The Dream Share Project

A Dream Shared by Tim Paschall
Interview questions by Chip Hiden

Why are you interested in comics?
I've always liked super-heroes;larger than life characters. That's probably the start of it. But, it's really much bigger than that. I've always been interested in art. When I was little, I used to collect different brands of crayons just to be sure that I had every variance of green (or blue). I used to take crayons and coloring books with me everywhere. " " He-man, Transformers, G.I.Joe - you name it, I've colored it. My first drawings could be found in the margins of my mothers mystery books. I'd scrawl out a malformed Skeletor, or a spaceship about to descend upon the planet earth. And try as I might, I could never get Superman's S quite right. My first comic was an Iron Man comic. I had the Secret Wars toy (still do), and he was my favorite for some reason. The issue I picked up was the one where Iron Man faced off with Iron Monger in final battle. At the end, Stane takes his life, rather than admit defeat to Iron Man. I couldn't have been older than 6 or 7 at the time. These were characters I knew and love, leaping forth from the simplicity of Saturday morning cartoons and doing very grown-up things. I was hooked.

It should be noted that, while I was glad to see something that moved beyond the stale simplicity of a 30 minute cartoon show, I was still not eager to have those characters and universes dulled to the extent of television drama (witness Bill Bixby as The Incredible Hulk).

Picking up that issue of Iron Man also opened new worlds of possibilities for me. No longer were drawings one off portraits of the fantastic, but a series of images that told a story. That was an revelation for me.

What appeals to you in comics? I guess I just love the idea of good vs. evil at its very base.

I love that most comics are structured in such a way that the stories, can be infinite in continuity, but easily defined in terms of story arcs. I love the very simplistic nature of the characters, and the things that drive them to do what they do. Batman is sworn to avenge his parents death. Spiderman is haunted by his responsibility. The Incredible Hulk is a modern day Prometheus. And the obstacles these guys face are nothing less that world shattering. I love the awe that they inspire.

When did you start being interested?
Right after I picked up that first issue of Iron Man. I collected comics here and there, when I saw something that interested me. Like when the Flash faced off against the Reverse-Flash (professor zoom), I had to know who this Yellow Flash on the cover was. Whenever Darksied and the Justice League faced off, I was there. I also began to seriously get into G.I.Joe comics. I was huge into G.I.Joe. The cartoon was good. The comics were better. Each character had a personality. And Cobra was truly an evil organization that actually used it's sci-fi weapons in real combat with the Joes. Awesome.

When did my interest in comics explode? Middle School. I new crop of artists were coming to fore. New styles. And let's face it, I was doing chores and delivering papers...so I had my own money to spend. X-Men, Spiderman, X-Force, Incredible Hulk and Superman. All these titles really grabbed my interest at the time. There was also a huge blockbuster in theatres starring Micheal Keaton and Jack Nicholson...Batman...that totally made me love for comics mainstream. I'd say that 1988-89 was the big year for comics for me.

What / who are your major influences?
Okay. I have to divide this list. Artists, from the classical sense, that have influenced me are Edward Hopper, Monet and Van Goh. I love Hopper's ability to create interest with simplicity. His compositions are so ordinary, but yet they are also extraordinary. Monet and Van Goh are my favorite impressionists. They managed to create art on their own terms, whether financially lucrative or not.

Now, for comic artists. Jack Kirby, is first and foremost, the most influential artist for anyone who involved in comics. He designed nearly every character at Marvel Comics during the 1960s boom (spiderman, avengers, hulk, x-men, fantastic four, daredevil). He created Captain America during WWII. But more importantly, he defined a style in comics in a way that no one has before or since. A character drawn by Kirby, literally exploded from the page. For those who doubt me, try this. Buy the first issue of Spawn (by Todd McFarlane). Inside the cover, the dedication is to Jack "King" Kirby, as in The King of Comics. After that, I'd have to say....Erick Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee and Dale Keown are all in the mix. John Byrne as well.

What are your dreams for your art/ comics? In other words, what would you like to do with them?
For a time, I wanted to draw comics for a living. I wanted to play in the giant sandbox that is the Marvel or DC Universe. I wanted to be a part of it. Sometimes, I just want to ink comics. Other days, I'd love to be a colorist. But, more often than not, I want to write/draw my own stories and have other people read them and enjoy them. In fact, I have characters that I've been drawing and working with for the last 22 years, and have done very little with. I'm simply in love with the medium. I feel at home within the panels of a comic book page.

What things stand in your way of pursuing those dreams?
Two words. Time. Money. In 1998, I got married (and divorced 6 years after that). I sort of left my dreams hanging back there in '98. I had planned to go the Boston College and get my degree in graphic design. But, my marriage intervened. Instead, I became a graphic design working at a print shop (which I also loved) and learned my trade in the trenches. I am still a graphic design, now working for a large medical practice. And still dreaming about the land of comics.

As for the money part, well...as a family man now, I can't be a starving artist. The comics industry was starting to look a little uncertain in the late 90's, so it didn't feel like a safe bet to move to New York and ply my trade there.

Do you have any thoughts on how you could overcome obstacles to achieve your dreams?

Well, one thing that has changed significantly, is the internet. We have that now, in abundance. So whereas you might have needed a big name to work from home before in the comics field, you can really do that now. Right now, I'm taking small steps. I'm working on a comic for Chipapalooza, an event put together by my friend and co-worker, Chip Hiden. It features a series of characters I created just for the project.

We got heroes, villians, hot chicks and cupcakes. And that's all I can say right now. The hope is to get a printer to print the book for us as a charitable donation, but we'll see how that pans out. After that, I've found a website called ComicXPress (i think), that specializes in print-on-demand publishing of independent comics. I may try that.