Comixfan Forums - CATCHING THE RUNOFF WITH TOM MANNING

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/oddgod/2005/runoff/RUNOFF.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/oddgod/2005/runoff/RUNOFF_T.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="Runoff Chapter 2"></a>By Remy Minnick, Comixfan Staff Writer

Tom Manning is not only the creator of Runoff, but also the writer, artist, inker, and letterer of this independent comic that is one part Bloom County, one part X-Files, and one part Twin Peaks. With the recent release of Runoff Chapter 2, a 136 page graphic novel from OddGod Press, we took the opportunity to sit down and discuss the book, it's inspiration, and his influences.

Comixfan: So sell us, what is Runoff about?

Tom Manning: In a way, Runoff is made so it can't be summed up easily. But that never stopped me from trying before... so I'll give it another shot. Basically, the story takes place in the small town of Range, Washington, where a freak highway accident leads authorities to find the mutilated bodies of four hunters and a mysterious corpse with massive teeth. Soon after the bodies are found, people are shocked to find that no one can leave the town due to some unseen force, but people can continue to come in. What unfolds is part mystery, part drama, part comedy, part horror and incorporates a recluse pirate, a undead lunatic, talking animals, ghosts, an amazing old mayor, and a floating object that no one can yet explain.

Comixfan: Who are the main characters in the series?

Manning: I wanted to make a story with an ensemble of characters instead of a main character. More kind of like a cast than a couple lead characters. So we have Hal, who is the towns detective. We have Mr. Teeth, who is the strange body found on the road in the first issue. We have Mort Carver, who is a recluse living on an Indian Reservation along with his helper monkey Siva. We have Mayor Allen Baldwino, who is an old fart who still has a cunning political mind, and is in an election against the local school superintendent who is hell bent on finally beating him. And we have the Nammig family, who lost the head of the house, and is hosting a family which got stuck in Range, and who ends up being a family who is wanted by the FBI. And the list keeps going, but I'll stop there!

Comixfan: Take us back to the beginning, where did the inspiration for Runoff come from?

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/oddgod/2005/runoff/DITCH.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/oddgod/2005/runoff/DITCH_T.jpg" hspace=10 align=right alt="Runoff Chapter 2"></a>Manning: Runoff is the way it is because there are so many inspirations. I finished my first book Racecar in 1999, and when I decided to write a new series, I realized there were so many things I wanted to do. I wanted to do an homage to the Pacific Northwest, where I grew up. I was inspired by Warren Zevon's morbid and humorous take on songwriting. I was inspired by old Japanese ink paintings. I was inspired to play with the trick of unfolding a story through a newspaper comic format in the way I thought Bloom County did so well. I was inspired to write a damn good horror comic. And in the end I thought "How about I do them all?"

Comixfan: You self published your books originally, what was that experience like?

Manning: Really tough. But rewarding in the end because I was able to start the Runoff series on my own terms, unfold it the way I knew it should be done, and therefore I know it only exists in the way it does today because I started it on my own.

Comixfan: How did you get involved with Oddgod Press?

Manning: I had a table at the 2003 APE convention, and I posted on my site that I have decided to look for a publisher. I was approached by OddGod at the convention, and we ended up striking a deal a few months after that. I have to say it was a wonderful contract, very creator friendly.

Comixfan: Not only do you write the series, but draw, ink and letter as well. What do you find the most difficult aspect of your work on the book?

Manning: Well, I know the part I need the most work on is my lettering! But the most difficult aspect is the narrative. I am constantly juggling all these elements, all these characters, all these moods. I keep having to make sure everyone has a little part to shine, it's like conducting an orchestra or something.

Comixfan: The book started off as an individual issues but are now coming out as "Chapters" that contain several issues. Why the change form one format to another?

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/oddgod/2005/runoff/MORT.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/oddgod/2005/runoff/MORT_T.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="Runoff Chapter 2"></a>Manning: I always imagined it as coming out in individual issues, but had four major shifts in my mind from the beginning. And each shift--now a chapter--was four issues long. So when OddGod kicked the idea of publishing only once a year and doing it in the four chapters, it made a lot of sense. And I find that it's better to sit with it as a larger book because Runoff is kind of a hard story to settle into, so better to keep you there for a long time once you've settled into that world.

Comixfan: From start to finish how long does it take for you to complete an issue?

Manning: That's hard to say because I work on Runoff on such a strange schedule. I could not touch it for two months, then work 14 hours a day on it for a month. But all in all, it takes about a page a day for me, so 32 days per issue would be right. But an issue could take me four months, or four weeks, it all depends on how much time I have to give.

Comixfan: With Runoff, you use several different art styles, sometimes within the same page. At one point during the series you go from a very gritty horror style of art to a typical comic strip style like Garfield. Why did you decide to do that and how do you make sure that you aren't jarring the reader's senses by switching art styles like that?

Manning: I wanted it to be jarring, actually (laughs). I find comics can tell such a huge spectrum of stories really well, and each type of story has it's own style. Comedy is drawn and handled differently than horror, for example. And I thought as long as I am doing a comic with all these different types of moods, I might as well shift the art style as I shift the mood. And each mood is heightened in contrast to the others surrounding it. It's like an amplifier. And I even draw characters in different ways even though they are standing next to each other, because each person has their own view of the world, or mood within themselves. So putting that all together kind of accentuates and amplifies all the moods of the story.

Comixfan: With such a wide range of styles on display in Runoff, what artist have influenced your own art style?

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/oddgod/2005/runoff/7_3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/oddgod/2005/runoff/7_3_T.jpg" hspace=10 align=right alt="Runoff Chapter 2"></a>Manning: Dave Sim and Cerebus was a huge inspiration to me. He also could fit so many styles into one story, so reading Cerebus for the first time was a huge revelation for me. Old zen ink drawings from Japan were inspirational for my inking style- most of my inking is done with this one Japanese brush pen. I just like how the look is so organic, and unconcerned with mistakes. It's wet and bold, not sterile at all. Dan Clowes is another inspiration, especially for this strange subtle humanity he can portray with just an expression. The best parts of Dan's stuff is subtle, I think.

But really the main influences on Runoff are cinema influences. Especially black and white film-noir movies like Touch of Evil and The Third Man. Werner Herzog's 1979 remake Nosferatu was really inspirational, as was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. I just feel I get more answers on how to deal with Runoff's narrative from cinema. Perhaps it's because movies do shift tones and moods more than comics tend to.

You can find out more about Runoff and Tom Manning at <a href="http://www.robotsandmonkeys.com">www.robotsandmonkeys.com </a>.