For the month of August, I’ll be featuring one of my favorite webcomics, Insert Image by Wes Molebash (Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus). Check out Part 1 here.
I think one of the greatest successes of Insert Image has been the guest appearances. Plenty of famous people —generally Christian celebrities—have graced the panels of Wes’s comics. From old-timers like John Piper to the hipsters like Rob Bell.
What’s been really fun to watch has been seeing the famous people find the comics and enjoy them too. Like when Five Iron Frenzy (one of my favorite bands) was featured and they mentioned it all over the place because they loved it. Or when the comic that I feature below showcased Mark Driscoll as an angry Hulk monster (cleverly blending Office Space, Mark Driscoll and The Incredible Hulk I might add), and Pastor Mark Driscoll himself tweeted “Mark Smash!”
These guest appearance comics have even garnered Wes the attention of two reputable Christian news outlets, RELEVANT Magazine and The Christian Post. The latter even did an interview with Wes after he made a comic stating that if Richard Dawkins ever made a “I Am Second” video, it would be “The Most Epic” one ever. (For more of this cool stuff, check out this post he recently did for the one year anniversary of Insert Image called, “2013 State of the Comic Address.”
Now that I write all of that out… I feel like I need to do more guest appearances…
Mark Smash
Wes Molebash Interview: Part 2
Q. Where do you get inspiration for your comics?
I’m inspired by other cartoonists like Bill Watterson, Doug Tennapel, Michael Jantze, and Mike Krahulik. All these guys have a remarkable penchant for art and writing, and I try my best to rip them off as much as I can.
Q. Are you a writer or an artist first? And how does that affect your process?
I think I’m a better artist than I am a writer, but, when it comes to creating comics, I’m a writer first. The joke comes before the art. Sometimes there’s something I REALLY want to draw, and I’m able to formulate a gag around it, but that’s not usually the case. It’s much easier for me to come up with a gag and let the art cater to the writing.
Tune in next Wednesday for Part 3 of our August Feature of Insert Image by Wes Molebash!