02/22/08
Text: Nik Mercer
Recently, many comic creators have been working on non-comic projects, namely illustration (and you've done designs for Pee Wee's Playhouse, interior design, album cover art, book design, and animation). Chris Ware does a tremendous amount of “design” work; Adrian Tomine does a lot of illustration for hifalutin publications like the New Yorker (as does Joost Swarte); Dan Clowes, Seth, and many others work on mini-series stories for the like of the New York Times... what do you think has brought on this increased demand for cartoonists' work outside of their "home turf," personally and broadly speaking? Is it a beneficial thing for comics?
Maybe some cartoonists make money from their cartooning. Cartooning does not supply any meaningful amount of my income. I have to do commercial art. I think of my self as a painter. If my wish came true, people would buy my paintings and then i could afford my hobbies: cartooning and playing guitar. As it is, I have always had to do commercial art to survive.
For you, do these all somehow work in tandem for you? Do you approach your work from a similar vantage or is every project different? That is, is there a connection between all the disparate works you pursue?
There are two categories of my work. There is personal work I make, following my own artistic impulses, and there is commercial or commissioned work I do to solve problems for other people for money. Ideally I would only do personal work.
Here's how other people are describing you: a member of the "second wave of Underground Comix"; the "King Of the Ratty Line"; the "father of punk comics." How do you identify with such monikers? They all imply a sort of "membership"—do you subscribe to it all or are you working in your own world?
Hype and catch-phrases are making it easy for the writer and consumer, but usually very limited in describing what is going on. And any label and catch-phrase is self replicating and has no regard for the content or message it carries. I am "Father of Olive" and "Servant of my shaking hands and perverse sensibilities."
Many years ago, I checked a copy of Cola Madness out of the library. You'd signed the front of it with a picture of Jimbo. I couldn't resist—I tore the page out and it has traveled with me throughout my years. I thought you'd like that for some reason. Anyway—I'm a big fan of Jimbo In Purgatory, but this it unfortunately gets all the attention! I really enjoyed Cola Madness and Del Tokyo, too... and just about everything you've done! Is Jimbo In Purgatory what you'd call your magnum opus? Do you see why the critics hail it so reverently?
You shouldn't tear pages out of a library book! However, in that case it was inevitable that someone would, so you did the right thing. I had fun doing Purgatory. It was hard for me and harder for any reader. I was aware of doing it as the year 2000 neared, so I was trying to do something special, but it was where the earlier Jimbo comics led me. I don't have a lot of readers or worry about what readers might like. I am trying to make the stuff that I can make. I am glad when you like any of it.
Tell me a little about this two-volume monograph of your work that's being published by Picturebox Inc.
The two books emphasize my painting and personal work. The first volume has a big color section of my paintings and essays, up front, and in the back short sections on the other things I do besides paint. like comics, light shows, model building, puppets, making noise and so on. The second book is a chronological selection from my sketchbooks. They are fat books!
