In an interview with The Washington Post, cartoonist Matthew Inman, creator of the webcomic “The Oatmeal,” revealed that he plans to step away from the webcomic for a “couple of years,” after publishing a strip about his own creativity later this summer. The planned hiatus will allow Inman to focus on his recently announced animated film at Illumination.
For those who aren’t familiar with “The Oatmeal,” the webcomic started out in 2009 when Inman released his first strip, ‘How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You.’ The webcomic quickly grew in popularity and publishers were quick to offer book deals, with his first book, Five Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth, being published in 2011. Three years later, “The Oatmeal” won the Eisner Award for best Digital/Webcomic. In addition to his success with “The Oatmeal,” Inman also co-created the card game Exploding Kittens in 2015.
Inman’s animated film at Illumination comes after his success in the role of creative consultant for their newly released film, The Secret Life Of Pets 2. Currently Inman is touring with his latest collection, Why My Cat Is More Impressive Than Your Baby, which is likely to be his last for a little while with his decision to go on hiatus. However, Inman does plan to still release strips for the webcomic, although he described the prospect of any of them happening as a “blessing.”
The Secret Life Of Pets 2 was released in theaters today, with Why My Cat Is More Impressive Than Your Baby also being available now.
