The timing with the New Orleans flood was totally coincidental. I was actually in the middle of coloring the entire flooding sequence when Katrina hit. I remember specifically drawing the panel with people standing on their roofs with "Help Us" signs, and then turning my head and seeing the EXACT image on from a TV helicopter on the TV in my studio. It spooked me.
A lot of the FLIGHT contributions fall into a storybook quality, as does yours, but it also feels like there’s something more to it. Perhaps a story told to you by a relative as a child, or maybe something more recent?
People underestimate children in the publsihing industry. Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. Too often, the entertainment manufactured for then is sanitized and dumbed down to protect them, be it Edited Loony Toons cartoons, or rounded book corners.
When I wrote my story, I wanted to write a chldren's story in the spirit Oscar Wilde wrote "The Happy Prince" and Edward Gorey's "The Gashleycrumb Tinies". They make you laugh, they make you cry. they run the gammut of emotions, and I think that's healthy.
As a creator who isn’t dependant on comics work to survive, you’re able to choose which projects you take on. How do you manage the time between work and creating stories for yourself?
It's tough. I have a thousand stories I want to tell. I have Lord of the Ring sized epics to tell! The reality is, I probably wont get to publish all the stories I want to. I don't currently have enough free time to do so.
My goal is to be doing comics full time, so I have to make every attempt at grabbing the brass ring count. Flight was a no brainer. Total creative freedom and an amazing platform surrounded by a talent roster unrivaled in this industry.
Heck, I'm afraid its all downhill from here for me

Sammy, remains your most recognizable creation. Could you tell us a little about Sammy and how that character got started? I was really impressed when I saw you bring in the FLQ to one of your Sammy stories.
Sammy is the guy all the crappy things in life happen to. Murphy's Law personified. He's the guy in the urban legend that gets his kidneys stolen. He's the guy in folklore that is tricked by the devil. He's all of us on our worst hair day. And I hope he lives again soon.
He was actually an old character I created for a farsical comic about an bumbling thief. I had done a mini comic back in grade 11 of his misadventures, but didn't return to the project until 1999. The industry was in a rut and for the first time in my adult life, I wasn;t collecting comics. I complained and griped, but in the end I decided to put up or shut up and do a book *I* wanted to read. So, I got to work, and the mini series Sammy: Tourist Trap was the result.
The FLQ thing (for those that don't know, its the acronym for a Quebec seperatist organization that terrorized Quebec back a million years ago. Sammy's closest confidant and priest is an ex-member) was a story device. Sammy was stuck in a funk. Having the priest admit to Sammy he was in the FLQ was his way of showing him that people change. things change. The sun will rise tomorrow. In hindsight, it may have been a little too region specific, but I tend to write for an audience of one anyway, to my detriment I suspect.
Currently you’re working on a mini-compilation to debut at San Diego, will this be a Sammy related project or more personal works?
I have a couple of Sammy webcomics and pinups I'll be compiling for the con. They all stand on thier own. A little intro inot the character. A Very Sammy Valentine will be in there, which I think is my favorite short story I've done for him.
How would you compare doing a story on your own to that off working with another writer? With your future projects do you have a preference to your role? For instance, writing for another artist?
Writing and drawing a project myself is where I feel I get teh most satisfaction. Translating something that's in my head to paper is a tough thing to do, so when it turns out right, it's like winning the lottery every time. It's wonderful.
On the flipside, I look forward to working with other artists. I wrote a short story for Penny Farthing Press last year for the Decoy anthology "Menagerie", which I found very enjoyable. It was a cool experience having someone else handle the art chores for once, and I think that's a role I'd be very comfortable with.... provided that the artist and I are in sync and the work produced is good.
I briefly worked with B.Clay Moore on a project called Clean Living which is sort of in a holding pattern right now. But, working with him was great. Again, provided I like the work that's being submitted to me is good, I would be happy drawing someoen elses written work.