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FANTOONS - LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO TAKE EVERYTHING SERIOUSLY

Fantoons If you stab me, will I not bleed. If you slap me, will I not heed. And if you interview me, will I not read. So go on. Read, damn it. Read the following interview I did with my mate David, who told me about his rock-and-roll comic book, Fantoons. Otherwise, do your best to win high, bet low, and hit it big by digging into those Free Slots at Deluxe Casino Bonus! Either way, rock on and be happy. Peace out!!





1) What are your own origins, David? Plus what path did you take in life prior to getting to where you are today?   Since I was a kid living in Venezuela, I've always loved looking at cartoons and listening to music. At first I wanted to be a writer, but my mum told me I would die of hunger if I did that, so I ended up studying systems engineering instead.

Years later, after working in technology as a consultant, I decided to move to the UK, Woking to be precise, and about 6 years ago I started studying script development at the NFTS in London to pursue my dream job -- as an animator.

Fantoons - RushOnce I graduated I got a part-time job in technology, and used the rest of my free time building up my skills in storytelling, marketing, and films. Then, I quit my job, and had very little work, but I didn’t care, despite the stress of risking everything to become better, and started full-time writing and directing animation for marketing, entertainment, and communication firms.

2) What inspired the creation of ‘Fantoons’? Plus what is your role within the scheme of things?   Ever since I can remember, I was in love with music, particularly rock. My first album was QUEEN Greatest Hits, and I never stopped buying records since then (my house is full of cds, vinyls, comics and toys).

Animation and comics were always in my blood, and one day it occurred to me to combine rock and comics and I created Fantoons. A series where we parody the greatest bands on the planet, and of course, ourselves the fans.

I am the creative director of the series, writing every comic, parody, or concept we publish. I am EXTREMELY lucky to work with some of the most wonderful artists in the world: Mike Kazaleh, Jose Rodriguez Mota, Juan Riera, Charles Brubaker, Drew Krevi, Raciel Avila and many more.




3) Can you briefly tell us what this book is all about?   On a weekly basis we release on-line comics about many classic rock bands, parodying lyrics, covers, or depicting situations that we go through as fans.

But this book is only about one band: Rush. They are unbelievable in every sense. Music, lyrics, sense of humor, the whole package. People see them as these serious musicians, but they have so much fun with light-hearted humor! And I empathize with that 200%, so I started to do more and more Rush comics and art, (they’ve been one of my favorite bands ever since I was a teenager). 

Our comics don’t have a full story-line, they are gags, and cover parodies. For example, we re-imagined all of Rush album covers as cereal boxes. Again, blending cartoons with Classic rock, taking portions of their history and having fun with it.

Fantoons - Rush
4) What song would you say best represents your book and why?   VERY COOL QUESTION! I would say “Subdivisions” by Rush. If you ask me, I consider this book 'A geek project'. I’m not ashamed to say it, but when I was in school it was hard to admit that me and my friends where all rock n’ roll geeks. In fact, I think many of my friends will have a hard time admitting this, even today. We liked to check out the entire discographies, see who were the producers, commonalities between songs, looking at documentaries over and over, lyric meanings, and of course, argue and fight. 

We are the kind of people who would buy an album for that extra song, just because you have to own the entire catalogue. In this book, I cover many of those little details that are just for true fans. We translate portions of the band’s history, into comics, or just situations that occur to us fans.

“Subdivisions” is a song that covers the social pressures about being who you are, and what you really love. This book is a testament of what I am, and what I love. I hope when people get it, they love it as much as we do.




Alex Lifeson
5) If you could get a celebrity – either living or dead – to promote your wares, who would you choose, and why would you want to choose this particular person?   Alex Lifeson (Rush guitarist) without a doubt, as he looks like a guy that has such a great sense of humor, so down to earth.

6) What have you learnt about yourself through this endeavour? And were their any unforeseen obstacles you had to contend with along the way?   Well, I could write a book for this question, but don’t worry, I’ll be brief. First and foremost, nothing comes easy, everything takes an enormous amount of work if you want to do it right. From a twitter post, to a page in the book, everything takes effort and time. In a book with 170+ pages it took a lot of work with a small team to make everything work.

In terms of promotion, we don’t have any PR, or media contacts, so I became friends with Rush blogs because they liked what we did, and their communities liked our jokes and art. But that took a lot of work, and we improved with time (every post to me is a learning experience). This book is a huge leap from our previous one, and we are getting better everyday. There is still so much to learn.

7) During your time in this field, what is the one thing that has kept you in good stead?   The artists that work with me, but more importantly the fans. Rush fans in particular are demanding, but so welcoming to comics and art when it’s done right. It’s the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had. Their comments, emails, and messages are a blessing every single day.

8) If ‘Fantoons’ has a motto, what do you think it would be?   “Life is too short to take everything seriously”.

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And on that rocking note, dear reader, I'd like to thank David for telling us about Fantoons, before directing you towards their website, facebook, and twitter pages. Plus while I'm at it, please remember that the book is now on pre-order, shipping in August.

FANTOONS - LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO TAKE EVERYTHING SERIOUSLY FANTOONS - LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO TAKE EVERYTHING SERIOUSLY Reviewed by David Andrews on July 17, 2015 Rating: 5
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