After dropping Aaron Diaz an e-mail he was kind enough to do another interview for us, so here it is.
Enjoy,
Kathy
Kathy Peterson: Dresden Codak touches on a wide variety of topics from theoretical physics to obscure psychological movements. Do you research these topics beforehand? Or if you simply rely on your prior knowledge of them, how did you become so well versed in such a wide range of topics?
Aaron Diaz I research a lot of times, but not always. Most of the early ones like Trouble in Memphis and Lil Werner came off the top of my head, but with thicker comics like Dungeons & Discourse, a good bit of research can be required. A lot of times I get ideas from books I happen to be reading, so I have nice sources on hand. As for how I became well read, it mostly just comes from reading books I'm interested in or just finding articles I like on the internet.
KP: The layouts for the comic are often quite complex, yet fairly easy to follow. Do you have a method for working out the layouts before hand, or do you just wing it as you go?
AD: At first, back when I still drew all my comics out in pencil, I would sit down and measure everything out and consult references on two dimensional design. It was a silly process, and ultimately didn't produce very interesting layouts. As I've progressed I think I've gotten a much better feel for what I want to do for each strip and most layout decisions are now reduced to just whether or not I think it looks right.
KP: In the more recent comics you've begun to focus more on a few characters and a consistent story line. Was this a conscious decision? If so, are you planing to move to a more plot driven format or do you want to stick mainly to the one off comics?
AD: Dresden Codak has always been a place for me to experiment. I wanted to develop the primary character, Kimiko, a bit more and also tell a story that would be too large for the single-shot format I had. The serialized Hob story was the answer to that; it's basically me seeing if I can pull off something a little grander. Now that I'm about halfway into it I'd say I prefer the single-shot format, if only because it's easier. It's not that I don't enjoy this project, but I miss the freedom of being able to change gears in between each installment, in both content and art style. Hob does have a definite ending, and when that comes around readers can expect a return of the one shots.
KP: How did you first get interested in doing a webcomic? Was there a particular webcomic that inspired you?
AD: The main bunch that finally pushed me to try graphic storytelling was the Flight anthology, put together by Copper's Kazu Kibuishi and his friends. It was something magical. I'd always wanted to give comics a shot, but seeing people my age or younger putting out such high quality material was a serious motivator. As for the actual stylistic inspiration, what really shaped Dresden Codak was Dave Hellman and Dale Beran's A Lesson is Learned but the Damage is Irreversible, possibly the greatest webcomic ever to exist.
KP: What are your future plans for Dresden Codak? Are you hoping to do it for the long term and turn it into a living?
AD: I have two basic goals: 1) make enough money to do Dresden Codak full time and 2) update at least once a week until the end of time. The latter kind of depends on the former. I will achieve the former hopefully by selling t-shirts, which should be publicly available shortly.
KP: Was that really you playing guitar hero in the Gorilla suit?
AD: Absolutely. My friend and I are prone to doing outrageous things for attention. In fact, I found out recently that Freezepop, the band to whom that song belongs, discovered that video and have been plugging it.
KP: Last, what's the one webcomic you'd recommend people check out that they're probably not reading already?
AD: Rice Boy is the internet's best kept secret. And unlike my comic, there's a whole bunch of content in the archives.
