Bored Panda reached out to Marius to learn more about him and his comics. We were curious what has changed in almost half a year since the previous post. Marius shared: “I’ve been making a bunch more comics, some of which are up on my Instagram, and many more that will come out in the next few weeks. I’ve also animated an older strip (the guy trying to fall asleep to a Sciencey Podcast), which was a lot of fun! I’m also doing some voice acting for my best friend Danny Lesco’s new animated series called ‘Tripper Teddy’. Feel free to check it out on all of the big social media sites if you like silly, goofy, psychedelic comedy!”
Though comical cartoony situations are fictional, many artists get inspiration from the real world. Marius agreed that this is also the case for his artwork.
“A lot of my jokes are vaguely based around real situations that either I’ve found myself in, or that I’ve heard from other people. The guy who is trying to fall asleep to a sciencey podcast is literally me. I’m a podcast addict and I’ve found that lying in bed, listening to the sound of people talking in my ear at night has been one of the best antidotes for my insomnia. But it often can go the other way whenever the podcast is too interesting or existential. Suddenly I’m just lying there wide awake thinking about my own mortality, you know? So I try to go for more boring podcasts at night.”
Marius also explained why he chose the name “Whoops” for his comics: “The original Norwegian name of my comic is 'Oisann', which is the word you say when you make a stupid mistake or witness someone falling down the stairs. The closest English translation of 'oisann' I could think of was the word 'whoops'. It’s also what you might be left feeling after reading a comic of mine. (Not every single time but often enough!) Also, it just seemed like a short and sweet, cartoony name.”
Marius noted that you could recognize some social commentary in his artwork; however, he really is all just about having fun.
“When it comes to Whoops, I’m just trying to have fun and be funny. The main thing is to make people laugh and spread joy in an otherwise crazy, weird, and chaotic world. I’ll probably pursue projects in the future that touch on a wider range of emotions, but for now, I’m having a lot of fun with these little silly comics and animations of mine. When that’s said, there might be hints of satire and social commentary you could point out in some of the comics, but in the end, I’m just literally trying to make fun.”
And lastly, Marius added: “Be kind and give nice belly scratches to dogs you meet, take care of yourself, and remember that nothing is permanent so if you like my stuff then feel free to follow me on Instagram because we’re all going to die one day anyway. Thanks!”
