Catching Up With Bill Roundy

Can you tell us a bit about your work at MOCCA this year?

Early this year, I took over as curator of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York (technically, I’m the Secretary of the Board of Directors, but curatorial stuff is what I actually do on a day-to-day basis). It’s been a really exciting time: we launched the "New York Artist Showcase" exhibition series, focusing on New York City cartoonists, and I’ve selected and exhibited highlights from MoCCA’s Permanent Collection. I also shepherded MoCCA’s exhibit on webcomics "Infinite Canvas: the Art of Webcomics" from idea to full show, helping that exhibit’s curator, Jen Babcock, with brainstorming and artifact preparation. And right now I’m preparing an exhibit on monsters in comics and cartoons ("Things That Go Bump in the Night"), which is set to open Oct. 13.

All of these projects have been really exciting to do, and close to my heart. Since MoCCA is almost entirely run by volunteers (we have one paid staff member), everything we do is a labor of love for somebody.

 

Any notable portrayals of Satan you’ve noticed since writing the feature (Satan and Webcomics) on the subject?

Not so much in the world of webcomics, though Sinfest continues to be wonderful. Oh, and Goats has an overabundance of devils! But I did come across a fantastic Silver Age Superman story where Supe dresses up like the Devil and gets Lois Lane to sell her soul to him. The original art’s going into the monsters exhibit at MoCCA.

 

How goes work on your own webcomic The Amazing Adventures of Bill?

It’s going well, but very slowly. My productivity grinds to a halt just before each major MoCCA show, which is annoying, but my art has improved a lot since I started, 293 strips ago (thank goodness!). When I hit 300 strips, I’m planning to collect them all into a big-ass book.

 

Where are you located these days and what are you up to during the daytime hours?

I live in Brooklyn, and I work as a freelance copyeditor.

 

What are you planning on working on in 2008?

I’ll be taking a sabbatical from MoCCA to work on my graphic novel, a gay romantic-comedy/horror I’ve been plotting in my head for almost two years. I’m also working on a story for the romance anthology "Boy Trouble."

Xaviar Xerexes

Wandering webcomic ronin. Created Comixpedia (2002-2005) and ComixTalk (2006-2012; 2016-?). Made a lot of unfinished comics and novels.