Nick Bertozzi, fresh off winning two 2003 Harvey Awards (for Best New Series and Best New Talent, both for his work on Rubber Necker), was kind enough to talk with SBC. In addition to Rubber Necker, Bertozzi has also worked on: “Boswash (Luxurious Comics) — a map comic for which he also received both the Xeric Grant Award and the Ignatz Award, The Masochists (Alternative Comics), several stories for the Big Book series (Paradox Press), and many other cartoon anthologies across the globe.” He also is the creator of The Salon at Serializer.net
Tim O’Shea: How's life after having won two 2003 Harvey Awards? Granted it just happened, but are some folks getting in touch with you and interested in working with you since the Harvey recognition?
Nick Bertozzi: I just moved and got a cell phone that I don't really know how to use so if I'm hanging up on potential employers, please call back, or email me--I've figured that one out at least. Also, I'm really glad and astonished to have received the Harveys. The awards are kind of like nods from my friends and readers, telling me that I'm headed in the right direction with my comics.
TO: What's the inspiration or background on Drop Ceiling (in Rubber Necker)? And how hard is it to fit 20 comprehensible panels on one page like you do in that ongoing story?
NB: Drop Ceiling came from the theme that I've been working with for the last four years: Why do we create things? The setting for the story is very important since I see Pawtucket, RI as an example of the creative process. Walk down the main drag there and you find the ugliest building you've ever seen right next to one of the most beautiful. It's clear that someone cared enough to create an attractive and agreeable dome on one end of the town library, and then there's the other impulse of "Get it done quick, cheap and call it Bauhaus" buildings that surround it. That being said, it's the contradiction of beauty and garishness that I find so appealing and a good subcurrent to the story.
It's not hard to fit 20 panels on a page since they mostly consist of small shots. Most often they're meant to give the reader the illusion of the main character's viewpoint. My perception of the world is pretty scattershot so that's how I see the main character's vision: always floating around, eyes resting on different objects in a room. It's a manga trick, but they use a Hell of a lot less panels on a page. If you read manga, it's clear that the author is trying to drag the reader into her world, into the experience of a character.
TO: To you, what is the appeal/interest to the anthology format of Rubber Necker? Is it the freedom to explore a plethora of different ideas all in one forum? Is at an effort to avoid being considered a creator that can do only one kind of story?
NB: I've done a good bit of work for anthologies over the past few years and I realized that it's very difficult for someone who wants to read my stuff to keep track of it all, let alone for me to remember what I've done, so better to put it all in one comic. Also, I wanted to do Drop Ceiling, a fairly long story, without disappearing for five years.
TO: You also work in advertising and as part of that develop flash animation. When developing some of your print work do you ever find yourself wanting to also explore the concept as a flash animation project or vice versa?
NB: I turned the story Parfum from Rubber Necker #2 into a Flash animation that I've been meaning to put online. My friend Jason Little and I did the voices. I'd love to do more, but it's hard enough to find the time to finish comics.
I certainly do find myself writing scenes that would work better for animation, but it's a fun challenge to turn that into panel-to-panel comics.
TO: How much research did you do for The Salon? Not every creator can just roll out a story about 1907 Paris involving Picasso, Braque, Stein, Apollinaire, and Satie, plus the creation of cubism. Was part of the draw an interest in the creators themselves or the cubism movement itself (or a bit of both)?
NB: I read/skimmed a bunch of bios about five of the main characters and tried to get through a chunk of Gertrude Stein's work. I ought to post my list as a bibliography/reference on the Serializer site. The most interesting was The Success and Failure of Picasso by John Berger, it's main point is that Picasso pretty much coasted after meeting Braque and developing Cubism. The reason for the story was to figure out what Cubism was and how it was created and the effect it had on the art world thereafter. However, in order to make it not boring I set this within a supernatural adventure story.
TO: Do you approach web comics any differently than your work for such forums as Rubber Necker?
NB: The only real difference has been working in such small episodes, trying to give readers a complete little episode in four panels each week. That and adding the smallest touches of animation.
TO: How did the Beck strip for Spin come about? Have you found some folks have checked out your other work because of the exposure in Spin?
NB: When I got out of college ten years ago I started working as a manager of one of the Fat Jack's Comicrypts in Philadelphia and one of my favorite customers was a kid named Andy who's mother had written him a note saying that it was alright for him to buy Sandman even though it was "Suggested for mature readers" and he was fourteen or fifteen. So I hadn't seen Andy since I quit the store eight years ago and I was SPX last year and a guy with a very familiar face comes up to the Alternative Comics table and I recognized him as Andy who is now a Senior Writer over at Spin (and has just released a book about Emo). So through him and another fellow I got to know working for DC Comics, Mike Drivas who owns Big Brain Comics in Minneapolis and whose girlfriend is friends with the art director at Spin, I got the job. I was very happy to do it since I listen to the Flaming Lips all the time, though Beck was really tough to draw.
TO: Of all the artistic outlets you have to choose from, is there one or two you are more partial to over the others?
NB: I'm finding that The Salon is the most pleasurable comic to do since it nearly writes itself, but I don't have a favorite. Drop Ceiling is a good challenge for myself and I enjoy that as well. Also, Karmopolis, the Land of Cars, the strip I'm doing for Nickelodeon Magazine has been a great experience since I got to work with Chris Duffy, the best editor in comics.
TO: How long do you see yourself creating Rubber Necker...indefinitely?
NB: I know I'll wrap up Drop Ceiling at some point in the near future, and I have a ton of other ideas I want to get to. So yes...indefinitely.
TO: Is there anything you'd like to address that I did not ask?
NB: I would urge readers to check out my strip, The Salon. I'm posting it as I finish each installment, but there are plans to publish it as a book next year. So read it now in its un-edited, unexpurgated format!
