大象传媒

So, you're Nottinghamshire born and bred?
I was born in Clifton, not far from where Trent Poly (as it was) is, in the same house my mum and dad still live in. In the back bedroom, top of the stairs, turn left and it's straight in front of you. I think it's a different bed.

I went to Greencroft Infants, followed by Greencroft Juniors and then Fairham Comprehensive.

What does your average day entail at Viz?
I'll drop my kids off at school then set off for work in Newcastle. I'll get about half way there then I'll go back home for my glasses.

When I was 18 my mum asked me if I was gay.

Graham Dury

When I get to work, most of the time is spent sitting round trying to think of jokes and scripts for cartoons and talking about what was on telly the night before.

When we finally write a script, I usually do the drawing at home in the evening when the kids are in bed.

When we get near a deadline, things get a bit more hectic and we don't spend as much time talking about what was on the telly.

Were the Fat Slags inspired by the lovely women of Nottingham?
No. Nottingham has the most attractive women in the country, because it used to say so on a little plaque above the doors of The Palais.

People who come to the office are often very disappointed to meet us, because they expect us to be whacky loonies playing practical jokes on each other all the time.

Graham Dury

The Fat Slags were thought up by the four of us who worked there at the time, and so they were a bit of a composite. I got the job of drawing them because I was the only one free at that minute.

Simon Thorp, who I write the scripts with, now comes from Pontefract, and so the Fat Slags have ended up as being vaguely Nottinghamy/Yorkshirey in origin.

We try not to say where they come from, but we had to in one story and I think we said they lived in Mansfield.

How do people generally react to your job at Viz and your comic strips?
Usually with indifference, which is as it should be. I've only met a couple of people who were genuinely offended, but that was years ago when the world was a different place.

If someone these days asks what I do for a living I'm usually a bit vague and just say I draw cartoons. If they find out it's Viz they tend to say "Oh, my dad used to read that."

If there's a cartoon with someone wearing cowboy boots, I've probably drawn it.

Graham Dury

People who come to the office are often very disappointed to meet us, because they expect us to be whacky loonies playing practical jokes on each other all the time.

What they find is four blokes in their late thirties/early forties who are beginning to moan about the price of bread and make grunting noises when they bend to pick things up.

And there's Alex, who at 22 is our youngest cartoonist. He likes a good laugh, but the rest of us soon put a stop to that.

Which other characters have you created?
We tend to create all the characters together, though we each have ones we exclusively draw.

As well as the Fat Slags I draw Roger Mellie, Biffa Bacon, Spoilt Bastard and Postman Plod. And a few others - if there's a cartoon with someone wearing cowboy boots, I've probably drawn it.