Eric Uhlich | Treelines
The Flak Comics Interview
By James Norton
In August 2007, Flak Magazine invited the artists from its Comics page to talk about their work.
Treelines, by Eric Uhlich, is a wordless strip. It's surreal without being disjointed — it floats in a zone between the real and the ridiculous, a place generally inhabited by fables and myths.
FLAK: In what city do you live? And what do you do for a living?
ERIC UHLICH: I live in Tokyo. I teach English at a little school and play music when I can.
FLAK: Tell me a little bit about the history of Treelines — what's the genesis of the idea?
EU: Treelines was the end of a long drawing lull. The summer in Tokyo is
oppressively hot, and as the autumn brought cooler winds and the thought of snow I drew the first panel and the story began there. It became an exercise in the flow of ideas and took on a life of its own. I like to think: first thought, best thought.
FLAK: Describe a couple of writers and/or cartoonists and/or illustrators
who have inspired your voice — the first vibe I got after reading
your stuff was that it reminded me a lot Brian Ralph's Cave-In.
EU: I don't know Brian Ralph, but I always think of Bill Watterson as a big influence on me, probably for many people, too. As a youngster I was really drawn into his artwork and layout, and I've always had an appreciation for kids who know too much. I really like "Cages" by Dave McKean, and on the web, "creased comics" is a genuine favorite.
FLAK: On a similar note: are there any online cartoonists currently
working whose work you follow and admire? What makes their strips
compelling?
EU: There aren't many things that I follow too closely, but there are some artists out there that I like to check in on from time to time. With
regard to art generally, what seems to appeal to me is really graphic artwork but that maintains a simplicity — I've always been drawn to minimal visual and narrative styles. And, I think a compelling story is one written by a free and open mind that allows ideas and images to be and do their work. With my own work, I often over analyze and control, so it definitely appeals when someone can draw or write spontaneously — a crooked line can be so engaging to me.
I also like funny — again, creased comics.
FLAK: There's an ongoing knife-fight between clip-art cartoonists who do largely dialogue-driven strips and more traditional artists such as
yourself. What would you say to people who argue that if your writing
is good, the art can be whatever you want it to be — even if that's a
single scavenged image repeatedly cut and pasted?
EU: I once dreamed of a feature film shot only in an elevator, relying
solely on great dialogue and character, and then I saw Tape, which I
thought was a fairly good effort. So, despite the absence of words in Treelines, I love good dialogue — in film in comics, anywhere really. Though, I also love great artwork. And I don't like to get into debates about ideals — I'm inhibited enough by my own already.
FLAK: Has living in Japan had any impact on the way you draw and plot out your work?
EU: The funny thing about living in Japan and being surrounded by manga
and various things is that so much of it is inaccessible due to my
level of Japanese (reasonably low...). However, there is an abundance
of art in Tokyo and I've seen some pretty great stuff. But as an
environment... Treelines I think is a reaction against living in a
city such as this, where I see that I was definitely yearning for some
space.
FLAK: Any plans for future work? Something longer or print-based, perhaps?
EU: Yeah, I have some ideas I'm working on; just ideas at the moment, but
I'd like to start a longer project again in the fall. That's the time
for doing things. I hope to experiment and have fun doing it and
explore ideas. Something with words...
E-mail James Norton at jim@flakmag.com.
