Bill Nichols’ Prescription:
Comics 10ccs of the Process with
Phil Hester

What inspires you to create and keeps you going?

Storytelling through comics just seems like a natural way of expressing myself. It has since I was a kid, really. I grew up reading them, so the form is in my blood, so to speak. Nowadays it’s my job, so getting to make a living doing something I’d do for free is a plus. No extra inspiration needed.

 

Do you have a set routine?

I wish!

What kind of output do you try to achieve?
At least a page a day, but I find as I get older real world stuff starts to crash into the studio more and more. So, it usually turns out to be a day of no work at all followed by a day for making up for lost time. You think I would have a 9-5 thing figured out by now, but alas.


What inspires you WHEN you create? Music? Noise? Silence?
When I write I must have ambient music– that is, no beats at all. Deep space stuff. Maybe classical. I have to avoid intrusive thoughts, so I need to be alone in the house for this.

When I draw, it’s the opposite. I need voices around me, be it music or sports broadcasts, weird podcasts, etc. I need to know life is continuing outside my art hovel.


Who was the first comic book creator that influenced you to pursue this?
It’s hard to say. I remember really being into Joe Staton and Bernie Wrightson as a kid, probably through reprints of E-Man and Swamp Thing my cool uncles had around their hangout. Kirby was ubiquitous, so if you loved comics, you loved Jack by default.

I was a pretty indiscriminate consumer of comics as a kid. If it was comics, I was on it. When I hit 12 or 13, I started to feel the pull of the great storytellers like Eisner, Toth, etc. When I saw Frank Miller’s Daredevil, it was like a revelation. I knew what kind of cartoonist I wanted to be then.


When did you realize you could follow this path yourself?
I’m still not sure I’m there!


What do you find to be a challenge in creating?
I can’t ever quite match the vision I have for projects in my head. My skill level just isn’t there. Plus, I’m an avid reader of other creators’ work, so whenever I have a new idea, I can only dwell on the creators I know who could do it better. It’s frustrating!


What else do you have to learn?
Drawing is a tireless taskmaster. There are always new problems to solve. That’s what makes it a rewarding path, I guess. Cartoonists are like Sisyphus, but happy.


What keeps you motivated to get better?
Like I said, I look at other cartoonists’s work. Once I get over the shock of how good they are, I start to think, “What do I do that might intrigue people? Is there a way I can lean into that?” I try to set myself apart without thinking of it as a competition.


Can you turn your brain (creativity) off (and on)?
No.


Booster Shots

What advice do you have for aspiring creators?
Create. You will learn more about the form and yourself between page 1 and 100 of your first project that at any time in your career. It doesn’t matter if no one ever sees those 100 pages– in fact, it might be better that way! Regardless, you’ll know by page 100 if this is for you. You’ll be in love with comics by them. If you’re not, it’s time to reassess.


Do you ever worry about running out of ideas?
No. I have a project board with 40 ideas on it. I’m 56. I won’t live long enough to do them all.


How do you handle the slow times?
What is this “slow times” you speak of?

 

Do you have a website?

I’m @philhester on twitter. I also have a fan page on Facebook, and will soon have a conventional website where you can read my comics and buy my art.