Mel - In as much detail as you're comfortable with, could you tell me about yourself?
Cam - My name is Cam, and I met Mel in roller derby (because of course I did). I’ve been drawing comics since I was a little kid, and ran a webcomic called “Don’t Call Me Candy” in my 20s, but I tend to do a little of everything artsy. For several years I studied music with the goal of becoming a film composer. Currently I work as an anatomy and physiology tutor at a community college, which is a path I never saw coming. Science is awesome! But I still work on various comics periodically. I don’t think I’ll ever “get over” comics. They’re such an incredible medium with SO much potential.
Mel - Who is Maddux? Are you Maddux?
Cam - I originally created Maddux to be a blend of myself and Mel, but I think I’ve let Cam take over. She thinks too much, worries a lot, and considers herself something of an armchair philosopher. I think other people might see her as kind of a loser or a Negative Nancy. She just struggles a lot trying to figure out where she fits into the universe. I got her name from a “Maddux” in baseball, which is a pitcher’s “no-runs” achievement. Some days, Maddux is the pitcher - but most days, she is the batter. At least, that’s how she sees herself. Which is not unlike how I see myself!
Mel - What inspires you when you're creating the Maddux comics?
Cam - I think a lot about the advice of comic artist Scott McCloud - the simpler the design of the characters, the more the audience can imprint themselves upon them. Maybe people feel like Maddux, or maybe they feel like Maddux’s friends, trying to talk her out of her over-thinking. It’s open to the reader. Most of Maddux’s dialogue is stuff I’ve pondered while hospitalized to keep myself mentally and physically safe. There’s deep hopelessness and nihilism, and there are blindingly bright moments of hope and meaning. Or a sublime mix of the two - having to laugh at how small we actually are, and how much we get sucked into the anxieties of our own little lives. But those anxieties are still valid, and they make us human.
Mel - What are your hopes for the character of Maddux?
Cam - I hope she keeps on pondering the universe's mysteries, but her friends are always there to gently challenge her when she goes a little overboard. Maybe we can see more of what she does in her free time and how that ties into how she sees the world. There's only so much pontificating one can do without context!