Ricky Garduno / 1930 Nightmare Theatre
I may not have known it, but before Ricky Garduno got his start on the hilariously morbid and dark webcomic, “1930 Nightmare Theatre” I had already been a fan of some things he had worked on, it turns out he was a storyboard artist for Nickelodeon’s “El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera” which was nominated for and won several Annie awards.
I e-mailed Ricky and asked him for a short Q and A and he politely obliged.
“Q:Let’s say you’re someone else, who is Ricky Garduno?
A:I’m just a regular guy who’s gotten pretty lucky.
Q:You’ve storyboarded for a couple of shows, including El Tigre, how’d you get into storyboarding?
A:I had an incredibly difficult time getting onto network shows. I started off working on smaller projects for independent companies, but I had a lot of friends in TV who helped me with recommendations and leads. Ultimately it’s up to you to really prove yourself. Once you’re in, work your ass off to gain a great reputation and you’ll never have to look for work again.
Q:You also have a weekly webcomic called 1930 Nightmare Theatre on Dumm Comics that includes some hilariously dark humor with an obvious Steamboat Willy influence, why’d you start that, and what’s with the hiatus?
A:I’ve made comics all my life, and I’ve been wanting to do 1930 Nightmare Theatre since I was in high school. But I didn’t really know what I was doing until I started doing it on a regular basis. I guess you could say I kind of “found my voice.”
There’s no official hiatus, just a few guest strips. I’m taking a couple of weeks off to rest, and to celebrate my new marriage.
Q:Do you have any major influences? Any favorite artists?
A:My main influences are the writers Stephen King and Chuck Palahniuk: Really accessible, really thoughtful and really fun to read. My favorite movie directors are Danny Boyle and Eli Roth, their movies are both very funny and very scary. My favorite comic artists/writers are Tony Millionaire (Maakies), E.C. Segar (Popeye), and Kyle Baker (Plastic Man, Special Forces)
Q:Why did you start making art?
A:I wanted people to like me, and drawing was the only thing I was good at.”
Saturday, September 19th 2009
