I rarely laugh out loud at the funnies, although I know plenty of people who do. If anything, I'll turn the joke over in my head and crack a smile, maybe a smirk. Although I am appreciative of art and cartoons, since the final run of Calvin and Hobbes, nothing's really garnered my interest in the comic-strip arena (besides well thought-out political cartoons)...

Over the past few months, I've been noticing this comic called The Perry Bible Fellowship popping up as a hot topic on internet messageboards, attachments to chain emails, and steady buzz in the press. I finally took the time to sit down and give the PBF a look... and I didn't stop looking until an hour and a half later, after I had read pretty much every comic in the website's archive.

Alas, I still didn't squeeze out an audible laugh, but my faith in comics has been restored. Introducing Nick G of The PBF:

Yo, NG here.

Alright Nick, what's your M.O.?

Nick G, freshly 23, Manchester, New York.

It's late over there. What are u doin' up?!

Workin' on a comic, running some ideas by some homies. I want to do an Eskimo one.

Yeah, eskimos rule. For some reason, I feel like there were so many pop-culture references to eskimos when I was growin' up in the '80s. I was really into the whole eskimo thing, fishing in that hole in the ice, igloos...

It's an incredible lifestyle. I have the utmost respect for them.


So, have you always been into drawing?

Yup. Since the age of about 3, 4 I think? 'Round there.

Did you go to school for art..?

If film is art, yes I did.

So you're into film also? Do you still work with that?

I did some good time at Syracuse for filmmaking. I've graduated, but yes, I'm looking forward to making some beautiful movies...I have a couple I'm planning.

Are they pretty much in tune with the humor underlying your comics?

On occasion. If I'm making a serious movie though, I have to hold back a little bit.

Right...OK, just checkin' to see if you did have that serious side in you. Ha!

Yeah, I think I'm a real person to some degree.

OK, so let's get to The Perry Bible Fellowship...I have to ask the standard question that you get asked 100 times a day. What's with the name?

It's supposed to be silly. It's the name of a Church, and when picking a name for my strip, I borrowed it because I thought there was some humor and truth to the idea that my comics and this church might somehow be affiliated. I'm not sure if that comes across.

Hahaha...I'm sure you've had some readers who've been upset at being misled by the name?

Yeah, every once and a while I get a complaint. Whatever though. There's something endearing to me about trying to make the (worst comic) name (ever) work.

Let's fill in some history. When, where, and why was PBF born?

2001. Syracuse University's student paper (the Daily Orange). My friend and I were bored with the comic page. We wanted to bring something new to it. We put together the "Stiff Breeze" comic. The people that noticed what happened in the third frame inspired us to do more.

Is your friend still involved with PBF?

My friend Albert gives me advice every now and then. It's been more or less a one-man-show since my Sophmore year.

Let's talk about the "third frame." I'm not an expert on comics, but I feel like a lot of comics use the same method for their "punchline," but for some reason, your third frames are like a sick and twisted O.Henry ending...is that the essence of your comic.?

It's the perfect place to get rid of the tension built up in the other frames. It's a nice release.

Speaking of tension, i notice some recurring themes here. Mainly Death and Sexuality. What's up with that?

I think I'm drawn to those things because of their intensity. Intensity is funny to me. Often.

Why?

Life's conclusion (death) and Life's beginning (sex) are pretty strong indicators of Life itself. Life, when properly viewed, is probably the funniest thing. Life is just really absurd. Absurd = funny.


And that comes across pretty well through the comics. One thing that blows me away as an artist myself is how you use like several different techniques, ways of drawing, different characters... it seems like there are like 15 different people drawing these things..!

Really?

Yeah!

That's probably a good thing. Catch you off guard a little bit.

Above all else, that's my favorite thing about PBF actually. Each one looks aesthetically unique, but they all have this absurd theme. Like sarcastic Cabbage Patch Kids or something.



It seems like a lot of the humor will go over some readers' heads. Do you have a lot of explaining to do?

Well, if you have to explain a joke, it tends to make it unfunny. I try to avoid explanations when possible.

OK, so I guess I won't ask you about this Oribitoid one???

This is an interview. It is the place for questions. Orbitoid is a friend of Jones.

Jones is the other fella in the picture?

Yeah, the more human of the two. And Orbitoid takes things waaaay to seriously. Like the boyfriend that beats up on a guy who chatted with his girl. One of those-type characters. Not the kind you want to live with.

Aaaah

Orby's just a more extreme version of that.

 Speaking of characters, is there a name for the white androgenous character? Why is s/he drawn like that?


I've heard them called "doughboys", "perrymen", etc. There's no official term. I'm partial to them because they convey a minimum amount of information. Sometimes I like to draw more attention to the other things going on in the frames.

Okay, I see..! So where can we find the comic?

www.thepbf.com is the homepage, but if you want to cut to the chase, hop to the archive at www.cheston.com/pbf/archive.html. (My friend Cheston hosts my stuff on his site).

Any papers?

Baltimore. New York. Portland. Birmingham. A few other nice cities too. It runs in Maxim overseas. In the UK version I should say.

Word. Alright Nick, any last words..? anything you'd like to add?

Well, this is the "last frame" so to speak. I should probably release the tension... BOOM!...there... all better.