Misfile Web Comic Artist Christ Hazleton

LT: You draw several web comics? Do you do this for a living now and how long did it take you to get to that point if so?

Yes. Currently I do. It took me about 5 years to get to that point though. Before that it was a side job, and for most of that time I operated in the red.

LT: While I doubt there are a lot of people who complain about it, do you ever get offended e-mails from Christians or people of other faiths over the inclusion of a lazy, pot-smoking angel? If so, what are they like? If not, do you get letters at all about him and how do they go?

I actually expected a lot of those types of letters, but they just haven't materialized. Like maybe one email ni 200 is negative. Suprisingly I've gotten quite a bit of positive email from devoutly religious people, which has surprised me in a good way.

LT: Misfile centers around two people whose lives got messed up because of a misfile caused by Rumsiel, the pot smoking angel mentioned earlier. It seems to me you did not set down to do a comic that would have a transgendered following. What led to the inspiration for Misfile?

A really boring filing job that made me feeling profoundly uncreative, and a long bout of insomnia. ;)

LT: I am not a big anime fan so forgive me if I've got this wrong, but it seems that the comic seems to appeal to a lot of anime types as well. Does this mesh in with your other web comic projects like Building 12?

Yeah. Building 12 was a lot more cariciaturish and rougher. I made a lot of mistakes on it that I learned from before I did Misfile (which had whole new mistakes to deal with...). Both were inspired by and written to appeal to anime fans though.

LT: How do you find time to do even one comic every day? In my interviews with other web comic artists they can spend anywhere from three hours to several days on one strip? Is it easier for you or do you simply love to do it?

I just force myself to get up and draw first thing in the morning. Since it's my only job now I feel guilty if I don't. If I make it the prioroty in my day, it just gets done. Plus after I'm done I have to work on my other book (which is print only) "A Steel Wing Shattered". So I do at least 2, sometimes three pages a day in this way.

LT: This interview would not be complete if I did not mention cars at some point. I must say I never exactly understood the "infamous pedal question" that your forums for the Misfile comic addresses. What caused the readers to bring that up?

Oi... Basically Ash lost the first race because her feet were too small for her to heel-toe drive the way she was used to as a boy. People thought this meant that her car was somehow exempt from the misfile. In reality, it's just because Ash's brin doesn't match her body. Ash as a girl would have learned to heel toe with smaller feet, and it would have been natural for her to do so. Boy Ash had bigger feet and learned different foot positioning. Rather than re-learn the technique, Ash simply moved the pedals closer together so she could use the same foot positioning she had when her feet were bigger.

LT: What was your reaction when the comic got labeled transgendered since it does not seem you set out to do that but perhaps more a Ranma 1/2 type deal?

I wasn't surprised at all that it got labeled transgendered. I WAS suprised at how much of a following it gained as a result of that classification.

LT: Would Ash drive a Buick Electra 225? If not, why? If so, why?

Nope. She wouldn't. Ash likes smaller cars that put handling before power. The Buick is just too big.

LT: In my interview with Jenn Dolari, she mentioned the infamous Wikipedia webcomic purge. I understand your comics were deleted despite being published?

Yep. Almost seemed like they were just searching for some reason to get rid of it. They even made a point of establishing that my comic was "not published", and when they realized it was, they changed their reasoning to "ok... well, it's not available on Amazon", which of course, it actually was. Then they purged it anyway. Frankly despite the uproar I couldn't care less. I don't need Wikipedia's affirmation to feel like a real artist. Frankly I think the whole purge lessened wikipedia. It's supposed to have everything in it. The idea that they purge ANY information seems kind of counter productive. Misfile may actually be available in store soon. I wonder if they'll find another reason (probably another innacurate one) to exclude it then. If they do, it's their site and they can do whatever they want with it. Honestly, I have 250,000 readers, and I make a living drawing and doing the things I love. I feel blessed to be doing what I'm doing. What do I care if I'm listed on any one web site?

LT: I read through the teaser for a Steel Wing Shattered and walked away slightly confused. What is the basic plot (without giving too much away) behind that?

I like to define it as a "dark supernatural mystery". Like Misfile, it is in many ways about identity, but its a totally different angle and story. It revolves around a three way interworld war and a girl with no memory. It's a lot of fun to write and draw because it's flavor is so different than what I'm used to drawing. I would point out though, that this comic, available on Amazon, and published by a "real" publisher internationally (and soon in multiple languages), is also not on Wikipedia. (Seriously, you comic guys on Wikipedia are totally slipping). ;)