Talking with Ryan Dunlavey about indie comic books, and his work for “Weird Al” Yankovic
We met writer, designer, illustrator, and illustrator of indie comic books, Ryan Dunlavey, at Awesome Con in June. Dunlavey is a veteran on the scene, and you may have seen his work in any number of places, including HarperCollins, Penguin, Scholastic, Taschen, Random House, MAD magazine, Dark Horse, Dynamite, IDW, Image, Oni, Royal Flush, Webtoons, Wizard, and Z2. He’s also worked for Disney, Warner Brothers, Hasbro, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, WWE, and Spencer Gifts.
Wow!
So getting to talk with Mr. Dunlavey was an honor. Mr. D was in Washington, D.C., promoting and selling his indie comic books, including his “Action Presidents” series and copies of “My Bullshit,” Issue #1. The latter is a collection of his short comic stories, with heroes like “Diarrhea Dog” and other exciting characters.
The cover features a self-portrait of Dunlavey struggling with paper, ideas, and coffee. It is a funny read, to be sure. And since this was just Issue #1, we Dunlavey fans can hope there might be a “My Bullshit” Issue #2 available sometime soon.
INDIE COMICS ZONE:
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, Mr. Dunlavey. Can you share what sorts of projects that you’re working on now?
RYAN DUNLAVEY:
Well, I’m mostly known for doing nonfiction / funny comics with my writer, Fred Van Lente. We’re doing a series called Action Activists for the New York City Department of Ed. Also, independent of that, I’m doing a graphic novel with “Weird Al” Yankovic will be out in November.
INDIE COMICS ZONE:
No way!
RYAN DUNLAVEY:
Yes, way! Because I got the email. I’m one of the contributors to that.
INDIE COMICS ZONE:
So you worked with Al himself?
RYAN DUNLAVEY:
I haven’t. I have sent emails to him. I have not talked to him on the phone yet. But I’m in touch with the editors of the project, Z2. This is the second project I’ve done with Z2. So yeah. That’s what’s happening.
INDIE COMICS ZONE:
That sounds really fun!
RYAN DUNLAVEY:
Yeah! I’m adapting one of his original songs into a commentary.
INDIE COMICS ZONE:
Are you allowed to say which song?
RYAN DUNLAVEY:
I am allowed, but I don’t want to. I wanted to be surprised when the book comes out.
INDIE COMICS ZONE:
So how, how is it like all from your imagination, like your interpretation?
RYAN DUNLAVEY:
Yeah, more or less. It’s like, I was given a list of songs. And they said, “Which one speaks to you the most?” And I listened. There were two that I did not I was not familiar with. I listened to both, and one of them was like, “This is the song I have to do.” And that’s what it was. But yeah, and it’s been pretty open.
We needed to let Ryan continue to meet new fans and customers, so we had to stop the interview there. Fans of Ryan and “Weird Al” can order the “The Illustrated Al: The Songs of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic” book from the Z2 website. The book also includes art and interpretation by illustrators like Bill Plympton, Aaron Augenblick, Peter Bagge, Steve Chanks, Danny Hellman, Felipe Sobreiro, Gideon Kendall, Michael Kupperman, and Wes Hargis.
For more information about Ryan Dunlavey and to order some of his newest indie comic books, visit his website. You can also follow him on the various social media platforms and sign up for a newsletter there as well.
One cool note that we didn’t get to touch on was that Ryan worked for Marvel Comics on the “M.O.D.O.K. Reign Delay” series. That was the inspiration for the “M.O.D.O.K.” animated series, which aired on HULU. Not too shabby!
Read some of the other interviews from Awesome Con, including with indie comics creators, Scott Cox, William Anderson, and Greg Burnham.
