Otto is a hilarious wordless comedy series for young and old, starring the eponymous down-on-his-luck everyman. Already on the third album in the series, Belgian artist Frodo De Decker has created an imaginative slapstick universe where “anything goes” is the rule rather than the exception.
Welcome back for the second part of our interview with Frodo. In the first part we talked about the creation of Otto and the strip’s influences. Read on for part two, in which we discuss wordless comics and Otto‘s future.
BROKEN FRONTIER: You obviously like a challenge, as wordless comics are notoriously difficult to create.
FRODO DE DECKER: When I was around 20, I wanted to create a comic where I threw overboard all the things that reeked of being extraneous. I wanted to use one camera point of view, no words and an economical line. Originally colouring wasn’t even in the picture.
After a while I felt like I’d really stumbled on something and I set to work distilling the essence of that ‘something’ that I recognized in Otto, breathing even more life into it. It was then that I decided to go with one continuous story and everything started really clicking.
How hard is it to keep conforming to the wordless approach you set out?
It’s not that hard. When writing a script for Otto, I enter his world and try to think in pure visual terms, which does ask for a bit of concentration.
It does happen, for instance, that I can’t immediately visualise an idea. In The Chosen One I wanted to have the devil steal Otto’s soul, but I couldn’t find a way to draw Otto’s soul so I just let it rest, keeping in mind that I could work it out when I reached that particular page.
My first try was a white butterfly, but that didn’t work out. In the end, I drew him as a spooky version of Otto himself.
You’ve done three albums now. How do you keep Otto a captivating subject, someone you want to return to again and again?
I always try to make the next book better than the previous, though I’m still a long way off creating the perfect Otto album. After every book I feel that there’s some stuff which could have gone better: the storyline, the jokes, the drawings etc.
I do feel that The Chosen One has reached a certain level of complexity that touches upon the limits of the wordless comic approach. On the other hand, there’s still so much stuff I can do with Otto…
Are there any themes in the book that might go over the reader’s head if you’re not aware of them?
I don’t insert themes consciously, but sometimes something will slip through, like the exploitation of factory workers, and I always enjoy that.
Otto often comes across rather fantasy-like situations. Is that genre a particular favorite of yours?
The series is certainly not a fantasy series, although I don’t immediately imagine Otto getting into a jet plane or something.
I’m not exactly a fan of the fantasy genre, though I have read Lord of the Rings. I do enjoy comics like Bone or Ralph Azham, but fantasy just has so many cliches. However, on the other hand, they do come in handy in a humour comic like Otto.
Otto vol.3: The Chosen One takes absurdity to the next level with a refreshing, almost stream-of-consciousness approach. Is there any topping this album?
Of course there is! I think it can still go much more absurd than this album, even crazier and more imaginative. The ‘everything goes’ attitude was present from the beginning, but I guess it takes some practice before you can really let your mind go on the page. I keep getting better at this.
I intend to take Otto to places and situations that the reader has never seen before. Like in Vol.2, where Otto and his friend have to eat their way through a giant cake only to end up in an Egyptian crypt. Stuff like that – that’s where I get my kicks.
What’s up next for you in 2015?
It all depends… on one hand I’m still renovating my house, which takes up a lot of time. On the other hand I’m preparing a few projects in the minimal time left, so who knows; maybe there will be something in 2015, maybe not. The fourth album of Otto won’t see the light of day before 2016, I think.
If you want to check out what currently keeps me busy, feel free to frequent my website, where I regularly post new stuff.
Otto Vol.3: The Chosen One (Otto 3: De Uitverkorene) by Frodo De Decker is published in Dutch by Syndikaat. It is a full-colour hardcover graphic novel, counting 48 pages, and retails for €16.95.
