Kids Comics Month: Interview With James Kochalka

James Kochalka, one of our favorite creators, made a splash with readers with his biographical daily diary strip, American Elf, beginning in 1998, and from there moved on to such diverse projects as his raunchy SuperF*ckers series, Monkey vs. Robot, and recording music with his band, James Kochalka Superstar.

But since it is Kids Comics Month, we’ll be focusing on James’ all-ages titles, Dragon Puncher, Glorkian Warrior, and Johnny Boo, which have garnered positive notice from readers of all ages.

PREVIEWSworld: James Kochalka, please tell us a bit about yourself!

James Kochalka: Well, gosh… there's almost too much to tell. My comic book career began in the mid-nineties with home-made minicomics. But I've also had a parallel career as a rock musician, with my band James Kochalka Superstar... and I've branched out into fine art, video game design (Glorkian Warrior), acting, animation... I just love making stuff, and living the creative life!

I was named the first “Cartoonist Laureate” of Vermont, which was just an indescribable honor. And I have two fantastic young sons with my lovely wife. Life is interesting and good, and I always have several projects going at once. The more I create the happier I am.

PREVIEWSworld: What are your favorite projects you’ve contributed to over the past decade?

James Kochalka: American Elf (DEC063936), my daily diary comic strip, was super important... A major work by any definition. I also greatly enjoyed making the Superf*ckers animated cartoon series with Frederator. But I've probably gotten the most satisfaction out of working on my kid’s book series... Dragon Puncher (FEB108450), Johnny Boo (OCT078665), and Glorkian Warrior (JAN141196). Because these books were all made as bedtime stories for my sons, and they've brought a lot of joy into our house. And I gather they've brought a lot of joy into the houses of other families too.

PREVIEWSworld: What are you currently working on? What can readers expect in this new volume of Johnny Boo?

James Kochalka: I just finished up a bunch of new creature designs for a major update to my Glorkian Warrior iOS game, and I'm about to start scripting the third Glorkian Warrior graphic novel. I'm also about half-way done inking a Dragon Puncher Meets Johnny Boo team-up book. I'm also serializing an adventure comic called Elf Cat in my local Burlington, Vermont newspaper, Seven Days. This week I began working on the pilot episode of a new animated cartoon series, but it don't know if I'm allowed to talk about it yet. Sorry!

I just put the finishing touches on Johnny Boo Zooms to the Moon (FEB148072), and sent it to the printer. The two major things my young readers always ask for is that they want to see Johnny Boo ride a skateboard, or go to the Moon.

Oh, and a lot of kids say they wish there was a girl in the books. So in this book he rides a skateboard to the moon, and on the moon he makes a new friend... a sassy girl-ghost named Susie Boom. She has Boom power. He also runs into his old frenemy, the Ice Cream Monster, who's up there stealing moon ice cream.  It's all pretty bonkers, as usual.

PREVIEWSworld: What fun titles are you currently reading? Are there any kid’s comics that you would recommend?

James Kochalka: I read the Sonic the Hedgehog comics series each month (OCT120777)! They are amazingly complicated, with hundreds of characters and years and years of back story. I'm not sure if I would actually recommend them... but they are amazing in their own way. My sons and I really love them.

There's also a huge amount of great old comics being reprinted right now. Moomin (OCT131145), Popeye (DEC120394), and Peanuts (MAR141166) are the ones we like the best.

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