Conversations with Richard Fairgray

Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard Fairgray.

Hi Richard, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started self publishing comics when I was 7-years old. I was running a blackmail scam on my school librarian involving porn VHS tapes in order to get free photocopying. I made enough on my first 8 page mini comic to buy basically every Power Ranger toy I wanted, so I decided to stick with it for (evidently) the rest of my life.

Aside from a brief stint working in stand-up comedy at the end of high school, comics have been my only real job. I started doing the convention circuit in New Zealand and Australia when I was 17 and by the time I finished college I had enough titles to comfortably fill a full booth at any show.

I dabbled in all-ages books for about 10 years, but it was always at odds with my lifestyle and inability to keep my mouth shut in interviews, so in 2022 I dusted off a memoir I’d written during the first lockdowns and launched my imprint ‘Richard Sux’ as a home for my line of books for dirtbags, gays and ladies.

3 years and 40 titles later, I’ve expanded once again with the launch of my series ‘Dicks by Richard,’ in which I am trying to give people dick pics that they can actually be proud of. Dicks drawn with love, attention to detail, sometimes costumes. With two books out so far, and new dick art posting every day, it has become a significant portion of my business.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The hardest part of all of it is the exhaustion. Writing drawing, coloring, formatting and designing the books, then travelling most weekends to shows to promote and sell them is a job far too big for one person, but that’s what the coffee is for.

Moving as fast as I do, tiny hiccups can feel like life ending hurdles, because you fall a lot harder if you’re running.

But, nobdoy asked me to be a comic creator, so I can only blame myself.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
With my comic work I’m always trying to push the limits of what is possible on the page, whether that’s through experimental layouts, or manipulation of the conventional structures, or simply by trying a new way of creating the image. In my book ‘Ambitious Failures’ I decided to forego any digital alteration to the art, instead mimicking digital effects with lighting and photography. With my next project ‘Muse’ I’m literally building sculptures and enormous collage pieces that will be cut up digitally to be used instead of traditional or digital coloring.

I’m also known for being far more up front about my own life than I probably should, but if you saw that tickling documentary and realized the villain in it was the same guy who gave you a handjob in Penn Station, wouldn’t you put it in the memoir?

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was loud, obnoxious and fed up with everyone my own age. I didn’t understand how anyone else could fit in, but asking them directly or trying to mimic their behaviors didn’t help much.

Contact Info:

• Website: richardfairgray.com or kickrichard.com
• Instagram: @richardfairgrayauthor
• Other: https://dicksbyrichard.bsky.social

Image Credits
Richard Fairgray for all images.