Chez Cuckoo is a funny comic featuring a variety of characters getting into all sorts of situations. For better or for worse, the interaction between their charismatic personalities results in disasters and screw-ups that we all can collectively laugh at.
The Norwegian artist behind it, Torbjørn Lien, previously shared that he "wanted to make the characters as different as possible to play them off each other and see what kind of humor came out of it. All the central characters are a bit based on various sides of myself, I think. But they are also inspired by various people I've known over the years, and a lot of pure imagination."
So, let's hop into the post, and if you would like to learn more about individual characters, take a look at the short descriptions by Torbjørn.
More info: Instagram | Facebook | patreon.com | chezcuckoo.com
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Bored Panda once again reached out to Torbjørn, who told us what changed since the last post.
“In the comic, several things have happened. Among them: Ronny has come out as bisexual and dated a man for the first time. Emma, the lesbian who was going to marry Greta, left both Greta and the comic last year, but she is actually returning today in a new story I'm starting to publish now!
I published my first NSFW comic book earlier this year, featuring the characters from Chez Cuckoo! And I'm currently working on a 32-page Christmas story, which will be available in October-November.”
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We were wondering how long it took for Torbjørn to find his unique art style. The artist shared: “My style has developed over the years. I find it a bit embarrassing to look at some of my early work, as both my style and skills have improved a lot. But that's how it goes. An artist is always evolving, and I guess my style is still changing. Hopefully, always for the better!”
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Torbjørn also shared what artists had the biggest influence on his drawing style.
“Honestly, I don’t know. But it was classic American newspaper comics that inspired me to create comic strips myself: Beetle Bailey by Mort Walker, Redeye by Gordon Bess, and Hagar the Horrible by Dik Browne. Later, Bill Watterson and his work had a huge influence on how I make comic strips. Besides that, I guess I'm mostly inspired by and admire the works of classic European comic artists, like Moebius, Franquin, and Mezieres.”
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Torbjørn has been creating comics for a while now. We asked him to share the most surprising or memorable response he has received from the followers.
“Oh, so many things. I guess I was most surprised by someone who once criticized me for making a comic with lesbians in it since I'm a heterosexual male myself. Another thing is that many young readers today don’t seem to understand satire and irony. I use those a lot in my comic, but I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from people who don’t get it. So for my newer comics, I have to be aware of this.
Another thing is that some people don’t seem to understand that this is a comic and pure fiction. I can make my characters be terrible or do horrible things just for the fun of it, but some readers then think I agree with it or that the comic always reflects my personal views. Not true at all. I can put my personal views in a comic, but very often I don’t. It's like accusing crime authors of enjoying killing people because they describe murders in their fiction.”
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And lastly, Torbjørn added: “I’m very happy for everyone who read my comic and find it amusing, and appreciate every single one of them!”
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