Indie Cartoonist Makes Money Funny

Jun 23

Cartoonist Tim Hensley‘s new book Wally Gropius, about a teenage gazillionaire proves that money can be funny. Newsarama interviewed Hensley about Wally Gropius, which kinda resembles a bit like Archie Andrews but has a lifestyle more closely resembles that of Richie Rich or Scrooge McDuck.

Newsarama: Can you tell us a little bit about the origin of the character, specifically how you decided that a teenage millionaire rock band leader celebrity was the sort of character you wanted to devote some time to?

Tim Hensley: This has been the FAQ I’ve had most in interviews so far, to the point where I feel like the guy being questioned in the box by the police, like, “Let’s go over your story again.” “But I tell you I don’t know! I blacked out at my drawing table and woke up next to a gold ingot.”

I read teenager comics when I was too young to know better and have reapproached them from a different bewildering age, I guess.

Nrama: Can you tell us a little bit about Wally’s head? How did its unusual shape come about? Actually, would you mind talking a bit about Wally’s character design in general? While Wally’s well dressed, especially compared to his bandmates, you didn’t go for many of the obvious signifiers of cartoon wealth, as you did with his parents.

Hensley: I thought it would be fun to do a serious graphic novel with a character whose head looks like an inverted curling stone. The main thing is the top of his head is inked with a straight edge, but the rest is subject to the inclination that arrives at its natural element over repetition. I can see why some cartoonists go back in and redraw their characters.

As far as his outfit, the ascot is probably the biggest signifier—though I’m no semiotician—of a kind of Thurston Howell affectation. The “W” patch on his sweater is supposed to suggest a simplified family crest.

A rule I followed was somewhere I read it was a good idea to use process colors on a main character’s outfit to make them stand out. That’s why Little Orphan Annie always wears a red dress, and Wally always sports a yellow sweater.

Head on over to their site for the complete interview.

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