First Comics News: What is a normal day in the life of Mike Hoffman like?
Mike Hoffman: A normal day for me is working all the time, either drawing, painting, running auctions, shipping packages, handling websites, advertising, etc. I work about 80 to 90 hours a week.
1st: What is your work area like?
Mike: I don’t have a studio space that is “presentable” like a lot of artists do for promo photos; it’s functional but messy.
1st: You work with such beautiful women in your comics, do you ever fantasize about them?
Mike: I can’t say I fantasize about my characters.
1st: What is the world of Tigress like,e and who exactly is Tigress?
Mike: Tigress is a human-like being from an alien world, usually she is secondary in the stories that revolve more around the humans. When I did the tiki island adventure that was more to explore the British aristocracy mindset, which is something I grew up with living in England as a kid.
1st: What kind of adventures does Octavia have?
Mike: Octavia is a more surreal paranormal being who extensively uses science, but also what you might call “sorcery“. A lot of what she does, I offer no explanation of how it’s done. The stories tend to be moral fables about transformation.
1st: How would you describe Madame Tarantula’s outlook on life?
Mike: The Madame Tarantula stories reflect what I saw coming with technology, and lo and behold, it’s all coming to pass right now. Especially the combining of life forms with technology.
1st: What is the attraction people have for the fantasy world of swords and sorcery?
Mike: Sword and sorcery may be appealing due to escapism, but artistically, it is an open playing field, which usually requires no reference material.
1st: You also write songs. How successful has that been?
Mike: The music albums I have recorded have not brought in much revenue since the death of CDs, unfortunately. I believe I am as skilled in music as in art, but I’ve had to focus more on the latter to create income
1st: What is the most important lesson for new artists to learn?
Mike: My advice to artists is to stick to saying what you want to say personally. As far as comics go, I recommend going independent and not working for the big publishers. That has become a lot easier to do recently with crowdfunding.
1st: What do you find about using Kickstarter that makes it so attractive to you?
Mike: Kickstarter is just another source of income, like eBay, Etsy, or a website, and it can help you to reach a new audience. The great thing about Kickstarter is that people go there to back projects, not just lurk around like with social media.
1st: Who would win in a battle to the death, Tigress, Octavia, or Madame Tarantula?
Mike: I know it’s a common thing for the audience to want to see characters fighting each other, but from the creator’s perspective, that’s not my goal. Basically, every story that I do has some kind of point I’m trying to make, which is why I often call them moral fables, especially in EYRIE magazine.
1st: How do you spend most of your free time?
Mike: I don’t really have much free time, but if I do, it’s usually a walk in the woods.
1st: What would you like to say to your many fans?
Mike: I do appreciate the support from my audience, which has allowed me to remain independent and make my own statements artistically.
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