Woo! Well into Part 3 of our October feature of Armstrong by the super-talented David Halvorson (Twitter)!
Sometimes when adults write stories about kids, they write them as adults. I tend to do this in my own writing, too, so it’s not like I’m above it. I’m talking babies have a full vocabulary (Family Guy, Look Who’s Talking), or the kids will just do things that are… rational. If you’ve ever hung out with kids, you’ll note that kids are straight forward, goofy, and so many more things, but most of all… they’re random. They’re all wild cards.
That’s what I love about Armstrong. David Halvorson has created a world where the fearless superhero punches bad guys and doles out justice… then suddenly is a kid who doesn’t want to get wounded. This plays into the surrealism that I talked about last week where the kids are in a constant flux between the real world and their imagination like only a kid can truly do. And while Scrap may be eloquent, he’s still totally a kid, and it’s refreshing and wonderful.
David Halvorson Interview: Part 3
Q.What’s your favorite movie, and why?
The Flintstones with John Goodman. I probably could’ve thought of something less embarrassing, buuuuuut… I used to fall asleep to this movie every single night because I liked sleeping with the TV on (or I was afraid of the dark – nevermind that it was released on VHS in 1994, which meant I was in Jr. High… shut up), and now it’s super nostalgic for me. There’s nothing amazingly cinematic about it – just one of those movies that still makes me smile.
Q. What’s the one thing you would say to a person wanting to make comics too?
Just do it. Don’t wait any longer – do it today, even if it sucks. Self publish that junk! Stop waiting for the perfect script, or idea, or artist, or flash of inspiration. Stories don’t happen unless you start telling them. And they don’t get better until you destroy them completely and begin rebuilding. There’s almost no barrier to entry, so if you’ve been sitting on a story, stop sitting and just do it.
Remember that “real artists ship.” Real artists are the ones putting their stuff out with warts and everything – not the ones who are hiding their art because they’re still working on it. C’mon! Quit being that guy! “Oh, someday I’ll write my novel…” he said with a hint of suicide in his voice.
Fiery, and completely right! Check back in next Wednesday for more of Armstrong and David Halvorson!