Interview W/ Sean Äaberg of Goblinko

-GOBLINKO-

MAD: Sean, thanks for taking a little time with us today at House of Scream! I recently ran across your wonderfully weird and whimsical “Halloween Book” (2022). It’s a very cool and colorful hardback edition, filled cover to cover with the creepy and quirky art of “Goblinko”. Can you please give us a little insight into your creative background?

SEAN: I decided to be an artist when I was 7. I had a teacher in grade school (Mr. Osborne) that saw some artistic promise in me & gave me these pamphlets about Degas & Pollock. Neither of these artists have been my favorite, but they helped me to see complete stylistic diversity & non-realistic art from the beginning. I understood being an artist as a way of approaching the world, a methodology, very quickly. I internalized Warhol immediately, who I was also exposed to at a young age. However, my real love was Underground Comix. MAD magazine opened that door for me.

MAD: How did Dungeon Degenerates first come about?

SEAN: In 2007 or so, I realized that I could draw for whatever kind of projects I wanted, so I decided that I wanted to do art for role playing games. I had been working on this lowbrow, gutter sensibility that would eventually manifest as PORK magazine. DUNGEON DEGENERATES appeared at the same time, with the same kind of intent of dragging fantasy through the muck. The board game appeared when I saw that we needed to pivot away from patches & pins. Those items had become such a flooded market, whereas we started the whole thing so we were the only game in town for a while.

MAD: You have so much awesome merch available on your website! I love the DIY approach to everything. How do you keep up with all the different products, and do you you have a favorite piece(s) of merch that you’ve created?

SEAN: Thanks, yeah, the initial concept of the Megamall was that we had figured out that we could make “merch” that was more around a general concept instead of being just to advertise the fandom of a certain project. Even though PORK magazine was the biggest, most successful project we had done (the we here is that GOBLINKO is me & my wife Katie), the majority of our merch was for the PORK lifestyle. My favorite project is always the next thing, what I’m working on next. When pressed, I really like the whole patches collection, my goal was to make enough patches to recreate one of those 70s patch ads in comic books, just with only my designs. For a while there we were releasing a new patch every week!

MAD: Who, or what, are some of your biggest artistic influences?

SEAN: I think if I narrowed it down, it would be the Ramones, specifically their first four albums & the 1970s, trashy NYC they embodied. From that it was this sphere of things like MAD magazine, the Church of the Subgenius, the KLF, Robert Anton Wilson, etc. Usually specific artists are too small, too individual to really give what I want, which is ultimately Cultural Systems. So this is a reason why I love Warhol so much. He also implies the Velvet Underground up through Keith Haring & even the WWF. I used inspiration from the Golden Age of Games Workshop (1987-1992) for the game stuff we do. So even if John Blanche was the artistic face of that, he represents a whole team, from Bryan Ansell to Rick Priestly.

MAD: If Goblinko had a soundtrack, what are some of the bands and songs that might be featured?

SEAN: I deejayed for years here in Portland, so I think like a DJ. GOBLINKO specifically has an irreverent, manic, chaotic feeling embodied by this musical triplet I used to DJ which was the Sweet: Blockbuster into Gary Glitter: Rock&Roll part two into Doctorin’ the Tardis by the Timelords, which samples both & the Dr. Who theme song.

MAD: This is a question I ask all the artists I speak with. What are your thoughts on using AI as a creative tool? Is there room for AI, in your opinion, or should things stay more traditional in approach?

SEAN: I view AI as a tool, it is a way more divisive, problematic tool, than say, a hammer, but ultimately, it’s a tool. That said, I think that young people, students & people who are trying to learn should never use it because it can be an omni-crutch & really encourage a mental laziness & people with mental issues can be ensnared by having a digital buddy that’s default seems to be blowing smoke up your ass. So, I think with everything, it must be used consciously, I wish people had been this cautious & concerned attitude about the internet & social media.

MAD: Do you have any advice for independent artists and creators who are trying to find their audience?

SEAN: Stick to your guns, do what you love & remember that all forms of art are ultimately communications mediums, so what your audience thinks of what you do is important. Think highly of what you need to do, & think of artist more of as a role than what the products of a specific artist.

MAD: Have a favorite horror author or book (or comic book)?

SEAN: My favorite Horror author is HP Lovecraft. My favorite works of his always shift. I like the place where Sci-Fi & Horror were emerging from fantasy fiction, blurring the lines between thos things.

MAD: Favorite horror film of all time? Are there any releases from the past few years that you particularly enjoyed?

SEAN: My favorite horror movie of all-time is probably Hausu. I love the Japanese TV ad style of it, combined with the off-beat story & very graphically oriented special effects. For new movies I really enjoyed The Substance & Weapons.

MAD: Any convention appearances or special events coming up this year?

SEAN: No. I don’t do the convention circuit, maybe I should?

MAD: Are there any upcoming projects that you’d like to mention?

SEAN: I’ve been really enjoying writing & have been concentrating on it for a while. I am going to release some short stories & some Choose Your Own Adventure/Fighting Fantasy type stories.

MAD: Thank you again for your time, and we appreciate your cover contributions to this issue of House of Scream! In close, are there any parting words you’d like to leave with the readers today?

SEAN: Despite the madness of the moment, I’m optimistic about the future & I encourage others to engage with the world knowing that & keeping in mind that patient engagement with things is the way, even if people are always screaming about how things will fall apart now if you don’t take action immediately.