by Smoky Man

Eric Benson
is the creator of BUDDY THE CAT comics, an humorous strip about a presumed supercat.
BUDDY THE CAT can be found at www.komikwerks.com.
More info about the author at www.fallenmitten.com.

Can you tell us some biographic details about you?

I'm an artist who received his BFA degree in design from the University of Michigan in 1998 and have been working as a designer ever since. Uses free time to work on drawing, read, develop new creative projects and exercise.

Where did the idea of "Buddy The Cat" come from? Does it reflect an ironic criticism on supehero genre as the dominant comics genre?

Buddy is a real cat who I "inherited" from a roommate in Boston, MA. He really does only sleep and eat. I felt the joke of doing nothing and being celebrated for it was funny. Something that was popular in "Seinfeld". One of the underlying themes that is going to be developed throughout the comic is the differences between men and women. Buddy being the stereotypical lazy male. I really didn't plan to have this comic be a criticism of the superhero genre, but it does in someway do that. The actual hero of this comic will eventually be seen as Sunny (the female cat).

What are your biggest influences, both in visual art and in other media like music and literature?

I am a big fan of many American illustrators including J Otto Siebold and Leaster Baell. I also enjoy the paintings of Mark Rothko. I enjoy music and use that as creative inspiration when I feel stuck with my work. I tend to work more fluidly when I have music. I read a lot about design culture and design criticism to help in my work. In the comic world I've always loved Sam Keith (The Maxx, Zero Girl) because of his expressive line and non traditional comic storyline.

Your Buddy is one of the comics at Komikwerks.com. What do you think about project like that? Could the Web be the place for the next generation of comics?

I think Komikwerks is a great site. I know one of the founders. He was my art director when I was at Razorfish (a web company) in Boston. He's a creative guy and I think he's on to something with Komikwerks. I enjoy comics every now and then and the web presents a lot of different options for comics. With Flash/Shockwave you can have motion and that excites me. I don't know if its the next generation, but a viable option. I still enjoy going to the store and buying my paper comics.

Which comics do you currently read?

I don't have any comics I currently read. But every now and then I pick up one or two new titles to check out where things are headed. I used to read Justice League, The Maxx, Spawn, Kabuki, and Strangers in Paradise.

At the present, which projects are you actually working on? Any comics related one? Any upcoming new Buddy stories?

I'm working on some Flash animated sketches to add to a redesign of my current website and writing a few picture books. I intend to continue Buddy the Cat very soon. I am trying to fine tune the storyline so the comic becomes a better read. I also have a few old storylines and characters from times past that I've considered resurrecting in comic form.

All images © Eric Benson