Interview: Extra Fabulous' Zach M. Stafford talks about Good Comics for Bad People

Blake Morgan: You’re incredibly proficient at finding clichéd moments in the everydayness of human existence and turning those into wildly hilarious punchlines. What is it about these little moments that sparks your interest and leads you into discovering what’s funny about them?

Zach M. Stafford: What a nice and thoughtful question! I tend to focus a lot on those little details because I need something to do when I’m avoiding eye contact. Every human and situation is built out of endless idiosyncrasies and weirdness, and it's a good font to draw inspiration from. I don’t like to wait until an idea strikes me. I like to just cram my head in that goopy weirdness and start drawing what I see. 

Many great comic book pros say that humor is one of the hardest elements to successfully pull off in the medium, but your consistency with successful punchlines dares to prove them wrong. Does joke writing come easy for you? Does the one-page format simplify the writing process or provide additional challenges?

Well thank you! My consistency is not real. I might post 1/10th of the comics I make to my Patreon, and even fewer from that make it to other sites from there. Those other 9 comics are so bad they are either thrown straight into the garbage or burned in another garbage I have outside. I do think it is easier to write niche humor like I tend to do, but it is very difficult to write something funny for a broad audience. I’m not sure if I’ve ever succeeded at doing that.  

When did you know that your style and humor were paving a major road to success? What was your “Ah, ha!” moment?

My biggest “Ah, ha” moment was before I even drew any webcomics. I intensely enjoyed drawing goofy stuff my whole life but never dreamed it was something I could just do. At some point, after college, I was at a really low point, and I had scribbled an awful meme in paint and posted it on a message board when someone asked me if I had other stuff they could read online. For some reason their small encouragement set something on fire inside me, and I started Extra Fabulous Comics.  

I think the funniest and most tragic feature of humanity is our inability to grasp just how ridiculously precious this one life we have is.

You’ve found great success in the web-comic scene, but now you have a wonderful printed collection that can find its spot onto the shelves of new and old readers alike. Do you think being in-print has perks over your works previously only being available digitally? What are your hopes for establishing yourself within the direct market?

I think the act of holding a physical book changes the way you see the ideas on the page. I hope people look deeper into these comics beyond the butt and poo poo jokes and see the man behind them. See his sad and bald head. This is what I hope people will see when they read this book. As far as the direct market goes, I really have no clue how that’s gonna go. If I could get one a them “New York Best Selling Artist” awards that would be pretty sweet! 

It’s easy to forget, with all the bad news continuously circulating around us, that humans are capable of great humor. What do you think is the funniest part about humanity?

I think the funniest and most tragic feature of humanity is our inability to grasp just how ridiculously precious this one life we have is. It leads to so many funny situations, like, earlier, when I saw someone risk ending their hilariously finite existence by riding an orange electric scooter 30 mph on the sidewalk without a helmet to probably go buy a burger. Do they deserve to die? No! Will it be funny if they did? After a few months, in tasteful hindsight, yes. 

What’s next and where’s the best pace to follow and keep track of your new projects? 

Well, next I’m going to be a guest at Bengaluru, India for a comic convention in mid-November. I’ve never left the US before, so I’m pretty scared and I’m not sure if I’m equipped to handle something like this. I have a small backpack that I filled with snacks but I don’t have any room for spare clothes or “Merch” for the con. I’m also working on a mobile game and potentially another tabletop game! If you want to see more of my stuff, you can find my work on pretty much every platform! Thanks for having me! 

Good Comics for Bad People is out today from Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment, and it’s totally worth a snag. You can also follow Zach on Twitter @extrafabulous, Facebook ExtraFabulousComics, and Instagram @extrafabulous_comics (which you should totally do).

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