DAVE McELFATRICK Artist, animator and US government-certified 'genius,' talks to EOIN BUTLER
Could you tell us a bit about yourself first of all?Specifically, who are you? I'm 26 years old. I was born and raised in Coleraine. Growing up, I was an only child so I spent a lot of time alone doodling and drawing. In school, instead of listening to the teacher, I would sit at the back of class drawing insulting comics about my friends. I told career advisers that I was good at art and no good at anything else. They told me to get good at something else.
How did your comic blog, 'Cyanide Happiness', come about?When I was 15, I discovered animation software and joined an online community of like-minded animators. I was working with a dial-up connection, so it would take about 20 minutes to upload one short video. Nonetheless, we would submit our work and offer each other feedback. This was how I got to know Kris, Matt, Alex and Rob – the other guys behind Explosm.net.
They were all based in the US. That's right. Our first website was called Stick Suicide – a typical animation might show a stickman being clumsy with a chainsaw. It was very violent, very graphic. I can't tell you why, but the site became very popular. By the time we hit university, in 2004 or 2005, we couldn't devote the same effort. So we switched to comics, which are less time consuming.
This was the beginning of 'Cyanide Happiness'?Yeah, the site was an immediate hit. We got a lot of web traffic and were even able to sell merchandise. But I don't think I realised how big it had become until I travelled to San Diego for Comic Con in 2007. That was the first time I met the other guys in person. A ton of people queued up to meet us and have us sign stuff. It was a major turning point.
When did the 'Let Dave Into America' campaign begin? In May 2010, I tried to return to America. We had started animating again and needed to be in the same place. Our management told me I could just go over and everything would be fine. But I was stopped at Newark Airport and detained. They didn't treat me well. They made fun of my accent and put me on the next flight home. The American embassy recommended I apply for an O-1, better known as a "genius visa". But my application was rejected.
So your fans organised a petition. It was a final throw of the dice. Within two weeks, 150,000 people signed. Three days later, the decision was reversed and my application was approved.
Were you flattered to be considered a genius?I try to be as modest as possible about it. But it's absolutely mad.
The 'Washington Post' has written approvingly of your "deviant minds", but I understand the four of you are quite competitive.It's a healthy competition. Sometimes I'll wake up in the morning and see that one of my cartoons has got a bunch of "likes" on Facebook and I'll want to send it on to the others to taunt them. One of my comics, Highlight Anything Stupid,got about 30,000 "likes". One of Rob's once got 40,000, so he's beating me!
How are you adapting to life in the US? Do you understand the rules of American football yet? No, I can't stand American football. I miss the GAA. I still watch the news from home online. The food isn't doing me any favours either. I'm based in Dallas so there's lots of fajita and other gorgeous Mexican food. I've put on about 20lb in the last five months. The thing about Texas is that nobody walks anywhere – it's too hot and the distances are too great. I walk around the neighbourhood sometimes and people give me the funniest looks.
Do you intend to remain in the US long term?No. My visa expires in 2013. I can reapply every year after that. At the moment, we're very much focused on working towards doing a TV show. We're in discussions. I don't want to say with whom, because nothing is definite yet.
Is it Comedy Central?Er, yes. I would like to stay here, at least until that's done. But I definitely want to move home at some stage.
Finally, you recently took part in an "Ask Me Anything" session with fans on the website Reddit. One question you avoided answering directly was whether or not Cyanide Happiness had improved your success rate with the ladies? Has it?Yes, it has. Well, it might be a combination of the comic and my accent. I use them both as my secret weapons.
Failing that, you could always try, 'By the way, did I mention I'm here on a genius visa?' . . . I hadn't thought of that one. I must give that a go some time.
