interview with BiG tONy & RUBBER WOLF? Graphics

*How do you evaluate current comics as an old-school fan and an 
illustrator? 

Things are not looking good from where I stand. Obviously, I realize it's mainly a generation gap thing. My formative years as a comic book fan were the 70's-early 80's so that style wil always be nearest to my heart. I also read a lot of 60's MArvel reprints as well as reprints of the old EC Horror stuff at that time.There are a few decent comics around these days but as far as the overall quality, I don't think it can compare to that great old stuff. 

*Are there any comics series you follow?

I don't follow any monthly comics regularly but there are a few things that I buy sporadically whenever I happen to see them. The Walking Dead is the best thing I've read in recent years. Unfortunately, it seems the publishing schedule is fairly unstable so I just get the collections as they come out. Richard Sala's Evil Eye is a favorite as well. And I like to follow the work of a few favorite artists such as Mike Mignola, Jaime Hernandez and Steve Rude.  

*I can personally say that old time horror comics are much more fun than superheroes and I presume that you feel horror comics should have a special place?

Yeah, I was raised on superhero comics and I love all the old Marvel stuff but these days superhero comics don't do much for me. I really can't get enough of the old Horror stuff though. I have a pretty large collection of EC comics and other pre-code Horror comics as well as a lot of the 70's black and white magazines (Eerie Publications, Skywald, Warren) from which I draw immeasurable inspiration. 

*How do you evaluate the current horror culture?

There will always be a lot of old-school Horror freaks out there to keep the flame burning but I'm not really too fond of a lot of the stuff I see. There seems to be a bit too much focus on crappy horror junk like Freddy and Jason and all the serial killer worship that gets mixed up in the horror scene. I'm much more fond of the creepy atmosphere of early horror and the cheesy, over-the-top 50's-60's stuff than the grim, reality-based stuff that's been going on since the 70's. 

*Are there any comics in the US which continue the Eerie school or a similar spirit?

Nothing that I'm aware of unfortunately. Like I said earlier, there are some good Horror comics being produced but I haven't seen anything that really captures the spirit of that great old stuff.

*Other than that, would you like to tell us something about the 
currently inclining Asian horror cinema? Even American versions for Ring and Dark Water were made but if you ask me they are no big deal compared to the originals. I also think that Hollywood poking its nose at everything is utter nonsense. What do you think about that?

I've been a fan of Japanese and Chinese cinema for many years so I always keep an eye on the movies coming from that part of the world. There have definitely been a lot of great Horror movies coming from them recently. I think the Horror Movie business in the US had gotten pretty stagnant at the time, focusing on boring slasher movies and the Asian movies gave people a different kind of Horror that they hadn't seen before. Unfortunately, Hollywood has a habit of trying to suck every ounce of money they can out of a popular concept and proceeded to rape the genre until it's now on the verge of becoming just as boring and cliched as the stuff that preceded it. I have faith in the Asian filmmakers to keep coming up with fresh ideas for us to enjoy and I have equal faith in Hollywood to continue to give us watered down Hollywood-ized versions of them.

*Are there any movies which you have lately seen or you can recommend?

If you're asking about new HOrror movies, I really dug Land of the Dead. It didn't really live up to my expectations but to be fair, my expectations were unreasonably high. As far as non-Horror movies go, Batman Begins and Revenge of the Sith were both excellent.  

*How are things with Mazinga and Spasthmatic Records? We haven't heard anything from Mazinga since the split 7" you published with Sex Sex Sex. I hope the band hasn't finished. Is there any new record you are working on or have you temporarily gave a break?

We pretty much broke up a while ago but we're planning on getting together to do a couple of shows. That'll probably be it. It was fun but all good things must come to an end. I'm trying to get some other musical projects going so we'll see what happens.

*And the point of Rubberwolf; can you earn money from illustration or are you doing it as a side occupation besides your main job? By the way are you still doing comics? I think one of your works was published in Photocopied Hearts; do you think you will continue?

At this point, my artwork constitutes roughly half of my income but the business is growing and hopefully soon I won't have to work another job. My commissioned works keep me fairly busy so I don't have a whole lot of extra time to work on comics. I found that the quality of my comics was suffering from rushing the artwork a bit so I decided not to do anything unless I have the time to commit to the project. I have some great ideas and I really hope to find some time before too long.

*I hope you don't take offense if I finish in somehow absurd way: It's 
the point of Halloween celebrations which was even discussed in Turkish TV channels. I noticed it today while walking down the street home; there were some posters concerning Halloween celebration at TGI Fridays which is a common hang out place for posers here. 
As an American how do you feel about an Asian country celebrating 
Halloween?

I certainly don't think Americans have any right to lay claim on Halloween since it has Celtic origins. We Americans did make it what it is today but it is certainly anyone's right to celebrate in whatever way they see fit. 
 
Thank you very much for this short interview. If there is anything you want  to add or tell us about news of your band please do so.

-Big Tony O'Farrell

"I was thinking how the world should have cried on the day Jack Kirby died."-Monster Magnet

http://www.rockfiend.net/rubberwolf/ (Rubber Wolf? Graphics)

http://www.rockfiend.net (Rock fiend international)

http://mazinga.rockfiend.net (Mazinga World HQ)

-eRman / 99kç 'ziNe,  #December 2005