Comics r caanan

The very talented caanan is doing me the great honour of immortalising my Zombie Waitress in a comic strip. I've seen the non-coloured version and it is completely ace (so stay tuned and I'll post it as soon as I get my hot little hands on it).


A Q&A session was also part of the deal. Here be the transcript of said session ...


The shirt featured is Zombie Waitress. Why do you think zombies are so cool right now?
They’ve always been cool. Afterall, monsters that my gran can outrun are funnier than a clown drowning in an ocean of cream pies. However, we are now getting those uppity new zombies like the ones from “I Am Legend” – fast zombies with rudimentary smarts, like bogans* rushing to the bar for Happy Hour priced Jim Beam and Cokes.
*For our non Oz chums reading, bogans are Australian rednecks


How much thought goes into your tshirts? Are you just doodling, and going ‘hey, neat!’ or is there more process to it than that?
I’m a mad doodler and note taker. In fact, I constantly carry around a battered note book and scribble down ideas even in the middle of conversations. I’m still working my way through ideas from 10 years ago!


What was your favourite tshirt you’ve ever owned? (Hypercolour? Ha!)
It was a black tshirt with an old illustration of Bettie Page that my drunk, wayward uncle gave me when I was about 13. She was in a classic pin-up pose, and my mum was horrified by it, which, of course made it cooler. It was one of those shirts that literally disintegrated with all the wearing. Prior to that it was a white tshirt with navy blue sleeves, and C3P0 with his metallic hand resting on R2D2’s dustbin head. Inspirations start young, I’m still mashing pinups with Star War characters to this day.


Have you ever found anything amusing that no one else has?
This joke... a duck walks into a chemist and asks for some chapstick. The duck then said put it on my bill.

What stirs your creative juices?
Pop surrealist/ low-brow art from people like Mark Ryden, Audrey Kawasaki, Tara McPherson, Mike Giant, Shepard Fairey, Lori Earley, Tokidoki to name a few. Finding romance and scifi comics from the 50s and 60s. Tattoos – I mean good tattoos with stories, done by artists. My confreres on the Bubble. Walking through big city, graffiti-covered, streets. Reasonably priced domestic red.

If there was one thing you could do to make this world a better place, what would it be?
Excuse my heart jerkiness ... I would create a perfect little family unit. Hopefully that will emanate a little to this kooky world of ours.


What did you want to be when you were five?
A loyal soldier – the kind that would lie on the ground wounded and tell his buddies to leave without him, and he will cover them. Now, I would want them to stay and give me cuddles, because bullets are hurty!


What’s a common design mistake you see that annoys you? If anything.
Not adhering to the simple basics like the Rule of Thirds (it’s not that hard guys, grrr). Plus, the old pop some garish filter over a photo and call it art. You are only impressing your mum!


I see you’re a Trek fan. Looking forward to the new ‘revisioned’ film? ;o)
Anything to see Captain Kirk’s large, arthritic frame bulging in his jump suit. However, apparently he’s not allowed to play in the Federation sandbox anymore. Besides marvelling at Shatner’s growing girth, the Star Trek movies (with the notable exception of Wrath of Khan) were mere watery soups compared to the meaty feast of the TV series. Having said that, I will see it gleefully.

Do yourself a favour and check out caanan's work!!! Awesomely awesome!