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WALRUS COMIX PRESENTS: |
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JOE MATT is a genuine comic book legend. His classic series, Peepshow, published by Drawn and Quarterly, has garnered him world-wide acclaim, the respect and admiration of fellow cartoonist Gods (Matt Groening, R. Crumb, Harvey Pekar, Chester Brown etc...) as well as a rabid army of fans. His work is brave, poignant, unflinching and powerful.
'Spent', his latest opus (released June 2007), took him 8 years to complete. It collects the story originally serialized in issues #11 - 14 of Peepshow. You can pick up a copy, along with his other works, at Drawn and Quarterly's online store.
You're a bona fide hero to uber-hipster, socially repressed comic geek outsiders, and misfits (myself included)… Of course I'm being facetious, you have fans from all walks of life, but how does it feel to be such a folk hero of the disaffected? Is it something you value highly, or is it like, 'Great a bunch of nerdy guys love me!'…
The truth is -- I don't really know who may or may not be reading my comics. My "reader" is basically me, trying my best to imagine how things read to "outside eyes" (i.e. - -like "the man on the street's" eyes) ... so, in that respect, I do need to know my stuff will be read. It's not like I work in a vacuum. Also, I try to take a "timeless approach" (please forgive all of these quotation marks!) and hope my work will still be readable, years from now. So, I am taking that aspect into consideration and striving for it all of the time.
The only time I actually see and meet readers of
my work is at comic conventions or book signings ..
and yes, they tend to be predominately male. So, yes
.. I am disappointed and resentful of things like
girls throwing themselves at rock stars and not
cartoonists.
Still, if that were the case, you'd probably see a
very different comic industry ... a far more hateful
one.
You write the truth, the unvarnished reality. You're brutally honest, and open, and sometimes the truth can be a tad scary for both reader and author... In your work, has there ever been an instance where you thought, 'uh oh… Should I divulge this? Am I exposing myself too much?'…
Yes, there are things that I'm constantly thinking about including or not including in my next book. The problem is -- space is at such a premium, that even the SLIGHTEST things gets blown out of proportion, simply by their inclusion. An example would be if I showed myself bidding for Pez on ebay. I'd play up the drama and the obsession, and as a result, you'd be asking me right now if I'm still obsessed with Pez, how many do I own, which ones am I still looking for, etc.
But the truth would be something else entirely.
All the things that I collect and never mention in my
comics are reality, and Pez-collecting may be just a
small part of that, but the perception I'd have
created would simply be that of an obsessive
Pez-collector. Am I making myself clear?
Added to this -- I don't even collect much of anything anymore !! But my point is -- anything can be played up, and choosing that "anything" has consequences.
"... I've always tried to keep it honest and direct, like my writing ... and in fact, my personality too."
Your artistic style is bold, and iconic, informed by old master Crumb, yet completely standing on it's own. The streamlined, graphic aesthetic seems so perfectly matched to the complex (and sometimes murky, ambiguous, angry, real!) subject matter. Was this powerful contrast always something you wanted to play with?
My "style" ,or whatever it is, just happens naturally. I strive for clarity within my drawing and storytelling ... but what comes out is just what comes out .... much like a singing voice, I'd imagine. One can manipulate that "voice", I guess, to various degrees of pretension, but I've always tried to keep it honest and direct, like my writing ... and in fact, my personality too.
I mentioned Crumb, who were your comic heroes growing up? Who were the ones that specifically informed your art?
Growing up, I think I benefitted tremedously from non-superhero comic books (before the age of ten, I'm speaking about) such as -- "Peanuts" collections, "Little Lulu", "Archie" comics, "Donald Duck", "Dennis the Menance", and lots of "Gold Key" comics in general.
I think these "childish" comics spoke very directly to my brain in a way that superhero comics later didn't. I consciously chose to read DC and Marvel superhero stuff, whereas I feel the earlier stuff chose me.
Also, I had a huge attraction to the comic strip "Li'l Abner" at the age of seven and began cutting it out of the newspaper every single day. And to this day, I've maintained a love of this strip ... but only from the mid-60s forward. The art was really what grabbed me.
And similarly, I was super-attracted to a certain
kind of "grotesque" cartooning that I found in
bubble-gum cards such as "Odd Rods" and "Wacky
Packages." This style made a HUGE impression on me. It
included big feet, teeth, knuckles, etc. (Even Jack
Davis's style fits this mold.) But really, it was "Odd
Rods" artist, B.K. Taylor that probably made the
biggest impression on me. (And hopefully, I'll be
writing a big article about him for a future issue of "Comic Art" magazine next year .. complete with lots
of my childhood drawings.)
Which tools do you use for your work? Brushes? Nibs? Pens? Any particular brands?
I use a small, white nylon brush for everything
except the lettering, which is done with either
rapidographs or permanent markers.
Also, I like to work on the smoothest bristol or
illustration board that I can find -- always with a "plate" finish. As for white-out ... I'm never happy with
whatever I use. It has to be permanent, so that pretty
much means an acrylic-type paint. "Cel-Vinyl" white is
what I've been using for years .. but it tends to go
on thinly, so I have to brush on a few layers. It's
hellish.
I find as I get older, life feels less dramatic. Relationships aren't as emotional when you're older, they become workman-like, robotic. In your 20s the simplest things can be elevated to a Greek tragedy. It's a pain in the ass, but makes a hell of a read. Is this the reason why you've turned back to your past to drawn inspiration for your work on Fair Weather, rather than write about the present?
No. I turned to my childhood for "Fair Weather"
mostly as an exercise in storytelling. And this desire
came largely from my admiration of Chester Brown's
adolescent-themed, comic stories, such as "The
Playboy" and "I Never Liked You."
On the subject of porn. I find DVDs tiresome.. you gotta take it out of the box, put in the furshluggana player, out again.. Too much work.. The computer is so much more efficient!! I can't see how you don't have one!!... For the porn alone it would be worth it… It's funny how porn seemed to so adversely affect your relationship with Trish. Girls nowadays don't care at all about porn, in fact they pretty much expect it of us.. A lot is made of this 'obsession' you have with porn.. Is it really an obsession, or just normal male behavior?
I think my behaviour is obsessive, as well as compulsive. My masturbation habit is certainly compulsive. The frequency with which I do it (6-12 times a day) is clearly excessive. As for computers, I simply have no desire to get started with them. I neither want to pay for one, nor do I want the monthly internet bill coming to my door.
And on a more disgusting note --- I like the
position my TV is in for masturbating. I can lie on my
bed, on my stomach, and the TV screen is directly in
front of me .. just like I portray it in my comics.
With a computer, I'd have to have the screen in
the same position if I was going to use it for porn,
and that'd be problematic when I wanted to email or
type something. I'd need TWO computers, one for porn
and one for typing at ... in addition to a TV, VCR
(for my old tapes) and a dvd player! The whole thing
would just be a mess. Forget it!!
As I touched on in the first question, you've become this icon amongst the disaffected, along with guys like R Crumb, Harvey Pekar, and Woody Allen… How does it feel to know that your inner thoughts an perspectives which are so highly personal, are actually shared and recognized by other people? Conversely, how does it feel when people take the opposing view and call you 'a bastard' or 'selfish', etc…? I would assume on some level it would be gratifying on both counts..
Again, the truth is -- I don't dwell on this
stuff. I don't care what people think of my "comic
persona" or me in real life for that matter.
What I do care about is the finished product. Is
it the best I can do? Will people be able to pick it
up, start reading and want to keep on reading? And am
I proud enough of the work to show it to other
cartoonists, whom I admire? These are the doubts that
haunt me.
Even now ... "The Poor Bastard" was just
reprinted again, and I'm very upset that the "image
areas" of the pages are too large. They drop too far
into the gutter of the book and this upsets me to no
end. How did it happen? I failed to specify an exact
reduction size for the artwork. This is the type of
failure that stays with me.
"I find existence very odd and disconcerting. What else can I say?"
Concerning relationships, aesthetic ideals, and porn…. Do you think if you found a partner that fulfilled your physical, sexual, intellectual ideal, someone so gorgeous and sexually exciting that it was impossible to get bored with her, would you think that your interest in porn would wane?
No. In fact, I’ve had what you just described and the urge to watch porn was always with me. My interest, need and desire to watch porn and masturbate – these things, I believe, are all driven by emotional states, and these emotional states are not the same ones that a “dream-girlfriend” would address.
What's lacking is something far more essential,
far more basic, and definitely "within", as opposed to
external.
I can only surmise that what's lacking within
me is nothing short of a complete understanding of
life in general, its purpose, and a way to deal with
the impermanence of absolutely everything.
I find existence very odd and disconcerting.
What else can I say?
I have so many more questions! Perhaps we can do a part 2 sometime. I'll finish up by asking the same question I ask all our artist friends.. Do you have any advice for kids starting out today that have dreams of growing up to be just like you?
To young cartoonists, I would say -- look to the classic strips to learn your craft. Strips like "Peanuts", "Gasoline Alley", "Krazy Kat", "Dick Tracy", "Popeye", "Little Orphan Annie", "Barnaby" ... all you need to know about the craft is in these strips.
As for content, I'd suggest looking elsewhere
... like films, literature and maybe television.
"Write what you know." is always good, sound
advice too.
"Just do your best" is really the bottom line
though.
Okay, I'm outta here !! Thanks Branwyn !!