...FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS...
Do please read this list before you email me. You may find your answers here.

Q. Now that D101 is completed, what will you be doing next?
I have two comic projects on the go at the moment. Zombies Calling is my first adventure into print media. It's a action-packed tale of three university students who find themselves trapped at school during a zombie invasion. Having no firepower to fight the zombies, they attempt to survive in the manner of all pop culture enthusiasts: by following the Rules of Zombie Movies. The graphic novel will be published by SLG Publishing this November. If you enjoyed D101, please buy it and support me becoming a Real Live Comic Book Artist! :D
I also have another online comic, Ice. Ice is updated "when I can," and is a dark (rated R) story of survival and love in a broken-down future England. It is free for all to view.

Q. Will you ever produce a D101 graphic novel, collecting the completed online comic?
No, I don't think so. I love D101, and I would love to return to it someday, but I want to leave it alone and move on to other things right now. It will remain on this website, but not in hardcopy. Maybe a few years down the road I'll return to it. But not right now.

Q. Why do you write/draw this comic?
For shits and giggles. It's too bad people don't do online comics for fun anymore. Ah, alas.

Q. Is there any way readers can help out the comic?
Of course! On the front of the D101 site is a donation button. If you have a paypal account, feel free to donate a couple of dollars to help me out with paying for hosting. I really appreciate it. :) Otherwise, a kind word through email or in my guestbook really keeps me going and happy.

Q. How do you create/keep going an online comic?
There's no magic formula to doing a comic, and keeping it going. It all comes down to hard work and whether or not you're willing to commit to keeping the comic updated. I can't really answer this question, mostly because I don't know how I've managed to do over 600 pages of D101... I just do it. I do not, however, wear Nike.

Q. Is your name really 'Faith'?
Uh.... yes. For the record, my full name is Faith Erin Hicks, and I club baby seals for a living.

Q. Where did you come up with the title for the comic?
It all happened one fine day while I was rotting in class, doodling contentedly. The class I was currently afflicted with was called 'Religion 101', and despite the fact that Religion is been a force that has constantly shaped the history of mankind, I was bored to tears. I found this terribly ironic: shouldn't a subject as potentially fascinating as Religion be absolute dynamite to study? Obviously this was not the case.
So, while bored in Religion 101, I doodled a picture of a black haired girl with pointed ears, and underneath the drawing, out of respect for the class I was currently slacking off in, I wrote the words "Demonology 101." The comic you read now kind of stumbled its way out of that class and doodle. And, like most things, the name just seemed to stick.

Q. Your comic is really similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Well, yes. On the surface, it is. I love the work of Joss Whedon (although I found the last two seasons of Buffy very lacking) and I admire how he has always managed to put a new spin on an old idea (in this case, the horror of high school). So, at the very beginning, D101 was very much inspired by Buffy. But I like to thing it has evolved beyond that. You may also find inspiration in D101 from Jeff Smith's wonderful comic Bone, The Gabriel Knight games, and my own University experiences.

Q. Could you explain the 'demons' of the comic?
But isn't it more fun if you draw your own conclusions? For the truly insistant, though, here is a rundown of the demon types we have seen in the comic.

"Suits": This isn't an official name, just what Poe calls them. They only obey those who have the blessing of the higher (demonic) Powers That Be. They're basically demon grunts, identical in appearance (black suits, ties, sunglasses & black hair), and not prone to making conversation. They do all the menial task on earth, such as kidnapping, beating people up, and murder. Fairly low in intelligence, but well endowed with strength, many of these demons were wiped out when Network was attacked, pre-comic.
Marturia Demons: Exclusively female demons, and they all seem to have large bat-like wings. They're extremely nasty, even more so than the Suits, and difficult to control. They do not speak, but instead vocalize to others of their kind through chirps, hisses and snarls. They are quite intelligent, agile and also have slight extra sensory powers (they can sense the presence of other demons). However, they are rarely seen on Earth.
Monarch Demons: It's not known if this is an official name or a nickname these demons have picked up, but this is the kind of demon Raven is. The highest ranking demon, and possibly the only one with the capacity for free will (that is a whole 'nother debate). Elspeth and Lethe also fall into this category. Like humans, their appearance varies in relation to their upbringing (they are also the only demon-type that is 'born' and 'grows up', although there is much debate as to the demonic aging process, and whether or not their concept of time is the same as mankind's); that is to say, a Monarch raised in a human environment will have notable human features/characteristics/mannerisms, whereas a Monarch raised 'elsewhere' may have such things as wings or horns.

Monarch demons are the most common demons found on earth, as unlike the other two types, they can blend easily with humanity, and act in a "normal" fashion.

Q. What exactly is this 'Network' thing the characters keep mentioning?
Network was an organization. It doesn't have much bearing on the comic, because when the comic began, Network had been destroyed... However, it does have impact on the pasts of the characters, so here's a brief rundown.

Network was one of those underfunded, morally superior little organizations that are usually seen harassing Big Business and the like. They're usually run by people who have Bachelor degrees in political science and too much conscience to work for a traditional company. These little organizations usually mean well, and we've all probably supported one or two during our lifetime, but for the most part they are understaffed, overworked and function basically on the blood and sweat of their loyal employees. Network was devoted to the idea of fighting the Jenners, but what they focused on was the family's physical holdings and corruption, not the fact that the Jenners were linked to an otherworldly force of Great Evil.

For the most part, the Jenner Family was mildly amused by Network, a small, combative organization doggedly determined to destroy them. That opinion changed over the course of the last ten years, as the Jenner's plans of political corruption, drug trade and occasional arms dealing were repeatedly foiled by this small, formerly insignificant organization. Why Network enjoyed such success in the past ten years (assisting police and un-corrupted politicians in restricting the Jenners' movements in the business world) is somewhat unknown, although there is suspicion that Network had an insider privy to the Jenners' inner workings on their payroll.

Raven was a big shock to Network, as she was basically living proof that what they were fighting was in intrinsically spiritual war which did not necessarily stay within the realm of mankind. There had been great suspicion within Network that the Jenners had some sort of otherworldly connection, although opinions on that matter ran the gamut from outright disbelief to general acknowledgement and usually depended on whether or not the person submitting the opinion was a believer in the realm of the supernatural.

Q. What medium do you use for the comic? Is it originally black and white?
Yup. I draw it with my trusty blue pencil (69 cents at your local Loomis & Toles) and ink it with a fineliner. For Episodes 2 & 3 I used a kid's watercolour set for shading. Cheap and fairly effective. For Episodes 1 (the revamp) 4 & 5, I scanned the comic unshaded, and shaded it in Painter Classic (a very nice little program I got with my wacom tablet). Later I moved on to Painter 8, which has a much more finished look than PC.

CHARACTER FAQ (questions about the characters and their quirks)

Q. How can Raven be good, when she's inherently evil... She's a demon.
As 'God' said in the bizarre movie Time Bandits, "I believe it had something to do with free will." If there is any message behind Demonology 101, it's that human beings have a wonderful gift, that allows them to chose how they will live their lives: free will. Raven is somewhat of an anomaly in that respect (the question of whether or not D101 demons have free will has yet to be answered), but it's fairly obvious that she is a bit different from her kin.
You could also look at the comic as an investigation into the debate of Nature verses Nurture: Raven, it would seem, is inherently evil. Yet she was raised in an environment that facilitated good, and she is a decent person... So is she still evil? It's a huge issue, I realize, nor am I making any statement as to one side or the other... but this is one of the themes of the comic, and one that applies to this question.

Q. In Episode 3, who was Mackenzie dressed as for the Halloween Dance?
Merle, from Escaflowne.

Q. Hey, Eli looks like Harry Potter!
First of all, that's not a question. Bad reader!
But you're right, he does. I started Episode 3 just as I was reading the Harry Potter books, and I thought it would be terribly amusing if I made a little demonic version of him... However, the joke bombed, and I rather regret doing it. Oh well. He's still pretty cute, and seems like the type of demon Raven would take a liking to.

Q. What's with the names?
My characters always get named accidentally. Their names just seem to stick on them, no matter how ridiculous they may seem.
Gabriel is named after Gabriel Knight one of the (late) great characters of computer gaming. I highly recommend the first two GK games, if you can find them.
Raven is named after a horse I rode during my 15 years of riding, but also after the trippy, schlocky poem The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe.
Poe is named after the poet Edgar Allen Poe, naturally. I think 'Poe' may actually be a nickname, though I doubt we'll ever know.
John is named after this really cool guy I had a strange platonic crush on in my second year of university. He's married now. Alas.
Sachs was named for the internet artist of the same name (he draws the comic A Miracle of Science; check it out in the links section). Sachs just seemed like a cool name for a semi-evil immortal guy, doncha think? Well, I think so. Sachs' first name is Daniel, which is just a name I liked.
Mackenzie I either got from a Due South episode, or from the Prime Minister Mackenzie King. For some reason it seems to have become a fairly popular name over the years... Her sidekick, Mal is named thus because I liked the name Malcolm (which Mal is short for). It's probably owing to Jurassic Park.
Isaac is a biblical name, from the story of Abraham (Old Testament). Isaac, in the story, was a child promised by God, to carry on the Hebrew bloodline; but later in the OT, God orders him sacrificed as a test of Abraham's faith.
Lethe is a word I picked up in Religion 101. Far as I know, it means destruction/destroy. A few people have mentioned that it's also a river in Greek mythology, but that's just a co-incidence. He wasn't named for that.
Elspeth is a variation on the spelling of Elizabeth.
Lacey is the name of one of my oldest netfriends. It's also a sweet, girly name, which I thought would be a fun contrast with the character.
Eli is the name of my youngest brother. I don't know why I chose it. It just stuck.
Banai I stole from a friend of mine in university. She wrote a wonderful story about a character named Banai who did a lot of drugs and planted trees, and I stole the name.
Aaron is the male spelling of my middle name. Again, it just kinda stuck.
Jenner is the name of the main villain in The Secret of NIMH. Great movie. Do rent it.

Q. What character is most like you?
I share characteristics with all the characters, I think... kind of. Raven and Mackenzie I'm most similar to. I have Raven's self-doubt and fear, and Mac's smart mouth and looks. However, I also share Gabe's sense of misguided duty, and John's occasional foolhearty-ness (and unrequited attraction. That's always pleasant). Like Poe, I'm fond of men, and like Sachs, I'm immortal.

Q. Who's the most popular character?
Well, you can look at the fanart to take a guess... However, I find the volume can be misleading: I'm much more likely to get fanarts of Raven and the other female D101 characters, probably because they're fun to draw... I dunno why people would rather draw women than men, but that seems to be how it goes. The misleading aspect of it all is that John and Isaac are actually quite popular, more so than, say, Poe. I get a substantial about of emails and questions about them, but rarely any fanart, probably because they're harder to draw. I'd still say Raven is the most popular character, but she should be, because she's the main character.

Q. Why does Gabe always wear the same shirt?
He doesn't. He has dozens of those kind of shirts, all in various shades of white and off-white. Actually, what was kind of a running gag on my part has grown into a personality quirk. He's just the kind of guy that would buy 16 identical shirts. Square, I guess you'd call it.

Q. In flashback moments in the comic, Raven is shown with little demon horns. What happened to her horns?
Basically... she molted. A demon's appearance is sometimes affected by those he/she grows up with, and Raven, having been raised in the company of humans soon lost her horns. She did, however, retain her red eyes and pointed ears, a staple of Monarch demons. This, of course, would have made her a really cool looking goth girl, but she's a little too involved with staying alive to get interested in specific fashion. Maybe in university. If she survives high school.

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