PREVIEWSWORLD.COM EXCLUSIVE-- AN INTERVIEW WITH JAMIE SMART

Diamond brand manager Keith Davidsen recently interviewed Jamie Smart, the comical writer and illustrator of such titles as Bear, Ubu Bubu, and Bohda Te. The interview was in response to his upcoming graphic novel release of Space Raoul, an all-ages interstellar romp being published by Slave Labor Graphics, and available for order in the “Comics & Graphic Novels” section of our August 2008 PREVIEWS catalog.

KEITH@PREVIEWSWORLD:  Who is Space Raoul? JAMIE SMART:  Space Raoul is a true bona fide hero, the elite of Space High Command, risking life and limb to keep the universe safe from evil and villainy, to uncover great space artifacts, and to halt impending universal catastrophes. However, all the while he's plunging headfirst into danger, he strives to maintain the manners and standards a true British gent should uphold. His journeys take him into the darkest recesses of space, but he'll always find he time to have tea and Battenburg cake, as it's the proper thing to do. In a way, he represents the epitome of the doomed British colonial mindset. He'll stomp into the middle of a crisis, try and fix it in his own ham-fisted way, and then run away when it becomes apparent he's made it a lot worse. Brave yet flawed, heroic yet suspicious of other space races, he still somehow manages to be hailed as the unofficial hero of space.

K@PW:  How would you describe his relationship with his space-faring companion, Quibble?

JAMIE SMART:  Quibble is just a green lump with a face, but is an incredibly able companion. Piloting the ship, advising Raoul, and carrying the picnics, Quibble is the unappreciated manservant for Raoul's heroic adventures. It's not unknown for Quibble to be thrown into the line of fire so his captain can make his daring escape, as Raoul insists it's for the greater good. Without Quibble, Raoul's adventures may have ended a long time ago, yet for some reason Quibble remains loyal and in awe of his captain, never questioning and always at his side.

K@PW:  What kind of dastardly villains does Space Raoul face?

JAMIE SMART:  Space holds all manner of dastardly types, all with their own agendas and schemes. Of them all, Antimatter Alan is probably Raoul's greatest foe. Alan was once Raoul's hero when Raoul was merely a cadet, but fate (and Raoul's clumsiness) intervened and turned Alan into a twisted anti-Raoul, explosive to the touch. But there are many others, such as Lord Brain, whose squidgy grey matter is too big to even fit in his own space craft, and Dangerous Kev, the most feared criminal in the universe and the ultimate prize for any as bold as Raoul to attempt to capture. But there are others who'll step in Raoul's way as well, like Laika the bounty hunter, a beefed-up, heavily-armed dog who will steal Raoul's prisoners for his own reward. Space is a risky, thankless place. There's a list of some of his worst foes, along with a load of other Space Raoul goodness, up at www.spaceraoul.com.

K@PW:  Space Raoul is not a single story, but rather a collection of material from over a period of several years.  Can you elaborate on where these strips and short stories originated?

JAMIE SMART:  Space Raoul was originally a comic I drew among many others (including my first release for SLG, 'Bear'). It first appeared in the comic supplement for the Sunday Times newspaper. They very kindly gave Raoul a double page spread every now and then. When the Times decided to stop their comics, Raoul needed a new home which he found in the UK kids’ comic The Dandy, where he was given a 12-week run. So the bulk of the book comes from these appearances, arranged in order of appearance (it's curious to watch Raoul's evolution as a drawing). There's also a lot of Space Raoul work that hasn't been seen before, such as the initial early comic strips and some truly great fan art, which has all been bundled in with the book.

K@PW:  How does Space Raoul differ from your other recent works, Ubu Bubu and Bohda Te?

JAMIE SMART:  Space Raoul is an all-ages comic, I think that's the main difference. I'm very adamant that the work I do shouldn't be changed for one audience or another; I only ever draw what amuses me and if it's aimed at children or grown-ups, I don't see any difference or need to approach it differently. That said, obviously there's no need for swearing or violence in this story, so I never felt any need to use it. As a result it's found an audience with both children and adults, which is immensely pleasing.

K@PW:  What's with all the big eyes and ginormous heads?

JAMIE SMART:  Yeah, that's a bit weird, innit? Also, I seem to draw a lot of cats (or things that look like cats), which was never a conscious decision. I'm not often a fan of drawing big, bulgy eyes, but it is helpful if you have a character who needs to look one way or another (sounds obvious, but some don't!), and Raoul by his nature has quite an emotionless face with a pipe stuffed in his gob, so his eyes will often convey a lot of his response. I guess you can only draw what feels right for a certain character, and Raoul felt like a lumpy, big-headed, bulgy-eyes thing.

K@PW:  When I read your comics, I'm often amazed by how dense each page ease, often loaded with over a dozen panels of visual gags and comical repartee.  How difficult is it to produce so much consistently funny material?

JAMIE SMART:  I find comics that spend most of their time leading up to a gag in the last panel to be really boring, and I'll skip the story to get to the pay-off, so that really shows me what I don't want to do in my own work. I have a very short attention span. I need a constant punch-punch-punch of things to happen to keep me focused on whatever I'm reading, so this naturally is the kind of work I do myself. If it keeps me amused, I let other people see it. For the writing itself, it's not really a case of trying to knuckle down and be funny on command. If you come up with a good character and know how that character really is in your mind, then the stories write themselves. I know how Raoul will react to any given situation, and how a situation will spiral off from there, and how he'll then react to that. It's really something that I can almost sit back and enjoy watching it unfold as much as anyone reading it. It's an organic process. Maybe knowing how your character will react indicates how much a part of yourself your characters are. Maybe Raoul is the misguided buffoonery of me.

K@PW:  What comic books do you like to read when you're not working on your own projects?

JAMIE SMART:  I always fear this question, because to be honest I don't read many comics at all – I never did. I have a select few favorites, like everyone, but I think it doesn't bode well for me that my aforementioned short attention span doesn't even get me through a comic book. I can't even watch kids’ cartoons to the end without getting bored and restless and going to do something else. I watch a lot of movies, but reading and TV and video games and other pursuits really don't hold my focus like they used to. I have a frantic mind. That said, I did really enjoy Ashley Wood's recent take on Tank Girl, which was incredibly exciting to read. Just beautiful.

K@PW:  Do you have any particular favorite scene in the adventures of SPACE RAOUL?

JAMIE SMART:  Hmm, wouldn't this be terribly egotistical of me to list my own favorite parts? Ah hell, why not. I enjoyed Raoul's glee at being thinner while stretched through a black hole, I liked having him replace the centre of the universe with a marble, and probably the most fun story to write was the final one, where he gets knocked out and thinks he's old and retired, with a watermelon for a wife, all the while Quibble is trying to defend the ship (and the passed-out Raoul) from space pirates in the present day. I enjoy strips that are hard as hell to construct but are all the more satisfying to read for that. The best example of that is the story where Raoul travels back in time thirty seconds to meet himself, both their memories get wiped, then one of the Raouls travels back in time to find out why their memories have been wiped, and the cycle continues over and over. I can say Space Raoul is one of my very favorite things to work on, he's such a loveable idiot and the stories can take him anywhere. I think the amount of fun I have with him conveys through in the work, so I'll be enjoying reading this book through as much as anyone!

Download a PDF teaser for Space Raoul!