Bill Nichols’ Prescription:
Comics 10ccs of the Process with
Marc Deering
What inspires you to create and keeps you going?
Putting pen/brush to paper. I can only go so long before I miss the laser focused intensity of creating something on paper. The pure act of Making.
Do you have a set routine?
Goodness, I wish. Sometimes it’s for an hour or 2 a day, sometimes it’s for 16 hours a day. It all depends on what is demanded of me on a daily basis.
What kind of output do you try to achieve?
Quality. There are times in nasty deadlines where you just have to get the pages out the door, but for the most part the goal is trying to achieve a quality page/book that people will love and look forward to reading.
What inspires you WHEN you create? Music? Noise? Silence?
Music. I have a wide variety of genres that I listen to and they all inspire me one way or another. Movies also. There are a number of them that I’ve seen so many times that I like t put them on while I work and can easily just listen to them.
Who was the first comic book creator that influenced you to pursue this?
That’s impossible to nail down to 1. John Byrne-Frank Miller-Alan Moore-Moebius-BerniWrightson-Dave Gibbons are all mixed up in my brain, along with countless others.
When did you realize you could follow this path yourself?
Far too late. I’ve been a comic FAN since I was a kid but it wasn’t until I was in the Army in the 90’s and a Wizard magazine broke it down for me and how to do it. It was a light bulb moment in my head. But I’ve been pushing forward ever since.
What do you find to be a challenge in creating?
Creating is like a puzzle, once all the pieces come together it’s usually really cool. So the challenge is getting all those puzzle pieces of ideas to come together in the right way.
What else do you have to learn?
LOTS. Painting, sculpting, and just getting better at what I already do.
What keeps you motivated to get better?
The last page I did. They can always be better so it’s just this drive to do that.
Can you turn your brain (creativity) off (and on)?
Yeah, actually I can. It just takes a good bourbon.
Booster Shots
What advice do you have for aspiring creators?
Find your niche, exactly what it is you like doing and what you’re good at, and never stop doing it.
Do you ever worry about running out of ideas?
No. They can literally spring from anywhere at any time.
How do you handle the slow times?
You mean like the last couple of years? 😉 I just find other things to do. Yard work, house work. My sons and I changed out the flooring in our house last year. Which was physically exhausting but it takes a whole different set of creative skills to do that. Also, I won’t be doing that again.
Do you have a website or link to promote your work?
My Patreon is where you’ll find me mostly talking about the work I do.
https://www.patreon.com/MarcDeering
I’m pretty active on most social media platforms so I’m easy to find.
My personal portfolio site, with plenty of those links for social media is here;
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed by the above creator are theirs. This interview may not
be reprinted or reposted without permission.
Bill Nichols
Author, Artist, Editor for ShoutFyre.com
Bill is the creator of Arteest & Ursula comics, writer for Ringtail Cafe, co-creator of Savage Family, writer and inker of HellGirl: Demonseed. Editor for ShoutFyre and Sketch Magazine. Co-author of Camelot Forever novel series.
