Comic strips Interviews

Rich Stevens interviewed

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Alan Gardner March 31, 2008 1 minute 1 comment

Comicmix.com has interviewed Rich Stevens regarding his long running webcomic Diesel Sweeties and its current foray into newspapers.

Here’s an excerpt:

Nearly 2000 strips and a newspaper syndication deal later, DS has evolved into an Internet phenomenon of sorts. The series is often held up as a prime example of the success an online-based comic can achieve, while the Dumbrella webcomic collective Stevens’ co-founded is host to many of the most popular series on the ‘Net. The DS creator is also finding himself frequently called upon to serve as the medium’s ambassador to the world of print comics.

Earlier this month, Stevens made waves in the comics industry yet again with the announcement that, in celebration of the series’ upcoming 2000th strip, he would release the entirety of the DS archive in free, downloadable PDF files under a Creative Commons license.

CMix: DS has featured some great cameos over time. What were some of your favorites? Did you discuss the cameos with any of the people who appeared in DS before or after it occurred?

RS: I never warn or ask for permission on cameos – the kind of person who works for a cameo is usually the kind of person who doesn’t answer email!

Some of the most fun ones were drawing Danzig in #666, working in Xeni, Richard Belzer and Woz. The most popular was probably Corin Tucker from Sleater-Kinney way back in 2001. I’d probably be a lot wealthier if I did that kind of strip every day.