studycingg asked: DO YOU LIKE PIE
Who doesn’t, my friend. Who doesn’t.
secretcherimaybe asked: How long does it take for you to do research for a comic and how long does it take for you to make a comic?
This depends on the comic! Research can be anywhere from a day to a couple days, sometimes longer and more spread out. If it is something I am familiar with, I have my bearings already and can dive in the direction I am looking for. If it is something new to me, there is a lot of general reading about the person, place and time just to get a sense of where to go, then it gets more specific. In the end, the comics may be very silly and not have a look of a lot of research, but I read a lot. Then drawing the comic will take a couple of days, because I am very slow at it, and even I don’t know why.
polexiac asked: What was your favorite cartoon as a kid?
Tiny Toons was. Babs the rabbit was a lady character who was the comedian in the Buster/Babs duo. I think that was a rare thing and really cool!
imperatritsa asked: I teach high school-level English in a high-poverty public high school. I have many artistically inclined students who would love to turn what they love into a career. What advice would you give to 14-to-18-year-olds about what to do in college, how to get a portfolio together, etc.? Thank you so much! I'm a huge fan of your work and decorated my PowerPoints on Gatsby last year with some of your comics and the kids loved them. Just thought you should know! :)
I did not go to art school! This is probably rather apparent in my work. But I had a similar problem when I was that age. I really wanted to be an artist, but we were in such a small backwater that no one really knew what to tell me about art school and how to get in. I was really discouraged, and I didn’t even apply. I feel for these students! Absolutely keep asking around for advice on portfolios for them, if anyone like that showed up for me at the time, it would have meant a lot. I bet you’re a good teacher. If it is worth anything at all, what I do does show that you don’t necessarily need to go to art school to be an artist.
servive asked: What do you think about a strip series where cats are impursonating famous historical figures? Everything would be as normal except its just a regular cat in that persons place. Okay I admit this might have sounded better in my head
If it is as good as Lackadaisy Cats, I’m all for it!
erikcroissant asked: Do you know where the word author comes from?
I don’t. Do you?
buonipomodori asked: First of all, your comics are an absolute joy to read. Secondly, what kinds of pens and drawing utensils do you hold as your favorites for doodling on the go and for your comics? Thanks so much!
I still walk around with a sketch book and pencils, but doodling is a lot of fun with these hard tipped brush pens I get off jetpens.com! I also draw comics with them! I keep it pretty simple.
mistahsweet asked: Have you ever done any historical comedy about Africa? Not so great white hunters etc...
I have not I think, and that is a good point! But I would probably rather celebrate a cool African figure like Patrice Lumumba than some horrible white colonial person.
scienceismygirlfriend asked: how do you deal with those times when you just don't feel funny, but you know you still need to produce work?
That’s hard! I have definitely had those days. I usually recognize then that I need a change of pace. I need to work from a different location, I need to go for a walk and think without any internet, I need to sit in a library. Remove myself from what is eating at me, even just to get something done. You need to jog your brain back to a place where humour can come out, because you know it’s there. There is no one who is going to feel funny every day, and that’s ok.
zomblequeen-deactivated20181123 asked: How do you feel about people loving your family comics? How does your family feel about them? I always get a kick out of them, your parents are delightful.
My family is very good about the comics I make about them. Mostly they are just observations of day-to-day things, and in the end, those comics are about love and connection. I’m really glad when other people like them or can relate to them, because it makes me feel closer to my readers as a human being. The fact that I make them is just part of the wallpaper at home now, though publishing them would be a different story. I don’t cross lines that would make my parents uncomfortable.
zekedms asked: If I remember right, there was a time when you were quitting comics - what brought you back to them?
No, I never was quitting comics! The website will always be something I aim to maintain. There came a time when I branched out into other work, and I had to slow the website down because it was not my main source of income anymore. But I always come back to it, even when the updates are less than I’d like.
catarang asked: Hey Kate! Fellow expat Caper and artist here. How do you feel growing up in Cape Breton informed your unconventional sensibilities in comedy writing?
I think that Cape Breton culture is one that values humour, though this is true for a lot of places. I definitely give credit to the rural, tight knit gaelic sort of sensibilities - poking affectionate fun at the human failings in your friends and neighbours - in how I grew as a humourist myself.
jerome-anfre asked: Also, do you know fellow cartoonists or artists whose work you'd recommand ? Thanks.
Yes! You should definitely read Octopus Pie by Meredith Gran, and Bad Machinery by John Allison. I always recommend those. And you should read anything by Jillian Tamaki or Emily Carroll.
ranger-kickass asked: What inspired you to make Hark! A Vagrant? You seem very knowledgeable of historical events, were you a history major in college?
Hi! Hark A Vagrant is a project that officially started in September 2007, but unofficially, I was making comics for my university newspaper before then, in 2003-2005. Those comics developed into something like you see on H!AV, because I was studying history at the time. I was a double major in History and Anthro.
Ok! Welcome to my Tumblr Answer Time! I’m going to open this mailbox full of questions! I had to make a gif of myself! Weird! I’m nodding into infinity.