Webcomic of the Week

In this installment of Webcomic of the Week I will be showcasing the new webcomic Neko Madness. It is drawn by my brother Matthew Clark (Tom Clarkson), and is written by Neal Nearing. I will be doing things slightly different, as I have with me, the artist, Matthew Clark.

This will be the first interview to be on my blog, and I hope it goes well.

R: So what is this webcomic about?

M: Neko Madness is mainly about a group of fourteen year olds going into grade nine. The main plot of the story has nothing to do with school though. Let me explain to you some of the backstory. About fifty years ago cats started evolving, and developed human-like characteristics. At first, this new species was discriminated against, and were not considered to be 'sentient'.

R: So then what happened?

M: What happened then, was that the Nekos (what they called themselves) created their own government, and their own country. Humans eventually recognized the Nekos as being sentient, though they continued to experience intense discrimination. Some of the Nekos moved into human communities, though this was slow in coming.

R: And this is what lead up to the comic?

M: Yes. The comic starts about ten years after all of what I have described.

R: So do you have a plot all worked out?

M: Yes, I do have a main plot, it has a few holes in it at this point though, so the creative team is hard at work plugging those holes.

R: When do you expect the comic to fully start?

M: Within a month or two.

R: What can we expect to see in this comic?

M: War, humour, some romance and general insanity. They are cat people... what do you think?

R: What inspired you to start a webcomic?

M: Around September of last year, I started reading webcomics. From there, I started reading about ten others, and I eventually got the idea to start my own.

R: Where do you get your inspiration from?

M: I got a few of my ideas from the webcomic New World, drawn by Scott Clements and Robert Maupin. I like the character development that exists in that comic, as well as the variety of emotions that they can convey.

R: What is your favorite webcomic?

M: EGS... obviously. El Goonish Shive is quite simply the best webcomic that I read.

(The link for EGS can be found on the right hand side of the page for Blogspot viewers, and at the bottom for MSN Spaces viewers.)

R: Any closing thoughts?

M: Neko Madness is still in development. The art itself may change as the comic goes along, but this is to be expected with any new webcomic. Also, I hope you will all vote for Neko Madness at Top Webcomics; the link is on the front page of the site.

R: Thank-you for your time Matthew, and I hope that you do very well with your webcomic.

M: Thanks for having me Robert. Here is the link: Neko Madness.

R: And there you have it, my interview with Matthew Clark, artist of Neko Madness. I suggest to all of you that you read it once it gets going.

Until next time...