Simon
Mackie: Russell, I first met you back in 1985 at the Portobello Projects Cartoon
Workshop in West London. You'd come down for the evening to meet us all but
I can't remember what for exactly?
Russell Willis: At that time, I was hoping to expand Infinity to
include features and news on all sorts of cool comics-related projects -- so
this was most likely a news gathering operation! At the same time I was publishing The
Alternative Headmaster's Bulletin with [Mad Dog editor]
Smuzz and had put out No Frills
Funnies, an underground comic that later attracted
the interest of Rip Off Press -- so I was probably looking for contributors
too.
Simon: I remember that evening that you had brought
with you a copy of the truly excellent Infinity magazine.
For the unenlightened what was Infinity and what
was your involvement?
Russell: Infinity was different
from most comics fanzines at the time in that it was dedicated to non-superhero
comics. It was inspired by the work of Eddie
Campbell and the Fast Fiction table [run by Paul
Gravett and Pete Stanbury],
along with things such as Raymond Briggs' When the Wind
Blows. The idea was
that there was a whole world of comics outside of the X-Men and Infinity would
use a bit of "positive
discrimination" to explore that world.
|
Infinity #5, featuring the
first part of an extensive interview with David Lloyd |
Simon: How long
did Infinity run for and what was the print
run?
Russell: Eight issues were published along with a couple
of "mini-Infinitys" between December 1983 and sometime in the first half of
1985 -- I forget exactly and have no records! The first issue was 40 copies,
photocopied then stapled on the steps of Central Hall where the Westminster
Comic Marts took place. I met a brash, young Warren
Ellis stapling on those steps. Copies went on the Fast Fiction table,
but I sold most of them accosting people in the hall and badgering them into
buying a copy.
The second issue had a 200 print run. By the third issue, Virgin
Megastores were selling them (I would trudge around London with a huge suitcase
and go to every comic, record and "alternative" shop I could find and get them
to stock copies). The last issue had a print-run of 800, which wasn't bad for
a small fanzine that didn't cover superheroes.
Simon: For a small press publication Infinity had
high production values. The covers were glossy, the last issue had a two colour
cover and the inside pages were properly printed, not photocopied. You also
had a high print run. How could you afford this?
Russell: High production values? Perhaps relative to some
of the really badly photocopied stuff back then! At the time, I was publishing
a tourist guide twice a year for Broadstairs where I lived. This (and the DHSS)
provided enough cash to publish Infinity -- though
by the last issue, I was breaking even. I started Infinity when
I was 15 and was still living at home -- by issue 8, I was 17 and was living
with bunch of hippies and anarchists.
Simon: Were you
involved in any other small press projects at this time?
Russell: Just TAHB and NFF.
These had strips from the likes of [the late] Mike
Matthews, Dixie, David
Hine, SMS,
Chris Brasted, Eddie Campbell, Chris Webster, Martin Hand and more.
Simon: You had some pretty important contributors and interviewees. Remind
me who they were and how you managed this.
|
Infinity #7, featuring an
interview with Posy Simmonds - an interview so memorable Paul Gravett
quoted from it (and creditted it) in a feature for Comics Journal some
23 years later! |
Russell: Alan
Moore, David
Lloyd, Posy Simmonds, Eddie Campbell, Hunt
Emerson, Myra Hancock and more... a great list.
A chap called Dixie, who helped me with the layout of issues
2-5, was a member of the Society of Strip Illustration and helped me secure
an interview with David Lloyd. Paul Gravett got me the interview with Posy
Simmonds. I would solicit articles (such as an early one on underground comics
from someone who hated them -- I knew that would generate controversy) and
give editorial direction as to the angle I wanted, which I don't think was
common for fanzines at the time. I was a pest and badgered people whose talents
I respected for contributions. All of this led to quite a high quality for
the time -- and because of the "no superheroes" policy I think people wanted
to be associated with something that was a bit forward-looking.
Also, at the
time, you could meet comics creators at the comic marts. I drank beers with
Alan Moore and David Lloyd et al in the Westminster Arms (although I don't
think they knew I was 17). I'd later tell them they'd promised me stuff over
beers... Just kidding!
Simon: In the early to mid 1980's there seemed to
be a lot of creativity and hope in the underground comics scene and also a
New Wave of underground cartoonists. Would you agree and if so what do you
think was the catalyst for this change?
Russell: Absolutely. It was
an amazingly creative time. In the UK you had Fast Fiction and Escape --
Paul Gravett, Eddie Campbell, Phil
Elliott et al --, with Warrior really
showcasing Moore and Lloyd and Davis. In the US you had RAW and Maus (being serialized at the time) and a whole bunch of mainstream stuff which
wasn't superheroes.
Fast Fiction especially gave a real outlet to photocopied
and small print-run stuff, and I this must have been inspiring to a lot of
artists and writers who are well-known today. Warren Ellis talks about it
often.
Catalyst? I don't know, but the above kept the flame burning.
Simon: You suddenly stopped producing Infinity in
1985 and other projects came to an end.
Why, so suddenly, when you seemed to be riding the crest of the wave?
Russell: I was ripped
off by a guy with whom I'd set up a studio and a bank account to publish
Infinity and other projects. Ironically, I found out the day I received a
cheque from Rip Off Press for an order of hundreds of copies of No
Frills Funnies. I went to deposit the cheque and found out that all the money had
gone, a big overdraft had been run up and that the guy had done a runner
and disappeared with nearly all the artwork and contact addresses for the
comics projects we were planning.
I still remember the stunning Dan Maniac cover to No
Frills Funnies #2 by the late Mike Matthews. I'll never see it
again.
All of this just made me so depressed that I just froze and dropped out of the scene. Fortunately, I kept most of the contributions for Infinity #9 at my home. I'll tell you about those later.
Simon: In the late 1980's/ early 90's there seemed be a kind
of implosion in underground comics. Knockabout Comics stopped producing their
anthology, Escape and the Fast Fiction distribution came to an end and several
new titles folded after just a few issues. Do you have any thoughts on why
this may have happened?
Russell: I'd reluctantly quit
the comics scene by this time, so I don't know. I can only guess that the
wave of creativity hit a stony shore still bereft of commercial opportunity
-- that would come though.
Simon: You're living and working in Tokyo now. What
is it exactly that you do now? Has what you have learnt from your small press
ventures helped you in your present career?
Russell: Well, I'm very careful about business partners! I own and run
a web-based publishing company here. We run a very large portal site for learners
of English in Japan which is advertising funded and provided lots of information
about learning English, studying abroad, why Americans are strange, etc.
We
also publish books, audio books, magazines, podcasts etc. For example we were
doing the TIME magazine podcast for Japan here
(it's on sabbatical right now), which was fun, we have a book out in October
with Macmillan which interviews foreign CEOs of multinationals in Japan, this
kind of stuff.
Infinity and the other zines taught
me about editing, writing, design, working with creative people. I was rubbish
at it when I started (I didn't even know how to order the pages properly so
they'd print right), but learnt on the job and it was very natural for me to
feel that I could take on professional projects later on, with that experience
behind me. Though I shudder when I look at the wonky, scratched Letraset, bad
paste-up and acres of IBM Golfball-generated typos in every issue of Infinity!
|
Infinity #9, available to fans
of the original 'zine. |
Simon: Would you ever consider working on an underground comics project again?
Russell Willis: Funny you should mention that! I've just put
together Infinity #9 -- with all the articles
and letters and some of the artwork that should have been published 23 years
ago. It includes front and back covers by the late Steve
Whitaker, to whom I've dedicated the issue. I've created it as a private
gift for people who read Infinity back then
-- "friends of Infinity."
If you were a reader, contributor or just knew me back in the
day, then drop me an e-mail at russjapan (at) mac (dot) com and I'll send you
a copy.
Simon Mackie: Living and working so far away from home, and for so many years now,
do you often think back to your days working with underground comics in the
early 80s?
Russell Willis: I do. It was a wonderful period. I feel so lucky to have been even a small part of it. In the last few years I've been confronted with so many things that remind me of those days -- whether it be picking up an Eddie Campbell book and seeing references to Infinity in it or watching the American
Splendor film on DVD or just seeing names of people that contributed to Infinity or who I knew from back then as I browse the book section of Tower Records in Tokyo. Great stuff!
• Since this interview was first published, Russell Willis
has launched Panel Nine, a dedicated digital comics publishing company, whose
initial titles for iPad include Dapper
John by
Eddie Campbell and Kickback by
David Lloyd. More info at: www.panelnine.com
