Dan Clowes interviewed by Mike Sacks: "Sylvester P. Smythe is the most unappealing character of all time"
Here's a great interview with Eightball's Dan Clowes that didn't make it into Mike Sacks' book, Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers On Their Craft.
Q: Were you even a fan of Cracked?Shown above, Dan Clowes cover for DC's Bizarro Comics, which was rejected. I thought it was fitting for this rejected interview.A: No one was ever a fan of Cracked.
Growing up, my friends − okay, "friend" − and I used to think of Cracked as a stopgap. We would buy Mad every month, but about two weeks later we would get anxious for new material. We would tell ourselves, Okay, we are not going to buy Cracked. Never again! And we'd hold out for a while, but then as the month dragged on it just became, Okay, fuck it. I guess I'll buy Cracked.
Q: It was like comedy methadone.
A: Right. Then you'd bring it home, and immediately you'd remember, Oh yeah, I hate Cracked. I don't understand any of the jokes, and [Cracked mascot] Sylvester P. Smythe is the most unappealing character of all time.
Dan Clowes interviewed by Mike Sacks
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Mark Frauenfelder
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