When did your love of comics start?
I guess around the age of 13, I think from 13 until I left secondary school I was getting at the very least two comics a week.. I would even not eat for the sake of spending lunch money after school to buy comics and Magic : The Gathering cards.

What were your favourite titles, and why? What are they now?
I was a huge fan of most Marvel titles, I have pretty tight knowledge of the Marvel universe in the mid to late 90's... Spiderman in particular, but outside of that too. I loved Mike Allred (Madman) comics, which amazingly I somehow ended up cameo-ing in recently. What a dream, I even have Madman tattoos! Aside from that kind of stuff, half way through highschool I became obsessed with Daniel Clowes. I somehow ended up with 'Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron' and completely blew me away.

What do you think most people who don't read comics don't know about them?
Well, what I hate is when people seem to think they're all about the same thing, which is soo stupid, as not every movie in the world is about the same genre. The fact that some people can't seem to grasp the idea of it as a form of media, really annoys me.

Do you think comics are a particularly good medium to convey political messages? If so, why?
I think it is just as good as any, obviously, your imagination can run a lot more wild in comics as to say, than in movies where budgets etc. would become an issue. But thinking back to some of the great work done people such as Joe Sacco, then I can only encourage more people to tackle such issues.

What made you decide to participate in this project?
It was just a well thought out project and I was honoured to be asked to be involved.

What inspired the stories you contributed?
I've done two for it. One titled 'Juice This!' takes place in a TV studio, as a young intern struggles with his original intentions for a great show amongst what it will no doubt end up being, but the point was that he ends up happy with that outcome, even though he was so gun ho in the beginning for what he wanted. The second story I contributed called 'Behold, King Listpin III' takes place in a timeless Aladdin-esque land, and is about a spaceman coming to take revenge on a greedy king.

Tell me about the artist who collaborated with you - he was the comp winner - what did you like about his style?
Well, for 'Behold...' it was Luke Pearson, who had the best adaptation of my script out of the shortlisted, it was just direct and to the point, the artwork just did everything it's supposed to do, pace and carry the story along beautifully. For Juice This I worked with my girlfriend, Nicole Michalek (Graphic Designer who also did the artwork to my new album and EP). She understood everything I wanted the story to say, and her style matches the story perfectly.

Have you written comics before? If so, what about and where have they appeared?
Yeah i've written quite a few, I used to do it a lot more when I was in school, in fact, these last two stories are the first time that I've not illustrated them myself, as I started writing more and more short stories I realised I should just concentrate on that side of things, it takes me forever to illustrate! The stories all varied, some superhero spoofs, that was more in high school, the more I got into Spiderman and Madman... Then it strayed into more diary like things. I wrote a horrific graphic novel which nearly saw release before I realised how truly diabolical it really was, distance is the great medicine to disaster.

What are the challenges of writing a comic, say, writing lyrics?
Not sure, I view everything so differently, even within each medium, it all varies, sometimes things are planned in advance and mapped out, other times it's just on the spot and see where I'll end up.

There seems to be a longstanding relationship between musicians and comics - why do you think that is?
I'm not sure... I can't actually think of many examples either! All I know is comics and music were forms of pure escapism for me, along with movies, so maybe that's the link between all of them, maybe that's why people from each field seem to think they can jump into the others at will.

Would you write another comic book? If so, what about?
I have a few lined up. One is titled 'Hell' and the other has no title but is about a depressed assassin.

Interview by Beth Louise Sturdee