We are delighted to be joined by cartoonist Rick Parker. Rick’s work can be seen in the pages of Beavis and Butt-Head comic book from Marvel Comics. Rick is also the illustrator of the Ghoulunatics and a series of parody comics for Papercutz, which includes titles such as Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid, Harry Potty and the Deathly Boring and Breaking Down. We got to chat with Rick about Drafted a graphic memoir from Abrams ComicArts published about his time in the U.S. Army during the War in Vietnam.
Hi Rick, it’s so great to have you here with us.
Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
RICK: Thanks.
I’m a cartoonist who has mainly worked in mainstream comics. This is my ninth graphic novel, but the first one which I have both written and illustrated.
How long have you been working on the Drafted graphic novel?
RICK: In 2013 ,when I stopped being able to make a living drawing comics for others, I started writing a blog about my life. After a year, I ran out of stories. Then I said, “Crap! Now I guess I’m going to have to pick some of these stories and illustrate them. There were so many good stories about the Army, I decided to concentrate on the three years, one month and five days I served (1966–1969.) The actual work started in 2017, and I finished in 2022.
As a creator, do you prefer writing or creating art?
RICK: I really love telling stories using pictures and words. I never thought of myself as a writer because I loved drawing pictures from an early age. I discovered writing about ten years ago and have about a hundred-and-fifty essays on my blog: www.autobiographyofaformerzygote.com
Has it been a difficult process putting Drafted together?
RICK: In a way, it’s the easiest thing I ever did, because I only had to please myself. I was not working for anyone. Having said that, I think I have developed the most complicated way of doing things ever! I drew most of the main figures about four times each!
How would you describe Drafted?
RICK: It’s the true story of a teenage artist from Georgia who gets drafted into the army at the height of the war in Vietnam.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
RICK: Yes! We are all capable of a great deal more than we give ourselves credit for. If there’s something you’ve been thinking about doing, don’t wait for the “right” moment! Just do it!
We would like to say a big thank you to Rick for chatting with us and wish him the best of luck with Drafted.
