Big Things: Tim Fish

Ninth Art joins the cavalcade to get closer to Tim Fish, creator of gay soap operas and gay romance strips both online and in print, to find out how he copes with the small press life.
30 May 2003

Tim Fish has been making minicomics since 1989. He's lived all over the USA, considering himself "a vagrant of sorts, which is great for comic script writing, except now I have mail arriving for me at addresses in Boston, Saint Louis and Los Angeles!" Fish is now best known for his gay romance comics, including the online strip YOUNG BOTTOMS IN LOVE and self-published comic THE CAVALCADE OF BOYS.

BIG NEWS:

I have three major projects in the works. YOUNG BOTTOMS IN LOVE is an on-line daily hosted at Popimage for which I handle most of the art chores. The title is supposed to be reminiscent of old romance comics, and the series consists mainly of 5-page story arcs. I get to change the art style to fit the story each week.

In June an old story of mine, MEET ME IN SAINT LOUIE, is running at Modern Tales Longplay. I worked on MMSL off and on for the last several years. It's about this group of recent college grads playing with the not-so-great hand life has dealt them.

Third is my print series THE CAVALCADE OF BOYS, which is a bittersweet cross between soap opera and romance comics. The series has recurring characters and a storyline which tries to keep them all connected. I've settled on a 48-page format for the 2003 issues, so each of the four issues is hefty, and I hope my investment of time and resources pays off with the reader's enjoyment.

BIG BUSINESS:

My mom sat me down at age four with crayons and pencils after I started making a mural on a wall with some magic markers. From there I have never stopped drawing and making comics. I was completely absorbed with comics as a kid, which led to writing and drawing my own. I did a bi-weekly strip for my alma mater's student paper, which wasn't very funny. But, the paper paid well and that gave me beer money.

I started making ashcans in 1989 to further amuse my friends. Over time, the ashcans grew in size and scope and I began self-publishing on a more serious scale in 2000. This latest phase is completely inspired by turning 30. I was all bummed out as it sunk in that if I was ever going to be 'discovered' I would have to invest a whole lot more time, energy and money into putting my work out there. That's pretty much what I've been doing ever since.

BIG TROUBLE:

Distribution is the biggest obstacle in self-publishing. It's tough to get retailers to take the chance on my book. It's very expensive to advertise and build hype. So I guess finances are another big factor. I've relied largely on word of mouth and the hype generated by the online daily strip.

BIG SPENDER:

I afford to make comics through a lot of sacrifice. You hear a lot of people say, "I wish I could do this or that, but..." and they never go for it, for whatever reason. I am not that kind of person. Anything I've ever had that is truly worth having, has come with sacrifice. This is a very sensitive subject for me, since financially I feel like I have built a house of cards. Sure, it's standing now, but the slightest breeze could collapse the whole thing.

BIG AMBITION:

I hate to rein in my ambitions, so I have a zillion ideas in my head, dozens of story plots and sketches in my ideas folder (an actual folder) and scripts for over 200 pages of comic book stories I'll likely never get to.

Ultimately, though, I'd love to return to doing Arche-Lady stories. She was my ash-can superheroine, and her 100+ comic adventures exceed 700 pages! For me, the story style I used is the most fun, the most natural, and how super-heroes should be: campy, outrageous, not taking themselves too seriously, but not spoofing the genre. Given that there is a flood of hero books out there, I don't realistically see myself ever returning to the series. So at the very least, I'd like to compile a "best of" trade paperback featuring my ideal superheroine.

BIG UP:

I always look forward to works from Walt Simonson, Chynna Clugston-Major, Andi Watson and Jack Kirby (I know he's dead, but he was so prolific, I am always stumbling into work of his I haven't admired before, and that's a real pleasure).

BIG TIME:

I would love to be able to earn a living doing my comics my way. I think this is especially important since I am writing 'gay romance' comics. As for mainstream dreams, I'd love to do at least one issue of THE FANTASTIC FOUR, and maybe one issue of JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS... I know the series doesn't exist anymore, but one can dream!

BIG DEAL:

My comics are available for sale at my website. They are also available for sale at select shops in the US, and that list is available on my site as well.

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