WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

Born in June 1965, a mere three days after America’s first spacewalk, Tim Eldred has had stars in his eyes ever since. He has enjoyed a life of devouring anime and manga (starting in 1980), creating comic books (1986), working in TV animation (1996), and even producing DVDs (2000). Grease Monkey has been Tim’s pet project for a large part of that time, informed by his many influences and driven by what he’s learned about life so far. In putting together this website, we sat down with Tim and asked how it all came together. We hope you enjoy our discussion!

- Tor Books

Q: What can you tell us about Grease Monkey?

A: It’s a comedy set in a future world after some pretty big things have happened. About 50 years before this story, the Earth is almost wiped out by an alien attack and some intergalactic missionaries come to our aid. Because so few humans are left, the missionaries use their high technology to “accelerate” the evolution of gorillas to roughly our level. From that time on, gorillas and humans have to co-exist. Naturally, this requires both species to make some adjustments.

The story is set on a huge space ship called the Fist of Earth. The setup is sort of like Battlestar Galactica mixed with Planet of the Apes, but a lot funnier. Humans and gorillas are cooped up together in this floating tin can dealing with the daily pressure of life, and hilarity ensues!

Q: What genre would you put this story into?

A: It’s a comedy first with an SF backdrop. The humor comes out of the characters and all their imperfections. Serious things happen to them, too, but the mix of personalities just naturally lends itself to funny moments. Strangely, I think the two emotions that lead to the best comedy are extreme embarrassment and extreme anger, both of which are great fun to write.

Q: How did you come up with the idea?

A: We’ve seen lots of stories about soldiers on the battlefield, so I always wanted to explore what it’s like for the ordinary people behind the lines with mundane jobs who can only watch and comment on the action. It seemed to me that stories about such characters would have more universal appeal since their lives are much more like our own than a soldier who deals in life and death.

Specifically, the idea for Grease Monkey was first inspired by a Stan Ridgway song called “Overlords,” this bizarro tune about humans toiling under alien oppressors. It has a lyric about going underground and Monkeywrenchin.’ This got me thinking about someone with a mechanic’s job, and I pivoted off the term “monkeywrench” to envision the character as an ape. That put it all into place for me. An intelligent gorilla would be a perfect “outsider” to watch and comment on the human condition.

Q: What can you tell us about your main characters?

A: Mac (the gorilla) and Robin (his human sidekick) mesh so well because they are kind of the same person seen at a different age and maturity level. Robin is a hardcore science fiction fan and a bit of a social washout. He has a lot of idealism but hasn't seen much of "life" yet. Mac has gone through all that and is more at ease with himself, but he's also found a whole new set of insecurities to deal with as an adult. His secret agenda is to be the best at his job in order to capture the affections of his C.O., a female gorilla. Anything that threatens that goal will inevitably send him into hysterics. There's a lot more going on between these two, but if I keep yakking there will be fewer reasons to read the book.

Q: Grease Monkey has appeared in print before, hasn’t it?

A: Yes, the first few chapters were published on three separate occasions in the 1990s. I kept on writing and drawing new chapters after that until I reached a satisfying conclusion. The book consists of 24 chapters plus some extra material, which covers a whole year in the lives of these characters. This includes the early chapters, which comprise about 20% of the book.

Q: What inspired you to become a comics artist?

A: I've always been an equal-opportunity science fiction and comic book fan. Star Wars was my major inspiration as a youngster, and I subsequently discovered all the great anime and manga from Japan. I was a fan back in the days when it was still an underground cult and the only way to get it was from other collectors. It was sort of like archaeology back then, because you really had to work to gather it up and “decode” what you were seeing. My favorites were SF action shows like Space Battleship Yamato (also called Star Blazers) and Armored Trooper Votoms. I loved studying the writing of these programs, watching stories unfold bit by bit into these huge, fascinating tapestries. A few European comics also influenced me, and I've been able to get a little bit of everything into Grease Monkey.

Q: What are your current likes?

A: When the anime bug bit me, it bit hard. I still follow new anime shows and study the older ones. The anime that’s impressed me the most in recent years includes Planetes and Galaxy Railways, two of the best space shows that have ever been made in my opinion. Planetes is very hard edged and realistic, touching on the scientific and sociological issues related to the coming space age. Galaxy Railways is much more mythic and poetic, which are the hallmarks of Leiji Matsumoto, who directed Yamato 30 years ago.

On the American side, I’ve become a loyal Battlestar Galactica viewer. Over the years I’ve developed a secret personal “wish list” of all the things I’d like to see in a sci-fi action/adventure TV series, and every single one of them is in there. I guess I wasn’t the only one with such a list.

And in terms of American writers, if I were only allowed to read books by David Sedaris, Garrison Keillor, Bill Maher, and Al Franken for the rest of my life, I’d be a happy guy.

Q: What other sort of work have you done?

A: I wrote and drew lots of comic books in the 1990s. I had the extraordinary good luck of being involved with many anime-related titles such as Star Blazers, Votoms, Robotech, and Captain Harlock in addition to other stories of my own. My love of anime also helped me migrate into a career drawing storyboards for TV animation, working on shows like Dragon Tales, Heavy Gear, Spider-Man, and Xiaolin Showdown. It’s been about ten years since that career began and it’s still going strong. More recently, I’ve been working on anime DVD projects for (again) Star Blazers and Votoms. This even lead me to write and produce the first-ever English language documentary about a single anime series called Space Battleship Yamato: the Making of an Anime Legend.

Meanwhile, I’ve also got another comics project underway on a website called starblazers.com, which is devoted to the famous anime series that came to American TV in 1980. It’s a webcomic called Star Blazers Rebirth and I add a new chapter to it every 60 days.

Q: What lies ahead for you and Grease Monkey?

A: This book was 14 years from initial concept to finished product. I didn’t work on it non-stop during that time, of course, but it’s immensely satisfying to finally send all that work out into the world to see how people like it. I’ve already written and sketched out an entire second book, and depending on how this first one is received, I hope to dive in and finish it soon. (It won’t take another 14 years, I promise!) There’s a long-term plan for the story that would probably take an additional two books to tell, and I’d love to make a career of it. We’ll see what happens.

Q: Any messages for your audience?

A: Be kind and speak truth at all times. And if you like Grease Monkey, tell all your friends about it!