r/comics

Spotlight: Interview with Grandma Field, aka u/Fieldexplores

Hello everyone,

For this week's Spotlight Feature the mod team has interviewed one of our most popular recent regulars, Grandma Field aka .

They create the wonderfully wholesome and funny comic about the little crocodile Gustopher and his dad August. This comic regularly reaches the front page of reddit and is well-received. Grandma Field has been creating comics for a while now and until recently posted mainly about video game characters like Mario and Pokemon. Gustopher and August are avid gamers as well but the focus of the comic is not solely about them, topics like the bond between father and son and navigating life are touched on as well.

1 - Does the comic series about August and Gustopher have a name?

I haven't settled on a name quite yet. I have my files labelled as Relatagator and I've strongly considered calling it Gator Days. There's a good chance I'll be going with one of those.

2 - Looking over your posting history you started making comics primarly about Pokemon and Mario. I love the enthusiastic Fuecoco with his penchant for eating anything. Over time you started focusing more on Gustopher and his dad August. What made you decide to move in that direction and was it a conscious choice for Gustopher to have more or less the same unbound enthusiasm as Fuecoco?

I enjoyed making fan content but I also wanted to try my hand at making my own characters and worlds. I had a lot of different ideas so I started trying different things to see if anything clicked. Once I drew the comic where Gustopher introduced his Dad, I felt that I had found a fun dynamic with potential and decided to focus on that.

When making fan content, energetic characters were the type that I consistently enjoyed drawing the most so I knew it was a trait that I wanted Gustopher to have.

3 - August and Gustopher love computer games and a recurring theme is the generational divide between how young people experience gaming and how it was for the now older generation when they were young. Are you an avid gamer and is this a theme you draw from personal experience?

I love video games. I enjoy classic consoles, modern releases, and everything in between. I have a heavy interest in discussion about what makes a game good. That's definitely a strong source of inspiration when I'm making comics concerning gaming.

4 - August is a single dad raising his son. Will we ever hear the story behind that or is this something not relevant to the stories you want to tell?

August and Gustopher's past is something I'd like to explore over time. I have a history for them that I've been keeping in mind.

5 - The series is an overwhelming success with most of the comics reaching the front page of reddit. When did you realise you were creating something people enjoyed a great deal and how has this affected your creative process?

Something that has stuck with me are the times when people have shared their own experiences after seeing something similar in a comic. The scariest comics to share are the ones that are based on my own life experiences. Knowing that people are connecting with them has meant so much to me. All of this has encouraged me not to shy away from difficult emotions when I'm drawing.

6 - Will there be a printed edition of these comics?

I'd love to see them in print. I'm currently looking into how to make that happen.

7 - The August & Gustopher series has been adding new characters from time to time such as the serious but amiable capybara Liam and the cat Mewbert. How do you decide which characters to add and what is your development process in creating them?

I'll typically start with an animal I'd like to draw, practice sketching them, and see what personality comes through. Once I develop a more solid understanding of a character, I'll introduce them when I feel that there is a story to tell. I also try to focus on animals that I don't see as often in fiction.

8 - What is the opposum girl wanting to make friends called?

Her name is Olivia. I've enjoyed having characters exist for a short while before their name is mentioned. During that time, I feel that I'm still getting to know them as well.

9 - What is your favorite spam recipe?

I've actually only tried spam for the first time recently. Simply pan frying it until there's a crispy exterior was delicious.

10 - Is there anything you'd like to add or tell the readers of ?

Thank you for reading my comics. It means so much more than I know how to express. I've had so much fun making them and it means a lot to me to see others getting something out of them as well.

Apart from reddit you can find Grandma Field content on:

Should you want to give some support, there is a and a

Thank you to all our readers for your support. It is your participation and upvoting that makes this subreddit such a welcoming place for artists to post their work to.