David Collier - Cartoonist Survey #133

Canadian alternative cartoonist David Collier was born in Ontario on January 24, 1963. When he was only 10 he saw some of R. Crumb’s artwork and knew that he wanted to make his own comics. Making mini-comics with his friends as a teen and later submitting work eventually paid off when his first comic strip was published in 1986 in the R. Crumb-edited magazine Weirdo. David joined the Canadian Army and during his serving he was able to draw comic strips for the army newspapers. While in the army he also took up long distance running which he still enjoys. In 1990 he left the army and began cartooning professionally. He created his first comic book series, “Collier’s” with Fantagraphics which was later collected along with most of his anthology submissions in ‘Just The Facts’. During this time he also began a regular illustration and cartooning job for a national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, and his local hometown paper the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Some of the anthologies his work has appeared in are The Comics Journal, Duplex Planet Illustrated, Zero Zero and Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor. In 1998 he married the Ontario artist Jennifer Hambleton and a year later their son James was born. In 2000 Drawn and Quarterly published David’s ‘Collier’s Surviving Saskatoon’ which documents the true story of David Milgaard, a man who spent nearly 25 years in prison after he was wrongfully accused of the brutal rape and murder of a nurse in 1969. Drawn and Quarterly began publishing volume two of Collier's solo comic book title “Collier's” in 2002 and in the same year published ‘The Hamilton Sketchbook’, in which he drew about moving with his family from Saskatchewan to Hamilton, Ontario. His ‘The Frank Ritza Papers’ was nominated for a Doug Wright Award for Best Book in 2005. See more of David's work here at his Drawn & Quarterly page.

What is your favorite pen to use?
Hunt #102.

Do you draw in pencil first and if so do you use a standard pencil or a mechanical one?
Wood.

Do you do your coloring by hand or on the computer?
Computer.

If you do your coloring by hand, what do you use?
Pencil.
What type of paper do you use?
Vellum.

What thing(s) do you hate to draw?
Crowds.

Do you buy your supplies from big chain art store catalogues/websites or a local one that you physically go to?Mixed Media
Hamilton's independent art shop
NEW ADDRESS - 154 James St. N.
Hamilton L8R 2K7
905.529.2323

Are there any rituals that you do before starting to draw?
Cold bath.

Do you listen to music while you draw and if so what genre?
Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland.

This is artwork David created for Luke Doucet's forthcoming album, "Steel City Trawler" which comes out on August 24th.

Did you read comics as a kid and if so what was your favorite?
Donald Duck.

What is or was your favorite comic strip?
Comic Strip: Toonerville Folks - Single Panel: Out Our Way
I also looked at the Canadian Strip Birdseye Centre a lot when I was a kid (in reprints).

What was your favorite book as a child and do you still own a copy of it?
Tripod books by John Carpenter- yes.

Did you have any formal art training and if so where did you receive it?
Sheridan College.

Do you feel that the Internet is a blessing or a curse?
Curse- the computer I use for work deliberately has no access.

Did either of your parents draw?
Yes.

Who in your life is/was the most supportive of your art?
My wife.

Do you keep a sketchbook?
Yes.

Have you ever taught cartooning/drawing and if so did you enjoy the experience?
Made a comic with a lunch-time club at my son's school. It was fun, but a lot of work!

Do you feel that talent or passion is more important in drawing?
Passion.

Do you collect anything and if so what?
My house approaches the Collyer Bros., New York, 1944.

If you were an animated cartoon character who do you think you would be?
The horny fox in Tex Avery's famous one.

Are you a righty or lefty?
Left.

If you weren't an artist what would you want to do for work?
Underwater welder.

In one or two sentences describe your drawing area.
Everywhere.

Do you play any musical instruments?
Guitar.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone who wants to pursue drawing as a career what would it be?
Keep on struggling.

Who is your favorite artist?
Jennifer Hambleton.

Thanks very much David!

Up next is comic book artist Colleen Coover.