Brady Canfield jumped into comics and illustration after twenty years of service in the Air Force. Now the Park City resident has a new comic making its way around the shops called Wombat Rue. Check out this interview with City Weekly‘s resident blogger, Gavin Sheehan, as the two discuss his works and thoughts on comics.

Gavin’s Underground interview with Brady Canfield

Gavin: How did the idea come about for Wombat Rue?

Brady: The name itself came from the Cold War. After that it became it’s own animal, pun intended. One of my non-physics jobs was called Combat Crew (you can see where I’m going with this), it was on our uniforms, vehicles, everywhere. One day while going on what was called “Alert”–a 24 hour shift where we were the first line of defense against the big bad Soviet Union–I took note the crew vehicle in front of me. These trucks were not shiny hollywood vehicles, they were old, and what we had. This particular truck no longer said “Combat Crew”. The paint was faded and chipped and beat up and said “ombat rew”. My gray stuff processed “Wombat Rue” out of that, and a hero was born! (I pulled 267 alerts, by the way.) Then I researched what a wombat actually was. They’re marsupials from Australia that look like a ball of fur with a big nose, and they dig. Once I was issued my creative license, I gave him hands, clothes, a shovel, a stoic attitude, and a world to rebuild.

Gavin: I read that during your years of service you did a lot of sketch work in your spare time. Was it simply a hobby at the time or something you were aiming to do down the road?

Brady: I’ve always drawn, sketched, built, created, etc… so replace “hobby” with “passion” and we’re ready to start. I didn’t have a specific goal in mind at the time–between serving the Air Force, competing in Skeleton, and trying to be a good dad, my dance card was a bit full. However, I always wanted to create something that crossed outside the barrier of the “comic book” audience.