The Xcentrikz - Interactive Comic

December 1, 2009

Interview with Evan Nichols on his classic, all-out-hilarious photo comic,

Ask Dr. Eldritch!

(Click on the images to visit the site!)

Get ready for one awesome, in-depth interview with the equally-awesome Evan Nichols! It was really fun hearing all his answers on how this hilarious series developed over time. Find out some great news on what he's doing next, as well. If you haven't seen this photo comic yet, it's highly recommended. Some of the content ain't appropriate for kids so you know (but those bizarre action figures sure are hilarious). Let us know what you thought of the interview.

The Xcentrikz Team: Hiya, I appreciate chatting about Ask Dr. Eldritch today. It’s awesome! Would you tell the newbies out there, about your work?

Sure! My webcomic "Ask Dr. Eldritch!" chronicles the adventures of an ex-vampire-killer turned advice columnist, living in a mysterious mansion in the Pacific Northwest, which has an erratic interdimensional portal and a Troll living in the basement. Dr. Eldritch is joined by Kari, a professional dog-walker who becomes his apprentice, Val, an interdimensional fortune-hunter and Ping, a fugitive robot, and they all deal with the strange things that happen in the mansion, occasionally save the universe, and celebrate it with ice cream.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Okay, how did you get started doing webcomics, and then decide to do this one?

I started writing the "Ask Dr. Eldritch" advice column in 2003 when I realized that characters in movies did too many stupid things, and the column was my way of telling them what they should do. By 2005, I still only had about a hundred regular readers, so I wanted a way to increase my readership. I'd been introduced to webcomics by my younger brother, and had witnessed the growth of "I Harth Darth" on LiveJournal from dozens to thousands of readers in just a few months. From there, it was a short leap to the epiphany that I could do a webcomic to bring in gazillions of new fans. I didn't quite get the exponential growth I hoped for, but I do now have thousands of webcomic readers.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Awesome! So how did you get the idea to use action figures, dolls, photo collage and whatever else was handy? This, in many ways, has proved far funnier than typical web comic drawings!!

Thanks! Honestly, my artistic skills aren't that great, and I didn't want to do a stick-figure version. I'd been reading "Alien Loves Predator" and "Twisted Kaiju Theater," and have always been better at photography than drawing, so a photocomic was a natural choice. Working with unexpressive figures is challenging in its own way, but overall, I'm pleased with how well it works.

THE XCENTRIKZ: How did your comic’s cool characters get invented? Did the figures you found inspire the characters mostly, or was it the other way around? (Like you had a character in mind, but had to hunt down that perfect figure!)

Some of each. For the main characters, I had to find figures that looked the way I imagined them to be. I may have been a little too successful, as it's now hard to imagine Dr. Eldritch, Kari, Val, Trevor and Ping looking any different from the figures I use. When I move into other media, it may be a challenge to accept changes in how they look.

Supporting characters came from the pool of figures I gathered, or I saw something on eBay, bought it and then wrote a new character into the story. For a couple characters, I couldn't find anything that fit what I wanted, so I sculpted custom figures myself.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Random joking question here. Have die-hard collectors ever written to you complaining about toy abuse? Those fashion dolls look real bad in the recent zombie comic … (LOL!)

Nobody's actually complained, but I'm sure that serious collectors would be shocked. I've purchased mint-condition-in-a-mint-box figures on eBay, and promptly removed the figure and thrown away the packaging. But if anybody's worried, I did the Halloween episode zombie effects on the fashion dolls with Photoshop, so none of them were harmed. Except for the Desert Island Castaway Barbie, which my parents custom kitbashed for me, but that's another story.

THE XCENTRIKZ: LOL!! Oh my. So whaddya think are the wittiest one-liners in the comic? Anything you’re really proud of?

One of my favorite lines is about attending a village's annual St. Vitus Dance, but I may be the only one who finds that funny. I'm fond of the "How do you make a Pixie stew?" joke (the answer's a touch risqué). Probably one of the most celebrated lines is Trevor the Troll saying zombies are "Carrion you can chase!"

St. Vitus Dance:

Pixie Stew joke:

Carrion:

THE XCENTRIKZ: Tell me about how you do your hilarious advice column! What are some of your favorite letters you’ve gotten? Were there ever letters you couldn’t respond to, if so, why?

Well, I write most of the letters I "receive." That's because the column is about the clichés and conventions of genre fiction, and it's my way of commenting on them. It usually starts with something that bugs me, such as how people who have swapped bodies with someone else always get stuck in wacky situations. I write up the scenario and the response, focusing on what characters usually do wrong. Then I go through again, looking for what's funny about the letter, and punching that up as much as I can. I like to think of the letters and responses as short stories in a specialized format, where the main character can make everything work out fine, if they follow the advice.

I have used letters that I've received from fans, but that's generally harder to respond to. The ideas are often quite good, but for a successful column, they need to spark enough funny bits to carry through 800 words.

I think my favorite column is about Cyril, a guy who lives his days in reverse chronological order, so he can remember things that will happen in the future, but not in the past. It's not a problem/solution letter like the others, but I find the scenario particularly appealing. I've already used him in one short story, and I keep thinking I'll use him in the webcomic.

As for letters I couldn't respond too, back when I first started, I ran the column from my own site, under the title "Ask Evan!" I did receive some letters from people who didn't seem to understand that it was satirical. They seemed completely serious. Some were very disturbing. I replied with private responses, mostly suggesting professional help, and decided I needed to create a fictitious character to pen the column.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Heh heh! Interesting background there. What do you do to motivate yourself for regular updates?

When I started the webcomic, I'd noted that one of the major complaints about other webcomics from their readers was erratic posting of comics. So I decided that I could manage three comics per week, and I'd stay on schedule. After doing that for a while, I didn't want to break my on-time streak, so I did what it took to post. I went over 600 comics before a case of the flu kept me from getting a scheduled update done.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Wow. So you have some pretty awesome fans. What’s it like to spend time with them?

I do have awesome fans! Spending time with them is a blast! Not surprisingly, my fans and I tend to have very similar senses of humor, so I find them a lot of fun. For example, I had three fans drive from Wenatchee, Washington to Portland, Oregon so they could attend Stumptown Comics Fest this year. Once there, they did a "screaming fangirl" routine at my table that got the whole room's attention. If you've never had a group scream with excitement at meeting you, I highly recommend it.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Has someone in public ever randomly recognized you, because of your work? Whether it’s happened yet, or not - Do you find it flattering, or kind of weird?

I haven't yet had someone come up to me in public and say, "Hey, aren't you Evan Nichols, the talented creator of Ask Dr. Eldritch?" I considered offering $100 to the first person who did so, excluding friends and prior acquaintances, of course, but it would be too easy for them to game the system (my fans are very smart). I believe I'd find it thrilling, until the point where I can't go out in public without being mobbed. I think that happens to Wondermark's David Malki ! a lot.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Heh heh. What’s it like for you to get the word out on Dr. Eldritch? Do you work hard at it, or do the fans spread around for you?

Both, although I can't say I work that hard at promotion. Or I feel that I should work harder. I do exhibit at Stumptown, advertise on other webcomics sites using Project Wonderful and send out press releases when I do something interesting. Experts suggest getting involved in the webcomics community by being active in online forums, but I don't have a lot of time or energy to spend reading threads in forums, looking for opportunities to contribute to the conversation and casually mentioning my comic.

I'd guess that most of my fans don't hang out in online forums a lot, either. In my webstats, I do see occasional links from postings, which draw a handful of hits and then fade away. I keep hoping to hit a tipping point; that one post on a popular site that will bring scads of new readers to my comic, readers who will then go post more links, and bring more readers, and so on. Or perhaps it will be an interview, like this one, that does the trick.

THE XCENTRIKZ: What are some of your difficult moments as a comic creator?

Reaching the evening before a comic is due, and not having a script ready. Sitting at my table at Stumptown Comics Fest in the minutes before the show opens and wondering why I'm doing this. Looking at all the other creative projects that I want to make progress on, and knowing that most of my free time will be consumed by working on the comic. Fortunately, each of these is mitigated by the times that follow; when the comic is finished, or my fans arrive, or I manage to spend time writing a comic book.

THE XCENTRIKZ: And what’s the most rewarding part of doing Dr. Eldritch?

When getting comments and emails readers let me know how much they enjoy my work! My Proofreading Minion will call from across the country just to let me hear her laughing when she finds something particularly funny. And it's tremendously satisfying to read the comments and emails from readers. There are tons of things on the Internet that people can waste their time on, and to have them choose my comic for their time-wasting is a tremendous compliment.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Are there any cool people who cheer you on? How do they affect the comic?

You bet! My Best Fan is also a close friend, and she has given me tremendous support over the years. She listens when I complain how producing a webcomic feels like going up a down escalator; you have to keep coming up with content or you end up back at the bottom with nothing. I'll bounce story ideas off her, and she's not afraid to tell me when I'm wrong. This has led to numerous changes in the scripts, which consistently make the comic much better.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Awesome. How about this… What was the last book you read? Movie you saw? Music you listened to?

Book: World War Z, the oral history of the Zombie Apocalypse.

Movie: Chocolate. Not the Johnny Depp one, but the Thai martial-arts movie about a developmentally-challenged young woman who beats up people to get money for her mother's medical care.

Music: I don't know, probably some video clip on the Internet.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Cool. Whaddya like doing most to relax by yourself? And how about with friends?

Walking is my main from of exercise, either solo or with friends (I often help my Best Fan walk her dog, as he is a devoted fan of walks). Honestly, between my day job, webcomicry and basic household maintenance, I don't have a lot of extra free time. I do meet once per month at various pubs with some friends from college. And lately, some writer friends have been meeting monthly to do our 3 on the 3rd comics together (see 3on3rd.wikidot.com). But mostly for relaxation, I like to look at things on the Internet that make me laugh.

THE XCENTRIKZ: If you could have a superpower for one day, what would you pick, and what would you do with it?

I wouldn't want one of the standard superpowers, like invisibility, x-ray vision or super-alphabetization. I'm tempted by the ability to effortlessly generate stunningly brilliant storylines for novels, screenplays and comics, so I could write out treatments for a career's worth of material in a day, but that's rather self-serving. I think I'd go with Kharmalization, which is the ability to instantly cause people to get what they deserve. I'm sure some people would whine about it, but I'd say, "Hey, knock it off! You got what you deserved!

THE XCENTRIKZ: Even better, do you ever wish *YOU* WERE Dr. Eldritch? Why or why not?

Oh, no. No, no no no no! Sure, in many ways Dr. Eldritch is my alter-ego, and I do kinda envy his exciting and adventurous life. But I am seriously danger-adverse, and a heroic lifestyle has to have risk, or it wouldn't be all that heroic. One of the common themes in my fiction is that adventure is generally long, tedious stretches interspersed with terribly scary bits. That's great to read about, but I don't want to live it.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Heh heh yeah okay, very understandable. So how do you feel future of the webcomic biz?

The great thing about webcomics is that the barrier for entry is very low; pretty much anyone can create and post their own comic. That does mean readers are presented with potentially thousands of webcomics to read. And that webcomic artists are competing for reader attention and dollars. It's tough to make a living from a webcomic; I think only a few dozen artists can claim to do it. On the Internet, however, revenue streams can spawn and mutate at a prodigious rate, so I believe we'll be seeing more and more new ways for webcomic artists to monetize their products.

THE XCENTRIKZ: And how do you feel about the future of your comic?

I started my comic knowing that I would tell a story that would eventually come to an end, estimating it about five years. The comic recently reached its fourth birthday, and I think I've got it about right; the photocomic will probably start its final story arc in 2010. That makes me a little sad, because it's been a lot of fun to do.

Book Cover:

THE XCENTRIKZ: Would you like to share something else? Give everybody a huge teaser here!

Yes, because I suspect that talking about my comic coming to an end is making my readers anxious. The good news is that the photocomic will evolve into drawn comics and graphic novels under the "Eldritchnomicon" title. So it's not so much an ending as a transition. I'll have one or more artists drawing the pages, allowing me to focus more on the writing, which is what I really want to be doing.

I also have a book of advice column letters coming out, called "Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #1 Are Aliens Eating My Crackers?" And maybe, someday, I will actually release an "Ask Dr. Eldritch" podcast!

THE XCENTRIKZ: Sweet! Keep it up doing your groovy stuff for us all, and take it easy man. Hey readers, go and check out the awesome Dr. Eldritch if you haven’t already...

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