Sally Madden AKA Sally Bloodbath, is a young and talented cartoonist who is comfortable creating new works both online and in print. She also has the skillz and speed to keep popping these babies out! Sally comes from a family of artist/cartoonist types, so is it a surprise that her husband and partner in crime, Matt Wiegle (AKA Matt Bloodbath) also happens to be a talented cartoonist? Probs not.
Could you tell us a little about yourself and your general interests as a cartoonist/artist/creative person?
Sally Madden: I began my career studying scientific illustration, but my grandfather insisted it was in my best interest to toss that aside and illustrate “funny books”. This might be a good time to remind you that my grandfather was very old, even for a grandfather, and was a child in an era when J.C Leyendecker wore a top hat while emerging, gold cane-first from a white Rolls-Royce. But the voice of my grandfather will always be more convincing than the voice of reason, so here I am. I grew up knowing I would always draw, but I never thought that as an illustrator I would end up writing my own stories, but illustration is really just storytelling and you have to write, even if it’s just notes in your sketches that will translate to a wordless image. When I need inspiration for my own illustration work, cartooning or otherwise, I usually look at mid-century commercial illustrations and read. The best advice I ever got was to read everything, which might sound vague, but a gluttonous literary appetite forces you to have ideas for new stories growing out of a mix of the ones you’ve absorbed, which is basically plagiarism, but the more you read, the harder it is for others to trace the stories you’re stealing.
Was there something in particular that interested you enough to be involved in the comic anthology Little Heart?
SM: The good cause behind the book! I’ve done some work that contributes to causes of pure evil and I’m happy to try to undo some of that damage with a positive piece.
Why is marriage equality important to you?
SM: I love going to wedding’s. Do you have any idea how many weddings I would be invited to if there was nationwide marriage equality? The current laws do nothing more than waste time, invade privacy and destroy happiness, not only for those who are kept from wedding each other but for me, personally, with the unacceptable squelching of my party-going enjoyment.
Are there any non-profit fueled anthologies of note that have sparked your interest in the past?
SM: I’m humbled to say I’m not aware of any- though one of my old partners from my own five volume anthology are in talks on collaborating on an anthology to benefit U.S. prisoners when said partner is released from prison. There’s no way to say that so it doesn’t sound like a joke, but I assure you it’s not.
Could you tell us a bit about your comic, how you approached the project, the tools or medium used in its creation, or what it means to you?
SM: The Lunatic is a story my older brother made up over the phone. When I heard about this anthology I knew immediately I wanted to contribute because of the weight of the cause, but I also knew I would never think of a suitable idea. I called my older brother and explained the situation, and in ninety seconds I was writing down the story. Some readers familiar with my comics might notice that the inks in this story are are almost too clean to be recognized as my work, and that would be because they were done by my husband. The colors for the story came from a scheme I saw once in an issue of Heart Throbs my father let me read one hundred years ago. I did, however, pencil the comic entirely by myself.
Do you plan to be in attendance at TCAF for Little Heart’s debut?
SM: Unfortunately I will not be able to make it to my favorite comic book convention this year, but I will be actively promoting it via twitter from my office, where I will be, because I have too much work to do to go.
Finally, what are you working on now (comics or otherwise)? Anything readers can look forward to?
SM: Well, as prison release dates are in constant transformation, at the moment Matt Wiegle and I are working on an illustrated adaptation of the Grimm’s fairy tale, The Seven Ravens.
Thanks Sally!!
