A Conversation with
Sonny Strait
by Ariel Wulff

The latest news out of the World of Two Moons via Warp Central, is that this summer we’ll be seeing a brand new Elfquest story hit the shelves. Slated for a July release, Wolfshadow will explore the relationship between Cutter and Skywise, and will introduce a new artist into the Warp pack, Sonny Strait.

Wendy and Sonny first met at the 2000 San Diego Comic Con, but they’d been aware of each other’s work long before that. Sonny has been a fan of Elfquest since its inception, and Wendy is a huge fan of Dragonball Z, the TV series where Sonny is the voice actor of Krillin.

I read in your essay on elfquest.com that you are from Texas. What was it like growing up there?

I grew up in Mesquite, Texas and later moved to Denton to go to school. Mesquite was a very challenging place for me to live because of its claim to fame. It has one of the largest rodeos in the world. So, it is heavily populated with rednecks. You can imagine the trials that this poor sensitive soul had to endure. But it was actually good in many ways. It made me strong and at a very early age I realized that a sense of humor can get you out of many fights. My high school years were magical. I had some wonderful teachers who were very encouraging. It was there that I learned that art can be disciplined and set the groundwork for the rest of my career path.

But you were already interested in art, weren’t you?

My mother was my first introduction to art. She taught me to draw when I was 6. She wasn’t a professional but she could draw anything she saw. She was always decorating our rooms with murals and such. It was such a common thing in my house that I didn’t know to be amazed by it. One day I was bouncing around wanting something to do so she gave me the newspaper comics, pointed to a picture of the Beatle Bailey dog and said, “I want you to go to your room and draw a picture of this dog.” I started to leave. She stopped me with, “Wait a second. I don’t want you to come out of your room until your picture looks exactly like this one.”

So I went to my room and figured it out. The way she put it just seemed like some kind of puzzle to solve...and she was right. I’m still trying to solve that damn puzzle but its pieces keep multiplying.

Was your dad artistic too?

My father was an incredible impressionist...again, just for fun. He taught me my first impression when I was 4, Donald Duck. He was also the life of any party and that gregariousness rubbed off on me and was a big boon in acting. My parents split up when I was 12. The day my father left I was the only one at home . He pulled me aside and asked what I planned to take in school the next year. I said, “Oh, band I guess.” He cocked his head to the side and said, “You know, you ought to go into drama, you’re such a clown anyway.” Then he winked, gave me hug and left. Good advice.

So you survived Mesquite and Denton...

And then Dallas.

When did you move to California?

6 months ago to be Wendy’s apprentice.

Has your mentor/apprentice relationship with Wendy lived up to your expectations?

Exceeded them. Which is amazing because Wendy and Richard were like family from day 1 (talk about recognition!) and I’ve been a fan of Wendy’s art for many years so expectations were very high.

Can you tell me some high points?

The highest point for me came recently when I started drawing my own stuff and realized how much I had improved. I had felt that I reached a ceiling before I became Wendy’s apprentice and now I see nothing but possibilities again. It’s very exciting. I feel like I’m 20 again.

Low points?

Oh, nothing but typical self-doubt stuff. We all suffer from that that but for an artist it tends to be magnified because you’re basically baring your soul for all to see and criticize. Occasionally I make the mistake of comparing my art to Wendy’s (not recommended by the way) and that way only leads to disappointment. I have to tell myself “Wendy is a master. That is why you’re here.’’

I’m sure you are aware that there are a lot of “it ain’t Wendy” diehard fans. How do you feel about your work being compared to hers and the standards she has set?

Well, this kind of goes back to what I said earlier. I will tell you right now, “it ain’t Wendy” but it is “Wendy and Sonny” and also “Richard” but I assume your referring to “pretty pictures” now...

Yes, strictly the art...

Anything I do is closely monitored by Wendy and subjected to her approval. So “it ain’t Wendy” but it PLEASES Wendy. I can only hope that many of the fans like our collaboration. Honestly, I welcome constructive criticism.

Listening to others is the best way to improve. However, what I’ve learned from Dragonball Z, is that most fan comments come in 2 forms. There is the “Oh, my god! You rule!” form and there is the “You suck! Die! Die!” form.

Neither should be believed. If you take stock in either of those you’ll stop improving or give up.

Your meeting with Wendy at the San Diego Comic Con sounded like the foundation of a mutual admiration society...

(laughs) You’ve been talking to Richard, I see.

I don’t honestly remember where I got that impression...

That was his immediate and sickened response. Yeah, embarrassing but true. Wendy and I will spend whole days just giving each other our autographs. Seriously though, I do catch myself thinking, “Oh, my god! That’s Wendy Pini!” Must...control...fanboy...impulses...

Tell me about your involvement with Dragonball Z. How did you land the gig of being a voice actor when you were a comic book artist?

I have always acted. I was a drama-jock in school and won lots of awards for acting...including a full tuition scholarship to a private college in Texas. It came very naturally to me. Many cartoonists will tell you that they are just frustrated actors. Me, I’m an actor who is a frustrated cartoonist. Acting with my body and voice is easy...acting on paper is hard. I had always done live theater. I had quit comics when I was 30 to be a commercial artist and acted on the side. Then the Dragonball Z auditions came up. I had never gone to a professional audition before and didn’t really expect to get a part...much less such a major role like Krillin. That part helped me get the “Tom, the Toonami robot announcer” for the Cartoon Network. And those parts have helped me get other work. Had I known it would be this easy I probably would have got into professional acting much sooner in life but then I wouldn’t have spent those years so intensely focused on comics. I love comics and I love acting, so professionally I’m in a good place now.

Have you auditioned to be a voice actor for the upcoming EQ movie?

Those haven’t happened yet but you can guarantee that I will.

Who is your favorite EQ character and why?

Skywise, without a doubt. He has the potential to be a master magician and yet is so cool and carefree. He’s a semi-responsible Puck and quite the ladies man..er..elf.

What would you say is your favorite bit of EQ canon?

Two moments. One because it is “just so bad-ass” and the other because it is so touching. The first is the scene where Cutter is at Winnowill’s throat and she zapping him for all she’s worth but he’s not yeiding. That blew me away.

The other happens in Book 8. Nightfall and Redlance ask Cutter to tree with them since Cutter has lost his family. The whole scene is shot from Cutter’s back and because of that artistic choice the scene is incredibly powerful. The obvious choice would be to see a close up of Cutter’s tear filled eyes but we don’t see his face at all. Wendy knows when to let the readers imagination fill in the blanks. By letting the reader complete the picture in his mind it become a personal experience. Completely personal, in fact, because the reader had to pull something from their own past to complete it. Wendy forced the reader into Cutter’s shoes. Now that is powerful.

What comic books have you published in the past?

I self-published a comic book series with my friend William Foster called “Mr. Average” in the early 90’s. It had a nice grass roots following and was even written up in a few of the trade mags at the time. I was very pleased that our fan mail was always comprised of cool, intelligent, funny and often surreal people. Unfortunately appealing to “cool, intelligent, funny and often surreal people” is a good way to go broke in this industry. So we then did the mass-appealing comic “Jack” , the story of Anubis the Egyptian jackal-god. I gave him bulging muscles and dressed Isis in historically accurate but, nevertheless, quite titillating garb. It got twice as many orders than anything we had produced. Unfortunately the publishing company (who shall remain nameless...though many names spring to mind when I think of them) didn’t get the books printed in time so Diamond Distribution canceled their orders. That was the last straw for me. I decided that the comic book industry was ran by idiots and/or evil people. I quit, started working as a commercial artist and immediately my standard of living improved...but I still had this ache to draw comics.. it’s kinda like alcoholism.

Comics CAN be addictive. Do you still read them? What titles?

I like the art in Tellos and Battle Chasers. I still read Cerebus, Hellboy, Bone, and Usagi Yojimbo. Other than that I don’t read too many comic books. Occasionally something will catch my attention. I do read a lot, however. I tend to gravitate to non-fiction, metaphysical and philosophical texts as well as “how-to” books (I am the perpetual student). I especially love books on shamanism.

What artists have influenced you the most?

Well, obviously Wendy. But also, Berke Breathed, Bill Watterson, Will Eisner, Dave Sim, Jack Kirby, and Salvador Dali.

Are you still doing commercial art?

Yes. Most recently I was a storyboard artist for an on-line animation company.

When you aren’t busy working on Elfquest or Dragonball Z, what are some of your favorite pastimes?

I love entertaining. Not just on stage but at home. I love having intelligent people at my house to discuss and argue with. I love reading. Mostly non-fiction, but I did read a collection of short stories by Steve Martin recently called Pure Drivel that was brilliant. I don’t watch a lot of television except for Ally McBeal and David Letterman. I love being in nature. I love dancing. And I love trying to think of things I love to do!

Sendings Issue #13, Summer 2001

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