Three Questions with Dale Rawlings
Posted by Andrew C. at May 19, 2009 at 7:21 PM in Interviews
1. You have a history of involvement with DC arts and music. What have you noticed about the development or popularity of comics in the city over the years?
Comics have always been popular in DC counterculture and the 80's indy comic boom went hand in hand with the hardcore scene here. There were two really good free papers put out on a regular basis during that time; The Duckberg Times and WDC Period. Both used to write about comics and featured comic strips in each issue. Matt Feazell and John K Snyder were both frequent contributors to the Duckberg Times which had a more of a focus on comic strips, while WDC Period focused more on the music. But it was through WDC Period's articles where I learned about all the cool comics I wasn't reading at the time but later would, like "Ed the Happy Clown" and. "Love and Rockets". DC has always been an alternative comic friendly town.
I think the fact that the Small Press Expo started up here in 1994, and now looking at how big of a show it has gone on to become, is a good testament to comic's popularity in the DC area
2. Your comics, like "Skidoo" and "Down and Out on Planet Earth," often involve some pretty wild and cosmic plot lines. How do you harness and focus that creativity?
I draw my inspiration from the awe and wonder I discover in the world and how strange the world really can be. I love to draw from that strangeness in whatever form I find it and crafyt stories around it. I have a scary encyclopedia like knowledge about all kinds of weird factoids and events that needs to be constantly fed under the guise of "research".
Also, as a writer, I find motivations interesting and try to write characters from perspectives and reality tunnels more removed from my own. Basically, I am interested in how people form beliefs. "Skidoo" And "Down and Out On Planet Earth" both deal with examinations of belief systems, and in some cases lampoon them, and I definitely feel I have worked out some of my beliefs (and non beliefs too) on the pages in telling some of those stories. However, just you wait... I have lots of wilder stuff to explore in future issues of "Skidoo".
3. Are you still interested in the same artists who first attracted you to comics, or were they more like stepping stones to other influences?
Yes and yes. I still find new dimensions in the work of artists who inspired me to draw comics and as a result still buy reprints of those artists work. Lately, I adore Jim Aparo's work from the early 70's. I have been buying up those Showcase Essentials with his "Phantom Stranger" and "The Brave and the Bold" artwork and his line work is just gorgeous. I keep rediscovering my love for the artists who drew me into comics but I also get new influences all the time. I think that is essential in developing your craft and part of my evolution as an artist to remain open to new influences and different ideas of expression.
