This week I get a chance to interview Death to Dinksville creator J. Tungol. Death to Dinksville is an ongoing horror/mystery series that will leave you speechless at the end of every issue. J. Tungol was nice enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to talk about that and a whole lot more.
William: Your style in some ways reminds me of Charles M. Schultz on a bad acid trip, and Death to Dinksville is one of the more disturbingly awesome books I have had the pleasure of reading in some time. Who influences you artistically?
J. Tungol: I'd say the biggest influence on my artwork would be Robert Crumb, who actually dropped acid while he drew. I don't, but he did. To a lesser extent, I'd also have to say Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes fame, and he admitted that Charles Schultz was a big influence on him. So I guess you can say that I owe a debt to Schultz as well. But truthfully, I steal from everybody. Every artist has their strengths, you might as well learn from everyone you encounter.
William: The tagline on issue two states: "The Conspiracy-Zombie-Slasher-Whodunit". So far issues 1-3 have been heavy on the zombie/slasher with a little departure in issue three. When does the book start to focus more on the Conspiracy-Whodunit aspect of the story? What should your loyal readers expect to see in future issues?
J. Tungol: I think I touched on those aspects a little bit in chapter 3, with the introduction of Theodore (the conspiracy theorist) and the Red Cloak Killer, who is pretty much responsible for the virus outbreak and will be revealed in the penultimate chapter. The major dramatic question in a zombie story is "who will survive?" and the question for a whodunit story is "who is the killer?" Without going into specifics, I'll just say once my group of survivors is established, one of them will be the Red Cloak Killer.
William: I have to ask. I saw a Watchmen poster on Shogo's wall in issue one. Who is your favorite Watchmen character and why? What do you think about the upcoming Before Watchmen series by DC?
J. Tungol: One of the things that makes Watchmen a masterpiece is that each character is an archetype that we as comic book readers are familiar with. To isolate one of these characters is tough because each one is necessary. But... the fan favorite is Rorschach and I am in agreement. I'm actually excited about "Before Watchmen." I know a lot of Watchmen purists are not, but I am. One of the things that DC did that I like is that they didn't put all their eggs in one basket, by putting the project on one creative team. Even if Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons went through and did it themselves, I would be nervous. I'm looking at "Before Watchmen" as supplementary material and not a full blown sequel/prequel. And with DC dividing up the characters to various creative teams, they are hedging their bets.
William: It is rare to see such young characters in such graphic situations. What gave you the idea to make children the protagonists in Death to Dinksville?
J. Tungol:I didn't have a choice with that. Sometimes you get a weird mix when you are both the artist and the writer. As an artist I lean more towards cute cartoon-like characters, while the writer in me wants to write horror stories.
William: Who do you think would win in a Lamar vs. Carl from The Walking Dead throwdown?
J. Tungol: That's not even a fair fight. Lamar would kick that kid's ass everyday and twice on Sunday. Of course, I've read only the first 15 or so issues of "The Walking Dead," so I don't know how Carl evolves throughout the series. But come on, Carl comes from a two parent home where he is loved and supported. Lamar lives with a mother who puts her boyfriend's needs ahead of him and has no real father figure in his life. Lamar was made tough through circumstances long before any zombie outbreak.
William: Mayor Faux describing himself as a "compassionate conservative" and the "Cheney Corporation" lead me to believe that you are not a registered Republican. What are your political beliefs? How do they tie in to the story?
J. Tungol: With the policies of the previous administration, and how the current GOP wants to cannibalize any moderate in its inner circle, I'd say I am more sympathetic to the left now more than ever. Not to say that I completely disregard all things conservative. There have been many great Republican leaders like Lincoln, Eisenhower, and Teddy Roosevelt. In fact, Theodore, one of the heroes in my book is named after Teddy Roosevelt. I'd say that the political satire that I throw in is really just paying homage to the classic George Romero zombie films. He was just more subtle in his social commentary than I am.
William: It looks like we get to see a little more of Dylan Haddenfield in the next issue. I personally can't wait to find out what happens next. When can we expect issue four of Death to Dinksville to hit comic store shelves?
J. Tungol: Yes, chapter 4 will be more focused on Haddenfield. You can expect chapter 4, "Carnage on Clementine Island," later this year.
We want to thank J.Tungol for taking time to talk to us about Death to Dinksville, and I know that when issue four drops, I will be at the comic book store that day picking up my copy. There are two links listed below; one is for the J.Tungol website. If you do not already own Death to Dinksville you can purchase your copies there. The other link is to our Facebook page. If you don't already, "like" The Hammond Comics Blog on Facebook right away. The first person to write "Fuck Dick Cheney" on our Facebook page that "likes" the page will get the first three issues of Death to Dinksville mailed to their home for the price of zero. These were graciously donated to us by J. Tungol, and we can not thank him enough for his generosity as well as his artistic accomplishments. Buy Death to Dinksville today. WRDJ
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