During one of my frequent visits to Jinxworld.com, I noticed a post from DC Comics super-star artist Ethan Van Sciver that was unique. Instead of talking about his latest project or social issues, Ethan posted to promote the comics work of his younger brother, Noah Van Sciver. It was a brief strip written and drawn by Noah about being related to a famous comic book artist. I don't claim to be an expert on independent comics, but I know a little bit. And I also know what I find unique, what I like. I thought the strip was as funny in its presentation as it was true, from what I have seen firsthand at comic conventions. The art reminded me of Peter Bagge in that is was abstract yet very consistent in style.
I asked Ethan to forward my contact information on to his brother, which he happily did. Next thing you know, we're talking back and forth. Then Noah is sending us comics to put on the shelves which sell out, and then he's sending us more. So if not for Ethan's post, I wouldn't have had the privledge of reading Noah's comic Blammo and making them available to Acme Comics customers halfway across the country. And I got to talk at length with a really cool guy, too. But enough about Ethan, let's talk with Noah.
Jermaine Exum: You have a very...um, unique sense of humor and timing. I have a particular sense of humor myself and can immediately recognize a kindred spirit. Can you name any movies or tv shows you feel contributed to that?
Noah Van Sciver: Hhhmm... That's a hard one, because I don't watch TV ever, and I mostly rent documentaries. I think my sense of humor comes from the people I surround myself with. We all are pretty self deprecating. My comedic timing is a family trait.
JE: Who were your art influences, if any. What is the most challenging element of being an artist?
Proportions, consistency from panel to panel, panel layout?
NVS: I love Picasso, Joe Matt, Darwyn Cooke, Robert Crumb, Daniel Clowes, and Peter Bagge. I don't know, that list could go on and on...I think the most challenging element of art is getting away from people long enough to do it. Everything else comes instinctively.
JE: How many brothers and sisters do you have? In the "I Almost Didn't Survive It" short from Blammo, you mentioned new names frequently. I think I lost count at five.
NVS: Oh, the Van Sciver family has nine kids. It was a pretty strange early childhood. Of course, I'm the second to youngest so by the time I was a teenager, most of them were already moved out and married.
JE: Where did you grow up and what brought you to rest in Colorado?
NVS: Well, I grew up in New Jersey and Arizona. I was living with my mom when we moved up here to Colorado. But, now she moved to San Francisco and I'm still here.
JE: Have you had a relative who was presented in an unflattering light in a story, like Micah, call you out about anything?
NVS: Well, Micah was sort of the bully to me and my younger brother while we were growing up. All that stuff is true, so, he can't really get mad and deny any of that stuff. But, he's really calm presently. He draws as well, although he hasn't published a comic book.
JE: Did you always have interest in comics as a way to express yourself or could it have easily come out as music or poetry or something else?
NVS: I've been drawing comics since I was a kid. But when I was a teenager, I fell into this whole beatnik, bohemian thing and I started painting a lot and was painting portraits for money.Then this one day, Ethan called me up to talk and I was feeling lost artistically, and he told me I should try to focus on drawing comics again. That phone call in particular changed my life. He was right.
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JE: Do you have a day job?
NVS: Yep. I work at a bakery down the street from my house part time. It's 5:00 am to 1:30 pm. After that I draw. I've thought about this and I think it's important to have a steady schedule to live by. I've known comic artists who live off of just comics and they have too much time to think about life, you know? So, they're really depressed about existing. But, then again, most comic artists have a history of depression.
JE: I see that you've done some illustrated interviews in Blammo. I LOVE the idea of an illustrated interview. Do you have any more of them in the pipeline?
NVS: I do comic strip interviews every week with musicians for Denver's alt. weekly paper Westword and also every issue of The Comics Journal features a 3 page comic strip interview with a different comic book artist. They are pretty fun to do, as long as I can ask anything I want.
JE: Talk to me about "Colfax Street" (Colfax Funnies in Blammo #2). There seemed to be some..er, universal themes there that make me think that most major cities of a certain size have their very own Colfax Street and not just Denver.
NVS: Colfax is notorious in Colorado. It's a haven of prostitution and crime. When I first moved to Denver, I lived a block away from it, and was frightened everyday. I started drawing Colfax comics for The Denver Daily News, but they decided not to print them. So that's how they wound up in Blammo #2. I think most cities have a Colfax equivalent. A red light district.
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JE: Speaking of Denver. Tell me about the "Denver Spiderman." Is that real? That cannot be real.
NVS: The Denver Spider man is real! I was reading a book call The seamy side of Denver and that story freaked me out! Not only because it's a terrible murder, but because I could sort of identify with somebody who is picked on all his life and just wants his own small space that's his alone. He found a place that only he could fit in. I did a lot of research for that comic, even finding the real home and photographing it. It was tough because it's a little known story in Denver. You really have to dig!
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JE: Your recaps of Flash Rebirth are awesome. Would you consider making that an ongoing feature, perhaps for the Acme website, where you recap some major comic series in three panels?
NVS: Oh yeah, I really love doing those. To me it's hilarious that I get away with it! I think you could use a panel from them to show on your site with a link to the Wizard page. We'll see where that leads! Maybe I'll get an angry letter from DC. I hope not. They probably have a sense of humor.
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JE: If you had the chance to participate in a mainstream special oriented towards cartoonists (like Bizarro World from DC or the upcoming Strange Tales from Marvel), do you have a superhero story lurking in you that must be told? Is there a particular character you have an affinity for?
NVS: I would LOVE to do a Bizarro superhero story. I actually have thought about that a lot!
JE: Tell us about The Hypo graphic novel. How is approaching a graphic novel different than tackling a single comic?
NVS: The Hypo is a story set in the years between 1830 to 1842. The main character is Abraham Lincoln. But, this isn't a political book, and has nothing to do with "President Lincoln." I don't even want the reader to
think that this man will become who he will become. It's a story of depression and love, and trying to make something of yourself when you don't have anything to start with...Hopefully, it will feel more contemporary to whomever reads it, and I think that's where my gritty/cartoon style will help. It's incredibly daunting. There are two graphic novels that I want to do before I die, and this is one. The other will be a childhood story. I hope people don't think that The Hypo will be like a school text book or anything. It's really going to be something else. It's historical, but in my gritty, cartoon style. It'll be something special though.
JE: You currently self publish. The nuts and bolts of this is something that many, many people are interested in. What can you tell us about the self publishing process as you experienced it? How much plasma went into each edition of Blammo?
NVS: Blammo started out as a mini-comic originally. When I first started getting serious about drawing comics, I didn't know anything at all about how to make your own comic book. I took a stack of 5 pieces of paper and folded them in half in the middle, stapled them together and drew comics on the inside. That was how Blammo started. I would photocopy them and leave them in coffee shops by the window. There used to be a literary journal in Denver called Needles For Teeth. I met the guy that was publishing it, and he taught me how to self-publish my comics. Blammo really is a labor of love. It's something you do because you feel like you have to. There's no other reason. It's not for a wide audience. It's for whoever finds it. Basically, if you find my comics, you were meant to. And if you relate to it, than I like you right away.
JE: What are some things that people may not realize about self publishing comics and what is frustrating about self publishing? How do you overcome the frustrating moments to keep pencil to paper?
NVS: You get more money self publishing. That's the first thing. Everything you make, goes to you. And if you know how to get it out there right, you will be okay. The frustrating thing about it is, that there is a sea of bad self published comics that the good ones have to swim in. I am overcoming it by working very, very hard and sending a lot of mail out. Luckily, the response to my comics is almost always great. Living in Denver, I sometimes feel like I'm drawing comics from prison. I have to keep communicating with the outside world so people know that I exist.
JE: Have you ever thought about submitting some of the issues to independent publishers like Drawn & Quarterly, Fantagraphics, or Top Shelf? Even though it would be costly to you personally, how about a Blammo collection?
NVS: I don't know if independent publishers are looking for floppy comic books to publish. It's a rough time for them. So, I just do it myself and leave it as sort of a below the radar thing. I would like to put out a collection some day, through a publisher, but I'm not ready yet.
JE: Greensboro loves comic books. From the kids books, to super heroes, to independent and international material. We're really lucky in that way and, I believe, a better city for it. What is the comics scene like in Colorado?
NVS: It's a lot different than other places. Actually, last weekend I took part in a free public comics jam at a local bookstore. They put up a big sheet of paper on the wall, and various comic artists drew while Drawn & Quarterly cartoonist John Porcellino sang A capella to a large crowd. I swear to god. We really hang loose.
JE: Any interesting experiences at comic conventions?
NVS: One time at a convention, my table was in the hall way. Everybody was just passing by me. Then I started to heckle Brian Wood every time he walked by my table. I noticed that he started going a different way to get by me on his way to get something/alcohol to drink. He had no interest in me at all! I had just read his book Local and wanted to talk to him about it. He probably thought I was just some lowlife cartoonist wanting some illustration work from him. Now I'm Huge, man! Bigger than Brian Wood.
JE: So, do you primarily sell Blammo yourself at conventions or do shops in your area carry it? How do you get your book into hands?
NVS: Actually, there are lots of places that carry it. Either by me sending it to shops and setting up a deal over the mail, or my distributor Sparkplug Comics. Around Denver, it's pretty well known.
JE: Do you find it difficult to self promote? I was just at your website and it looks like you're getting some decent coverage. Actually, you seem to be getting a LOT of coverage. How did that come about and are you comfortable talking about yourself and your material? No time to be shy!
NVS: I'm lucky. It seems like word of mouth was good to me. The people that know what they are talking about all like Blammo. So, they talk about it for me. It has to be that way, because I have no money to buy advertising! I'm only half way comfortable talking about myself. And that's all I'm comfortable saying.
JE: What is coming up next for Blammo? And I have to ask this, does the name Blammo have meaning for you or is it just a cool word? It seems strangely appropriate actually.
NVS: Blammo is a variety show. It has to be a surprise what's coming up next, unfortunately. The name Blammo was taken from Ren & Stimpy. If you recall, the fake toy "Log" was made by "Blammo" in the show. It's such a classic cartoon name and seemed right to me. I think it's appropriate too!
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Noah Van Sciver is a failed painter who began his career in comics after some gentle nudging from his older brother Ethan (DC Comics Green Lantern Rebirth, Flash Rebirth). Since then he has quickly become a favorite cartoonist, with a unique approach to self-effacing humor in the vein of Woody Allen and Robert Crumb. His work can be seen in his scatterbrained comic Blammo, The Comics Journal, and Denver's free weekly alternative paper Westword. Noah's work has also appeared in Mineshaft, MaximumRocknRoll, and MOME. His website can be found at Noah Van Sciver.com.
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