FAQ

THE COMIC

What inspires you to write this comic? - Neurons zipping around in my brain.

What was the original idea for this comic/how did you come up with the comic? - When I was about to take a nap, I suddenly thought to myself “HEY! It would be cool if I drew a comic about Death in a human form. Yes. Let’s do that. Okay.” Then I went to sleep.

How’s that whole applying film techniques to the comic thing coming along? - …Let’s not talk about that.

What program and text font do you use? - I use Photoshop CS3 to clean up and color the pages. For Morte and the Higher Ups, I use the Palatino Linotype font, and for everyone else, I use Verdana. The font on the layout is Agency.

How do you make the comic/can you describe the comic-making process? - First I doodle out a thumbnail of a page on a random sheet of paper and scribble the dialogue in tiinnnyy handwriting beside each panel. Then I inevitably lose the thumbnails, go me! I sketch out the page and ink it with 01 and 005 Microns. After scanning it, I use PS to clean it up, add text, and color it; then onto the Internet it goes.

Why do you do your comic in green-ish colors? ] - Because I like green.

How long does it usually take you to do a page? - Anywhere from 6 to 7 hours. I’m a terribly slow worker.

Can we have a "flashback" sometime that shows what happened to Morte during the French Revolution? - Yep, that’s been planned out already.

What is the meaning of "Bryan?" - It’s a joke from a French comedian. Basically he starts making jokes about beginner English phrases he learned, one of which was “Where is Bryan? He is in the kitchen.” At one point during his show, he starts running around yelling “Bryan! Bryan! Where are you, Bryan!?”

Is there any character or part of the plot that almost got changed? Any last-minute decisions? - Yeah, Lewis Limon used to be Jack Lewis, ERK.

What is the meaning of life? - Forty-two.

How do you make time to draw this stuff in between real life? - I set aside all of Friday afternoon/night to get at least the sketching and inking done, although delays inevitably occur. So basically I push aside other stuff, i.e., homework, GO ME.

In this comic world, where do people go when they die? - Probably wherever the Higher Ups hang out – y’know, they chill out together in their intangible spirit forms, or whatever.


THE CHARACTERS

Where did you get the inspiration for the characters? Especially Lewis. - From my mind, although I have to admit, Morte speaking in caps in his true form is totally a nod to Terry Pratchett. Lewis was born when I one day randomly doodled a headshot of a guy with cool hair, and decided he should be in the story too. Yeah, that’s how I roll with planning.

If you could sleep with any of the characters, which one would that be? - None of them. That’s creepy.

Assuming that Morte wasn’t born a reaper, then when did Morte die? How old is he? -Morte wasn’t born, nor was he ever mortal, so he can’t die. He’s technically about 3 to 3.5 billion years old. Technically.

Was Lewis based on anyone? - Nope.

How is it possible Morte has that little work? I mean, there's a human dying every second. How can he do this and still have time to go shopping? - Death happens to everyone, but only certain souls actually need to be released using Morte’s scythe. The rest will be revealed in the comic.

If you could strike any character down with lightening, which one would you pick? - Morte. He’s such a whiner, haha! He needs to grow up. Plus he won’t die from it anyway.

Why did the electric door at the bowling alley open for Morte? - Morte in his true form can’t be seen by living creatures, but non-living things such as doors are unaffected by him.

How did Lewis become Morte's helper/friend? Is he dead as well? - Neither of them is dead! Lewis ended up staying with Morte because the guy was basically a wreck when it came to dealing with humans, and the Higher Ups were getting worried. Fortunately, they chose the right guy in Lewis, who has a lot of qualities that Morte likes (such as having good manners), and they hit it off immediately.

Which character are you most fond of? Why? - UHH THAT’S HARD. I like all of them equally, but if I had to choose, I’d pick someone who hasn’t shown up in the comic yet, pfft. So you’ll have to wait!

Is there anything about any character that annoys you? - Yes. Morte is a woobie.

Who in the comic enjoys Scooby-Doo? - Lewis likes watching it ‘cause he likes shows about mysteries :D

If each character had a favorite video game and movie, which would they be?
- Lewis: Professor Layton and the Curious Village; any of the Hercule Poirot movies (oh god, Lewis is such a mystery nerrrd)
- Alma: Halo and Team Fortress 2; Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket
- Morte: Oblivion and Harvest Moon; Mulan (upholding family honor! Proving one’s worth! Being a good citizen! Morte would have a field day of GLEE)

Why does Alma idolize death? - Sometimes, people like strange things. Alma is a good example of this.

What does each character fear the most?
- Morte: being stuck in a room full of living teenagers
- Lewis: no more mystery shows :(
- Alma: getting her hair dyed blonde

Why did Alma stop being "a regular girl" in high school? - People change as they grow. Such is life.

If any of the characters met you, their creator, how do you think they‘d react? - They’d probably kill me for being such a lazy bum with their story.

How gay IS Lewis, anyway? - All beings created by the Higher Ups are asexual. But he is very happy, if that was the connotation you were going for.

What was/is Lewis’s life like? - Right now Lewis’s time is split between hanging out with Morte and working on his novels whenever Morte’s off on a job. He was only very recently assigned to take care of Morte – around the 1990’s.

Is Morte capable of feeling human emotions beyond irritation and annoyance? Is he ever happy? Can he actually experience/feel love? - Morte sees the world differently than a human, so he feels things differently too; that’s why he seems so stiff. Yes, he can feel happiness – he’s only really irritated when he’s dealing with living humans, haha.

Did Morte ever happen to go by the name 'Louis XVI' by any chance? - HAHAHAHA. No. If only. I mean, that would explain quite a lot, wouldn’t it? (P.S. This is totally my favorite question 8DD)

Which character do you like drawing most? Which do you like drawing least? - I like drawing Lewis the most, ‘cause his hair and facial features are fun! Morte’s skeleton form is probably my least favorite since it’s a … skull, and there’s very little I'm capable of doing with it. Working on that though, I swear!