Matt Mevin is maha thrilled. As he looks at the number of youngsters waiting patiently at Hitex to shake hands with him and take his autograph, he takes a moment to express his amazement. “There is a sense of awe to know how the silly little things I have created on the internet have made an impact. It feels nice to know that things I have been creating, which I personally enjoy, are enjoyed by all,” he says. A special guest at Comic Con 2015, the author of Cyanide and Happiness and The Last Nerds recalls his shy childhood days and his transformation into a funny, crazy guy. “I was a shy little kid and developed interest in various hobbies. I started to make jokes and used humour to get over my shyness and break the shell,” he recollects.
Seeing the popularity of his characters among young comic enthusiasts is a sweet surprise, he adds. “I am the biggest fan of myself. I create characters which I will enjoy. When I write, I think of what I will do in this situation and put it down.” . Matt had waited for two years to come to India. “I had the opportunity to visit India two years ago and even my tickets to fly out were ready. I was in New Zealand attending a friend’s wedding and the trip couldn’t happen. I was quite looking forward to it and got really psyched about not being able to come to India then. Now, I am happy,” he says with a wide grin.
Just before coming to Hyderabad, his friends had warned him about the city’s dry weather. But it is the city’s traffic, which has actually left him perplexed. “Everyone drives so closely yet they do it so well. Back home, I drive with a 50 ft distance, I don’t trust them (drivers on the road). Here, it looks unsafe but people drive with such confidence and it is safe,” he says.
Matt calls himself “an adult with a mind of a child. I am 31 and think there’s nothing funnier than a fart. And, it is also kind of weird that I don’t tell any jokey joke. I write humour for a living and have a terrible memory. I don’t know jokes to tell. I crack jokes spontaneously during a conversation. I am humorous just being myself,” he avers.
Matt looks forward to having more fun writing. “I am introducing a new female character and here I have seen so many young people. It could even be an Indian,” he says with a wink. Before concluding, we ask about his septum nose ring. “The ring did not give me pain but when the guy poked me with tooth picks, it hurt bad,” he smiles.
At the session
Matt interacted with comic enthusiasts at a session which provided an insight into his writing schedule. “I have been able to befriend many web comic writers who write the night before they go online. I do not do it that way. I write 20 pages at once and later fill in the gaps here and there,” he says in answer to a question. “My sleep schedule has gone a little haywire and this today morning there was time for breakfast. I began to write. I have at least one month’s writings before they go online.”
One youngster asks him about cool ways to kill a zombie. “I have not yet used this in my comics,” he starts off and adds, “Dude, how about attaching a spearhead pierced in a zombie and cut off the parachute!”
