INTERVIEW WITH DOUG KALE

Doug Kale is the editor of Beckett publications and has worked on Beckett DragonBall Z, Yu-Gi-Oh and Digimon Collector magazines. At CN Anime 2002, I got to interview him about his work, and of course, asked him a bunch of useless questions. ^^ Enjoy...




Pan: Hello, I'm here with...

Doug Kale: Doug Kale.

Pan: And he is...

Doug Kale: Editor of Beckett Publications for DragonBall Z Collector, Yu-Gi-Oh Collector and Pokemon Collector magazines.

Pan: ^^ How did you get started in this line of work?

Doug Kale: My family has always been into the antique and collectible business. Actually, when I was in junior high and high school, I actually started my own collectibles magazines, so I was a one man show. One of my subscribers back then is my current boss, who owned a big company at that time. It was about fifteen years later that he actually called me to work for him.

Pan: That's pretty cool. Do you have any advice for people who want to get into this business?

Doug Kale: If you're into something - whether it's DragonBall, or Digimon, or Pokemon - whatever it might be, study hard everything there really is to know about the products, and about the characters. Also, not just the TV and toys, but also the business side of it - the licensees and the licensors and the manufacturers, because that's all very important. If you ever want to create your own product, magazine, newsletter or website, this will give you the best resources.

Pan: Do you think being able to write fluent English is an important aspect?

Doug Kale: Yes, most definitely. I didn't mention that, but that's an obvious thing. You need to have good grammar. You also need to be a good talker as you need to have a good business sense in you, and be able to speak to other people in the business, other collectors, or other fans. You also have to have good writing skills, and read lots of magazines that pertain to that subject.

Pan: If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

Doug Kale: Oh boy. That's a very big question. Probably number one, which most people would say and I'd say too, is world peace. Two, I would love to time warp. To be able to time warp to any year on any planet in the universe. And three, I don't know... to have magic powers to make more wishes. ^^

Pan: That sounds pretty good actually. ^^ Do you like cats?

Doug Kale: I love cats. I have two of my own and they were both strays that we picked up. One was picked up at a gas station because I was afraid it was going to get run over by cars on the street, so I took it home with me. As for my second one, when I was living in my apartment he was hungry and he kept meowing by my door, so I took him in. And that was when I had a cat and a dog, so we had lots of animals in our house.

Pan: What are your animals names?

Doug Kale: "Preston", because we found him on Preston Rd, and "Shelly" because we found'em at a Shell gas station.

Pan: *heh* That's pretty clever actually. ^^ If you could fly, would you want to?

Doug Kale: Absolutely. Flying would be cool. I could go and overlook mountains and water, and even fly to another planet. That would be cool. ^^

Pan: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Doug Kale: Well, I always wanted to see two places - three places, I should say: Tokyo, Australia and Alaska.

Pan: Quite a mix there. ^^ If you could have an super power and be any super hero, even if it's you own made-up character, who would you be and why?

Doug Kale: My super would probably by the ability to transform into any shape or form.

Pan: And what would you call yourself?

Doug Kale: To coin the phrase from Star Trek - a Changling. I don't know... *laughs*

Pan: That works. *giggles* What is your opinion on pink bunnies - especially pink bunnies wearing red bow ties? ^^

Doug Kale: They're very cute. I think I've given those types of bunnies as a gift at one time.

Pan: If I let you touch Kuma, will you promise not to eat him?

Doug Kale: I promise.

*Pan hands Mr Kale her Kumagoro*

Doug Kale: Floppy ears. *laughs* And a cute bunny nose. *poses with Kuma*

*crowd laughs*

Pan: *giggles* YAY!

Doug Kale: I'm Bugs Bunny man, by the way. I collect Bugs Bunny things.

Pan: Cool. What other things do you collect besides anime?

Doug Kale: Bugs Bunny, and I'm a big fan of a particular ball player, Derek Jeter, from the New York Yankees.

Pan: OK. *laughs*

Doug Kale: I collect Hot Wheels - those little cars. I always liked that. Hmm... I'm sure I'm forgetting something... I also collect crystal paperweights. Glass paperweights. I collect those.

Pan: That's pretty cool. Now, is there anything you'd like to tell the entire world of crazy anime fans that will probably be reading this?

Doug Kale: Keep reading up on your favorite characters and subjects, and keep going to the conventions. I liked meeting everybody. ^^

Pan: Well, thank you very much for your time. ^^

Doug Kale: Thank you very much. It was a pleasure.

Pan: And that was Doug Kale everybody. ^^ Thank you.



And so ends another episode of semi-insanity. Join us next week when we discover the meaning of life through Ryuichi Sakuma quotes. ^^