Name
Josh Gillam
Nom De Plume:
Josh Gillam
Creative Position:
Writer/Editor/Military Consultant
Contact Info:
Josh.gillam@gmail.com
FAVORITE COMIC BOOK:
Growing up:
I always loved The Avengers and X-men
and now:
Marvel’s Wizard of Oz series. Skottie Young’s artwork is amazing in that.
The 1 Superpower you want:
Magnetism manipulation(like Magneto)
Location:
Fort Wayne, IN
Website(s):
https://m.facebook.com/cynicalstew
http://empirecomicslab.com/cynical-stew/
Your Credits:
Cynical Stew, The Veteran Life, Punchface Lullabies, Drunk On Comics(staff writer), Actionthology, Ned The Monster Under the Bed, Princess Zooey, Kowloon
The7Deadly Questions
What makes you so funny and how did you start your stew?The main character in Cynical Stew, Stu, is entirely based on me. So the spirit of Cynical Stew has been in the works my entire life. I decided a webcomic would be a great outlet for my sarcasm and cynical outlook on life, so I ran with it. Since I can’t draw in the slightest and I had a hard time finding an single artist that could commit full time to a webcomic, I decided to use multiple artists. I started contacting all the artists I knew and managed to get things started. With Cynical Stew I touch on real life issues and things that bug the crap out of me. I’ve been told time and time again that Stu says what everyone is thinking. I think that’s why it’s so funny, because all of his rage is also relatable and it’s hilarious to see someone unleash what so many of us keep inside.
What other cartoon are funny in how they use cynical license?Cyanide and Happiness for sure. They were a great inspiration for me to just tell my jokes without fear of being offensive. There’s a fun webcomic called Cynical Man that I like. The art is pretty simplistic, like C&H, but it’s cynicism is on point. I like some webcomics that have somewhat of a cynical take on retail, such as Retail Sunshine and On The Grind.
What are your goals for the Stew?
I hope to start a YouTube channel based around the character of Stu. I want to do some comedy sketches with the character and also have him reviewing bad movies and games. I’d like it if the webcomic would go on forever, I just love writing it so much. I want to do some crossovers with other webcomics too. I just hope I can continue to grow Stu as a character and reach more and more people.
Women seem to be disproportional made fun of vs men by comedians why do you think that is? I guess it really depends on what comedians you watch/listen to. I can’t really say why more comedians might make jokes at the expense of women. My best guess is they think they’re easier targets, which is just lazy writing to me. I subscribe to the notion that nothing is off limits in comedy, but that doesn’t mean we should single out any group of people and unload on them. For example, in my Cynical Stew strips I have some jokes that are at the wife’s expense, but I also make sure to have some where the wife gets the upper hand.
Do you think you anger people with your creation and do you worry about that when creating? I think if I’m not making someone mad then I’m not doing my job. I don’t go out of my way to be offensive, but I know my sarcasm can be pretty abrasive. I don’t really worry that I’m going to offend anyone so much as acknowledge that it’ll happen. I make a lot of jokes at my in law’s expense, for example, and should they ever read any of my stuff I know they’ll be offended. That hasn’t stopped me yet though. I’m honestly kind of disappointed I haven’t received any hate mail yet, haha.
Would you sell your stew to someone else for 10 millions dollars but lose all control forever?? No. I’m sure a lot of people would call me crazy, but no. Cynical Stew is based around me and my life, so much that me and Stu are pretty indistinguishable. Cynical Stew is my baby, and I just couldn’t sell one of my babies.
What is a mistake you made in your early years that our readers might bee able to learn form ? Hmm.. I know there are lots of things I did wrong when I started but I’d say the biggest one was thinking I had nothing left to learn. I thought I had it all figured out and that made me resistant to advice. Anyone starting out should know that they’ll never be done learning new things. Hear out all the advice people give you and never stop trying to better yourself.
Well done Josh Gillam you now have a paragraph to tell us why we what you are working on now and what cons we can find you at :
“People will love Cynical Stew because I take those annoying and frustrating things in life that everyone hates and give them a swift kick to the groin. I also do some fun and heartwarming family stuff thrown in there that gives the comic a mix of rage and feels. I have a lot of other great stuff in the works with Empire Comics Lab. I’m putting together a comedy anthology comic for ECL called Punchface Lullabies. I’m doing some stories for ECL’s Actionthology and Cemetery Plots. Folks can find me at the upcoming Indiana Toy and Comic Expo in Bloomington and Fantasticon in Fort Wayne.”