Some time around the release of “The Order of the Phoenix” Tommy Rotter was born on a page of my eclectic sketch book. He became a weird inside joke between my younger brother and sister and myself.
Fast forward about 14 years and I find myself a parent of twin 8 year olds who have discovered the joys of the Harry Potter universe. They seemed to get a kick out of the “Tommy Rotter version of events” that I would comment about as we watched the movies.
One thing I pride myself on as a parent is my ability to improv a decent story on demand. For years I have made up silly stories on the fly for and about my kids, often incorporating whatever “universe” they were into at the time. Naturally, Hogwarts stories were soon being requested (including odd cross-overs from other trending universes, such as when Luke and Leia visited to teach “Defense Against the Dark Side”).
I was delighted when they began requesting Tommy Rotter stories. It gave me the chance to flesh out the “Rotterverse” and explore various absurd scenarios for the amusement of my kids and myself. My wife will attest that I’m a big fan of laughing at my own jokes.
The problem with hundreds of improvised stories is that I forget them rather quickly, much more quickly than my kids. Thus, the comics.
I have been heavily involved in the arts my whole life, but of course the need for a steady job and then children has continually pushed this drive onto the back burner. With a background in realist oil painting I could only expect to produce anything given months of scrounging minutes here and there. I found a way around this by drawing quick, simple, little comics with my kids. This was not my native media, but it did the trick! I’m FAR from a proficient comic artist, but it provides the perfect medium for time-manageable art that allows me to improv a story full of my absurd sense of humor!
As I get older I find myself taking stock of all the ideas that never became more than just ideas. I feel a strong desire to start producing, and a regret that I’ve neglected it for so long. Better late than never.
MYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tommy Rotter Comics 