#timetrabble

[dispatchesfromtheclasswar]

[melissaduck]

My Tumblr Crushes:

timetrabble

mewtwowarrior

the-don-pinstripelli

gabe14limbs

piixiev

rainbowchibbit

danny-does-a-voice

arcade-lackey

xxtc-96xx

[independentink]

Independent Ink interviews...

Mikey Heller!

     Hey guys, Jeremy here, I got a chance to sit down with one of the funniest cartoonists out there right now! Mikey Heller! Or you may know him as timetrabble. In this interview we talk comics, stand up, and the possibility of a Time Trabble book??? ___________________________________________________________

independent ink: How about you tell us a bit about yourself for the readers who may just be discovering you?

Mikey Heller: My name is Mikey Heller and I started my webcomic Time Trabble, a little over 4 years ago. I didn't know what I wanted to do with it; I just wanted to have a site to motivate myself to draw more. I've been told that for the most part, my comics about "people who super psyched to be depressed". I also do a lot of stand up comedy so that might explain why Time Trabble is mostly joke-based.

ii: Stand up, you say? How long have you been doing that and how did that start?

MH: I first started doing stand up when I was in college around 2009. I would do it every so often and after a year or so of that I started performing more regularly. It's a lot of fun!

ii: That's actually pretty neat, man. Do you ever find yourself turning any of your stand up into comics? Has Stand up helped you with your comics in any way?

MH: There have been times when I had an idea for stand up but it didn't feel right, so I was made it into a comic strip. And it's happened the other way, a comic strip idea became a stand up idea. I'm never too sure what works better for which form. Stand up comedy has probably helped with my comics just by making me think of and consume humor all the time.

ii: Nice, nice! How about your favorite comedians?

MH: I've always loved Steve Martin. My favorite stand up comedians now are Kurt Braunohler, Eugene Mirman and Maria Bamford. But my REAL favorite comedians are my friends I've met doing comedy!

ii: Haha, nice save, man! What prompted you to start drawing comics? MH: I've been drawing comics my whole life! I made a few attempts here and there for a webcomic. But finally around May of 2010 I told myself just to draw whatever I could think of and to just start posting them! I don't always keep to a regular schedule but the fact that its always there keeps me coming back to draw more. ii: Do you feel like the fact that you have quite a bit of fans and an audience waiting to read your strips kind of fuels you to constantly deliver comics? MH: I think so. I usually forget people read Time Trabble until someone tweets at me or I see activity happening on the tumblr or something. It's always felt like this personal project just for me and I think I still treat it that way. I'm so glad there are people who like it though! When people send me nice messages about my comics, I feel incredible all day.

"The weirdest endings often feel inevitable to me. Like, "Oh, of course this comic will end with a dude barfing up a lizard. There's no other way!"

ii: Where exactly do you get this awesome content from? You're comics are sometimes so surreal, awkward, and take amazing left turns at the punchline and delivers something completely unexpected. How do you do it? MH: If I knew how I did it, I'd do it a lot more often! I'm never too sure where these ideas come from. Usually I'll just have something in my head, like a funny image or a word, and when I sit down to draw I always plan a three panel strip. But then more panels get added from there. Bit by bit. Some comics stay three panels, others grow from there. The surrealism and awkward turns the comics take are just natural progressions I have while writing and drawing. The weirdest endings often feel inevitable to me. Like, "Oh, of course this comic will end with a dude barfing up a lizard. There's no other way!"

ii: Is there anything that really inspires you? MH: Yeah, all sorts of things! I think my biggest inspiration as a kid was anytime I saw a cartoon character drawing. There was a Calvin & Hobbes strip when Calvin hung out in his notebook with his own doodles. And in Captain Underpants, you could read comics George and Harold drew. As of now, webcomics and stand up comedy are the biggest inspirations. I'm just trying to keep up with everybody! ii: Any cartoonists out there that you absolutely wouldn't mind hanging out with for a day because you love their work so much? MH: James Kochalka, for sure. He and Craig Thompson have been heroes of mine for such a long time. I'd love to hang out with KC Green, Todd Webb, Kate Beaton, oh there are so many. This list could go on and on. ii: I'm a very big fan of James Kochalka as well. What's your favorite piece of work from him? Mine was American Elf.

MH: I was crazy for American Elf. I'd check up on it every day. It felt so strange when I lost that part of my daily routine when he stopped doing it. ii: I still find myself checking it every once in a while to see if any updates happened, haha. Did you know we were in Shaqzine together? MH: No I didn't! Which piece was yours?? ii: Shaq thanking everyone who came to his birthday party by giving them copies of shaq-fu and KAZAAM! in their goodie bags. MH: Ohh, ha ha. I remember that one!   

ii: Haha, yeah. Other than Comics and Stand up, are there any other hobbies you have?

MH: Not really! Those things sort of run my life. Of course I watch movies, listen to music, and read books but that's all normal every day stuff.

ii: that's the key to being successful, I hear. haha. Where did the name TimeTrabble come from? MH: I don't really remember. I think I just wanted something that sounded silly and I dig time travel-stories. I realize now that it's not the greatest choice for a name because anytime I say it out loud to someone they think I'm saying "Time Travel" and I half to spell out the name. Looks fine on paper, but doesn't translate in real life as well. But a name's a name, so I'm sticking with it. ii: Any plans for books or zines in the upcoming future? MH: I've always wanted to release a Time Trabble collection at some point. I started doing the research for it a while ago. It'll happen but probably not for a while. What I'd like to do is release some zines of comics that won't be posted online. I don't have much stuff in print and I'd like to rectify that this year. It's one of my new year's resolutions! ii: I'm actually looking forward to that! I wouldn't mind buying a book from you at all, man! A couple more questions, my main man. How do you feel about the current state of independent comics? MH: It's been amazing to watch the birth and grow of webcomics and how that's been shaping comics in general. My favorite part of posting online is getting my stuff out there immediately and seeing how people react. I think this makes it so cartoonists have the strongest link ever with their audience and it goes both ways. ii: Any final words or tips to any aspiring cartoonists? MH: My only piece of advice is produce stuff and share it! That's how great things happen. ii: Any shoutouts or plugs before you go? MH: My friend Lorelei Ramirez is an incredible artist and comedian. Everyone should check out her work (http://pileoftears.com). She does a lot of fun stuff with customized art. Also everyone needs to be watching The Special without Brett Davis, a new comedy variety show on MNN. Stream it Wednesday nights 11pm ESTon brettdavis.tumblr.com. I should stop myself now before I list off an essay's worth of plugs. ii: Hahaha, awesome man. Thank you so much for the interview it was really fun. MH: Thank you! It was a blast. ________________________________________________________

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed yourself reading this interview. Special thanks to Mikey for being a great interviewee and you can follow him at timetrabble, so go click that follow button and support great hardworking artists!

[timetrabble]

Time Trabble - Art

http://timetrabble.com/?p=244

[timetrabble]

Time Trabble - Talking to Girls

http://timetrabble.com/?p=240

GO TO http://timetrabble.com FOR MORE COMICS PLZ

[fryslan0109]

Pretty accurate.