Bill Nichols’ Prescription:
Comics- 10ccs of
Rodney Fyke
What inspires you to create and keeps you going?
The simple answer used to be Marvel Comics and Star Wars but nowadays it’s pretty much the voices and characters in my head and life in general.
The universe just keeps bringing these stories to my head.
Do you have a set routine?
Hell no. I wish. I’m too all over the place all the time. Oh, wait, did I say that out loud? Seriously, I try to be in the studio no later than 9 a.m. and work until I’ve just had enough, or life calls me away to do this or that.
What kind of output do you try to achieve?
That really just depends on the project, the day and the schedule. Ideally, I’d like to get maybe four new books out a year.
What inspires you WHEN you create? Music? Noise? Silence?
All of the above. I’ve also found over the course of the year that my caffeine intake has a great impact on which of those three apply on any given day.
I will say though, if I’m writing a fight scene, or something on the violent or scary side, I do tend to break out the harder music, Danzig, Suicidal Tendencies, Pantera, stuff like that, that was all the rage back when I was jumping in the mosh pits in my younger days. Those bands still get my ire up today which helps facilitate those scenes.
Who was the first comic book creator that influenced you to pursue this?
Neal Adams. At four of five years old I noticed that one guy’s art just stood out as more dynamic, and or stylized than the other ones I was seeing at the time, so he was the first to do that for me and make me stand up and really notice and study it.
When did you realize you could follow this path yourself?
Probably in the eighth grade. A friend and I began drawing these really goofy space adventures on notebook paper in math class and we would each take a turn. He’d write and draw the strip one day, and I would do it the next day. It was crude, and silly, but it was fun. I think that was the genesis of it all for me. The realization of the power of collaboration and that we could really make ourselves do whatever we wanted in the strips.
What do you find to be a challenge in creating?
Relying on others. I can’t tell you how many half-drawn stories I’ve collected over the years as creators find greener pastures and move on or change their minds, or just don’t have the drive or passion that I do to continue to see a project through to completion.
What else do you have to learn?
A lot. I’m learning every day. I’m learning to just get better. Better at drawing, inking, coloring, writing. Pace and flow, you name it. You can always learn something if your eyes, ears, and mind are open and receptive to new or alternative approaches, you’ll learn for the rest of your life. School is always in session.
What keeps you motivated to get better?
Just the love of the craft. Seeing my progress and watching what others are doing. Watching the next generation of creators coming into their own with their own voices is inspiring for me as well. Just to be a part of it all.
Can you turn your brain (creativity) off (and on)?
No. This has always been my problem, if you want to call it that, the mind never shuts off. If I hear a lyric in a song, I get an idea for a story. I see scenes in my head of characters having a dialogue. Action sequences play out constantly in my mind. Lighting and camera angles, moments of pause in a line of dialogue. All of these things are firing at all times in my head. It’s hard to fall asleep most nights because of it. I sometimes get lost in my own worlds and find it more comforting than the real one too. lol
Booster Shots
What advice do you have for aspiring creators?
This may sound cliché, but, just do it. Talking about it, reading about it, get you nothing. Get to work and get it done. The only difference between my side of the table and the fans side of the table, is that I, or we, we are a team, we sat down and actually did the work required to get a book done. Just do it.
Do you ever worry about running out of ideas?
Not at all. I’ve got enough untold material, and new stuff coming to me all the time to last me about ten lifetimes, so I’m good in the idea department.
How do you handle the slow times?
The slow times can be a welcome thing in some aspects, but in general, you just have to keep plugging away. Even if you’re not out there and visible to the masses, you need to keep doing what you do for you.
How do you feel about the industry?
I feel the comics industry is strong but some folks may be getting a bit tired of the superhero phase. I’ve found that most of the folks I’m talking to are veering right or left of the mainstream and checking out the horror, noir, crime, more adult sides of the avenue in relation to comics and are liking what they are finding.
Website you would like to promote?
The art of Rodney Fyke on Facebook and rodney_fyke on Instagram. I try to post on Instargam every day and it’s linked to the Facebook page so you’ll see all on both pages.
