Interview with her.
"GARRITY: When I came up with Narbonic in college, I was really, really into Babylon 5,
which had a set five-season schedule, and this definitely contributed
to my decision to give the strip a planned ending. I'm a big old nerd.
In the intervening years, of course, I've been paying attention to the
way various comics end. There actually haven't been many comic strips
with definite, considered endings. I've heard descriptions of the final
Barnaby strips, but I haven't read them. I'm very curious to see how For Better or for Worse wraps up.
SPURGEON: Has anyone reacted strangely to the news?
GARRITY: Not yet. You'd think someone would have the grace to commit ritual suicide or something.
SPURGEON: I have a reputation. Now, having done Narbonic
for so long, I'm interested in how you write. There was a scene in a
recent comic where you asked in a caption, "Who would win in a fight
between a giant robot foot accompanied by a rifle-toting assassin and
an army of hamster in mechanical suits?" And your full-panel answer was
"The cartoonist." How much of your narratives are constructed out of
the simple concerns of enjoying yourself? And due to the length of what
you write, how do you avoid falling prey to writing pure soap opera --
or is that even a concern?
GARRITY: I try very hard to make each strip funny, or at
least vaguely entertaining, on its own. Maybe if I went on for years it
would end up like For Better or for Worse or something, more about the soap opera than the humor. I'm a big fan of For Better or for Worse, by the way, although I hate Anthony with the fire of a thousand suns.
My first intention is always to write something that I personally
enjoy. If I enjoyed console video games or superhero rape, I'd probably
do a lot better in the comics business.
"I don't draw well enough to be a professional cartoonist."
Oh darlin, that's just bull. Your art is adorable.
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