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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.

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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).

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Thanks Terri. I know how funny your cartooning is and I hope others will enjoy it, too.

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