A Beary Good Time With The Bear Stories
Are you easily offended? Do you enjoy cute little creatures getting into all sorts of shenanigans and cursing out strangers? Do I have a comic (recently turned webcomic) for you… and believe me, this is no BS! This is… The B.S. Strips!
I recently interviewed the creators, and we discussed the comic… which is what this article is based on. So without further ado:
1) What comics (web or in print) were the main influences on your taking Bear Stories in its current direction?
George: Actually, I don’t believe any comic directly influenced the Bear. Chris and I were working on a RPG video game (DOS based) many years ago and he drew an angry little imp with rosy cheeks sitting on a chair that would be a character you meet in the game. The picture really made me laugh, which inspired some ideas. We thought it would be funny if we did a comic where this imp drawn by him interacted with people in the modern-day real world (drawn by me). We started coming up with scenarios and, by the time the idea went to page, the 3-foot-tall, angry, rosy-cheeked little imp turned into a 6-foot-tall smiley cartoon polar bear. So the inspiration for the book was more in the idea or concept of combining our two different styles into one world. Unfortunately, I took on the larger end of the load but, on the other hand, nothing is more difficult then the rendering of The Bear and all his subtle intricacies.
a) How far ahead do you plan the series? Is it a spontaneous process where you simply say, “Today I’ll make a comic,” or do you project a timeline of sorts with ideas for future pieces?
George: We have a 5-volume story arc scheduled but, right now, we enjoy creating The B.S. Strips and wish to do those a while longer before getting back into the novels. The B.S. Strips do not take place within the story arc, and the adventures Bear gets into are random.
Chris: The webcomic format is a classic 6-panel strip that may also give additional insight (now and again) about the characters (in or out) of the main series. The “Today I’ll make a comic” approach comes into play when there’s a pen & paper in the washroom next to the magazine rack.
b) Can you give us any clues as to where we can see Bear Stories going in the future?
George: Stranger places… The Bear is going to stranger places.
Chris: He has a special-needs nephew and a pushover seal buddy from the North he will be hangin’ with from time to time. Oh, and there’s a mysterious gangsta doppelganger of The Bear too. Woof-woof, woof-woof.
2) If you were to explain The Bear Stories to someone who has never heard of it before, how would you go about doing so?
Chris: A messed-up cartoon Bear that lives in the big city and swears at regular normal people… while smiling.
3) Why did you guys decide to bring The Bear Stories to the web?
Chris: We decided on the web because it’s the way publishing is headed; plus, it’s quicker at getting our funnies released. A book’s production takes a damn long time to finish, so we wanted to keep our readers “regular” and entertained.
4) The art is beautiful. In a world full of poorly/simplistically drawn webcomics, The Bear Stories easily stands out. How long does it take to complete a piece from concept to publishing?
Chris: Thank you for your kind words! We decided our webcomics should look consistent with our novels. It’s a lengthy process. Even though it takes longer to finish a strip, we decided on quality. Total time varies—the writing process is the most challenging—once we have a good idea, we crank it out.
George: Actually, we shouldn’t quite say “crank it out,” but writing is key. Then, the creation process begins and, since we do want to do justice to initial idea, then we crank it out!
5) Who is more of an asshole? The Bear… or Charlie Sheen?
Chris: Charlie Sheen claims he has TIGER BLOOD, screw that… BEAR BLOOD is better!!! Bears can pick up tigers and chomp their heads off. BEAR is more of an asshole, but they can party together.
George: Also, Bears have longer tongues too, don’t they? Think they do… haven’t measured them myself but I’m pretty sure. Especially Polar Bears, they are a lot bigger than Tiger’s. Tongue length is like gold in some parts of the globe.
6) You guys currently sell plushies, graphic novels… what can we expect to see next? (May I suggest life-size Bear Stories costumes and 10-foot cardboard stand-ups?)
Chris: We have a 6’ standee for comic conventions, and you can see him at the Silver Snail downtown Toronto!
George: Speaking of which, If anyone happens to be in the downtown Toronto area, visit the Silver Snail and take a photo of yourself with the Bear standee and we will post it on thebearstories.com website!
Chris: We also have T-shirts, but they are currently sold out; however, buttons and stickers will be arriving next.
George: And butter cookies. Definitely butter cookies. Shaped like the Bear, of course.
7) Will The Bear ever retract his tongue? If so, what consequences would mankind suffer?
Chris: Incidentally, he has retracted his tongue—but only to eat a chocolate bar. And people say we eat too many chocolate bars. We believe chocolate bars may be one of the few food groups The Bear will retract his cold wet tongue to eat. And fish may be another one.
George: Luckily, mankind has not yet suffered any consequences for this action—but if The Bear stopped smiling?!… I dread the thought…
Chris: Then crazy frowny people shall inherit the earth!
George: Crazy frowny people holding hands (sung to the melody of “Shiny Happy People” by R.E.M.)
Of course, you can find more information about The B.S. Strips on the official Bear Stories website. The webcomic is updated every Wednesday. (Oh, and be sure to visit the B.S. shop—and consider buying me one of the plushies, will you?)
[Editor's note: You can also like them on Facebook and/or follow them on Twitter!]
