sequential tart interview

This interview first appeared in the March 2000 issue of sequential tart by Barb Lien.

(Un)Born To Be Wild
Andy Ristaino
by Barb Lien

Slave Labor Graphics has been taking some real risks lately, what with publishing Abel (an excellent and jarringly effective graphic novel about racial prejudice) and Life Of A Fetus. Make no mistake, Andy Ristaino's Life Of A Fetus is one strange, surreal comic. Fortunately, it's also very funny, intriguing, unusual, and readable book. The set-up is relatively simple: a fetus, tired of its surroundings, jumps ship (or is that jumps womb?). Problem is, no one but no one will leave the little thing in peace. He gets chased about by an odd assortment of weirdoes, power freaks, monsters, and other interested parties. I'm not doing the concept justice, obviously. Maybe the interview that follows will help clarify matters ... or, maybe not.
[ Life Of A Fetus ]

Sequential Tart: Tell us about your background/who you are (name, what you were like as a kid, what you watched on TV, college experiences, that sort of a thing)...

Andy Ristaino: Let's see...well first off my name is Andy Ristaino, I was raised in all is well Franklin, MA. I was a really shy kid. I didn't do sports because of health issues. I used to have wicked bad asthma, and allergies. So I'd instead spend a lot of time drawing, or playing in the woods. I had an imaginary friend who lived down the street in a brown house, his name was Poopy Casa. My brothers were always drawing so naturally I started doing it too at a very early age. As time went on I kinda got more and more introverted and more and more focused on my work. I, like most of America, spent way to much time in front of the boob tube as a child. Shows like Starblazers, Force Five, Battle of the Planets, GI Joe, Dr. Who, and, for some unknown reason, I loved to watch The Price Is Right.

College was kind of a shock to the system. It woke me up to the world. I went to RISD, majoring in film, video, animation. It was a very intense work environment, not really a party school at all. That was three years ago...now I'm out in San Fran.

ST: How'd you get interested in comics?

AR: Love of comics were kind of kindled and handed down from brother to brother in my family. Something I grew up with.

ST: Early projects you've done?

AR: I did a strip in this Latin newspaper called The Pompeianna Newsletter for 5 years. In college I worked on this book called Nightblade The Nearsighted Ninja...but no one would pick it up. I put out a 'zine called Noisvani. I've gotten work printed in The Maxx, I did an 8-pager in the back of this book called Oz Squad, issue 8 I think. I've had a few stories printed in the Fort Thunder book, Monster.
[ Life Of A Fetus ]

ST: Tell us about the comic you're doing now...

AR: It's called Life Of A Fetus. It's about a fetus who, fed up with the confines society puts upon you from the moment of conception, bursts out of the womb seeking freedom. Upon birth the fetus is constantly wound up in many plots and plans. Everyone wants to use the fetus for their own means. It's basically a journey of self discovery for the fetus. The book originally started out as a stream of consciousness story but has since really come into its own.

ST: Who are your influences (comic book creators and other art forms)? Favorite comics/movies/books?

AR: My comic influences are Bill Watterson, Jack Kirby, 70's John Byrne, Adam Davis, Chris Ware, Zander Cannon, Dave McKean, Katsuhiro Otomo, Charles Schultz.

Movies: Terry Gilliam, John Carpenter, the Cohen brothers, Stanley Kubrick, Harold and Maude, Rushmore, The President's Analyst, The Matrix. Oh, American Beauty was the best movie I've ever seen!

Books: Kurt Vonnegut, Carlos Castenada, Robert Anton Wilson, Jerry Mander...there are so many more I cannot even begin to count.

ST: Best/worst part of your job?

AR: It all depends...I love everything! The best is when everything just clicks the characters write the scene themselves, and you pencil 7 pages in one day! Slave Labor does all the stuff I don't want to deal with, like distribution. My only complaint is that I wish I had more time to work on my book, instead of having to work a full time gig on the sly.

ST: What do you love/hate about the comic book industry?

AR: I love the medium! And those that are challenging and exploring the medium are the diggaty. I'm a storyteller at heart. Comic books always seem like the easiest clearest way to combine stories with the visual images in my head.

ST: If there's one thing about the industry you'd change, what would it be?

AR: Try to give people who wouldn't normally have the chance to tell their story an outlet. A lot of the most amazing stuff in comics is happening in the 'zine scene. People should see it.

ST: Any advice for those wanting to get into the comics industry?

AR: I had a fortune cookie that once said I like my woman like I like my coffee...free. Other than that, keep trying.
[ Life Of A Fetus ]

ST: What job would you like, if you weren't doing what you were doing?

AR: Comics... animation, movies, interactive web design... I see it all connected. I want to entertain people, make their lives a little more surreal. The fetus is just an extension of my work which connects to every aspect of my life. If I could just explore and create with no boundaries...

ST: Who was the most important teacher you've had in your career?

AR: Most important teacher would be the world around us. I've been listening to the trees, and the wind a lot lately... some rather interesting stuff.

ST: Do you think that there are certain kinds of stories which are better told in one media than in another? What does the comics medium offer you that other media does not offer?

AR: The lines are becoming more and more blurred as time goes by. Everything is starting to come together. Movies are comics, comics are movies.. .and interactive web design it's really crazy staggering what we'll be able to do on the web in a few years.

ST: Do you get creative blocks? What do you do to get past them?

AR: Yup, every once and a while...when that happens I just work on something else for a while. Then, all of a sudden, everything's clear as day.

ST: If someone were to make a movie of your life, what genre would it fall under, and who would play you?

AR: Let's hope it never comes to that. There are much more deserving subjects to be portrayed in a movie.

ST: Words to live by?

AR: Love and live every moment of your life like it was your last.

ST: What achievement are you proudest of?

AR: The ones that will remain unnoticed.

ST: Where can interested readers get the comic if they can't find it in stores (contact info, in other words)?

AR: They can get it at www.slavelabor.com or contact me at rashanko@yahoo.com.