Dragotaur of My Heart
Miktar Dracon
About four years ago, following a link from Adam &
Andy, I stumbled into Unnatural But True, where
I found some of the purest, direst and sweetest angst I've ever seen in a web
comic or anywhere. The unusual part, which didn't really strike me as unusual
until much later, was that all this pathos was portrayed by demons, werewolves
and dragon-fusion creatures; the only "human" among them was a young man named
Ed. Four years and many changes later, Miktar Dracon (aka Ed Kock) has put some
of the most tender, bawdy, and furry comics on the web.
Sequential Tart: Would you like to be called Ed or Miktar for this
interview?
Miktar Dracon: Miktar's fine. ^.^
ST: When did you start drawing comics?
MD: I've always been drawing the odd comic here and there, mostly just
to amuse myself. I think I only officially started drawing what you could
consider a 'comic' when I was 18.
ST: What, if any, formal art training have you had?
MD: None whatsoever. I did art in school, but failed.
ST: What have been your biggest influences as a sequential
artist?
MD: Probably every comic I've ever read, both comic books and web
comics.
ST: Are these the same influences as for the storylines in your
comics?
MD: Not really. I've never been much of a writer, so I just made stuff
up as I went along.
ST: Are there any comics you read for pleasure? Links,
please!
MD: Penny
Arcade and PvP are
about the only things I read online these days.
ST: Are there any books/magazines/films/TV shows you enjoy? I
guess I mean, and excuse me if it sounds corny, what do you do for fun?
MD: I like reading all the comic books I can get my hands on ...
ST: Are there any titles you could mention?
MD: I love the new X-Men series (with the
big, cuddly furry feral Beast) and I've always had a thing for the trials and
tribulations of Superman. I collected the Primortals series for a while, but their quality went down
badly so I stopped. I mostly just walk into a local store and if they have
comics, I sit there and read them before security escorts me out.
I love movies and all that. Just the usual stuff. For fun I play games and
read a lot, but mostly just hang around with my friends when I can.
ST: Does your work in gaming have any influence on your comics
and/or vice versa?
MD: Not really. I never saw a need for yet another gaming related
comic and such, I wouldn't have anything new to add.
ST: What is it about gaming and working in the industry that
excites you?
MD: That I'm actually doing it. ^.^ After countless years in the dead
end corporate industry, working for a gaming magazine is a dream come true.
ST: Who do you work for and what you do for them, if we may
know?
MD: I work for a local gaming magazine called New
Age Gaming. I run their web site as well as write game reviews for the magazine. I
also produce their Cover CD, which contains game demos and such, as well as
write a monthly column for the magazine. Occasionally I help design certain
advertisements in the magazine, as well as help the other writers with their
content, such as 'debatching' (cutting out) pictures of hardware and such. I
help the features editor with research for his features, and other miscellaneous
tasks that make the rest of the staff's lives easier.
ST: That does sound like a nice job in a field you know and like.
I reckon you know and like gaming because there was a lot of gaming in the early
Unnatural But True strips. What was the evolution of
Unnatural But True? How did it get from your
imagination to the web?
MD: I drew a picture of the characters Ed and Miktar (both me,
actually) sitting in an arcade, around 1997 I think. Suddenly I had the thought,
'Hey, I should draw a web comic'. That's about it, really.
ST: I wonder if that's how most web comics get started: idea +
sketch = web comic. What other comics in addition to Unnatural But True do you have on the web?
MD: I had a few others, but all of them have been taken down. Unnatural But True is the only one I have time for.
ST: What kind of paper-based drawing techniques do you use to
create your web comics?
MD: I work mostly with paper, and pencil. Occasionally, I'll draw
directly using a Wacom Tablet.
ST: What kind of computer-based drawing/graphics techniques to you
use?
MD: Photoshop and a Tablet. ^.^
ST: Do you feel a special affinity toward and/or joy in either or
any of these techniques and/or media?
MD: I like the tablet and working on the PC, because I can undo as
many mistakes as I make. Working with pencils, I tend to draw 100 lines before I
get the one I want.
ST: Do you feel any special frustrations with either or any of
them?
MD: Up until now, I've not had a PC good enough for using a Tablet
properly (it would lag), but now thanks to my new PC, I'm hoping to get more
drawing done.
ST: I hope that, too. You've invented a new species in your work
the Dragotaur. Could you explain the origin and evolution of this
creature and the other creatures in your strip? There seem to be big wolves
and amphibians in it as well, but I might be wrong; I'm not very good at nature
stuff.
MD: The Dragotaur is simply the species of my character Miktar, which
is a cross between a minotaur and a dragon. No real brainstorming involved
there, I simply woke up one morning and there it was in my head. I guess I
wanted something a little different. The other characters were mostly werewolves
and dragons.
ST: Speaking of werewolves and dragons, whatever happened to Bromis
and the rest of the original Unnatural But True
cast?
MD: Since I'm not much of a writer, they eventually just stopped
appearing when I drew the strips. I still think about them a lot, and would like
to bring them back one day as proper characters.
ST: Did any of the Unnatural But True
strips survive the big Keenspace meltdown of whatever
year that was? Where are they, if they did?
MD: All the strips are still on my new web space. I left
Keenspace long before the 'meltdown', due to their
poor service.
ST: Really? I looked around the archives a little and didn't see
any of the old 'Miktar with big wings' strips or the famous 'Drask and the dead
kitten strip'. Are they there and I just didn't see them?
MD: I think they should be there; I might have to go and check.
As far as I know, Every Unnatural But True strip I ever
did is on the current website.
ST: I'm sorry, Miktar, they are all there; I just didn't look
closely enough. Excuse me for being such a ninnyhammer in your archives. Well,
anyway, onward. What kind, if any, impact did the Keenspace service have on you as an artist?
MD: Negative, mostly. Seeing how many people drew web comics, and how
if you had sex or bad language in your comic, you were infinitely more popular
than anyone else who actually attempted substance.
ST: Yeah, well, Keenspace is a strange
place; I have my own personal issues with it. Did most of your early audience
find you on Keenspace (I know I did) and do you have
any idea how people are finding your work now? And do you have any rough
estimate of how many readers you have now?
MD: Most people find my work through the Belfry comics list, or
just doing a search for 'werewolves' or something of similar ilk. I probably
have about ten or so readers who visit regularly to see if I've updated.
ST: Unnatural But True has had a fairly
large and very loyal following. Has there been any negative pressure in that or
has it mostly been supportive?
MD: I've had a wonderfully supportive fan base for a good few years
before I stopped working on Unnatural But True (Unnatural But True is mostly on permanent hiatus right now
until I get a writer).
ST: Do you have anyone in mind? Otherwise, Attention Writers!
This could be your big chance!
MD: A friend of mine, Eurisko, is currently helping me with the Not in Nottingham story that's running on the site right
now; I'm hoping he'll help me with the future Unnatural But
True stuff, but he's very busy with studies and such so I'm still open to
more writers.
ST: Do you have any plans for the future of Unnatural But True and your other comics?
MD: I hope to actually continue them, and make them worth something,
artistically.
ST: Well I certainly like your drawings and comics. Your
characters have this wonderful liveliness and energy to them. They're always
emotionally/intellectually engaged, even when they're just listening to
something; you can see it in their faces. Your drawing might not have the
terrifying perfection of the superhero guys, but it has a great deal of soul and
heart, and it doesn't get much more artistic than that. I mean, everyone's
technique can improve, but the spirit I see in your work comes from living and
looking and really seeing, and still having the desire and strength to make art
at the end of the day. You can't learn that in art school; you have to live it.
Me, I just hope you keep drawing and draw more and keep putting them on the web
and find the writer of your dreams so I can read your comics happily ever
after, forever and ever, amen.
Thanks, Ed, I mean, Miktar.
MD: It was fun. ^.^.
Unnatural But True
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