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FINGERMAN SEZ YOU DESERVED IT
by Jennifer Contino (Pulse)
Find out how reality affects comic "reality" as we sit down for a quick chat with creator Bob Fingerman about his Dark Horse collection, You Deserved It.
THE PULSE: The stories in You Deserved It seem to be decidedly dark and disturbing. How do you come up with something like that, and are you ever bothered by the material once you get it out onto the page?
BOB FINGERMAN: I leave it up to other people to be bothered by my material. I’m not sure how I come up with that kind of stuff. I have a lot of weird dreams and nightmares, so maybe that’s it. Just last night I dreamt about an episode of the TV series Masters of Horror, only in this episode I was in it along with my wife and my mom. In it, my mom was flayed alive and I couldn’t bear to watch, even though I knew it was just special effects. I was really upset by it (I love my mom). I could see the episode playing, but only with my peripheral vision, because I refused to watch. So, I don’t know. I have a dark imagination and a dark sense of humor.
THE PULSE: Have you always had a dark sense of humor?
FINGERMAN: Pretty much. My dad told me recently that he used to be concerned that I had “a morbid fascination” as a child, so make of that what you will. From possible mental condition to vocation. But two of my earliest favorite cartoonists were Charles Addams and Gahan Wilson, so yes.
THE PULSE: Along with disturbing there also seems to be a touch of the outrageous in these works, what inspired or influenced your work on You Deserved It?
FINGERMAN: Real life inspires me every step of the way. Reality is more outrageous than anything I can invent.
THE PULSE: Who are some of the people who tell stories like this that you enjoy reading or watching on television?
FINGERMAN: I’m not sure who’s telling stories like mine besides me. I was a big fan of Chuck Palahniuk, until his most recent book, which I thought was phoned in. But he’s written some amazing work. Invisible Monsters is astonishing. I love horror movies. I’ve enjoyed some of the new generation of horror authors, too. Guys like Edward Lee and Walter Greatshell. Greatshell wrote an amazing novel called Xombies. It’s really, really good. But I love stuff like Freaks and Geeks, too. I read a lot, I have my idols, some of whom would be Phil Dick, Bruce Jay Friedman, Jerry Stahl and Terry Southern. Actually, Terry Southern was a big influence. His stuff was outrageous, indeed. The novel, Blue Movie, was a huge influence on me, and probably informed “Otis Goes Hollywood”.
THE PULSE: Are you constantly trying to push the envelope and be different from your prior projects? Is that one of the things that drives you as a creator? Why?
FINGERMAN: I think one of my strengths creatively is one of my weaknesses career-wise, and that’s precisely the fact that I like to try different things. Look at almost anyone out there who’s a success and I’ll show you someone who’s pretty consistent in his or her approach. People want the same thing over and over, with mild variation. If I’d stuck with one character or title over the years I’d be much more popular—and probably bored to tears.
THE PULSE: How long did it take you to create the stories in You Deserved It? Was one easier or faster in creation than another? Did these stories kind of write themselves?
FINGERMAN: Since it’s a collection, that’s hard to answer. Writing is almost always quicker than drawing, with the exception of the Furries story, “Yiffy Situation”. I drew that in one day. The funniest things tend to write themselves, and quickly.
THE PULSE: If the funniest things write themselves, how long does it take you to illustrate those?
FINGERMAN: Again, it varies. But I’m relatively quick. A page a day on a good day, at least in black and white.
THE PULSE: We've talked to a lot of comic creators who say there's a constant fight between the artist who lives inside them and the writer, do you go through struggles like this internally? How do you resolve them if so?
FINGERMAN: I have no problem being a hyphenate. I just sold one of my prose novels—finally—so both the artist and writer are living peacefully in the coldwater walkup flat in my skull. Occasionally they bang on the pipes for more heat in the winter, but we all get along. I’ll say this: the artist is a little jealous because the writer generally has an easier time with his job.
THE PULSE: What are some of the things that scare or disturb you?
FINGERMAN: Reality disturbs me. Bush and his administration disturb me. Even more than terror threats, and I live in New York City. If anyone’s gonna get hit again, it’s us, right here. But Bush is the most frightening thing on the planet. He’s the world’s most dangerous man and he’s a complete idiot. Religious zealotry scares and disturbs me. “Intelligent Design” being allowed into some science classes as a legitimate alternative to real scientific theory disturbs me. The fact that most people don’t know what the definition of “liberal” is disturbs me. Lots of stuff does. Mayonnaise is pretty scary, too.
THE PULSE: What did you enjoy the most about creating You Deserved It?
FINGERMAN: Just being wrong in a hopefully amusing way.
THE PULSE: Do you have any other volumes in the works under the You Deserved It title? I'm sure you could think of a few more stories like this and this volume seemed well-received.
FINGERMAN: Did it? I live in a void. No, there won’t be follow-up, like You Still Deserved It. Like I said, one-shot Bob strikes again.
THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on?
FINGERMAN: Like I mentioned, I’ve got a novel coming out, presumably December 2006, tentatively titled BottomFeeder, from M Press. And what I’m working on right now is a graphic novel for Dark Horse, called Recess Pieces, which I’m very excited about (and if it’s a hit, I will do more, possibly breaking my one-off streak). It’s a humor/horror hybrid about little kids trapped in a school with man-eating zombies. Full-color hardcover, out this August. I think it’s the best thing I’ve done, and I’m all about the zombies. I love ‘em to death. Which seems apt, I reckon.
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