Butt-Kicking Princesses to B-Movie Parodies: An Interview w/ Brian McLachlan

He’s known to most as a man of many words and with those words come pictures… many, many pictures. As a writer and illustrator Brain McLachlan’s work is best described as both thoughtful and entertaining with a combination of high fantasy adventure and exploitative parody that rivals the best of MAD magazine. McLachlan was gracious enough to take a few minutes to share how his sense of humor has shaped his work .

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Artwork copyright © All rights reserved by Brian McLachlan

Before we begin, I HAVE to know… what’s your preferred method of transporation: zombie unicorn or giant ape? Quick man!

Giant ape for sure. I don’t subscribe to the new-school fast zombie, so I imagine a xombee unicorn would just be slow and stinky.

Alrighty. Now that’s out of the way… I understand you have been “cursed by a roving Sasquatch to make comics until you die.” If you could meet that Sasquatch today, face to foot, what would you say to him?

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Artwork copyright © All rights reserved by Brian McLachlan

You’re certainly no stranger to the world of indie comics, but could you tell our readers a bit of background about how you first got started?

Really? I feel like I am a stranger to indie comics. I mostly work for kid’s publishers.

My first comics were done for a Canada-wide newsprint magazine for the rave/electronic music scene. I did them for free but it proved I could meet deadlines and gave me a credit. Working for free is not hard work to get. Getting Oni Press to publish No Dead Time was different. I got to know the editors through conventions and their online forums so that after they liked my script, they knew I was a decent human being and some sort of zombie unicorn. My job writing for Owl Magazine came about by a referral from a friend, so it is indeed who you know and who gets to know you.

Did you read a lot of comics growing up? What were some of your favorites?

Yes! I read everything in my local newspaper and my grandma – who lived in a different city – would save her colour funnies for me too. I’ve always had a penchant for fantasy so I was drawn to Wizard of Id, Broom Hilda, Hagar and the talking cat familiar of Garfield. I think I appreciated their clean, roundish art as well. Comic books came later, with Spider-Man, X-Men, Power Man & Iron Fist and Grendel. After Secret Wars II I got out of comics until college when I discovered books like Hellboy and Eightball.

Artwork copyright © All rights reserved by Brian McLachlan

In 2009 you received a good bit of attention for your web comic, The Princess Planet. What is that series is about?

Yes, I was featured on the cover of Time magazine, was a guest on the Tonight Show and even had a flavour of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream named after one of the characters: Skullossus Molasses. The Princess Planet is a gag strip for anyone who likes fantasy, science fiction and laughing. Regretfully, for a lot of people princess have been come synonymous with spoiled Barbie dolls. My princesses are pretty but they care about their people, go on quests and save the day like fairy tale princes. Except they look better doing it and kill fewer monsters along the way. They just use their Bugs Bunny logic on the bad guys and outsmart ‘em. I’ve recently been toying around with longer story lines but the first several years are all completely independent from week-to-week. You can start anywhere and pick up where you left off without being confused.

You started Princess Planet with the intention of filling a void in the marketplace for a female audience. Do you still believe that this void exists in the industry today?

Yes. The general consensus amongst publishers seems to be that girls will read about boy protagonists but boy won’t read about girls. It’s not Mary Potter or Captain Bra. There are certainly more female-oriented comics but there’s probably still a lot more room for more. As much as I strive for all-ages with Princess Planet I also strive to be inclusive to male readers. My comments section and fans at cons leads me to believe I’m doing okay with that.

Artwork copyright © All rights reserved by Brian McLachlan

This year you launched a more adult-oriented web comic called Smooth ‘n’ Natural which is very much in the mold of filmmakers like Russ Meyer or Jess Franco. Are there any specific films that referenced within the story?

Firstly, I would say that any of Andy Sidaris’ films. Big boobs, big action, ridiculous stories. The inclusion of a Little Molokai in the brother’s city comes from his Hawaiian-centric films. There’s also a short Smooth N Natural comic on the site that has Luthor attacked by a black widow cobra which is an homage to the snake attack of his Hard Ticket To Hawaii and the spider in the bed from Dr. No. Coming up there’s an all lady ski chalet which another Bond-nod to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The whole set up of a world where their father cleaned up crime is probably a riff on Louis C.K.’s Pootie Tang. There are some examples of specific panel’s influences but the main thing is the generic mind set to the storytelling. I wanted every page to be look at (and draw) with a minimum amount of exposition, just like a b-movie.

You’ve mentioned in a previous interview that Kagan Mcleod’s Infinite Kung-Fu was a definite influence in bringing cinematic genres to a comic format. Are there any other creators or artist who have strongly influenced you?

You know, when I look at my style I have a hard time figuring out who I actually draw like. I can’t see a real influence of one or two particular artists. I guess I’d say playboy cartoonist, Kiraz’s eyes and colours, A.J. Casson (and the Group of 7)’s landscapes, Dr. Seuss’s trees, Jim Henson’s monsters, Bruce Timm’s simplifications, He-Man and Buck Rogers TV shows costumes… and artist friend J. Bone who I’ve known since college is probably the biggest influence as a person. His suggestions of tools, techniques, and well thought out critiques have been a huge help. When it comes to story and gags I’d have to say Monty Python, Jay Stephens, George Carlin and my friend Steve Manale is always good to bounce punchlines back and forth with.

Artwork copyright © All rights reserved by Brian McLachlan

Having worked in both, what advantages has a web comic format afforded you versus a traditional printed comic?

One of the most important aspects of a published book is the editor. When you get a good editor your work is so much better and when you get a bad editor your work becomes so watered down. Being online I don’t have to worry about bad editors. It’s always going to be at least as funny as I can be without help. I also enjoy being able to have a conversation with my readers in the comment section. Plus, there is a little section where I try to give a bit of information on the thought process behind the comic which can be fun. I’m very interested in the methods behind comic-making. I have a few tutorials I’ll be putting up on my personal website in the near future on things like colouring for webcomics, humour and where ideas come from.

In one word: what “fuels” your illustration?

Story.