FAQs
Q: When are new Bengal Tales comics published?
A: Bengal Tales is published every Sunday at or around 12 AM Eastern Time. In addition, bonus artwork and strips may be posted during the week between updates. Check back often!
Q: How would you rate Bengal Tales by the MPAA’s standards?
A: Bengal Tales would be rated PG or PG-13 for mature themes like alcohol use (J.J. and A.J. like their craft beer!) and for rare instances of mature language.
Q: Why is the comic called Bengal Tales? Liana is a Bengal Cat, but isn’t J.J. a Siberian Tiger?
A: J.J. is a white Bengal Tiger. Siberian Tigers are now called Amur Tigers as their range has been reduced to the area around the Amur River between Russia and China. There has never been a recorded instance of a white Siberian (Amur) Tiger in the wild. All naturally-occurring White Tigers are Bengal Tigers. The chance that a Bengal Tiger will be white is small due to the rarity of the recessive gene that causes it. J.J.’s maternal Great Uncle was a White Bengal Tiger and it may be assumed that the gene exists in his father’s side of the family as well.
Q: Who is Zig Zag?
A: Zig Zag is a Skunk/White Tiger hybrid anthropomorphic character created by Malcolm Earle, aka Max Blackrabbit. She is a former porn star and the proprietress of Double Z Studios, an adult video production studio in Columbus. She gained much popularity through her inclusion in Eric W. Schwartz’s Sabrina Online and will be a recurring character in Bengal Tales.
Q: How are J.J. and Zig Zag related?
A: Zig Zag’s maternal grandfather was a White Tiger. J.J.’s maternal grandmother (Susan’s mother) was the sister of Zig Zag’s maternal grandfather, J.J.’s aforementioned maternal Great Uncle. J.J.’s mother Susan and Zig Zag’s mother are cousins, making J.J. and Zig Zag second cousins.
Q: Why does J.J. call Zig Zag T.J.?
A: J.J. calls Zig Zag T.J. because those are her first and middle initials and he’s called her that all his life. Zig Zag adopted her current name to rub her success in the faces of the cubs who taunted her with that name when she was growing up and to disassociate herself from her father, who she despises. J.J. is permitted to call her T.J. because he occupies a very special place in her heart because of their experiences growing up. While Zig Zag’s real name has never been officially confirmed by Max Blackrabbit, she was given the surname Zumbrowski by Eric W. Schwartz in Sabrina Online. James Bruner gave her the first name Tonya in Zig Zag the Story. Her middle name is my contribution and should not be taken as canon.
Q: Who are Brandy and Brendon Zumbrowski?
A: Brandy and Brendon are Zig Zag’s younger sister and brother and second cousins to J.J. Their first names have been confirmed by Max Blackrabbit and they will be making occasional appearances in Bengal Tales.
Q: Is Bengal Tales autobiographical or based on actual people?
A: Some of the characters in Bengal Tales are based on friends and family, while still others are comical exaggerations of specific character types anyone who’s ever worked a job knows. All the events depicted in Bengal Tales are fictitious, though some take place at real locations and events, i.e. the Cincinnati Oktoberfest.
Q: Why is Bengal Tales based in Cincinnati? Do you live there or near there?
A: Bengal Tales is based in Cincinnati because that’s where the characters live. I happen to love the area and decided to set my web comic there. Besides, who else would the characters root for but the Bengals?
Q: Do you accept commissions?
A: At this time, I do not. I work a full-time job and getting the comic up every week takes a great deal of my time. Once the strip has been going for a while this may change but it won’t be anytime soon.
Q: How do you feel about fan art or the use of your characters?
A: I would prefer that my characters not be used in fan art. As previously stated, some characters are based on friends and family and I choose not to open my characters up to Rule 34. All characters depicted in this web comic are copyrighted by me (with one exception, as noted above), so please do not use my characters in any works intended for publication or public display.
Q: Can you draw me into your comic?
A: If you’d like to be an extra in a Bengal Tales comic drop me an email. Tell me what kind of animal you’d like to be drawn as and I’ll see what I can do. If you want to include a picture feel free, but your drawn character may not bear any marked resemblance to your actual appearance. Also be aware that your character would be a one- time cameo as there are a lot of characters in Bengal Tales, and they all like their on-panel time.
Q: Do you have a Facebook page?
A: Not any more. I’m now using Minds and I’ll be updating there from now on. Please go here for updates from now on.
Q: How do you get each installment of Bengal Tales to the web?
A: Since starting Bengal Tales I’ve streamlined the creation process. I work from a master overall story and have my publishing schedule laid out in a spreadsheet. I’ve eliminated the rough sketch and scanning step and now draw each panel directly on my Ugee tablet in Krita, which I use to rearrange characters’ positions (if necessary), color and add the dialog balloons. I work on one panel at a time then fit them together in Open Office Draw to form the completed comic.
Zig Zag is the intellectual property of and copyrighted by Malcolm Earle, aka Max Blackrabbit, and appears by permission.
