The Village Gossip has a bag of 64 questions...every visitor who comes past must answer a totally random selection of these, the first twenty pulled from the bag. This week, Dan Schaffer (www.danielschaffer.com) drops by...just mention: Dogwitch (www.dogwitch.com), and that should be enough.
What are you working on at the moment?
A film script with a deadline tighter than Nathan Fillion's pants.
What is the best comic you've ever read?
THE TALE OF ONE BAD RAT, by Bryan Talbot, or BLACK HOLE by Charles Burns, or GHOST WORLD by Daniel Clowes. I wouldn’t be able to single out just one.
Downloading illegal torrents will kill comics, discuss.
New technology has outgrown the copyright systems we currently have in place. Hanging onto intellectual property rights has never been particularly easy. Torrenting probably won’t make a lot of difference to some comics creators, but may well kill off some others completely, and then there will be the in-betweeners who will benefit from having their work widely and freely available by some kind of flukey accident. It’s all swings and roundabouts and depends on which category you’re in. I like the new technology but the bottom line is, creative people need to get paid for their work somehow otherwise they won’t be able to afford to do it anymore, and then we’ll all lose out. Personally, I don’t like reading comics on a screen so I’d rather buy a book anyway.
Are you a good kisser?
I haven’t tried extreme spit kissing yet so, obviously, I’m still just a novice with some way to go.
How clean are your hands?
Very clean since I’ve been writing full time. Usually they’re covered in ink and paint.
If you could swap places with someone for a day, who would it be?
I dunno. Elvis? Just to find out where he really is. Maybe some megalomaniac knuckle-dragging politician I can’t mention in the same sentence as "so I can shoot myself in the face" without ending up on a shit list.
If you had 3 wishes, what would they be?
A sudden increase in the IQ of all the world’s leaders, a cure for migraines, and instant Karma for everybody.
What hobbies did you have as a child?
I used to draw comics about my friends.
What’s the best party you’ve ever been to?
I’m not big on parties. They have people in them. I prefer those accidental get-togethers that kick off out of nowhere. I’m all about the spontaneity.
What’s the most expensive luxury you’ve ever bought?
Maybe a pair of boots for a couple of hundred quid.
What’s the strangest thing that’s ever arrived in the post for you?
A magic spell.
What’s the worst comic that you’ve ever been involved in, or read?
It’s all subjective so I’ll never tell.
Who would play you in the movie of your life?
Someone who could make sitting in front of a keyboard look interesting for 90 minutes.
Who’s the best James Bond?
That’s like asking me to pick my favourite Spice Girls song. I’m not a big Bond fan.
What is the most depressing thing happening in comics right now?
Same thing as always. The fact that one of the most unrestricted and interesting creative mediums alive today has somehow managed to curse itself into an insular vacuum dominated by two or three unchanging modes of expression. And pretty much everyone trying to break in has no plans to move away from that same blueprint. Western comics are a "genre" whereas they should be a "platform".
What are you going to be doing tomorrow?
Trying to iron out the kinks on this script against a ticking clock.
What do you think of the likes of talent shows such as X-Factor/American Idol?
They’re all bollocks. Again, it’s all subjective. They’re hugely successful shows and loads of people love them. But, y’know, they’re all bollocks, aren’t they?
What was the last text message/email you received?
"Come out to play, you fucking hermit"
What is your favourite soup?
I like tomato soup, but I hate tomatoes, so maybe they’re lying about what’s really in it.
If you weren't answering these silly questions, what would you be doing instead?
Saving the world. You’ve buggered that right up now, though.