An Interview With Jeff Manley

Interviewer: Anthony Andujar Jr

Interviewee: Jeff Manley
Q1. How did you get into comics? Who were your influences? How did they impact your life and work?

JM: I have always been into comics. My father was a newspaper reader, and because of this, there were always 2 or 3 papers coming to the house. And in those papers I, very early on discovered comic strips. I loved Garfield, Peanuts, Hagar, and Beetle Bailey. I would read every comic strip. Even the crap ones.

Q2. Is Teenage Bigfoot your first comic series? If not, what came before? If so, what was the development process like, and what inspired the birth of the character and world?

JM: Teenage Bigfoot is not my first comic strip. I have done a strip called Manley Days, which was a 4 year-long daily journal of comics. I have done Punching The Clock which was a webcomic with a writer for a few years. I have done another webcomic with a different writer called Terrorbads. I’ve done stand-alone graphic novels… and art books… there are a lot of me on AMAZON.com… if you look hard enough.

Q3. When making comics about your character Riley the Teenage Bigfoot, what format did you enjoy the most telling stories through, comic strips or as a full comics page? What are the challenges that come with each format?

JM: I love drawing comic strips. I like the limits that 4-panel pages give me as an artist. When I draw comic book pages, I often just use a rigid structure to those pages a lot like with my comic strips.

Q4. You’ve made a series of zine focused on Riley the Teenage Bigfoot, but you also have a collection of your strips all contained into one book. What was it like organizing and managing a Kickstarter for your work? What are the cons and pros of self-publishing for you?

JM: My main focus with drawing the comic strip is to collect them all into the books. “Zines” happened just as an advertisement. To get people a lower price point to get into the world of Riley. The Pros of Self publishing is that NOBODY is telling me what I should be writing about. The Cons are I have almost NOBODY talking about my comic.

Q5. Why should creators focus on doing self-published work as a means of creativity and as a means of business?

JM: Here are my top 5 reasons to self-publish:

1. You can tell any story you would like. From the most boring to the most exciting. Nobody is telling you what to do.
2. If an entertainment company wants to make a movie/show with your character…. you get that money!
3. Print on Demand is pretty damn cheap.
4. If you want a t-shirt with your character, you don’t have to ask anyone’s permission.
5. You make all the money! No sharing!

Q6. Although Riley The Teenage Bigfoot is your main project, were there any other stories, or genres that you were going to originally put out before your current project? 

JM: I am often doing other projects. Just in 2022, I have released a book with a writer friend called Airplane Mechanics, I have put out a book called MINI that celebrates my love of mini-comics, I have put together a collection of my good friend Donovan Cater’s comics (Unearthed) that he was hesitant to put out. I’m also serializing a graphic novel at Next Panel Press called Terror in The Shallow. And I recently did a 12 strips series reuniting with my writer for a Punching The Clock Christmas special… all while still drawing Riley. I have even been posting Riley 5 days a week since August.

Q7. Are there any genres or stories that you would like to explore with Riley and beyond that character and world? 

JM: I do like spooky stories… so, there will be more of that. But, Humor seems to be the genre that people are responding to.

Q8. What is the most challenging when it comes to making humor strips? 

JM: Here is the secret to doing a good humor strip. Be funny. I never sit around trying to think of funny things. I just think of a funny situation and then work that into the comic. But, after three years, Riley lives in my head and he tells me what to do… for the most part.

Q9. Is there any future plans for Riley, The Teenage Bigfoot down the line?

JM: The plan is to just keep drawing Riley. I have two complete volumes for sale currently. Those volumes each have 200 strips in them. I am almost halfway done with volume three… and I will probably just keep drawing it, while throwing in a few side projects.

Q10. Are there any projects that readers should keep an eye out for? 

JM: I think readers should just go buy any of my books on Amazon (there are over 20 to choose from) or to go to manleycomics.bigcartel.com and buy everything there.