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Manatees are my favourite animals (after penguins). With this in mind, I
was overjoyed to hook up with manatee expert Jason Viola. By expert, I
mean he draws a
hugely successful webcomic about a
certain manatee and his tribulations in motorboat filled waters. Here,
we chat about the real-world problems facing this endangered animal and,
obviously, about the highly acclaimed comic itself which is often
referred to as “Charlie Brown underwater”. |
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Zeke Iddon: Herman the Manatee is a charming strip
which is frequently touted as one of the best manatee-themed webcomics
going, if not the best. Mr. Viola, How’s things?
Jason Viola: Pretty good, thanks! I just got back from MeCAF, a
local comics festival, where fortunately the manatee-themed webcomic
competition was not too thick.
For those that
aren’t aware of your work, could you please describe Herman and his
universe? Please try to do so in less than 47 words, with the last two
being “mild peril.”
Herman is a curious manatee who frequently gets hit by boats. When the
boats aren't around, he faces other traumas and failures. His universe
could be described as a 1980's funny animal cartoon seen through Kafka-colored
glasses. Silly songs and mild peril.
The comic has
evolved beautifully over the last two years, going from a recurring joke
(Herman managing to thunk his head off a boat every week) to a world
filled with bizarre character relationships and story arcs. Was the
progression quite a natural thing?
Thank you for that. Initially I planned on running the boat gag as long
as I could and then ending the strip entirely. But I was having so much
fun with Herman that I wanted to try putting him in different situations
and see if I could maintain the absurd and depressing balance of the
original strips. I think it has sometimes been more awkward than
natural, though!
There’s actually quite a serious side to this, isn’t there? As much as
we laugh at Herman’s boat-based woes, the problem of motorboats
seriously harming actual manatees is threatening to wipe out the already
endangered species.
Yes. A woman said to me at a book fair recently, "You know, manatees
really do get hit by boats. It isn't funny." I told her I don't think a
real manatee getting hit by a boat is funny at all but when Herman gets
hit it's hilarious. She moved on to the next table.
Manatees don't have any natural predators, so they tend not to be afraid
of humans and their boats. They get seriously maimed or killed by boat
collisions quite often. Efforts have been made to protect them by
setting slow speed zones around their habitats, though I've heard
recently there is a coalition of boaters who are trying to raise that
limit.
The BP oil spill disaster off the Louisiana coast is also threatening the
manatee population, amongst other wild life. Any plans to feature this
in the comic?
Possibly. I'm not usually very topical; any issues I raise in the comic
tend not to have anything to do with manatees. This year a lot of
manatees have died from the cold snap that hit Florida but I haven't
written about that. But the oil spill, because it is such a large
disaster, may resonate in Herman's world, which is full of misery and no
stranger to man-made suffering.
For a comic interview, this is turning pretty depressing. On that note,
what was your inspiration behind Herman? He’s got to be the most
pitiful, hopeless character we’ve ever met.
I had
drawn a picture of a sad manatee trapped in a tank and hooked up
to tubes that two friends of mine found really funny. We joked about
putting him in a comic strip where he just got hit by boats and looked
sad. Everything has stemmed from the look of that drawing, a poor
manatee looking out with disappointment and confusion. But as I formed
the strip, I drew a lot of inspiration from both Charlie Brown and Krazy
Kat. And my own disappointment and confusion.
A lot of people will be reading this and thinking “gosh, I just wish
there was some way of owning a print copy of Herman the Manatee”. Jason,
Is this a possibility?
I'm so glad you asked! All of your Herman the Manatee print copy needs
can be met at my
online store. So far, I've got three small and
affordable collections of Herman comics.
What’s the future of the Herman strip? Does it have a finite end? Will
you move to colour like the creators of
Dr. Mcninja? Increase to ten
updates a week?
Well, I don't think I'll ever update more than once a week . And I like
how I can keep the aesthetic both bleak and fanciful and I'm not sure
how easily I can maintain that if I add color. I have stories that I
would like to get to but the future is perpetually uncertain. Herman has
been an experiment from the start and I don't know exactly what it will
turn into next. That said, whenever I throw something new into the comic
I do try to make it fit the tone of the whole series. Sometimes it works
and sometimes it doesn't, but there is a certain consistent feeling I
strive for when I draw Herman. And it feels something like the hull of a
speedboat against your forehead.
In the two years that I've been drawing this comic, the end has always
been about six months away. But it does have an ending and I know what
it will be, just like the creators of LOST did. And it will leave you
scratching your head, disappointed and confused.
You’re a prolific artist – there’s some great work of yours outside of
Herman the Manatee dotted around the Internet. As an artist, where do
you see yourself in, say, five years?
The main reason I don't want to update more than once a week is I want
to tell stories other than Herman. I've been producing self-contained
minicomics for a few years and I plan on continuing. I enjoy drawing
Herman quite a lot, but it is those other comics where I get the most
satisfaction. I find that telling stories with a beginning, middle, and
end comes more naturally to me than a weekly gag. In fact I tend to have
over-developed ideas for Herman that need to get stripped down in order
to fit into six panels. In five years? I've started very early writing
for a graphic novel. So I hope that's done.
Jason, thanks so much for taking the time out. ‘Twas an honour and a
pleasure.
Thank you! It's been fun.
Click the above comic to start from the beginning of Herman’s
adventures!
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