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All content on this page is copyrighted by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox. You
must have written permission from Elizabeth to copy, quote, excerpt or share the content of this page. Failure to do
so is subjet to prosecution under USA and International Copyright Laws. FLIP the INK Interview on
March 19, 2010 Interview of Paranormal Cartoonist, Terri J. Garofalo For this interview, I asked
Terri to write her own bio: Terri J. Garofalo, Author/Cartoonist for Entities-R-Us,
Ghost Hunter Comic I appeared on the Earth and the first thing I thought was, "Oh GREAT,
here I go again…" Yes, I remember lying in the basinet with great trepidation. I had landed in New Hampshire with
a bunch of New England-minded individuals. Since, I’m a bit of a radical sometimes, it was a great way to become grounded. For
some reason (and I blame lack of cash for music instruments and horses) I gravitated toward drawing and art. Crayons and pencils
were readily available. By high school I was an "accomplished" artist in most media. Cartoons were just one small
part of all this (although I had big comic aspirations). The University of Hartford, Art School – UHAS, ha ha…S,
became my aesthetic training ground. In 1985 I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BFA in Advertising Design (though if you look
at the transcripts, you’d conclude my real majors were Experimental Studio and Ceramics. I never declared the minors
in Photography or Philosophy either. I earned most of my Design credits working in the field on internship during the summers). After
graduating, I worked in a number of places in CT, MA, NY & NYC, freelancing most of the time since I like to be a "free
agent." This has served me well and handcuffed me financially. It has also prepared me for the long road of developing
a profitable comic, which I’m embracing nicely. I still do graphic design for a few clients, art direct a local magazine
as well as assorted make-shift money earners. *** INTERVIEW Q: Terri, How did
you get started in creating cartoons? I’ve always been involved with art. It showed up in my
life early on as a means to get a good picture of a horse. It has since blossomed into a career path, though I considered
it inadvertent. Cartooning came into view when I spent a summer reading Charles Shultz’s Peanuts books. I became fascinated
with the idea of doing a comic strip. Within an hour I had invented Wabbit Hutch, a comic that became quite popular in my
high school days and nearly made it to syndication. After High School, I did four years at the University of Hartford
Art School. I credit this with opening up the creative faucet. I found it easy to be innovative in sculpture, paint or whatever
medium I chose to work with. I left with a degree in Advertising Design. I still do freelance graphic design for some clients. Many
attempts to syndicate Wabbit Hutch left me disappointed to the point where I tried inventing other comic strips and eventually
put cartooning aside for a number of years.Entities-R-Us uses all of the skills I’ve gleaned as an artist and designer.
It’s quite helpful when putting books and products together as well as the website (though I could use a code master
to sort things out). Q: Have you experimented with genres of cartooning other than paranormal? Wabbit
Hutch was a "slice-of-life" cartoon using humanized rabbits as characters. It was a really good strip. United Features
really liked it, but wouldn’t commit beyond the committee of marketing guys. I’ve written sports comics –
Puck, a hockey comic enjoyed success in a weekly newsletter I produced called "Sweepin’ the Crease…"
This was teamed with a chat show I did on America Online that was hugely popular with hockey fans in the ‘90s. Puck
appeared in various hockey newspapers and magazines on occasion. There have been many others including
In Spirit, the cartoon that Entities originated from. Q: What made you decide to focus in on the paranormal
expereince as a topical subject for cartooning? The paranormal topic has fascinated me since I had my
first experience back in 1985. Since then, there have been many other encounters with ghosts and psychic events for me. Watching
television shows like Ghost Hunters as well as many documentaries on the supernatural put it in the forefront of
my mind. However, it was a prompting from my higher self that led to the cartoon. I was itching to start a new comic
after years of not cartooning. I began to notice every time I was in the car, the radio played music from the band, The Doors.
Change the station, more Doors. I saw stuff on TV about The Doors. In the mall, Doors music would be playing… everywhere
I went! It was a sign to lead me to resurrect a character I created from a dream I had of Jim Morrison several years
before. Jim showed up at my door (no pun intended) and showed me how he wanted his character to be drawn, as if
he was still alive and living as a recluse in the woods. The initial cartoon didn’t go anywhere, so I put it aside.
Years later, I was compelled to create In Spirit about a recluse named Woodsworth who retreats to a trailer
in the forest only to discover the ghost of Fred, who is basically doing the same thing in his afterlife. Woodsworth hired
a bunch of goof-ball ghost hunters called Entities-R-Us. The rest is history… or is still making history! Q:
Is there a specific category within the paranormal that your cartooning
focuses on? OR you deliberately avoid? And Why? Entities mostly pertains to ghost hunting and
ghosts. I like to write from the perspective of the spirit who is hung up on the physical world and not committed to leaving
yet. There is a human aspect I enjoy – after all, ghosts are people too. I do occasionally stray into topics like
UFOs, cryptozoology, parallel universes, etc. I have a special fascination, which I also gave to my character Arno, with the
cultures of Atlantis and Lemuria. Paranormal is paranormal and all of it is interesting. Q: Since you
first began cartooning the paranormal, have you experienced a paranormal event/activity? I
was living in a haunted house at the time, so yes I experienced paranormal activity. While I was living it, I never thought
about investigating until I began the comic. Since then I’ve been involved in several ghost hunting expeditions. Before
the comic I’ve experienced everything from being held down in my bed, lights turning off, objects moving to full bodied
apparitions. I’m more fascinated with EVPs. The idea I can communicate with these astrals is way cool! Q:
Are you active in other aspects of the paranormal community? I am currently a member of a paranormal
group called ORB – Obsideo Research of Beyond - orbresearch.org. Often I join up with other groups as a
guest. Kentucky Paranormal Group (now Everyday Paranormal KY) - everydayparanormalky.com, invited me to investigate the Shanley Hotel in Napanoch, NY. I will be participating as a vendor at Queen City Paracon
in Cincinnati on April 9, 2010 - queencityparacon.com. A few publications publish Entities comics:
Paranormal Underground Magazine - paranormalunderground.net BSPHI Newsletter – community.icontact.com/p/bsphinews.I am also in talks with the Shanley Hotel - shanleyhotel.com to do a comic book featuring the Shanley. Barry FitzGerald and Dustin Pari of Ghost Hunters International
asked me to illustrate their upcoming book. Brian Harnois is also interested in doing a project. Mostly, it’s
the Entities-R-Us website I dedicate my time to. It not only has daily comics, but a blog about paranormal interests, events,
etc. There is also paranormal evidence that I’ve acquired - And, my own personal paranormal experiences. Q: As a woman, are you in a minority for being a cartoonist, in general and especially within the paranormal
genre? I don’t notice the minority aspect. I’ve worked in "old boy" networks
most of my life, so it’s just another day at the office for me. I’ve always been more comfortable talking with
mechanics than hair-dressers. Q: What is the most powerful influence on you, in your development of your
cartoon concepts for each cartoon? My source… higher self…
the woo-woo aspect? Someone once asked me where my ideas came from. My response was, "I don’t know." Life
experience adds a lot to it, but a concept will just pop into my head from beyond. Often there is hidden humor and meaning
I don’t pick up on until someone points it out to me later… So, it’s not me, it’s something else.
Q: I know from having been a cartoonist and having taught classes in cartooning, that each cartoonist’s individual
sense of humor is intrinsic to their cartooning skill. What with the often dismal news headlines we face, as a society, on
a daily basis, how do you keep your sense of humor alive and breathing (so to speak) in order to breathe life into each new
cartoon your create? I do not focus on the news. In fact, I just don’t watch much
of it. Humor has gotten me through some of the worst times in my life. It’s always better to laugh, so I do. I like
to think of my life as a big joke, that way I get more laughs and so does everyone else. Q:
Cartooning is a ‘funny’ business that demands an extarordinary amount of serious work. Terri, what advice do you
have for aspiring cartoonists? Know who your audience is. Market you comic to them – find where
they are and make sure your comic is accessible. Pay more attention to the quality of your humor, the drawing is not as important
as you think. Expressions are though! Be a master of expression. What is next in
your career as a paranormal cartoonist? My first book will be out shortly. It is in editing now. You will be
able to find it on the Entities website: http://www.entities-r-us.com . Also, there are products that were launched in December on Café Press. Entities now has T-shirts,
mugs, mousepads, calendars, even bumper stickers! The link to those is on the website or one can get in here: http://www.cafepress.com/EntitiesRUs. I will also be at Queen City Paracon in Cincinnati on April 9. - queencityparacon.com. LAST Q: Terri, this has been a great interview, you’ve managed to be funny and give serious answers!
Where can people learn more about you? Everything you need to know about Entities-R-Us,
Ghost Hunter Comic can be found here: http://www.entities-r-us.com . If you are really curious about me, can’t imagine why… http://www.myspace.com/terrijgarofalo or facebook under terrijgarofalo (I think). ### Thanks
Terri. I know how funny your cartooning is and I hope others will enjoy it, too. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: All of the contents on this page and interview are copyrighted by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox
and are protected by USA, North American and International Copyright Laws. You May NOT quote, use, copy, publish or share
any part of these contents without written permission from Elizabeth Eagan-Cox. If you violate this Copright in any form whatsoever,
you risk legal action against you to the full extent of the law.
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