Artist August: Caanan Grall (Interview)

Today’s Artist August featured artist is the Eisner nominated web comic superstar Caanan Grall. His “Max Overacts” updates every weekday (and sometimes Sunday!), and is a look at an overly imaginative and constantly entertaining elementary school lad who wants to be the world’s greatest actor and to date the lovely Janet (of course, he is a complete failure recently at both of those endeavors). It’s a great comic, just like everything Grall has put together, like his excellent Zuda comic “Celadore.”

Thanks to Caanan for talking with us, as we chat about his work, his attempts to get “Max Overacts” printed, what happened to his once announced Image OGN, Muppet Thor, and a whole lot more. Check it out after the jump. Check back in the next couple hours for an art feature on Caanan as well as an exclusive premiere of a spin-off strip about “Max Overacts” character (and Max’s sister) Andromeda.

Also, if you enjoy his work, make sure to support his IndieGoGo campaign so we can get “Max Overacts” printed.

Was there a single moment in your life that made you realize you wanted to work in comics? Or was it more of a natural progression that led you here?

I’ve always drawn cartoons from primary school onward. We had a lot of old comics laying around the house growing up, Disney, Archie, Peanuts, a few superhero titles, which my brother read more than me, so I guess that’s where it came from at a young age, but I do remember the defining moment when I chose a clear path to doing a daily comic strip. (Or thrice weekly, as it stands.) And that was in grade 6, when I read an interview with Charles Schulz, and they asked him how much money he earns as a comic maker. His reply was something along the lines of “I haven’t been to the bank in years, but the last time I looked it was at 20 million.” or some ridiculous number, anyway. After that, I was sold.

You started your career with one of the only Zuda comics that ever made it into print – Celadore – and have since moved forward by continuing to work in web comics with Max Overacts. What is it about web comics that you find so attractive? What are the difficulties that come with it?

I am in very good company with High Moon, Bayou and Night Owls in that respect, yeah. Super lucky to sneak that in before it all went ass up!

I don’t know that I find web comics attractive, it was more of an “only option” decision. Which isn’t really a decision at all. I guess I could have chosen to get a real job… Anyway, it’s hard. Doing a web comic is REALLY hard, because I work my ass off for nothing. (Monetarily.) The fan response and interacting with readers is amazing, and clearly the best reason for going the web comic route, but that whole absence of income is a real pain. And even, occasionally but with increasing frequency, a strain on the home life. Also – I’m not technically minded at all. Customizing the website, or setting up an eventual store, I find all of these things ridiculously complex. I don’t have the brain for it.

Max Overacts started quietly, but since has earned you a lot of praise around the industry, culminating with your Eisner nomination for Best Web Comic. How exciting has the success been, and how long do you see yourself running with Max?

Basically, the strip will end when the kids end school, which could be a good 10-15 years from now. Which is insane now that I think about it. I have SO many other stories in me I’m dying to get out too… Maybe one day when the site becomes self sustaining, and I don’t have to do any other work to scrape by, I can speed up production. The Eisner nomination got me a huge bump in traffic, but it’s all gone away. I suspect there was a lot of curious voters checking out all the nominees who didn’t stay. The readership has grown pretty steadily from the beginning, and I’ve never aggressively advertised Max, so I get comfort from knowing that most of the people who find and stick with the strip are there for their own reasons, not mine.

Where did the inspiration for Max Overacts as a whole come from? Additionally, where do you look to for the voice of its lead Max?

I’m not sure, actually, where the idea itself came from. It was just a random story I created about a boy who’s very quiet, and constantly told to speak up, so then he goes in the opposite direction, way over the top, and never stops. He then eventually gets into acting, only to clam up when he lands his first big role because he sees his overacting hurts a lot of people. It was a short story that got changed, because I realized the comedic value of Max as a character, rather than the weak “lesson” of the story. I guess because I speak pretty softly and people are always asking me to repeat myself is where the idea came from, now that I think about it! Lord, do I hate repeating myself. But I also don’t like noise. 🙂

And Max’s voice is mostly just me. His voice is the one inside my head that never comes out. The one that’s far more eloquent given the benefit of scripted dialogue. Boy, if someone was scripting my dialogue, I surely would come off a lot less stupid.

Max Overacts at its heart is a comedy, and one that is centered around Max getting himself into absurd situations. How difficult is it for you to balance the comedic aspect with the need to have a foundation of character and story?

It’s actually not that difficult at all. I find writing these strips comes pretty naturally. Some days, I’ll sit down and write ten in a row. Sometimes I’ll go weeks without thinking of anything great. When I DO get stuck, I’ve looked to Pictionary cards for inspiration – pick a topic and run with it. Plus I also pick normal situations and think what could Max do to make it absolutely impossible for everyone involved. (The dentist strip is a good indicator of this process.)

You’ve been mentioning a series of strips focusing on Max’s sister Andromeda, amusingly titled “The Andromeda Strain.” When do you think we’ll be seeing those, and are there any other characters you’re looking to flesh out in such a way?

Actually, since the book is going to be printed, I figured I’d better stay away from the Andromeda Strain, just in case there’s some kind of legal thing I stir up. So they’re now called “Time For Another Andistraction!” I won’t be putting these online, though. This is just for the super supporters who buy the book. A little extra incentive. But, I’m giving you guys one to run exclusively on Multiversity ‘cos you’re aces and have been Max Champions from the beginning! (editors note: look for that on MC in a little bit) 

I can tell you, there’s strips showing Andi at work, Andi with her band Objects of Interest, Andi with James, and even a strip showing how Jacob came to be so enamoured with her.

As far as other characters, Klaus needs some light shed on his home life, I think. And even though Auryn is gone from the strip right now, I may at some point in the future halt Max for a few weeks for some Auryn in Alaska fun! Bears. Fishing. Environmental activism. Living off the land. Her and her mum, Violet, have plenty of comedic value!

Another thing that your write-ups with each comic has been peppered with is talk of attempts to release a print version of Max. How is that going, and what are you doing to turn that into a reality?

I have launched an Indiegogo campaign! I gave myself 70 days to collect 16,000 dollars for a full colour 8 x 10, 164 page book! There’s various rewards, even ones including comic/book shops to get in on a wholesale level, and a chance to star in a strip! Which, as I write this, one of two slots has already been taken. It’s going to be a nice book. It had to be printed on sustainable forestry paper, and it had to have one of those covers that’s smooth to the touch. You know the kind I’m talking about? Man, I love that cover stock…

Caanan’s Squirrels and Pigeons

I have to say, when you took a break and were releasing Squirrels & Pigeons regularly, I very much enjoyed it, especially when looked at in relation to your work on Celadore and Max. Could more adventures for Cheddar and friends come up in the future? Additionally, how did that title come together?

I could conceivably do some more Squirrels and Pigeons one day, but honestly, Max proved to be a hit right off the bat, so I’m sticking with that ball, and running with it. The strip itself came about though, when I was traveling around the US and Canada with a 2 month Greyhound pass just after I arrived in North America. I’d never seen squirrels before, and they amused me greatly, so was born Cheddar. A guy lucky enough to be friends with ’em.

You’ve run into problems with bandwidth, especially after the surge of popularity that Muppet Thor brought you. Has that been permanently resolved?

Nope. 🙂

Speaking of Muppet Thor, how surprised were you by the boisterous support and passion fans met that with? I really do believe it is the best comic I’ve read this year, and it’s incredible to think that you did that in such a short stretch of time.

When you have a deep seeded love of something, I guess you can’t help but let it show. The Muppets are one of the most fantastic creations in the history of entertainment. Jim Henson was a visionary, and the sense of fun embedded in everything Muppet is something sorely lacking from so many other areas. I actually saw Puppet Up once in Melbourne, which is the traveling Jim Henson Improv Show and Jim Henson’s son, Brian, was a part of it. And boy, when he came to the front of the stage, he got a standing ovation just for being the guy’s son. (I’m welling up again just typing this.) There is SO much love in the world for Jim Henson, so I guess it didn’t surprise me when it took off like it did.

At the other end of the spectrum, there was a stretch in Max in which you took time off to focus on a project for Shadowline/Image, Monster Elementary. That project seems to have fallen off the table, and you mentioned that briefly and vaguely in a later Max post. What happened with that project, and is it possible we’ll see that at some point?

Yeah, I don’t think Image were completely sold with the title. They dropped it pretty quick when I said I couldn’t meet the deadline to have it out by Halloween (‘cos it’s about monsters.) Personally, this is pretty short-sighted thinking. Did they truly think they’d have a two week window to sell the comic and then it’s all over? Plenty of monster-themed stuff sells all year round!! Twilight?? Hello! Ah well, the comic world isn’t exactly known for its marketing expertise.

Nick (Doan, the writer) is still shopping it around to various places, with bites and nibbles here and there, but honestly, I don’t think I could do a whole graphic novel and Max at the same time. Especially since you don’t get paid anything in the world of Indy comics. One labour of love is enough, really, and I’d be crazy to kill Max’s momentum. If it comes to handing colouring and lettering to somebody else, then that would probably work though. Colouring is a chore. Especially when you’re colourblind.

Does feedback (both positive and negative) with fans and critics via social media and comments push you as an artist? How does that aspect affect your art?

Feedback doesn’t really influence me much either way. (I’m really stubborn. Things rarely ever influence me. Ask my parents.) Sometimes feedback makes me think of a story aspect and I may get a strip out of it which is always good, but for the most part, I know what I’m doing. Love it or hate it, I can handle both! Though the latter took some time to get used to.

Comics, even with increasing acceptance amongst the mainstream, are still a niche medium. With that in mind, have your friends and family always been supportive of your pursuit of a career in this field?

Yeah, I guess. Like I said, I’m incredibly stubborn. They could have been tearing my crayons away from me, or buying me expensive bristol and a scholarship to some fancy art academy and I would have been so wrapped up in my own little world, I’d barely have noticed either way. This is not a healthy way to live! Kids! Listen to those around you!! Had I been more open to criticism, and even help, from outside, I would have “made it” (I haven’t made it) a lot sooner than I did.

But yeah, they were supportive. Our dad took my brother and I almost every second weekend to the comic shop – which was either to Geelong or Melbourne, a good hour’s drive at least – so even though he used to tell us to stop wasting our money, he also never stopped driving us there. 😉 I remember my mum bought me a bunch of Calvin and Hobbes collections for Christmas one year too, which was awesome. Made me realise when I was rambling about awesome stuff I liked, I was being listened to! She also got me several drawing jobs as I was struggling to survive in those four years I took off between high school and uni, which was super helpful. lllustrations for websites, that kind of thing.

What would be a dream project for you? Any particular writers you’re dying to work with or titles you’d like to take a stab at? Perhaps a personal project you just want to see come to fruition?

I’m kinda doing it. I like working on my own thing. I have several really strong graphic novel ideas in me I’d love to get round to one day, too, and they’re such simple ideas that, I think, no-ones ever done, that every month goes by that I don’t get them out there, is a month closer to someone else figuring it out. (The collective subconscious and all that.) However, if I ever got the chance to earn some of that “Big Two” money, I’d love for Marvel to give me Slapstick to play with.

Desert Island question: one book, one album, one film and one comic. What do you take with you?

Hmm. I’ve never reread a book, but I guess I could reread The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Klay. My album would be Paul Simon’s Graceland, the film would most definitely be Back to the Future and the comic? Only the grandest comic out there! The Bone One Volume Edition.

Who are your favorite artists working in comics today?

I’m absolutely loving the Houghton’s Reed Gunther series from Image. As well as Jason Howard on Super Dinosaur. Doug TenNapel. Faith Erin Hicks. Fiona Staples. Skottie Young. Terry Moore. Jeff Smith. Rob Guillory. Roger Langridge. Marcos Martin. Sara Pichelli. Tons more. I think interest is waning… 😉

What projects do you have coming up?

Apart from the first Max Overacts book!! (plug plug) the only other thing I have going on is an entry in the Team Cul de Sac collection coming up from Andrews McMeel, which I am THRILLED to be a part of. Actually, I haven’t heard yet if I’m a part of the book, I hear they got swamped with entries, but even still, being part of the auction is also amazing.