An Interview with
        
Aaron Riddle

      

      
Conducted on January 23, 2001,
      The Man Behind Aford gives his thoughts on his cartooning career
      and other things of importance in the cartoonists world.




      

        
How pleased are you with
        the success of "Aford" over the past two years?
        
 
        
"I cannot begin to describe
        how happy, and surprised I am! Aford was originally just a thing
        I did on the side when I was a kid. Once I decided to resume
        making comic strips, the idea came to me to post them on the
        web. After teaching myself "html" and using webpage
        making programs, I pieced together the webpage that this interview
        is going to be posted on. After months and months of promotion,
        hits started pouring in, and Aford has more fans than ever thanks
        to the World Wide Web. Thanks to this website, I recieved an
        offer from a newspaper in Denver (Community Commons), and now
        Aford will be published in it's first newspaper. I love it!
        
 
        
What do you think of the
        other webcomics out there?
        
 
        
There are so many to compete
        with. The web gives people a chance to showcase their work, no
        matter where they live. Just look at me....I'm from Pasadena,
        Maryland. Many of the webcomics on the web are fantastic. But
        there are plenty of them out there that don't much make sense
        too.
        
 
        
Is Aford the only art work
        you do?
        
 
        
One day it will be, when enough
        papers have accepted it. I just want to make a comfortable living
        drawing daily Aford comic strips. But for now, I do a bunch of
        freelance art. My services are for hire at my online portfolio
        www.aaronriddle.com.
        It's made me quite a bit of money...for a graduating college
        student.
        
 
        
Do you still read the Funnies
        section of the newspapers?
        
 
        
Every day!
        
 
        
What else do you do besides
        graphic artwork and Aford?
        
 
        
Believe me...illustrating and
        self-promoting a daily comic strip like Aford takes up most,
        if not all, of your time. But in the few hours of the week when
        I'm not at my drawing desk, I love to work out (everyday!), listen
        to all types of music, and hang around outdoors.
        
 
        
Any final words for aspiring
        cartoonists out there?
        
 
        
In an interview I once read,
        a successful cartoonist (when asked the same question) said "not
        to waste your time trying to get famous doing cartoons. It's
        a dying field of work. Find something else to do". To me,
        that is awful! I don't care if you can't draw worth a dime or
        if your the greatest artist in the world...if your mind is hell-bent
        on being successful at cartooning you'll make it one day! You
        just have to have the will, and want to be a successful cartoonist
        so bad every moment of everyday. And if you devote your life
        to it, working hard and never giving up....you'll make it!