Peter Gallagher-Creators First Spotlight

Peter Gallagher is now the full time artist for Heathcliff Comix.

Wait? What! Heathcliff? (Read: Opinion – Garfield vs. Heathcliff: One Sold Out, The Other Stayed Punk Rock)

Fred Films wanted to gain a better understanding of who he is, and how Heathcliff has taken off over the recent years. So, whom should we interview?

–Eden Burch

So tell us about yourself. What’s your story?

I am a cartoonist. I have been the writer and artist behind Heathcliff for almost 30 years. I’m also a teacher. I teach Illustration at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

Why do you want to tell stories?

I’ve always loved to draw and make comics, probably since Kindergarten.

When I was about nine or ten I started my own comics group, like Marvel or DC. I had a whole roster of heroes and villains. I remember how much fun it was to create stories and draw them.

Drawing Heathcliff gives me that same thrill. I love the single panel format of Heathcliff. The story telling must be immediate, you really have to trim the fat. It’s streamlined story telling. I also love the room it gives you to draw. The caption is below the panel, so there are no word balloons clogging up the space. It’s a great combination of words and drawing telling the story.

How do you go about telling stories?

Heathcliff is a syndicated daily comic. That means I need to come up with 6 daily panels and one longer format Sunday comic every week. That’s seven ideas fully finished, pencilled and inked, every week.

When I first started working on Heathcliff, this felt like a daunting task. The constant deadline felt like a beast I had to feed to keep from getting devoured myself. As time went on I began to like it. Probably like many cartoonists, I’m a natural procrastinator. The weekly deadline keeps me on my toes. When I finish a group and send it in to my editor at Creators Syndicate, I bask in the glow of a mission accomplished for a day. Then, I get on to the next group.

I’ve grown to like that. I’m eager to start something new and the deadline forces me to get moving.

How do you take a story from the seed of an idea to a fully developed story?

I find the writing of ideas the most difficult and the most rewarding part of cartooning.

I have a studio on the second floor of my home. That’s where I do the time consuming work of drawing and finishing the work. But, I also have another drawing table in my basement. It’s in a little room, like a workshop in the dungeon. This is where I like to write the ideas. I find it very relaxing and enjoyable. These are two things that are the key to writing to me. I want to be relaxed and have fun.

What’s more fun than getting to draw cartoons for a living? For me, there’s nothing better. I start by drawing all kinds of things. Just drawing a giraffe, a cowboy, a tank. Anything I feel like drawing. Just like when I was a kid.

Sometimes I write words that I think are funny. Then I take a stab at an idea. Sometimes they’re no good. Occasionally they work. If I start to get on a roll and have a few good ideas, sometimes I can fix the ones that weren’t good. One good idea can often burst the dam and more ideas start to flow. That’s when the fun begins.

What’s something you do that people might not realize about your work?

I think people might not realize that every time I sit down to write I feel like I’ll never come up with another idea.

I’ve been doing Heathcliff for a long time but each time I sit down to write new ideas, it starts the same way. However, once I warm up and relax, I get into the groove and that feeling fades. I will sometimes talk to myself, out loud. Years ago, when I lived in an apartment I was worried that my neighbors would hear me and think I lost my marbles.

What is an unexpected source of inspiration in your day-to-day life?

I have been teaching illustration to college students for about 15 years. I get a real charge out of being around these young artists.

Being a cartoonist is a solitary profession. It’s something I enjoy because I think I’m built for it. However, when I get home from a day of teaching, I feel energized and invigorated. I’m constantly impressed by their talent as well as their zest for life. I didn’t expect to be so inspired by art students, but I am.

Our motto here is creator first, original always. Who is the creator or what’s an original you’ve been into lately?

One thing I’ve been into lately is the single panel comic Pants by Josh Mecouch. The combination of his drawing style and his hilarious ideas always make me laugh. It’s strange and unapologetic and I think it’s great. I always love seeing good single panel cartoons. I think the current crop of New Yorker cartoonists are all excellent. Lately, when I look at Pants or New Yorker cartoons I am inspired to step up my game and try to keep up.