Short Interview with John Porcellino

You started out self publishing comic zines, what has the transition to working with publishers and in the book form been like?

Well, it has taken some adjustment on my part, mainly from having done all the work, both creatively and business-wise, on King-Cat for so long.  But, you know, I love books--  that's what got me started in zines in the first place, my desire to make books of some sort, so I'm very happy that this material is available in that form.  And working with a publisher like D+Q--  it's a good fit--  they understand where I'm coming from.

I think one of the distinctive things in your work is the line quality, the sparseness of it as well as the playfulness. Is it a conscious style decision or something that developed organically? What does it help you achieve in terms of content? Whose work do you look at in terms of that?

Mostly I think it was just an organic, natural evolution.  It was kind of a continuation of the way I drew comics as a kid.  Of course it's a lot more refined than what I drew as a kid, but I do see it as a progression that's been going on for most of my life.

This was never really a conscious intention on my part, but I think the sparseness of the comics lends a kind of universality to them, as well as putting people at ease when they encounter them.  Which are both objectives of mine.

As far as what work I look at, I read all kinds of comics and look at all kinds of art.  I can appreciate it all.  I wouldn't want to limit myself to only being exposed to certain types of work.  It all comes together in my head, and I draw inspiration from a lot of disparate sources.

Do you enjoy book tours? How does it relate or contrast compared to touring with a band?

The tours are great--  it's cool seeing new cities, and traveling, meeting new people and seeing friends I haven't seen in a long time.  It can be a little grueling, but that's a small price to pay for all the awesomeness...  Books tours are very similar to band tours, at least the way I do them, except that with book tours I'm usually on my own, or with a different artist.  I loved playing in bands because of the interaction between the members of the group, but at the same time I appreciate the "solo gig" kind of mentality of comics--  it's just me up there sinking or swimming.