Hamster Man Will Save the World
Joan Hiller interviews Hamster Man creator Paul Koob for Punk Planet.
Unpublished questions appear in red.
Part Charles Schultz with a Dostoyevskian spin, part Waiting for Godot, Paul Koob's Chicago-based Hamster Man comic series captures human nature's flawed beauty simplistically; allegorically. For the past sixteen years, his unassuming cast of quirky, deadpan characters has charmingly championed the mundane, quietly soliciting laughs and subtly tugging heartstrings. Upon first glance, Koob's cleanly drawn protagonist appears as little more than a peanut-shaped rodent with a penchant towards embarking on seemingly uneventful misadventures. Hamster Man's unchanging profile contains little detail, save for a dotted eye, a round nose, a tiny protruding ear and t-crossed limbs--no mouth, no...anything. Make no mistake about the depth and genius in our hero's presence, though. Just as big things come in small packages, big sociological observations often underlie small experiences. Such is the genius of Koob's minimalist scenarios, whether they involve trying on pants, fighting evil villains like Carpet Man or ritualistically abusing close friends.
1) Could you give me a bit of background on the original formation of Hamster Man himself circa '89? Are we talking notebook doodle or high-concept, premeditated birthing?
ANSWER: The first Hamster Man comic was published in 1989, but the character was initially created way back in '86 when I was in the sixth grade. Hamster Man first appeared in rough little comic strips sketched on loose-leaf paper that were passed from desk to desk during class or after school. It wasn't until my sophomore year of high school that some friends introduced me to self-published comics. We all made our own books and published them ourselves under the name Rocco Comics.
2) Initially, your first story lines leaned towards the action-packed, although every escapade has always been tainted with a heavy dose of the mundane. Why is HM always searching for a lost dime? Is the lost dime a metaphor for all that one might lose in the world, perhaps? Or maybe HM wanted a gumball somethin' awful?
ANSWER: Although I didn't know it at the time, the dime in those early adventures set a precedent upon which most future stories were based. The dime represents the motive and the futility behind everything Hamster Man does as a kind of worthless Holy Grail. It establishes him as an anti-hero whose decisions are made thoughtlessly, and who bumbles through mistake after mistake on his way to victory.
3) Or anti-victory, as it were, for the victories are few and far between, and are often achieved only after undue frustration or at the expense of other characters. When did you decide to have such a sense of funny nihilism in your plots?
ANSWER: The early Hamster Man stories were written, in part, as a reaction to the popular super-hero titles that dominate the comics world. Although Hamster Man himself first appeared as a super-hero, he certainly did not conform to the super-hero persona. His one super power was turning himself into a pile of bran flakes when he got scared. At first Hamster Man was portrayed as a stupid-hero who eventually made the transition from dumb to boring. His boring qualities stuck and were mixed with meanness to form the present-day Hamster Man.
4) Clearly objectionable antagonists such as the Black Whiz, present in early storyboards, are no longer present in your work. Instead, curiously mean and strangely kniving characters have surfaced, quietly causing conflict in Hamster Man's world. In fact, Hamster Man himself is villainous more often than not. The Black Whiz is way meaner than Carpet Man (described as "a rolled up carpet with attitude" on the Hamster Man website) or E-Head (a fickle, snarl-toothed Sesame Streetesque letter E with almond eyes and rounded feet) will ever be, but he no longer really shows himself. Was this a natural progression, villain/antagonist-wise, towards presenting the more day-to-day HM misadventures instead of continuing on with a more superheroesque early vibe? Will the Black Whiz ever rise again?
ANSWER: As the stories became less hero-oriented, the Black Whiz disappeared. He was the essential "bad guy" in those adventures, but didn't translate so well to the even more boring day-to-day stories. Once Hamster Man lost his cape and powers he required enemies who were at least as mundane as he was, and Carpet Man (a mean carpet) and E-Head (a mean letter E) had the necessary qualities. The villains gradually evolved from super-evil to just plain mean, which is even worse sometimes. Carpet Man is a throwback to the classic super-villain with his lair and secret weapons, but in the end he's still just a rug.
5) There's also a new addition to the community--Mrs. Grape, a nosy-neighbor prototype. Recently introduced in Hamster Man #11, Mrs. Grape spends a great deal of time with U-Head, who also exhibits a touch of the nosies. U-Head, with his half-closed eyes, digitless, blocky body and generally motionless mouth, makes it his business to reason out Hamster Man's actions. What's the potential for these scheming characters to scheme together in the future?
ANSWER: Individually, Mrs. Grape and U-Head use their powers of criticism to bring Hamster Man's most far-fetched ideas down to earth. U-Head has always been the character who doesn't get swept up in the confusion or stupidity of any given episode. He prefers to administer his terse comments from the sidelines and let the story carry on without him. Mrs. Grape has plenty of comments of her own, but her curiosity compels her to get more involved in other people's business. I see their relationship being similar to that of a stand-up comedy duo. Mrs. Grape is up front delivering the goods while U-Head is the straight man in back getting his jabs in when necessary.
6) Uniquely, you let others drive your Hamster Man vehicle from time to time. Several of your comics feature guest-rendered stories, further emphasizing the fact that everyone can relate to characters such as those found in the tales. When and why did you decide to have others guest-comicwrite?
ANSWER: The first guest story happened because I didn't have enough material to finish Hamster Man #6 in time for the Chicago ComiCon. A friend, Jim Milak, offered to do it and honestly it is my favorite Hamster Man story. He wrote and drew it himself, and his version of Hamster Man is the funniest thing I've seen. I still laugh when I see it. The story is titled "Hamster Man Goes Hunting With Ted Nugent." I have included a guest story in almost every issue since then. I usually ask someone to do it but sometimes people do stories on their own and they end up being really great. I met a guy in Kentucky once who sent me a really funny story called "Hamster Man Meets His Match" in which Hamster Man beats the tar out of Paul Koob for drawing him so poorly.
7) The comic is published on a scant, though long-standing, basis. An issue used to come out once yearly for the Chicago ComiCon until issue #9 in 1995, after which there was a five-year hiatus. Why're the issues released so sparingly? Any plans to make Hamster Man a more frequent thing? It makes so many millions of children and adults alike happy.
ANSWER: For years Hamster Man comics were almost exclusively sold at Chicago's annual comic convention. The convention was the closest thing to a deadline I ever had so the comics wound up being published once a year. Now that I've been getting better distribution around Chicago and online, I feel that an audience is available whenever I want to release something new. My plan is to do a couple more mini-comics within the next year and then try to do a big book containing most of the stories in existence.
8) There's a very simple aesthetic to what you do, which is part of what makes the stories so believable and enjoyable and translatable to everyday life. Could you explain your decision to visually represent things simply--stick figure arms, white space, etc.? How does that tie into the awesome design work you do outside of Hamster Man?
ANSWER: Like good graphic design, comic art should facilitate the smooth transfer of information from paper (internet, etc.) to reader. That's not to say that the art should be totally devoid of detail, but that details should be chosen carefully to represent attitudes and emotions clearly. I try to make Hamster Man as easy to read as possible for those who prefer to rush right through the stories (as many people do with comics) while also appealing to those who tend to spend time with the art (which is totally cute, in case you haven't noticed.)
9) The unhealthy yet constant bestfriendship between Hamster Man and The Monkey is one of your strongest and most vivid depictions of human nature in the comic--and again, the simplicity's the beauty part. Nobody deserves to be bossed around, but the Monkey seems awfully irritated to begin with, and perhaps he thrives on the abuse. The Omnipresent Question: Why is Hamster Man so fucking mean to The Monkey? What did The Monkey ever do to him? Does Hamster Man and The Monkey's dysfunctional relationship touch on man's tendency to hurt those whom we love most?
ANSWER: Hamster Man's relationship with his best friend is truer than anyone would care to admit. It focuses on the tension between two people who are way too familiar with one another. In the end they can see past all the bickering and abuse that sometimes comes with a long lasting and ultimately caring partnership (think Bert and Ernie.)
10) How much do you and Hamster Man have in common? Is The Monkey, in part, a representation of persons you, as Paul Koob, might wish harm towards?
ANSWER: The characters in Hamster Man are not meant to be reflections of myself, but I do recognize many similarities once I'm finished writing a story. Sometimes it seems that the characters in certain stories are about me all at the same time. Sometimes they seem to represent other people I know. It's easy to read a lot into this sort of thing, and you have to be careful not to take it too seriously. I don't think The Monkey ever represents a specific person as much as he functions as the object of Hamster Man's rough treatment. In a way they are two halves of the same character that depend on one another to exist.
11) The saddest figure in all of Hamster Man; the one with absolutely no personal potential, is also the dearest, cheeriest and most likable: Glass of Milk Man. As is often the case when it comes to individuals with overtly generous personalities, Glass of Milk Man is caring to a fault. Do you think that Glass of Milk Man might ever come back to life and spill himself on The Pants--or perhaps even save the day by soiling Carpet Man? His behavior is the saddest of all.
ANSWER: Glass of Milk Man will certainly appear in future Hamster Man stories, but you won't get to see him save the day or foil an evil plot. In fact, it is more likely that he will end up dead every time. He is the tragic character who embodies all that is good and decent but never seems to win. Just as bad things happen to good people, Hamster Man and his "friends" benefit from Glass of Milk Man's deaths by getting to drink up the delicious milk inside him.
12) The Eagle, Hamster Man's most majestic character, sports one Egyptian-like eye and functions as a mystical, fatal savior. Sort of. Do you wish that The Eagle really existed in your daily life? I sure wish I had an Eagle.
ANSWER: I do have an Eagle. The Eagle character in Hamster Man has saved me many times. Whenever the plot of a particular story seems to hit a dead end or get too boring (even for Hamster Man), The Eagle swoops in and carries Hamster Man off only to deposit him in the midst of some random situation. Then he flies away somewhere until he's needed again. In case you want to know, The Eagle is actually a device that was first implemented in ancient Greek and Roman theater to perform the exact same job. When the hero of a particular play wound up in a hopeless situation a god or other non-human being would fly over the stage suspended by a hand operated crane and snatch the actor up into the heavens. In Latin it's called Deus Ex Machina which translates literally into "god in the machine" (referring to the crane they used to swing the actors around.) My version is called Eagle Ex Comica which translates into "The Eagle in my comic book." So there.
In Chicago, Hamster Man comics are most easily procured at Quimby's, Chicago Comics, Reckless Records or out of the friendly, generous hands of Koob himself. In the rest of the universe, curious seekers can visit www.hamsterman.com (downloadable treats, Hamster Man merchandise, contact information and character profiles are available there as well.) |
