The Xcentrikz - Interactive Comic

Interview with the amazing creator behind

The Outer Circle and Dueling Analogs,

Steve Napierski!

August 27, 2009

Steve and I recently had a great chat about The Outer Circle's past, present and its soon-to-be-ending future. Check out the comic if you haven't already! It's hilarious sitcom-y fun. Enjoy.

The Xcentrikz Team (TX): Hey Steve! We love The Outer Circle. For those of who are sadly unaware of your comic, do tell us a bit about it?

Steve: The Outer Circle is a completely random comic about a bunch of guys who break the fourth wall and talk a lot.

The Xcentrikz: You’ve got a lot of great experience in web comics, and we hope you have much more to share! How’d you get started in the web comic biz?

Steve: When I was working on my first webcomic "Life with Fishnets", with Robert Koch, I didn't even know what a webcomic was. I was just putting comic images online.

The Xcentrikz: When and how did you invent The Outer Circle’s concept?

Steve: About five years ago I started taking the events and conversations that I had with my friends and decided that they would work well in a comic format.

The Xcentrikz: Cool, you must have some pretty interesting friends. How do you feel about the way your characters, and the comic itself has evolved over the years?

Steve: Actually, I'd like to think about my characters like the cast of Seinfeld. They learn nothing and stay the same.

The Xcentrikz: How was The Outer Circle’s main cast created? Are they based on any one you know in real life……?

Steve: Everyone is based on some real life counterpart. But that's where it stops. The comic personalities are over-the-top exaggerations of the real people pushed to the extreme.

The Xcentrikz: Do you have favorite characters? If so, who and why?

Steve: The sugar glider. Because he's so damn cute and evil at the same time.

The Xcentrikz: Too true, ha ha. Your illustration skills were great to start with. But did you do other illustration or comic work before The Outer Circle and Dueling Analogs?

Steve: I did the tracing for "Bored and Evil" for the first 200 strips of its' life. I also did comics for a couple local publications.

The Xcentrikz: What do you enjoy most about doing The Outer Circle?

Steve: The freedom to do what ever I want.

The Xcentrikz: You definitely have that! Are there things that are really difficult in doing The Outer Circle?

Steve: Being stuck in a current story arc, when you just want it to end.

The Xcentrikz: What typically instigates your ideas for your great one-liners and storylines?

Steve: Reality. Most people you meet in your daily travels don't even realize they are comedic gold.

The Xcentrikz: What do you think about your fan base?

Steve: I think they're awesome. Just wish there was more of them.

The Xcentrikz: What do you think of the community of other comic creators, the conventions, and all that stuff?

Steve: Fellow comics creators a generally cool and approachable people. The conventions are fun, but tiring at the same time. And "All That" was a sketch comedy show that ran on Nickelodeon from 1994-2005.

The Xcentrikz: Being a cartoonist can be awesome. But it can be hard for some authors to balance maintaining a web-comic along with other responsibilities (like maybe a paying day job). Ha ha. What’s your perspective, Steve?

Steve: Guilt yourself into keep going and don't waste precious time sleeping. You can sleep when you're dead.

The Xcentrikz: So, tell us more about the busy world of a cartoonist… What’s a day in the life of STEVE?

Steve: Wake up, go to my real job, work, come home, work on the comics, eat dinner, work on the comics, watch tv with the wife, go to sleep and repeat.

The Xcentrikz: Do you have advice to share with newbie comic creators?

Steve: Just do it. The hardest part of creating a webcomic is creating a webcomic. Also, everyone's target audience is not the same. And learn to take constructive criticism when you get it.

The Xcentrikz: Great thoughts. So where, in your opinion, is the future of the comic world heading?

Steve: Newspapers are dying, comic books are still viable and strong webcomics eventually become comic books/trade paperbacks. I do think the net is the future of media in general.

The Xcentrikz: We heard that The Outer Circle is coming to a thrilling finale *sniff sniff, boo hoo* when it reaches an incredibly super-duper climactic end at #1000!!!! STEVE!!! IS THIS TRUE? (Okay, maybe not the climactic end part, that was an assumption.) But please! Do tell us some hints on what’s to come?

Steve: As far as the comic, it ends. No one else dies, but characters technically leave. I feel it wraps up pretty well.

The Xcentrikz: So what’s next for you? Just more Dueling Analogs? Or are other mysterious projects up your mysterious sleeve…?

Steve: My true passion is animation. That's a good hint.

The Xcentrikz: Lovely! Looking forward to it! Is there any thing else super-cool you’d like to share?

Steve: If you lined the all Rice Krispies Treats that Kelloggs produces in a single year end to end they would wrap around the world two and a half times.

The Xcentrikz: Ha ha ...Okay, sounds delicious...Thank you for chatting with me about your work, Steve. It was great. Keep up the great creations!

Steve: Thanks. I really appreciate that.

Back to the Index of The Xcentrikz Interactive Cartoon

Index Community News Ask an Xcentrik About Wall of Xcentrik Fame Media Kit THE XCENTRIKZ Forums Advertise Contact Us Terms Site Map

All The Xcentrikz interviews are © copyrighted property of Camellia Designs. Written permission from Camellia Designs must be granted before republishing any interview, in any part, in any media format.