Comic strip artist John Campbell has made quite a name for himself over the years with his web-comic "Pictures for Sad Children." His snide, sarcastic, and depressed subject matter have made the strip a popular read for many, including a substantial readership with the indie music world. Scene Point Blank spoke with Campbell about his work and what's on the horizon.
Scene Point Blank: Given that the comic is now your source of income, is their an added pressure to produce? Did you ever expect to be doing this full-time?
John Campbell: I try my best to ignore the pressure. I don't want to update my site unless I have something I like and want to show to other people. I absolutely did not expect to do this full-time, but to a lot of people's standards I probably am not, I can afford to live in a house with a dozen hippies in it, in a neighborhood with some gang violence, and I do not have medical insurance, etc.
Scene Point Blank: Was the Silver's promotion real? While I enjoyed the comics, I don't see any company wanting to advertise themselves with a man putting his arms in baking grease…
John Campbell: I'm not sure what you mean by "real." I got the word out about the delicious Long John Silver's experience and upped everyone's enjoyment of Long John Silver's as a "brand" and now when I see long john silver's ads anywhere I laugh and feel a little ill. And I bet some other people do too.
Scene Point Blank: This is a question that I've asked a lot of my favorite musicians, but I think it applies here too. The subject matter of your comic is rather heavy handed and often, for lack of a better word, sad. Is it strange to be receiving such a positive reaction, and a paycheck, for documenting what seem like personal ideas?
John Campbell: Oh definitely, but not much stranger than anything else. It was strange to get a paycheck for working in an office doing things I could have done in eighth grade, but I had to get a degree and 50k in debt to be there. It was strange to wake up to blood in my bed and the sun had fallen down in the middle of the city and sunk into the ground and everyone started wearing sunglasses. Every little thing is strange and terrifying.
Scene Point Blank: What would you ultimately like to do with the comic and/or your writing?
John Campbell: It'd be neat to write a book or make a movie or what have you, but I make comics because that is what I am capable of doing, and I'll probably keep doing comics until I get bored/frustrated with them enough to force myself to do something else or else get a job or else probably die somewhere.
Scene Point Blank: Anything you'd particularly like to finish up with?
John Campbell: Nope.
Words: Graham | Graphics: Matt (well, really, they're all John's... I just added text, jeez)
