INTERVIEW: Cartoonist Matt Nelson Talks Catbeard and Comics

Catbeard the Pirate! black and white panel

Matt Nelson is a cartoonist and creator of Catbeard the Pirate!, a webcomic about a pirate with a living cat for a beard. We asked him a few questions about how his unique creation came to be, and what it’s like creating comics in 2018 and beyond.

What first gave you the idea for Catbeard? How did you come up with such a unique concept for your comic’s main character?
So, I used to have a pair of cats, Tiger and Jiji. Both are sadly no longer around, but they lived full, very long lives. Tiger was a big cuddler, and she liked to sit on my chest while I watched TV. One weekend, my best friend and I were sitting around, watching Rifftrax (as we often would), and she was in her habitual spot. I grabbed her up and squashed her onto my face, saying to my friend, “Look, a kitty beard!” He responded, “Catbeard, the pirate!” I immediately bolted upright, inspiration striking like lightning. “That’s a THING,” I shouted at him, pointing wildly. “I’m DOING that.” I had been working on a steampunk Robin Hood graphic novel at the time, and it had been a real slog. I just wasn’t having fun with it, but being stubborn, I was still drawing it. I immediately put the comic aside and started drawing the adventures of Catbeard. I think I drew something like ten pages over that first weekend, and I haven’t stopped for nearly seven years now.

What is it you like about comics as a medium? What gave you your first interest in comics?
Comics are something special in storytelling. I love stories, in all forms: novels, movies, TV, but comics are a unique experience. A novel can’t show you exactly the world the author has in his head. A movie can’t tell you everything the screenwriter thought she should explain. Comics are an amazing balance of showing and telling, and especially when they’re written and drawn by the same person. As for my first interest in comics, I remember reading them from when I was a little kid. My dad is a comics fan, and I grew up reading them. One of my earliest memories was my dad getting me the Superman/Spider-Man and Batman/Incredible Hulk crossover oversize comics, and reading them over and over again on my bedroom floor, turning the huge pages. I read them until they fell apart. But I was also lucky enough to have a library that happened to have some indie comics in it, and so I read Usagi and Mage when I was very young, which set me down the path of black-and-white non-mainstream titles as well.

Catbeard black and white panel

What’s it like publishing as a webcomic creator? Do you have any tips for people looking to create their own webcomics?
Webcomic publishing can be a really lonely endeavor, especially when you’ve got a very odd, niche title like mine (and Catbeard is pretty niche, even for indie webcomics.) You don’t necessarily get a ton of feedback, and you’re responsible only to your own arbitrary deadlines. But on the positive side, you can make whatever you want, and hey, that arbitrary deadline thing can be pretty darn great if you want it to be, haha! If I were to give tips, I’d say to remember to draw with possible print in mind (people still seem to like to buy comics in physical form, so save high resolution scans or digital art) try to make a comfortable buffer of update strips (very few people manage to pull this off, but you should at least attempt it) be cool on social media (sometimes you can get work that way!) but don’t get sucked into it too much, and most of all, have fun with your comic!

What are you future plans for Catbeard?
I plan to Kickstart the fifth book a little later this year, and after that I have at least two more Catbeard books to do for a total of seven. The main arc of Catbeard will be over in that seventh book, and while I could continue to do stand-alone Catbeard adventures, I think I’ll move on to other projects after that. I have more worlds and stories bouncing around in my brain, waiting to be released on the page.

Do you have any other projects that you are currently working on?
I unfortunately rarely have time to work on other things besides Catbeard, as I have a full-time day job. Buuuut I am almost always tinkering with something, haha! I have some old scans from one of my earliest comics that I no longer have the original art to, so I’ve been trying to digitally “re-master” those. I also like to customize Funko pops, so I do a little of that from time to time. And I’ve got notes and sketches all over for projects that I’ll probably never finish, but it’s worth at least jotting down in case I can start one!

Anything else to add/say?
Only that I’m so glad to have been selected for interview, and I thank you for your time and hope you and your readers will give Catbeard a try!

You can find out more about Catbeard on its official site, where you can also purchase physical copies of the comic, as well as Catbeard merchandise. Thanks to Matt Nelson for taking the time to talk to us!

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