can get insanely popular with little work put in. I'm lazy, Tyler's lazy, it worked. We've started putting more effort in now.

Where do you get your ideas for story archs or comedic relief in your comic?
All of our ideas come from random, idle thinking from Tyler and I.
The only difference between our normal, pre-comic lives and the comic life is that now we just write our ideas down. Before we would just let them go. Writing has never been a problem for us.

Your thoughts on the online comic community?
There's a big division between immensely popular comics and more indie comics, I find. But a lot of artists are great people are make people like me feel nice when I talk to them. Mike Buonaro from Dr. Lobster is a great guy, as is Mat Sherer from Badly Drawn Kitties. I've talked to both of them on and off.

Being non-american, do you feel somewhat removed from many of the more mainstream web comics?
I think when a comic has to rely on a nationality to be appreciated, it's not any good. If it's not any good, I wouldn't read it! So, to answer your question, I don't feel removed, because the comics I would pay attention to aren't country-based.

Does anything set you apart, being a Canadian comic artist, from other American web comics?
Artists can be from any walk of life and from any country and be very alike, or thoroughly different. I don't feel there's a big difference between the US and us in terms of comics.

How, if at all, does being 'Canadian' factor into the creative process?
It doesn't, really. We've never made any Canada specific jokes.

Have you ever attended any Canadian or American Comic Conventions?
Nope!

Do you believe that popular cultures preoccupation with the Anime-style of art has diluted the overall quality of web comics, or improved it?
I cannot stand Anime-style art. In the history of the world, the only anime I can sit through is Princess Mononoke, just because the animation and action are so different from most Anime. I detest the drawing styles used, and I find that most people feel that their bullshit and insipid storylines and dialogue are "perfect" for manga art.
All in all, it makes about 99.99 percent of all manga webcomics absolute crap in my eyes. The only redeeming one I've ever read was Megatokyo, and it went all downhill when one of the writers left. Only the stupid, insipid, "boo-hoo, whine whine" writer remains.

What movies, cartoons and TV shows are your favorites?
Oh man. For movies I'll fire off a short few or I'd be here all day:
12 Monkeys, Reqiuem For A Dream, Pi, The Matrix 1-3, and more, those are just the first that sprung to mind.
I don't watch much TV, but I love Family Guy (which will be making a comeback next year), Six Feet Under, and a Canadian classic, Trailer Park Boys.
As for cartoons, the only newspaper ones I really like are Get Fuzzy and Dilbert.
Online I never read anymore, but I should... Badly Drawn Kitties, Dr. Lobster, Penny Arcade, Megatokyo before it sucked, Diesel Sweeties, and Real Life.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you bring with you?
Oh man, monkeys. Sweet god I love monkeys. We could play, and when I got hungry, I could eat one and use it's pelt as a helmet.

What books do you read?
I read a good amount. Usually whatever's interesting. I love Scott Adams books. Right now I'm reading a book called "When Things Bit Back." It's about technology and it's revenge effects. Next up, after it are books by Carl Sagan and a book called Genome. I'm still looking for decently priced Stephen Hawking books.

How can somebody contact you?
My e-mail address and MSN contact are both jessedybka@hotmail.com, it's the easiest way since I'm always online at night.

That ends the interview, any last words of wisdom?
Yeah! Never doubt that a webcomic can't get you girls!
I met my girlfriend because she liked our comic and decided to contact me, and we've been going strong for a year and 8+ months now. She's not ugly either!
[ed. note: Then there's hope for the rest of us then. ;)]

http://tac.keenspace.com/

-Jesse Dybka

Favorite strips:

"Mystery Solved..."
"I promise nothing!"
"Mr. T and his Marigolds"
"Brains"

Posted by B.Scott
Return to The Main Page - Canadian Web Comic Ezine



	Canadian Web Comic Interviews Jesse Dybka, Co-Author of "Adventure Chronicles" I'm born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, as well as the other author, Tyler. We both attended Gloucester High School, where Tyler loved it so much, he decided to stay after graduating. What was the first online comic you ever read? I think the first was Penny Arcade, which is and always will be a classic. What were your favorite comics growing up? Hmm, I don't like most newspaper comics around here, but I loved Calvin and Hobbes. Bill Watterson did a lot for the newspaper comic industry, and also showed what a comic could do in the right hands. As for internet comics, the ones I read for many years before finding Keenspace were Penny Arcade, and a perennial favorite, Dr. Lobster. Tell us how you landed began working on your web comic. Well, Tyler and I decided that we wanted to start a comic, but because we were lazy, we were going to take the Dr. Lobster approach and use the same pictures each comic. This worked out well since my Paint Shop Pro skills were basic and rusty at best. They've improved somewhat since then, I hope. After waiting a few months for Keenspace to authorize us and all that, we got our feet wet. What other writing or comics have you worked on? I've done guest comics for Dr. Lobster and Badly Drawn Kitties, but TAC was my first and only comic where I'm a full-time "artist" and "writer." Those were put in quotation marks as not to offend real artists and writers. For readers not familiar with your work, can you tell us something about this web comic? Well, it seems to appeal to most people's sense of humour, somehow. Give it a look, and I think there's something you'll like, somewhere. It's just a comic about Tyler and I, nothing fancy. Tell us how you acquired your artistic skills. My artistic skills are shown on the section of the site entitled "Jesse's Art." It sucks, pretty much, but I think it's funny in it's badness. Tyler has always done the drawing for the comic, and continues to do so now. What artists have inspired/influenced your artistic and writing styles? Dr. Lobster is pretty much my biggest influence, not so much for style of humour (mine and Tyler's is pretty similar, even before we read Dr.L), but because they showed that a stupid webcomic can get insanely popular with little work put in. I'm lazy, Tyler's lazy, it worked. We've started putting more effort in now. Where do you get your ideas for story archs or comedic relief in your comic? All of our ideas come from random, idle thinking from Tyler and I. The only difference between our normal, pre-comic lives and the comic life is that now we just write our ideas down. Before we would just let them go. Writing has never been a problem for us. Your thoughts on the online comic community? There's a big division between immensely popular comics and more indie comics, I find. But a lot of artists are great people are make people like me feel nice when I talk to them. Mike Buonaro from Dr. Lobster is a great guy, as is Mat Sherer from Badly Drawn Kitties. I've talked to both of them on and off. Being non-american, do you feel somewhat removed from many of the more mainstream web comics? I think when a comic has to rely on a nationality to be appreciated, it's not any good. If it's not any good, I wouldn't read it! So, to answer your question, I don't feel removed, because the comics I would pay attention to aren't country-based. Does anything set you apart, being a Canadian comic artist, from other American web comics? Artists can be from any walk of life and from any country and be very alike, or thoroughly different. I don't feel there's a big difference between the US and us in terms of comics. How, if at all, does being 'Canadian' factor into the creative process? It doesn't, really. We've never made any Canada specific jokes. Have you ever attended any Canadian or American Comic Conventions? Nope! Do you believe that popular cultures preoccupation with the Anime-style of art has diluted the overall quality of web comics, or improved it? I cannot stand Anime-style art. In the history of the world, the only anime I can sit through is Princess Mononoke, just because the animation and action are so different from most Anime. I detest the drawing styles used, and I find that most people feel that their bullshit and insipid storylines and dialogue are "perfect" for manga art. All in all, it makes about 99.99 percent of all manga webcomics absolute crap in my eyes. The only redeeming one I've ever read was Megatokyo, and it went all downhill when one of the writers left. Only the stupid, insipid, "boo-hoo, whine whine" writer remains. What movies, cartoons and TV shows are your favorites? Oh man. For movies I'll fire off a short few or I'd be here all day: 12 Monkeys, Reqiuem For A Dream, Pi, The Matrix 1-3, and more, those are just the first that sprung to mind. I don't watch much TV, but I love Family Guy (which will be making a comeback next year), Six Feet Under, and a Canadian classic, Trailer Park Boys. As for cartoons, the only newspaper ones I really like are Get Fuzzy and Dilbert. Online I never read anymore, but I should... Badly Drawn Kitties, Dr. Lobster, Penny Arcade, Megatokyo before it sucked, Diesel Sweeties, and Real Life. If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you bring with you? Oh man, monkeys. Sweet god I love monkeys. We could play, and when I got hungry, I could eat one and use it's pelt as a helmet. What books do you read? I read a good amount. Usually whatever's interesting. I love Scott Adams books. Right now I'm reading a book called "When Things Bit Back." It's about technology and it's revenge effects. Next up, after it are books by Carl Sagan and a book called Genome. I'm still looking for decently priced Stephen Hawking books. How can somebody contact you? My e-mail address and MSN contact are both jessedybka@hotmail.com, it's the easiest way since I'm always online at night. That ends the interview, any last words of wisdom? Yeah! Never doubt that a webcomic can't get you girls! I met my girlfriend because she liked our comic and decided to contact me, and we've been going strong for a year and 8+ months now. She's not ugly either! [ed. note: Then there's hope for the rest of us then. ;)] http://tac.keenspace.com/ -Jesse Dybka Favorite strips: "Mystery Solved..." "I promise nothing!" "Mr. T and his Marigolds" "Brains" Posted by B.Scott Return to The Main Page - Canadian Web Comic Ezine