Read this interview and visit Meghan’s site WorldsMostHated.com to learn more about other artists, bands, comics, and rad things

Meghan Mayhem: Hey there, Dave. How's it going?
Dave Correia: Feeling better now, I just got over being sick because my immune system was on strike. But I offered it tons of money and praise so it came back and welled me right up.

MM: So, why don't you explain what, exactly, it is that you do?
DC: By day I’m just an ordinary graphic designer, but at night I don my tights and cape to become an introverted recluse who draws all night under a single hanging 65 watt light bulb in an old run down house.

MM: Your style is very dark and twisted, it seems. What inspires that style? Are you a naturally "spooky" person, or is it just "another side of you"?
DC: I’ve always had a tendency to be attracted to macabre things. I like watching horror movies and drawing odd characters, that’s just what puts a smile on my face. I don’t consider myself “spooky”.

MM: Do you ever base your characters on real-life people like your friends or family or that crazy guy with one leg that lives at the diner down the street from your house?
DC: Sometimes I get my characters from misrepresenting something I see. Like the other day I was driving and out of the corner of my eye I saw this crazy looking guy with a weird prosthetic arm and grotesque hunchback. But then as I focus on him, I can see it’s just a regular looking dude leaning against a pole carrying an umbrella. But when I get that image in my head I usually embellish on it and then I get interested in drawing it. But most of the time I just sit down and draw and it comes out that way.

MM: Have you ever had a "creepy" encounter with fans? Anything you'd like to share?
DC: There was a girl who used to send me dead things in the mail, but I never meet her in person. Usually when I meet a fan at a show or something it’s kind of an awkward moment because I’m super shy and never have anything witty or profound to say. So I’ll just make a bad joke and there’ll be this long pause and then I’ll draw them a sketch. I think I’m the creepy one when there is a fan encounter.

MM: Uh Oh! It's the desert island question! You're stranded. You can bring 2 people and one CD. 1 person is to accompany you, 1 is to stab and eat. Oh, and yes, you've got a CD player as well. Spill it.
DC: Haha. I’d probably bring my friend Alex Pardee to hang out with cause he’s a good guy and really funny. He also watches that stupid show LOST all the time so he might have some awesome ideas on how to cope with being on a deserted island…like how to kill polar bears and fight ghosts. There are tons of people I’d love to stab and eat, but if I had to pick one it’d probably be Paris Hilton because she’s half ostrich, and I love poultry. And I’d bring NWA – Straight Outta Compton cause that’s good stabbing music, plus Alex could break dance to it.

MM: How did you initially get into drawing and doing comic books?
DC: I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and I’ve always been a huge comic nerd. I’ve been going to comic shows since I was a kid and as I got older I was getting more and more interested in the non-superhero comics and independently published books. I meet a bunch of local artists who had been doing it for years and I got all excited about doing some of my own.

MM: Do you have any tips for young artists out there who want to get into authoring their own comic books or making a career out of art?
DC: Obviously it’s a lot of work and there aren’t large amounts of money to be made. It’s definitely something you want to do because you’re passionate about it. Go to some shows and look what other people are making. Is your stuff as good or better? Have friends and professionals critique your work. Make some Xerox books and try some of the smaller shows. If your stuff is interesting people will bite.

MM: Do you strictly draw and paint, or do you do any other forms of art? Mashed potato sculpture? Quilting? Nude 15 person African tribe-inspired performance dancing?
DC: I mostly draw. For the past couple of weeks a good friend and I have been collaborating on story that we want to shoot as movie. I’ve never done something like that before but I’m really interested in storyboarding it then shooting it. Sounds like a lot of fun.

MM: What did you want to be when you were a kid? NOW, what do you want to be when you grow up?
DC: When I was really young I wanted to be a cartoonist for Sunday comics. I used to love reading those, especially Garfield, and Calvin and Hobbes. Now, I have no idea what the hell I’m doing. I’ll continue to draw for therapeutic and financial reasons. I still like the idea of making a film…that’s the biggest goal in my mind right now.

MM: What piece that you've designed, are you most proud of and why?
DC: Honestly, after about a week or two I’m not proud of any of them. They all get old too quick. That’s one reason I keep making stuff; I don’t want that last piece to be haunting me.

MM: Random question! What do you think are the top 3 albums of the year?
DC: I’m so out of the music loop. I’ve maybe bought 2 albums this whole year. I guess the newest music that I’m into would be the latest from Slayer, All Shall Perish, and Pelican.

MM: What other artists do you look up to and get inspired by? Who do you think is a completely underrated artist that more people should know about?
DC: I dig Martin Emond, Bizley, Chet Zar, Cam De Leon, Zdzislaw Beksinski, Sam Kieth, Dore, Ales Pardee….
Most underrated artist is John Wayshak, guy is amazing.

MM: For kids with natural talents for art, would you suggest they go to school to try to fine tune their skills, or just get out into the world and create?
DC: I don’t know. I went to school and it helped me a bit, very expensive though and filled with bullshit at times. I think I’ve learned more from other artists outside of school.

MM: Alright, this is the end. Do you have anything you'd like to end with? Profound words of wisdom or a random thought?
DC: Keep an eye on my site, I’m gonna have bunch of new shirts this year and I’ll be posting new images as I crank them out. Thanks Meghan!