Borp Speed

As a comics fan, Debbie Huey was something of a late bloomer, not reading her first graphic novel until she was on the grown-up side of her twenties.

 

But as a comics artist, she bloomed fast and beautifully, taking a life-time of appreciation for all that's cute and daily sketching and creating Bumperboy, a minimally designed guy in a head-to-toe rubber white suit who's so cute he looks like he should be hawking something to kids from a box in a Japanese grocery store.

 

His suit's practical, not merely a fashion statement. It allows him to curl up in a little ball and roll into "borp holes," portals that spit him out into new lands. He doesn't travel alone, as he's always in the company of Bumperpup, who shares his fashion sense (but who borps via a big see-thorough ball, sort of like a hamster ball for canines).

 

The pair made their first appearance in a story of a marble tournament entitled "Bumperboy Loses His Marbles," which Huey had made into hand-stapled mini-comics to sell at conventions. During her first convention, she coincidentally was set up next to the AdHouse Books booth.

 

AdHouse obviously liked the work of their neighbor, as they republished "Bumperboy Loses his Marbles" as a slick, well-designed, digest-sized graphic novel. It was followed by a sequel, released this summer, "Bumperboy and the Loud, Loud Mountain," in which the Bumper-buddies borp into a land with a very loud and very lonely mountain, and become involved in a complicated plot that pits them against an evil soda manufacturer.

 

We spoke with Huey about Bumperboy's latest adventure, and how he got there from her sketchbook.

 

Bam!Kapow!: Can you tell us a little bit about the creation of the main characters? Bumperboy has a very distinct visual look, which feeds into his borp-ing lifestyle; what came first, the visual design of the character or the character's personality/borping?

 

Debbie Huey: Before I ever started writing and drawing comics, I basically just drew a lot in my sketchbook.  I always drew different characters that I made up, but never really wrote stories for them.

 

One time, I saw this advertisement for JELL-O in the Sunday newspaper.  It featured a group of kids wearing snow gear, one of which was wearing a mask that covered his entire head and face except for his eyes.  So I sketched that kid with a few adjustments, and Bumperboy was suddenly born!

 

I immediately liked what I had drawn and continued to draw him every day.  But it actually wasn't until two years later that I began developing the character and writing his first story.

 

BK!: So why is Bumperboy called "Bumperboy"…is it a marble thing?

 

Huey: Bumperboy was actually a name that just fit the character!  I might have originally imagined him in his rubber suit, bouncing off the walls like a pinball.  I think I threw out names like Marshmallow Boy, Rocket Boy, and Rubber Boy.  But Bumperboy felt like it fit the best.

 

BK!: Who or what are some of your influences, when it comes to drawing and storytelling?

 

Huey: Unlike most comic book artists and writers, I started reading comics at a very late age.  I didn't pick up my first comic book until I was about 21!  And it wasn't even a floppy serial comic…it was Goodbye Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson.

 

So most of my earlier drawing influences came from cartoons and any type of cute illustrations.  I was a kid who grew up on Garfield, Care Bears and Hello Kitty!  Pretty saccharine, wasn't it?  Well, I try not to make Bumperboy's stories so sweet that they'll make your teeth ache.

 

These days, I get very much influenced by all of my friends who do comics—Lark Pien, Raina Telgemeier, Kazu Kibuishi, and so many more artists.  For the record, I am currently experimenting with changing the style of how Bumperboy is drawn!  He may look a little different next time you see him.

 

As for storytelling, I am completely hooked on Stan Sakai's ongoing masterpiece, Usagi Yojimbo.  How he manages to continue a compelling story for more than 20 years is something that I could never imagine achieving myself.

 

BK!: In the first graphic novel, I was really struck by the borping, and how for Bumperboy it was everyday fact of life and really didn't need explaining at all; it was just obvious that everyone knows and understands borping. It reminded me of videogames like Super Mario Brothers, where you go down a pipe and warp; something anyone who's played any games like that sort of intuitively understands. I was wondering if videogames were much of an influence on you, and if you consider that aspect of your comic to operate on "arcade logic," which is how Oni was describing their videogame-like comics, Scott Pilgrim, Peng! and Sharknife?

 

Huey: Yes, video games definitely had an influence on my drawing style!  I'm a huge fan of the Super Mario series of games.  Where else can you see mushroom-like villains, turtles that can be used as weapons, and a little Italian man turning into a raccoon with the touch of a leaf?  I guess the randomness of the Super Mario characters made me feel that I could make up random characters for my stories too!

 

As for the borping, that was actually not a conscious effort to allude to the warp pipes of Super Mario Brothers.  The very first Bumperboy drawing that I ever made had him popping out of a black hole.  I asked myself, "Where does this black hole lead to?"  To which I answered, "To other lands, of course!"

 

It wasn't until later that I realized the borp holes were very similar to warp pipes.  I remember feeling very torn because I didn't want to be accused of stealing from Nintendo!  But I kept going with the borp holes and people seem to really enjoy them…and Nintendo hasn't ran after me yet.

 

Other than the borp holes, I don't think the Bumperboy stories really operate on video game logic at all…no save points and power-ups in Bubtopia!

 

BK!: I often hear Bumperboy described as an all-ages book, which is often how comics publishers refer to their books that are targeted at kids. What do you personally consider your target audience? Are you writing and drawing for any one in particular, in terms of adults vs. kids?

 

Huey: It is a little funny that "all-ages" is a term often reserved for children's books.  I personally try to live up to that term and write my stories so that both kids and adults can enjoy them.

 

Bumperboy comics are marketed as books that are totally appropriate for kids, and yet it seems that most of my audience is made up of adults.  That is the sad thing…there aren't enough kids reading comics in general.

 

The number of kids reading comics is growing, thanks to manga, but numbers are still low in the non-manga comics market.  But hope is not lost—I always get excited when my adult readers tell me that they need to buy an extra copy for their children or their nieces and nephews.

 

BK!: I noticed when I was writing a review of Loud, Loud Mountain how, in simple prose synopsis, it seems really, really weird (What with the sentient mountains, armless, deaf marshmallow people, a slave labor soda operation). But when you're actually reading the book, it seems completely natural. Where did the idea for this particular story come from?

 

Huey: I feel the same way when people ask me about Bumperboy's stories!  I always feel a bit strange when I describe things like borping, marble tournaments and a lonely mountain to complete strangers.

 

Again, I get most of my ideas from random doodles in my sketchbook. One time, on a late night road trip, I saw a silhouette of a mountain in the distance. All of a sudden, two distant lights (street lamps, perhaps?) matched up to the mountain perfectly to form eyes.  That's when the idea of a living mountain popped into my head.

 

I recorded a sketch of the mountain with eyes in my sketchbook so that I could use it for a future story.  So when it was time to start thinking of ideas for my next Bumperboy book, I flipped through my sketchbooks, and thought the mountain would make for a great story. This is also when I found my marshmallow guys, and incorporated them into the story as Grums.

 

BK!: How long does it take you to make a Bumperboy graphic novel?

 

Huey: Well, "Bumperboy Loses His Marbles" was a project that spanned for about two years.  I had a day job at the time, and would spend my nights working on comics.  For "Bumperboy and the Loud, Loud Mountain," it took me about 7 or 8 months to complete the story while working on it full-time.  I probably could've finished it sooner, but I injured my arm in the process of drawing!  I learned that I need to pace myself—otherwise my arm can't take it.

 

BK!: Do you have other sorts of comic stories you really want to tell, or do you think Bumperboy's adventures will be your main focus?

 

Huey: Right now, I am focusing on Bumperboy's upcoming adventures.  I think the next story will be back to being a bit more goofy and wacky like "Bumperboy Loses His Marbles."  I do have other ideas, where some of the characters could have their own spin-off series, but as a one-person team, I can only handle so many projects at a time.

 

BK!: Bumperboy and Bumperpup wore their white rubber suits to bed in the latest book, I noticed. Don't they ever take them off? Do you, as his creator, know what Bumperboy looks like without his suit on?

 

Huey: Yes I do know what they look like without their suits. Shhh…it's a secret.  Perhaps it will be revealed in a future volume, whenever I do decide to write an "origin story."

 

BK!: How do you feel about merchandising in general? AdHouse doesn't have the toy-making arm that a publisher like, say, DC does, but man, I think a little Bumperboy figure, or Bumperpup in removable see-through borping ball, would be pretty awesome.

 

Huey: I don't have a problem with merchandising at all, as long as it is relevant.  For example, I handcraft marble pouches, which come with stickers and some marbles.  They go along great with the first book! I also make magnets, which are marble-like with clear domes.  I don't think you will be seeing junky things like flashlights and yo-yos with a Bumperboy logo slapped on it.

 

There does seem to be a lot of interest in Bumperboy vinyl toys, which actually could be kind of neat. I'm not rushing to get one done at the moment, because there seems to be an overabundance of vinyl dolls out there.  I think the vinyl toy industry has started to die down a bit, but it still seems like everyone and their mom has their own toy these days, don't you think?

 

BK!: You’re contributing to AdHouse's next Project anthology, Project: Romantic.  What can you tell us about your contribution?

 

Huey: I have a short six-pager in the anthology, called "Jumped."  All I can say is that it involves ninjas, blood and of course some romantic stuff.  Honestly, if I said much more, I would give away the plot line!

 

But other than that, it's gonna be a great anthology filled with talented people, like Jim Rugg, Scott Morse, Hope Larson, Josh Cotter…the list goes on and on.  And I am happy to be showing my work amongst them!  Be on the look out for Project: Romantic in October.

 

 

For more on Huey's work, click to bumperboy.net and adhousebooks.com