We were curious about what initially inspired the cartoonist to start creating their comics. Here’s what we found out: “I've been an avid reader of newspaper comics and comic books for as long as I could read. However, I was particularly inspired by the webcomic boom of the mid-2000s, because it showed me that it didn't have to be a big operation. Anyone with an idea and a website could make a comic! I started making Return of Stiqz strips as early as 2007, but didn't post them because they were far too niche to find an audience...half of my own friends didn't get them. Life got busy after college and I abandoned the idea for a while, but I was further inspired by how people were able to find new audiences on social media and decided to rework the comic into something a bit more accessible.”

When asked where the artist usually finds inspiration for new strips, they responded: “I usually come up with a comic in one of two ways - either I start with a mundane scenario and see if I can make it exciting and crazy, or I start with a common phrase and see if I can alter the meaning without significantly changing the words. I try to write any and all ideas down, because you never know when inspiration can turn a dead-end idea into a complete comic.”

Stiq Auteur also shared some of their key influences in the world of comedy and humor: “I believe the initial inspiration for Return of Stiqz was a combination of XKCD's simplicity and cleverness with the expressiveness and MS paint aesthetic of rage comics. I also believe that I've taken a decent amount of inspiration from SpongeBob and Tom & Jerry.”

Lastly, the cartoonist shared more about their personal favorite comics they’ve created: “I particularly like the longer comics that really lean into ‘and then…’ humor, but if I had to choose a single favorite comic, it would be Punkin' Bread. The concept came from a fake band name I made for a story-driven comic that probably will never get made, so taking this name that I thought was clever and turning it into a concise, absurd scenario was very satisfying.”