So Mr. Hastings emailed me back...

and he filled out the questionnaire I asked him to! So without further ado, this is the interview.


Q: We know from reading the "About" section of your website what gave you the idea for the comic's name and why you first drew it, but what influences the story's direction?

A: When I first started thinking about making this comic, my ideas came from the question, "What sort of world would allow for this doctor ninja character? What other characters could fit in that world?" Mostly the story is driven by ideas I just think are fun. And then I make those ideas work into a sort of twisted logic that is behind everything in the comic.

Q: Are any of your characters loosely or directly based on people you know in real life? Which, if any of the characters, reflects your personality on some level?

A: Frans Rayner is a mix of an old boss of mine, and Jean Claude Van Damme. Dan McNinja's look was very loosely based on my father. I honestly can't think of a character that really reflects me, which is silly because they have to in some way, right?

Q: It's obvious you like Batman. To what extent does Batman influence the comic? (Apart from the hilarious references) How long have you been reading Batman? Are there any other superheroes you follow?

A: Well originally, I was going to have Dr. McNinja ACTUALLY know Batman. Then it became clear I couldn't do that, so I just changed it up so that he was just a fan boy. Then I got some humor out of that. The "bat family" is a big influence on the cast of Dr. McNinja, the way a supporting cast takes their roles. I've been a fan of Batman since I was 14, I think. It was when Grant Morrison relaunched JLA, and I really saw how badass Batman was. I also recall reading the Robin comics too... But currently, no I don't have a "pull list" or anything like that. I wait and hear what's good, and then I buy them when collected in trades.

Q: What was your initial motivation for bringing the comic to the web? Were there any contributing factors to this decision?

A: I pitched Dr. McNinja to a few publishers, and hadn't heard back from them in months. I was tired of not doing anything, so I decided I would just make it as a webcomic, get it out to some people. I was a fan of a few webcomics already, so I took a closer look at how they did things, and adapted it for my purposes.

Q: How does a story arc come together for you? Do you script the entire thing before you begin drawing?

A: I've got a few story concepts floating around, waiting to get used, and as I find oppurtunites to use them, they'll get next in line for the comic. I will usually have a beginning and end in mind, and I'll write out a bunch of notes, and build on ideas, and when I start, I will have the opening scene of a story all scripted out. And then I just write more pages once a week, improvising the middle of the story.

Q: Any thoughts on why so many webcomic artists love velociraptors?

A: I think we all just love dinosaurs in general. They were dragons that were REAL.

Q: If you could collaborate with another artist on a webcomic, who might that be and why?

A: I would love for JH Williams III to draw something I wrote. He is an amazing artist, with awesome design skills.

Q: Have you got any advice for aspiring webcomic artists out there?

A: Why are you aspiring? It's easy to get a website and put pictures on it! Get started, and don't stop!

Q: What comics do you read on a regular basis?

A: Nedroid, Hark! A Vagrant, Scary Go Round, Overcompensating, the list goes on. That's just what I think I read in the last hour.

Q: Final thoughts?

A: Live your dreams. I am Galatron. (I wrote this in a notebook I had where there was a robot on the bottom of each page, so I made him say that. I lost this notebook and I miss it dearly.)

Doctors aren't played out.

Where do I begin? There are so many wonderful comics out there. I love so many of them so dearly. My feelings for these webcomics makes it difficult to decide which one to write about first. Two things have since convinced me to write about this particular comic to start things off. First of all, he’s the only writer who’s emailed me back thus far, and secondly, it seems to me that it is vastly under appreciated. I say this because I don’t personally know anyone who reads it, though I do know people who read just about everything else.

I’m going to talk about… (drum roll, applause, etc…) DR. MCNINJA! This is a comic that absolutely everyone should be reading, including your grandmother. It’s the epitome of delightfulness, with new comics every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Why do I love it so much? The real question should be, what sort of person doesn’t love it? Okay I suppose I ought to be serious. Chris Hastings (the writer) doesn’t draw four panels and throw in a punch line. He has highly detailed and lengthy story arcs in which something meaningful actually happens. Sometimes there are villains, sometimes there are evil corporations, and sometimes there are men with muscles that frighten people!

Despite all of these serious happenings, it’s quite possibly one of the most hilarious things you will ever read. It’s off the wall and ridiculous in a highly plausible sort of way. For example if you knew an archaeologist who had cloned some velociraptors and had a girlfriend on Myspace, it would follow that if she dumped him, he might just become a bandito and ride velociraptors everywhere while trying to exact his revenge. When you first begin reading the comic you’re struck by the overwhelming insanity that dominates the world in which Doctor McNinja lives. After issue #½ however, you suddenly realize that this stuff is normal. Suddenly, hiring a gorilla named Judy as your receptionist at the doctor’s office doesn’t seem so strange.

That’s probably the most impressive thing about the comic, the level that it operates on. Most readers demand some sensibility in what they read, and oddly enough Dr. McNinja's followers say things like, “There’s no sound in space!” while forgetting that he’s surfing a robot-Dracula to the Earth’s surface. That’s like waking up in the morning with your house underwater and complaining that you’ve run out of butter. It’s a complete brain buster. Zombie ninjas are normal, but the laws of physics should be obeyed.

I mustn’t forget the thing that makes this comic so enjoyable within all of its quirks: artwork. Not only is Mr. Hastings a creative genius in the writing department, his drawings are also amazing. Not all comics call for dynamic paneling, in fact, the majority of webcomics don’t, but the action packed issues of Dr. McNinja need something to encourage the thrill of the storyline, and Chris has nailed it down. The panels have very clean edges and lend a lot to the art contained within.

Let’s not forget the team that supports the artwork either! Kent Archer, Carly Monardo, the puppet, and Anthony Clark, who is incidentally one of the most handsome individuals you will ever see. Anyway, these wonderful people are responsible for the other stuff, like color and ink, things that matter. Without them the comic would be less wonderful than it is.

EDIT: As suggested by one of my readers (OMG a reader!!!) I should probably mention some stuff about what kind of readers it might pull and attach a numerical rating to it, so here goes: This is a comic for escapists who happen to like Ninja doctors that reside in a world where anything can and does happen.

Dr. McNinja gets a screaming 9.7 out of 10.

Chris is filling out a questionnaire for me, so I’ll post again when he’s done!

Dave *_*