Fresno Famous

John Rios is self-deprecating in that way that’s totally endearing. Like, he’ll give off a shy smile and shrug his shoulders and act like his online comic “DEAD DAYS,” isn’t off-the-wall funny, or that he only has one fan, or that his mom is buying up all his books.

But we know better.

Named for the two days before finals when students across campus scramble to cram in a semester’s worth of study (though some just say screw it and get drunk) “DEAD DAYS” is life at a state school. Its characters are typical college every-geeks, obsessed with video games and girls, dropping cool movie references and being into obscure indie bands way before you were.

And, for some reason, Bob Saget.

Rios’s newest collection of strips (80 comics drawn over the last year) is out now at www.deaddays.net. Buy one and he’ll sign it for you.

This is your forth book in what, four years? That’s pretty prolific, yeah? How many strips have you done in all now? What’s the schedule for getting new strips on the site?

Well, I guess it’s kinda prolific, but I really wish I could do more. “DEAD DAYS” is making a bee-line for its 400th comic (I think the official count as of right now is 383) and there’s no plan to quit any time soon. There’s just too many ideas and too many dumb jokes to tell to stop now. These days, I put out at least one new strip a week (usually on Monday) or two if I’ve had too much caffeine. I wish I could devote all my time to the strip and post them daily... unfortunately bills refuse to go away and my comic refuses to pay for them.

“DEAD DAYS,” has always been centered on college life. Only, you graduated four years ago, and you’ve got a real job now and just got married. Is there any chance the characters will have to start dealing with grown-up crap? Like getting jobs, finding “real” love and having a mortgage? Will “DEAD DAYS” need a new name? Might I suggest “DEAD DREAMS?”

Mortgage?! Not likely. But “DEAD DAYS” has “grown-up” — I use the term lightly — a bit since I graduated college. The characters are still in school, but the subject matter has expanded quite a bit. Their relationships, which previously existed merely to provide a vehicle for my dumb girl jokes, are beginning to flesh out and become more important to the storyline. The characters are starting to think about their futures and making ill-conceived attempts at careers and commitment. The comic is written for a college audience that is coming to terms with the fact that the responsibility of the real world is just a semester or two away. While the word “mature” will never be used to describe “DEAD DAYS” or its characters, that doesn’t mean they won’t take a hilariously pathetic stab at maturity.
P.S. “DEAD DREAMS,” I like that!

Your strip reminds me a lot of “Get Fuzzy,” in its out-of-the-blue oddness (this is a compliment, I assure you). Explain your creative process. Where do the ideas come from?

It’s hard to explain my creative process. It used to be really hard to think up new comics all the time, but these days, it seems almost as if the characters write themselves. I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that I’ve spent crazy amounts of time developing their personalities in my head. I’ve always seen my two main characters (still nameless, though I affectionately refer to them as Mr. Brown and Blondie) as different parts of my own personality. One is the more sensible one who listens to reason, while the other is my Id gone nuts. He’s a compulsive optimist who doesn’t seem to let the way the world that constantly defeats him get him down any. When writing a strip, all I usually have to do is put them in a situation and the story and dialog just happen. Does that sound stupid?

A follow up: What cartoonists or strips do you follow?

Well, growing up, Gary Larson (“The Far Side”) and Bill Watterson (“Calvin & Hobbes”) were like gods to me. They still are actually. In high school and college, I really got into Berkeley Breathed’s (“Bloom County,” “Outland”) work that provided an early template for the kind of feel I wanted for my comics. These days, I like a lot of online strips like “The Perry Bible Fellowship” (www.pbfcomics.com), “Sinfest” (www.sinfest.net) and my buddy’s strip “Too Far” (www.too-far.net).

You run a total DIY operation thanks to the Internet and sites like DeviantART and Café Press. It seems like a template others could easily follow. But do you ever get the urge to give that up and go work for “the man,” maybe do a daily strip?

What, and actually make money?? No way! Just kidding. Yeah, I’d love to get my stuff widely published and distributed, but I also love the freedom you get from doing it yourself. I don’t have any sponsors. I don’t have any editors (besides my wife Sarah who occasionally thinks I’m being “too mean”). I can write and draw whatever I want. I think that my readers like my comic because of the indie-ness of it all. I’m a big fan of indie bands and movies because you really get a sense of total creative control and that the people behind it are doing it because they love to do it. I like to think “DEAD DAYS” has that feel.

You have a degree is graphic design and use a lot of those elements (and digital editing) in your comics. How has that been received?

Well, at first, I kind of felt bad using digital editing because all my old-school heroes never did it. But I like to think that if they could have, they would have. These days, everyone, especially in the field of Web comics, is using the technique. I try to keep it as old school as possible by actually penciling and inking all the character art. I then scan the artwork. The only things digitally created in the strip are mostly the backgrounds and the word bubbles. Even my method, however, is becoming old school, as most of the younger generation these days use a tablet to draw and paint digitally. Damn kids. In my opinion, doing it the old-fashioned way always looks much better and natural.

I’m being lazy. Make up a question. Then answer it.

Um, alright.

John, how do you handle the legions of screaming “DEAD DAYS” fans that pester you on a daily basis?

Well, I usually buy him a chalupa every couple of days to keep him interested and from going hungry. Poor guy, life’s hard when you’re livin’ on the streets.

Where do comics fall in the scope of “arts” in Fresno? It’s not something we hear much about. Is there a lot of you guys working locally?

Yeah, Fresno isn’t exactly this big haven for comic artists. Though there are a couple of amazing comic artists that I can think of off the top of my head. A Fresno State student, Patrick Tran, is drawing a hilarious comic called “Polish Tamales” (http://polishtamales.deviantart.com) and a fella by the name of Brock Heasley draws a great strip called “Super Fogeys” (http://www.th3rdworld.com/superfogeys.php). Both fantastic stuff.

Any advice for other aspiring cartoonists?

Start drawing and don’t stop ’til you’re famous. If you never get famous, at least you’ll know that you rocked the butts of everyone you reached and have a crapload of work to look back on and be proud of. That’s my plan. It doesn’t matter how many people I make laugh, it’s that I made anyone laugh at all.

Can you get me a free “DEAD DAYS” T-shirt? Joking again.

Sure man. Size XXL alright? Kidding. I’ll send you a goodie package. Unless it infringes on “ethics” or some crap.