BE AFRAID OF GIRLS WITH SLINGSHOTS: AN INTERVIEW WITH DANIELLE CORSETTO

[Alex Groff]

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/self/2005/gwspromo.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/self/2005/gwspromot.jpg" align=left alt="Girls with Slingshots Promo"></a>Just from the title, it's obvious Hazel is not someone you want to mess with. She argues with cactuses. She (quite accidentally) thrusts her eighty-year-old next door neighbor into the middle of a kegger party. She answers every situation with a bit of sarcasm and frustration, offering far more bark than bite. Fearing Hazel's wrath, Comixfan caught up with webcomic creator Danielle Corsetto to talk about procrastination, Bill Jemas, and, of course, Girls with Slingshots.

Comixfan: How has the reaction to Girls with Slingshots been?

Danielle Corsetto: Overwhelming! I came up with GWS a few years ago as a marketable, cute pair of characters that I could draw in people's sketchbooks at conventions. For one reason or another, the characters and title really intrigued people, and I started getting "When do we see Girls With Slingshots, the comic strip??" e-mails left and right! I didn't even have a plot in mind until the week before the strip's planned debut and, as is typical of me, I created the first three strips just a night or two before the debut weekend.

Once the strip started going, I was getting congratulations, interview requests and fan mail pretty regularly. I was pleasantly surprised by the positive response; I kept thinking, "a week ago, most of these characters didn't even EXIST!"

CXF: Girls with Slingshots starts off without a lot of background. Where is the story set? Is there anything we should know about the characters going in?

GWS is actually an extension of my old strip, Hazelnuts, which I started in high school. The new strip takes place a good ten years later, post-college, and focuses on Hazelnuts' main character, Hazel Tellington.

You really don't need to know much about the characters before you start reading. This is a strip about people in their mid-twenties, struggling through that awkward stage between college and career, dating and relationships, staying young and settling down. The story is mostly character-driven - the girls and guys in GWS are really the ones who choose the plot line week to week, not me.

As for a place, I'm still stuck on ideas here! Right now I'm playing Simpsons ("Springfield, WHERE?"). I've considered sticking them in West Virginia, New Jersey, Ohio... places I've lived or visited or driven through. Perhaps I'll stick them in a fictional 51st state...

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/self/2005/GWS003.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/self/2005/GWS003t.jpg" align=right alt="Girls with Slingshots strip"></a>CXF: Could you talk a little bit about the cast of Girls with Slingshots-- Hazel, Jameson, Jamie, Darren, and Reese?

DC: Hazel has (correctly) been targeted as the artist's ego. She's every little bit of cynicism and sarcasm found in yours truly. She follows a similar path - post-college, she's confused, worried, career-minded but taking every little side job she can to make rent and bills. I haven't resorted to baby-sitting horny 10-year-olds yet, but I've certainly spent the past year in and out of jobs and taking what I can get. And now BOTH of us are working at a newspaper (which was an unplanned career choice for me, but a VERY pre-planned job for Hazel - one which I chose months before I got my own newspaper job!).

What most people don't realize is that Jamie is the extroverted side of me. She's what keeps Hazel on her toes; as much as Hazel would like to deny it, without Jamie her life would be unbearable. Jamie's a fun, no-worries, giggly and unavoidably cute girl who loves to push Hazel's buttons and remind her to that there's more to life than stressing out.

Darren plays the same role Jamie does, where Hazel is concerned. He's all about a good time (although he often forgets that there's more to life than partying). Darren is a handsome, mild-mannered waiter during the day, but as soon as the sun goes down he's in heels and a frock on stage at local venues.

Jameson is loosely based on a barista friend of mine. He's the sweet, stable, attractive and polite fella behind the counter at Hazel and Jamie's typical hangout, the cafe downstairs from Hazel's apartment. Jameson is, in a way, the rock of the strip. He is comfortable where he is and can be happy doing anything, so long as he retains his valuable friendships.

Reese is also a character from Hazelnuts, though he's been hiding in GWS so far. He's the love of Hazel's life, as well as her best friend since high school. He's living his dreams as he goes from theater to theater acting and singing (or playing saxophone, or dancing... this guy's an endless bag of talents!). We'll see more of him in the future.

As for the supporting characters... Tyler is the nerdy, pre-pubescent 10-year-old that Hazel baby-sits on occasion. Maureen is a new character, a socially dysfunctional girl who hides behind her 'blog, her laptop, and her hair. Clarice, the wannabe-librarian who loves her bookstore job (although she's oblivious to the *ahem* rather risque content of said "books"), will be making a comeback from her one-time shot early in the strip. And another new character, the pet cactus, talks to Hazel when she's drunk enough to listen.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/self/2005/GWS021.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/self/2005/GWS021t.jpg" align=left alt="Girls with Slingshots strip"></a>CXF: When you work on Girls with Slingshots, do you have a plan in mind or does the story grow week to week?

DC: I'm so disorganized with my process, it's a wonder I can get two strips finished per week!

I have a main goal - story arcs I'd like to tackle, character development and secrets about their lives that I'd like to reveal - but overall, I have a HUGE fear of commitment. So I typically let the characters do the work for me. I'll set up a story arc, ride it out, and while I'm working on it I'll come up with (rather, the characters will inspire) a twist or a new character I'd like to introduce, and I'll either write it down for future strips, or jump right into the new arc the next week.

As for the strip-by-strip production, I normally read over the last few strips and let the characters start off the next strip with their response to the last one. From there I'll let them talk, and normally I'll leave the last panel blank when I sketch it out. I'll walk out to the living room of my apartment, grab a beer, listen to my hilarious roommate banter off about something inane, and come back to the drawing board with a sense of humor, ready insert some snarky bit of humor for the punchline.

CXF: It seems as if your webcomics have gone through several incarnations-- Ramblers, Hazelnuts and now Girls with Slingshots-- but they also revolve around the same themes. What led to the different comics?

DC: There was always a target audience behind my earlier comics. Larry and Caroline, one of my earliest, was created for a kids' page in a local newspaper. Had to stick to a G-rated theme there. Hazelnuts was created in high school and, although I could be flexible with language, the target audience was other high schoolers. Ramblers, similarly, was created for my college's newspaper, and although it was more flexible with language and themes, I had to keep it mild, and almost all of the characters were based on real people at the college, so I had their feelings to consider every time I put one of them into the strip. (Which, by the way, is WAY too much work! From now on, it's fictional characters only for me!)

I had such a clean slate for GWS that my pre-debut brainstorming went wild. I had a title, two characters, and nothing else - the sky was really the limit. My brainstorms went from a kids' series, to a superhero theme, to a soap opera-y feel, to a way overly-dramatic and serious storyline. They were all out of my element, so I decided to stick with the inevitable and do a Ramblers-esque strip that focused on characters and humor, and themes I was familiar with; post-grad worries, bills, relationships, etc. And the target audience was simply "webcomic readers." MUCH easier to satisfy!

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/self/2005/GWS022.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/self/2005/GWS022t.jpg" align=right alt="Girls with Slingshots strip"></a>CXF: How did the deal with 360ep come about? What exactly is the deal between 360ep and Girls with Slingshots?

DC: Teresa e-mailed me with interested in my strip the day before my scheduled interview at the newspaper. I was pretty sure it was a hoax, or a scam, but upon further investigation, I discovered that this was the real deal! I was the first webcomic creator Teresa had contacted in regards to signing with 360ep, a company started by Marvel former-prez Bill Jemas, so we worked on the contract together for months before I finally signed on.

I still can't believe Teresa found me. I had BARELY started putting Ramblers on Keenspace, as per the suggestion of a friend of mine, but I don't believe there was much up there. I kind of dropped it before I had the chance to start uploading strips. But somehow, Teresa found me via Keenspace, did some research, found my site, and e-mailed me.

Because I don't have the time, know-how or experience to take care of the business end of things, the deal is perfect for me. 360ep will be taking care of all of the publishing, merchandise and licensing deals around GWS. I don't have to pay a cent into this; they're making an investment in my product because they see it fit to bring in revenue.

Which, by the way, is damn flattering!

360 retains the exclusive right to publish GWS (in print - webpublishing can be made by anyone who is willing to host the comic on their site). I was a little nervous about this at first, but then I realized that this means I'll have someone pushing me to put out a print version of the strips, which I've always wanted to do. Because they have the contacts, time, and experience (and did I mention TIME??), they'll be able to take care of the dirty work that I'd never have the resources to take on myself. It's a very sweet deal for me... and for my readers, if they ever want to see GWS T-shirts and books!

CXF: Some webcomics have made the transition to paper comic-- Jane's World, by Paige Braddock, comes to mind. What do you think are the advantages of webcomics vs. print?

DC: Hm... pros to webcomics. Let's see...

1. Free, or nearly-free. I pay about ten bucks a month to host my site with Speakeasy.net. Much cheaper than having someone print 500 copies of books which are NOT guaranteed to sell!

2. Universal. Anyone can see my strips. I have readers in Australia, Sweden, Canada... I love the availability! (Unfortunately, this also means Grandma gets to read the strip, which isn't good for her heart... I've promised her a G-rated strip someday.)

3. I love HTML. I love web design. I'm a hand-coding freak. Call me nerdy, but I love being able to look at my website and grin with pride that I did everything on my own.

4. Instant updates. I can post news about what conventions I'll be attending, where people can meet me, and what new merchandise is available, right under the strip.

5. Stats. I check my stats every day to find out how many people read the strip yesterday. Can't do that with a print comic.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/self/2005/GWS024.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/self/2005/GWS024t.jpg" align=left alt="Girls with Slingshots strip"></a>CXF: What do you think are the disadvantages of webcomics vs. print?

DC: There are CERTAINLY disadvantages as well.

1. The story is spread-out. I think a twice-a-week comic like this one is easier to read all at once, in a book format. Luckily, we'll be doing both web and print formats as soon as I have enough strips to put into a book.

2. If you give someone a URL to a webcomic, they MIGHT read it. If you give someone a printed book of webcomics, they'll read it as long as it looks appetizing.

3. You can't really give someone a URL for Christmas. That's... that's kinda cheap.

4. Can't carry GWS with you unless it's in book. You have to read it at work, or read it when you get home, and only if your Internet connection is working that day.

5. Well, I was going to give a fifth reason to keep it balanced, but... I think that's the brunt of the disadvantages.

CXF: A number of creators like Scott McCloud have begun to use bit torrent to charge for their comics, bringing up the question of a free internet vs. intellectual property. What are your thoughts on the issue?

DC: I say, good for Scott. He's got such a cool outlook on doing webcomics, and he gets so excited about the lack of boundaries on Internet publication. He's doing what's right for him, and he's reaping the benefits.

Me personally, I shy away from any comics on the web that I have to subscribe to. That said, I think micropayments and subscriptions aren't right for GWS. I see Girls as a marketable enough property that (with any luck, and with 360's expertise and hard work) it'll pay for itself through merchandise. On top of that, I make a comfortable living doing freelance work, caricatures at parties, and my job at the newspaper, so GWS is my baby and my hobby. Anything that I make off GWS is added income, not bill money.

But I think anybody who can get away with subscriptions and micropayments should go for it!

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/web/2005/GWS028.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/web/2005/GWS028t.jpg" align=right alt="Girls with Slingshots strip"></a> CXF: You were recently in NYC, where your work is on display at Jigsaw. How was the show?

DC: The show was fantastic. The whole weekend was fantastic, actually! It was a lot of work and little sleep, but definitely worth the time spent.

While I was in New York doing the Big Apple Convention (which I highly suggest anyone in the area attend next time it's scheduled!), I got to meet with the folks from 360 in person, which was a treat. On top of that, my friend David called me up unexpectedly a month before I was scheduled to go to NY, and informed me that I could have an art show in New York if I wanted to. For free, even! So I spent Friday afternoon setting up the show at Jigsaw, a tiny and awesome comic book shop in the lower east side of New York. Despite the blizzard (which really kicked our asses while we were up there!), there was a wonderful turnout to the opening on Saturday night, and a few pieces were sold that night.

CXF: What is it like having your work in comics in display? Does it feel different hanging on a wall as opposed to being on a computer monitor, or is it all generally the same?

DC: I've been doing shows for years, although they were almost always photography (I was a photography major in college). It actually feels completely natural for me to sell my artwork in either venue - in person, or via the Internet. I personally love framed artwork, though - I'm bit of a nut for presentation.

CXF: Are there any webcomics or comics out there that you're reading now?

DC: Too many! I spend every morning checking my e-mail and reading a good half-hour's worth of webcomics, or comics via the 'net (several are syndicated cartoons that I view via their syndicates' websites). My current unsyndicated favorites are Wapsi Square, Something Positive, Sinfest, and PvP. My favorite syndicated strips are Zits, Pearls Before Swine, and Foxtrot. Ingenious, all of them.

I don't read many comic books, but Street Angel, Y The Last Man, and anything Craig Thompson does are on my reserves list, indefinitely.

Visit Danielle Corsetto's webcomic, Girls with Slingshots, at www.daniellecorsetto.com/gws.html. It is updated every Tuesday and Thursday.

[Mitch Brown]

Really great interview Alex. Its good to see the (booming) webcomic world getting some love.

I hadn't seen Girls With Slingshots before, but I think I'm going to be checking these out over my lunchbreak from work today.