Today I’m sharing comic Josh’s origin story. Oh snap!
I mostly write about current comics and artists. I spotlight creators and books that are doing great work. I want to introduce their work to new readers. Or rather the parents and teachers of those potential readers. (Kids don’t read this thing, you know.)
Today I’m doing something different. I’m sharing the creators I loved as a kid. And I’d wager your kid would too. They all have loads of work in print and the last 2 are still working.
Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbes. No big surprise here. You’d be hard pressed to find a creator of kid comics that grew up in the 80s and 90s that didn’t love Calvin and Hobbes. A mix of silly punchlines, social commentary, philosophy, and ridiculousness. The art was truly masterful. Cartooning at its finest.
Gary Larson, creator of The Far Side. Another comics page legend. I certainly loved the clever and humorous takes on all things mundane and absurd. But I loved the art too. You’d sometimes read someone describe the art as crude or rudimentary. This is such a dumb take. It was always the perfect off kilter compliment to the gag.
I heard someone talk about the art and designs from Dragon Ball Z. He loved the aesthetic but was having trouble quantifying it. He finally landed on the idea that they might not be traditionally attractive but they were appealing. I think that applies with Larson’s art too. No one is attractive in The Far Side but they are wonderfully appealing.
Bill Amend, creator of FoxTrot. Maybe not the comics page superstars that Calvin and Hobbes or The Far Side were but I looked forward to reading it just as much. As a kid, I remember singing the strip’s praises to a friend who was unfamiliar with it. It’s a comic about a family, each member, low-key looking out for their own interests. It always delivered. I was validated with my taste when my friend later came back with his approval, singing its praises and that Jason kid being pretty darn funny.
Sergio Aragones, creator of Groo. This is the big one. My brother or cousin had issue three of the comic book Groo the Wanderer laying around. I read it and thought it was pretty funny. It was a comic about an inept barbarian swordsman whose stupidity left a wake of destruction wherever he went.
Not long after, I saw issue two of Groo on the comic spinner rack at the convenience store down the road. (Spinner rack schedules didn’t have the most stringent quality control. Regardless, I knew it would be gone before long.)
That cover did something to my adolescent brain. It spoke to me. All of the other comics on the rack meant nothing to me. But this one, I was caught in its spell. I had to have it.
At 75 cents it was a bargain. But it may as well have been 75 hundred. It was 75 cents my grubby spinner rack browsing hands did not have.
I bicycled home to plunder my anemic piggy bank. I scrounged under couch cushions. I beseeched, cajoled and harassed my parents. Finally, I had enough. I furiously peddled back.
I was ten years old. That random Saturday afternoon stumbling upon an out of date comic changed the trajectory of whatever my life was going to be before that.
I loved the detailed cartoony art, the funny stories, and the doofus character. I became obsessed. I would buy new issues whenever I saw them on a spinner rack. But as mentioned, spinner racks are not particularly reliable.
I found out there was an actual comic shop in our town. I would ride my bike the 1.3 miles there every week. (Even though it was a month between new issues). I learned there was a previous Groo series to the one I was reading. I searched back issue bins and attended hotel comic conventions filling out my collection.
I would discover and become infatuated with other comics and creators but Sergio and Groo were my true love.
These creators inspired a lifelong love of books and reading. And it’s all because of some silly comics.
Reading comics in my Groo t-shirt.
Favorite Thing I Drew This Month
Some panels from Woodland Hills. I like the hand in the last pic but it didn’t work for the pose. So it had to go.
Favorite Thing I Didn’t Draw
Anthony Cournoyer. Found his work on Instagram. Really fun stuff. Looks like he does development work. I’d love to see him do some comics.
What I’m Reading
Andy Warner’s Oddball Histories – Pests and Pets
It’s a history of human’s interactions with different animals throughout history. It’s broken up into categories of creatures we find cute, creatures we find useful and creatures that find us useful.
That specific animal will get a narrative history of their interaction and relevance to people. It’s so well done. Really fascinating details. It must have been so much work to research. This book was NOT boring which can’t be said for all educational comics. Truly a page turner. I couldn’t wait to read about the next animal and their fascinating history and random facts.
There’s a follow up, Spuds and Spices – How Plants Made Our World. I’m really looking forward to reading it.
Family Stuff
How are we only one month into the year? The L.A. fires are finally over. We were fortunate and not directly impacted. Truly heartbreaking for those that were.
River and I went to the Natural History Museum to check out the dinosaur fossils. He loves dinosaurs but got bored surprisingly quickly. I think he might have just been hungry. We got street vendor hotdogs and cookies to solve that.
Sophia and I visited a pottery studio and made mugs. We wrote each other’s nametag and had to go by that for the rest of the night. She was Claudette, I was J-Dog. I quite enjoyed playing with clay, though I don’t think I’ll be switching careers (or names) anytime soon.
Thanks for reading. I can’t wait to share the next 3 Question creator interview with you in 2 weeks!
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