The Xcentrikz - Interactive Comic

Interview with the hilarious cartoonist, Ian McDonald of

BRUNO THE BANDIT!!

October 30, 2009

(Click on images in this interview to visit the site...)

Here is an awesome chat I had with Ian from Bruno the Bandit! His creation is one of those web-comic classics, going on since 1998... Check it out if you haven't already, and send Ian some fan mail! Have fun reading the interview.

The Xcentrikz Team: Hello! Thanks for talking about Bruno the Bandit, this’ll be fun. We always like to share our comic's viewers with other great sites. Could you pitch something nifty about Bruno the Bandit? What makes it funny?

Ian: *I* make it funny, of course!! Seriously though, I really believe the mixture of high fantasy and current events/modern trends and technology that you see in my strip go together like peanut butter and kumquats. And everybody loves peanut butter and kumquat sandwiches.... right?

THE XCENTRIKZ: You’re remarkably artistic, and it’s been fun to watch your illustration style change over the years! How did you get started in doing comics? What’s it been like to hone your skills over the years?

Ian: When I was a kid, I used to love tracing out pictures of Charlie Brown and Snoopy. As I got older, my interests turned to drawing superheroes, especially Spiderman, and later, Conan the Barbarian. When I was in college, I started drawing my slightly twisted version of Garfield for friends of mine. The last Garfield strips I drew were a series entitled "What if Conan the Barbarian was Garfield's owner?" From these strips (which you can see on my website at www.brunothebandit.com/conangar.html) came the seeds of the ideas that would later become Bruno the Bandit!

I appreciate the comment about having honed my skills, but to be honest, I still feel I have a LOT to learn as a cartoonist.

THE XCENTRIKZ: What other artists have inspired you? Your recent work reminisces of comic genius Don Martin of MAD magazine fame, it’s cool. What do you think?

Ian: I appreciate that, as Don Martin is a favorite of mine. But the current strips (a comic book Bruno is reading at the moment) are meant to be a take-off of the drug-addled counterculture Underground Comix of the 60's and 70s (think Robert Crumb, Gilbet Shelton, et. al. but with a fraction of the talent).

Otherwise, the artists who have inspired me range from cartoonists like Charles Schulz, Jim Davis, and Bill Watterson to so many of the great artists who drew all the Conan the Barbarian comics I devoured as a kid (think John Buscema, Erne Chan, Rudy Nebres, Alfredo Alcala, Tony DeZuniga and so many others). As well, by putting Bruno online oh so many years ago, I've been inspired by so many other webcomic artists, some of whom I consider to be fiends of mine. I am of course referring to gentlemen like Pete Abrams (Sluggy Freelance), Bill Holbrook (Kevin and Kell), Mark Stanley (Freefall), Jeff Darlington (General Protection Fault), and, though I don't know him, Tatsuya Ishida (Sinfest)

THE XCENTRIKZ: Were you into comics when you were a kid? What did you like then, and how do you think it affects Bruno the Bandit?

Ian: Not only was I heavily in to comics as a kid, I still read 'em as a kid who will be 44 in November. They influenced Bruno in that my strip has more detail in it than your average newspaper comic strip. Plus, my strip is more story-driven, as opposed to the gag-a-day formula followed by most syndicated comic strips.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Anything in particular that got your imagination going, in the beginning of Bruno the Bandit?

Ian: Absolutely! When I started drawing Bruno the Bandit, every morning I'd fortify myself with a bowl of Prozac and milk, as part a nutritional breakfast. Nowadays, it's Celexa and vodka. It's Grrrrrr-EAT!!!

THE XCENTRIKZ: Oh gosh, that's quite a concoction, ha ha. What inspires your characters, particularly Bruno? Is Bruno like anyone you know in real life?

Ian: Thankfully, no! If anything, Bruno is nearly a complete opposite of me, except perhaps for the chronic incompetence!

THE XCENTRIKZ: Fun. So in your opinion, what’s one of the most nifty things about the comic?

Ian: The fact that it's been so much fun to write and draw over the years, followed closely by the fact that some people seem to enjoy reading it! The feedback I've received over the years has been tremendous, and has helped keep me going through some of the rougher times.

THE XCENTRIKZ: How about some fun personal questions… If you could go back in time to change something in your life, what might it be?

Ian: I often wonder what it would be like to back in time, knowing then what I do now, in order to fix the mess I've made of my life. But, were I to go back, I figure I would, in true Charlie Brown style, perhaps fix some of the mistakes I made but make a whole bunch of new ones.

That said, there is one thing I wish I had done differently, and this was during the time I was drawing the Saturday "Meanwhile In The Dimension Of Pain" strips for Pete Abrams. I wish I had tried to connect with the Sluggy fanbase, so they may have appreciated my side of things a little more. My filler strips generated a fair bit of controversy on the Sluggy forums, and a lot of Pete's fans hated what I was doing. I wish I had introduced myself on the forums, and explained that I'm working my tailbone off on these strips, and asked for constructive criticism from those who were not happy with my work. Doing this probably would not have won everyone over, but it may have helped more of them see things from my perspective.

THE XCENTRIKZ: If you were on an adventure with Bruno, what would you do and where would you go?

Ian: I'm not sure I'd ever want to be on an adventure with Bruno, as he would probably double-cross me at the exact worst time. But then Fiona would probably show up, team up with me, and we'd get Bruno back, so it'd probably all work out (for me, at least) in the end!

THE XCENTRIKZ: True ha ha. Alright... Stranded on a desert island! What three totally nifty items would you want to have?

Ian: The Swedish Bikini Team!

THE XCENTRIKZ: You are a riot. Well tell us, what’s a busy day in the life of Ian like? Do you work away at the cartoon, eating, sleeping and breathing it? Or do you try to not let it take over your life?

Ian: Were I able to make a living at it, I would happily let it take over my life. As it is, I have a "real" job as a stooge for an inventory auditing firm.

On my days off, I'll sleep in til noon or so. If I need to, I'll write 'til suppertime. Then I'll draw the strip 'til midnight or thereabouts. After that, I'll surf the internet or play computer/video games for a few hours, then off to bed. Then I lather, rinse, a repeat as necessary.

THE XCENTRIKZ: QUIZ! What’s your favorite… Food?

Ian: Food for thought!

THE XCENTRIKZ: Music?

Ian: I'm a prog-rock dinosoaur, with my favorite bands being Yes and Rush. I also like lots of metal, including Iron Maiden and (early) Metallica. But my computer has a kajillion mp's on it: everything from Venom to Miley Cyrus (okay, so I like one of her songs! Big whoop, wanna fight about it?).

THE XCENTRIKZ: Relaxation Spot?

Ian: Uhh... my bed...

THE XCENTRIKZ: Friend?

Ian: My girlfriend Danielle. But please, nobody tell her my Swedish Bikini Team fixation...

THE XCENTRIKZ: And how about entertainment?

Ian: Fox News!

THE XCENTRIKZ: What’s one of the weirdest things that’s happened to you doing comics?

Ian: Many years ago, I drew a strip I wasn't overly keen on. I wasn't sure whether I should run it or not. I had my pet rat Ralph on my desk, and when my back as turned, he peed on said strip! From then until he died, Ralph was my editor. God rest his furry soul!

THE XCENTRIKZ: That's cool, heh! How do you feel about life as a web-comic creator? The pros, the cons, the costs of time and resources. What makes it worth it to you, at the end of the day?

Ian: The biggest pro is that it has been a ton of fun to create my own comic universe and post it online for everyone to see. As a result, I've heard from all sorts of great people from all over the world. The biggest con is that I had hoped by now to be making a living at this. My problem is that I'm shy and have a hard time with self-promotion. Let this be a lesson to any young webcomic creators just starting out: if you would like to make a living a this, you have to be willing to promote your own comic, because nobody else is going to do it for you. I had hoped Keenpot and Plan Nine Pulishing were going to take care of the promotion of my strip, but that did not happen. That's not a knock on them, but a misunderstanding of their abilities on my part.

Anyway, the pros of doing Bruno the Bandit have far outweighed the cons, but I do wish I had paid more attention to the self-promotion aspect of publishing a webcomic.

THE XCENTRIKZ: You’ve been doing Bruno since the dawn of webcomics back in 1998. What do you think about how things have changed in the webcomics world? Any ideas on how it’ll evolve and grow?

Ian: It's been wonderful to see such a wide variety of webcartoonists bring their work to the World Wide Web. So many successful webcartoonists are able to make a living these days without having to go through the, thankfully, obsolete route of attempting to get in to newspaper syndication. There are still some wonderful comics in syndication, but the vast majority of strips clogging up the comics pages are dull, lifeless, and decades past their prime. Thank God for the Internet, because otherwise, we'd never be able to see incredible works of comic art such as Sinfest or Sluggy Freelance, to name but a few.
That said I am concerned about the future of webcomics. Too many powerful people and organizations would love to see the internet "reined in", and I fear one day they may soon get their way. As a result, webcartoonsts may have to censor their work to the point where, to be successful, webcomics will have to be as bland and boring as most of today's newspaper comics.

THE XCENTRIKZ: What was it like to publish books of Bruno the Bandit? Are you planning more?

Ian: Publishing Bruno the Bandit books was a humbling experience, as I didn't sell too many copies. There are no plans to publish any new Bruno books at this time.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Awww, well okay. So anything else to share with your fans out there? How about a clue as to what’ll happen next in Bruno?

Ian: Heck, I wish *I* had a clue as to what's gonna happen next in the strip! I try not to think too far ahead, as I like to think this keeps the strip spontaneous.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Any special people you’d like to give a shout out to, in thanks for their help with Bruno the Bandit?

Ian: I would thank Chris and Teri Crosby and the team at Keenspot Entertainment for hosting my wecomic. As well, Dave Allen and Plan Nine Publishing for printing my books. My friend Mike Dominic has been an invaluable creative influence, as well as an astute critic of the strip. I can't forget Pete Abrams of Sluggy Freelance fame, for letting me draw a spinoff strip for him on Saturdays from 2003 to 2005. And last but not least, all the wonderful Bruno readers I've had from over the years. My fans are the best on the Internet!

THE XCENTRIKZ: Thanks again for the cool interview, keep up the nifty work and have fun. Go read this cool comic now, folks – Enjoy!

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