A turbine of whirling comic power, Gary Northfield is as at home spinning the whimsical adventures of Derek the Sheep in the Beano as he is creating the ribald adventures found in his own comics, such as Bad Dog.  Bag Dog, now that I mention it, was possibly the first thing of Gary’s that I encountered, and it filled me with an unholy joy at the time. This is joy that has continued unabated through such comics as his Stupid Monster series of books, or Bernard Cribbens’ Rousing Tales of Action and Adventure (with Matt Abbiss).  The thing that draws me back again and again to his work is the obvious amount of emotion that his work is packed with – there’s a real sense of delight in his work as his dervish figures come into being.  So entrenched is this exuberance, that it transcends language barriers, as Derek now looks set to take over Europe one country at a time.  That’s his comics though… I caught up with him for a very brief chat about other things. 

So, seen any good films lately? 

I’m completely rubbish when it comes to watching films, as I rarely make the time to go and watch them. Although when I do sit down and watch one, I get completely lost in them and start shouting at the screen and stuff, or spouting out “Oh no! It’s him!”. So the last film I saw in a cinema was Frank Miller’s 300 at the London Imax about 6 months ago, which was shown on a big size-of-a-house screen and was gobsmackingly amazing. I’m fairly sure I cried out “Christ! Look at the size of him!!” when that big horrible 10ft geezer turned up to mash all the Spartans.

What books do you have on the go at the moment?

Just picked the recent biography of Houdini (The Secret Life of Houdini by Kalush and Sloman), who fascinates me mainly due to his head-on attack of the popular rise of spiritualism and mediumship in the 1920s.

I’m also reading Tove Janson’s beautiful Moomin books. I never read them as a child, but I’m so pleased to be reading them now. They’re so nutty and the stories almost feel like they were improvised, so you never really know what’s going to happen next. (Am I allowed to talk about the drawings? I stare for hours at her drawings…)

What about music?  Heard anything good lately?

The last couple of great albums I bought were “Documentary”, by Rolan Vega and Bruce Langhorne‘s soundtrack to Peter Fonda’s “Hired Hand”.

Both beautifully textured and atmospheric.

I’m also a psychotic fan-boy of Boards of Canada, so their music takes up about three quarters of any given listening day.

What’re you having for tea tonight?

I cooked a lovely thai noodle stir fry. I think I accidently gave my wife the bigger plateful, as I finished mine ages before she did and I was still starving. So I had a packet of hula hoops after. Yum.

Oh, go on then – what comics are you working on?

Still struggling to knock out Derek The Sheep on a regular basis for the Beano or Beanomax. I ought to be doing it fortnightly in an ideal world, but monthly seems to be the best I can muster. I’ve got a book of old Derek strips out next year from the French publisher Actes Sud and from Bloomsbury, so that’s all very exciting.

Also concocted a new strip about ducks for something new and secret.  I’m drawing it with a dip pen, but it’s a real bastard sometimes. Although I think that’s why I love it.

Gary can be found all over the internet like a rash.  You can find him at not only his own site, but also at the Stupid Monsters blog and the Derek The Sheep blog too.  Or in French.