There is a place on the internet of near mystical status, a tremendous archive of zany characters, unlikely plots and whimsey-flavored madness. If you haven’t been to scarygoround.com, then your understanding of joy is incomplete. The Leaky Wiki talks to John Allison- creator of the always original Bad Machinery comic- and asks him questions whilst smoking a pipe;
TLW: What does the term ‘internet famous’ mean to you?
JA: When you look up the term "anachronism" on Wikipedia, all that's on the page are those two words.
TLW: When did you first realize you wanted to make comics?
JA: When I was four, a local comic artist died, and for some reason all the children in my class were given a tour of his home. We spent rapt hours staring at his illustrations, some in pencil, some in pen and ink, and as we left, each of us was given a precious page from his archive by his grieving daughter. I treasured that page and copied it out again and again, first with crayons onto lined paper, then later onto sketch pads with pencil, pen and ink. I would take great care to recreate the curlicues of his lettering. When I was 8 or 9, I realised that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I asked my father to build me a drawing table, and began to make my own comic books. That original page, yellow and torn, is still tacked up over that same drawing table today.
I hope this is a better answer than "I don't recall" - because I don't actually recall.
TLW: What’s the worst job you’ve ever done?
JA: I gutted fish for a summer.
TLW: Your work is set in England, and your characters ‘speak’ with English accents- do you ever find this to be a barrier on the largely American infested internet?
JA: I get the idea that Americans rather like English people. You certainly pay enough of us to fake American accents on your popular prime-time dramas.
TLW: You are the snake god, risen from your immortal tomb to rule over the squishy humans- what is your first decree?
JA: "No more cellphones"
TLW: Where do you go for your internet comedy (other than the Leaky Wiki obviously)?
JA: Books. When I'm done working, I run as far from the internet as I can.
TLW: Where do you see yourself in five years time?
JA: March 2017 is a long way away. I suppose I'll have an extremely luxurious house, probably some servants. At least a cook, but probably a butler and a permanent maid too. A lot of my time will be spent making sure the household is run properly. The upkeep of my home will be a constant problem, but you know how old places are. I expect I'll have a lake, I might go rowing in the mornings to take my mind off the complications that vast wealth brings. It will probably be on such a morning that an assassin's bullet takes my life.
John Allison is the creator of Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery. If you want our advice, you’ll open up a six-pack of internet and spend a constructive weekend exploring his archives.
