Richard: How did you get the idea for "Nutty Funsters"?

Stephanie: Many moons ago, when I was still knee high to a june bug. It started off very simple at first, with just one character (Poley) who was relegated to more or less a generic Bugs Bunny type of role. He'd wear Mickey Mouse like suspenders and foil a poacher with wacky hi-jinks. I got tired of that pretty quick, so I started drawing a friend (Henry) to go on different adventures with him. The Dee character didn't come about until high school. That's when I think what you see today in my strips really came into fruition. It's a bit of evolution and reinvention.

Richard: How did you come up with the name Nutty Funsters?

Stephanie: It's a strange combination. "Nutty Funsters" is something I heard on the show "Animaniacs" once and it got stuck in my head forever from that point on. (Fun Fact: Said cartoon on that episode is "Hello Nice Warners") Later on in high school I added the "original" part as a joke. At the time, "Original Gangstas" was being released in theaters, so it was like some weird ironic play on that. After then, the combo... well... stuck. A lot of sticking went on. I know how that sounds.

Richard: Why use animals as the characters?

Stephanie: I grew up with stuff like Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Calvin and Hobbes (natch) and such and that inspiration seemed like a natural progression. It kind of annoys me that in today's times, stuff like this gets lumped into a "furry" category. I don't see it as that at all. It's not my intention. I had a conversation with a friend the other day about this, and she made a great point about how talking animals have been around for ages. It's just too bad that stigma is there now.

Richard: Who is Poley Polarity?

Stephanie: He is more or less the voice of reason in the series. Although he has his own quirks, he pretty much keeps whatever sanity is left in the Funster dynamic. Poley is also arguably the most sarcastic of the bunch, and if I had to ultimately pick which character is closest to me, it would be him. He was the first one I came up with, so it makes sense.

Richard: Who are some of the other characters?

Stephanie: Henry is the quiet, reserved rabbit who happens to harness the fury of a million angry suns. His hobbies are scrap booking and bow hunting. Dee is the residential "party dude", the real idiot of the bunch. Trenton Bingley is a fellow neighbor who is full of conspiracy theories for every occasion, and Xerxes is the beady eyed rabbit who is too cool for everyone else. Even himself. Seriously, he is like sooo over himself right now. He is very last season.

Richard: How would you describe the type of stories in "Nutty Funsters: A List of Grievances"?

Stephanie: It's a collection of all my 2007 strips, along with two bonus short comic stories and some guest pinups. The bonus mini comics contain lighthearted political lampooning, and the paranoia behind school fundraiser candy sales, respectively. People just don't trust ANYONE these days!

Richard: How did you end up being an artist on "Jesus Hates Zombies"?

Stephanie: The creator, Stephen Lindsay, contacted me through ComicSpace about doing some artwork for his anthology. I immediately jumped at the chance.

Richard: What was the story about that you illustrated?

Stephanie: It's called "We Need A Hero", and it's a brief encounter between Jesus and a farm girl whose parents have turned into the living dead. I won't give away the whole thing, but I will tell you that drawing gory parts flying around is WAY more fun than it should be.

Richard: What was "Germ Zero" about and how would you describe your art on it?

Stephanie: That was a story a friend of mine, Shawn Carter, came up with. There was a short horror story contest put together by Shox Studios at the time and figured we could collaborate and see what happens with it. I'd say the artwork is a little more dramatic and a bit graphic (not so much as JHZ, per se, but the intent is there) in subject matter. In hindsight, I'd like to maybe go back and add more stuff to it, but I'm a fussbudget and need to know when to say "when". We ended up tying 2nd place and split the prize money, so I must've done something right!

Richard: What about working on "Whispers" did you enjoy?

Stephanie: The whole experience. That was my 2nd comic collaboration ever, and it was good "on the job training" for me, so to speak. Steve Kanaras was and is very encouraging and helpful during the entire process. I was given a lot of creative freedom on it, and it gave way to one of my favorite characters to draw in that: The Jack Black-esque Imp that gives the main character hell.

Richard: What do you have planned next?

Stephanie: More stuff with the Nutty Funsters; hopefully maybe a new collection for the 2008 strips along with a big bonus story I have in mind. I've also just finished artwork for the next issue of Fat Cat Funnies' "Small Town Type" (http://myspace.com/fatcatfunnies), another collaboration comic series entitled "Vlad" (http://comicspace.com/Ed_Grimm), and just started a new webcomic called "The Magic Of Wonder" (http://magic.theairingcupboard.net), which is quite a big departure from the stuff I usually do.

Richard: What first got you interested in drawing?

Stephanie: My father was an artist, so it kinda runs in the family. He was more of a traditional artist in that he worked mainly in oils and watercolors, and inspired by the likes of Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Titian. He did dabble in cartooning though from time to time. So I grew up with it. It was always encouraged in my household, and still is to this day.

Richard: How can someone contact you?

Stephanie: breakfastangst [at] gmail [dot] com

Richard: Any last words of wisdom?

Stephanie: Never give up, never give in, eat your prayers, say your vitamins, and just chilllll maaaaaaaaan.