James Kochalka
Encyclopedia
James Kochalka is an American
comic book
artist
and writer
, and rock
musician
. His comics are noted for their blending of the real and the surreal. Largely autobiographical
, Kochalka's cartoon expression of the world around him includes such real-life characters as his wife, children, cat, friends and colleagues, but always filtered through his own observations and flights of whimsy. In March 2011 he was declared the cartoonist laureate of Vermont
, serving a term of three years.
. He attended the Maryland Institute College of Art
and has an MFA in painting. His first published comics work was around 1994. He has cited Eightball
by cartoonist Daniel Clowes
as being a key inspiration in leading him "towards a whole world of comics that [he] never knew existed." Kochalka strongly believes that simplicity is desirable in comics, and says that "Craft is the enemy," and has had public debates in print and online with other cartoonists who disagree with his position. Kochalka's "Craft is the Enemy" essays were collected in the 2005 book The Cute Manifesto
.
before leaving to devote his full energy to cartooning and music. His song "Hockey Monkey", recorded with the band The Zambonis
, was the theme song for the Fox
series The Loop
.
told SuicideGirls
that he is a "big fan of James Kochalka," predicting Kochalka is "going to become more important and it’s going to be fun watching that happen. He reminds me of me when I was six years old and I came into my mother’s kitchen with a bunch of sheets of typing paper folded over and stapled in the middle that were covered with drawings and I said 'Mom this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.' I’ve learned a lot from people like Kochalka because they do stuff that shouldn’t work but does."
Kochalka is prolific in his comics work. He told an interviewer in 2002 that he had created 2,000 pages of comics by the time he completed high school. His comics have earned him four Ignatz Awards (Outstanding Minicomic 1997, Outstanding Series 2002, Outstanding Online Comic 2003 and 2004), a Harvey Award
(Best Online Comic 2006), and multiple nominations for the Eisner Award
. His work is characterized by a simple drawing style, bright color
s, and frequent appearances by cats, robots, elves, and monkeys.
Among his most widely disseminated works is a four-page story, "Hulk vs. The Rain," that originally appeared in black-and-white in an unauthorized alternative comic called Coober Skeber. The story was later redrawn in color by Kochalka for inclusion in Marvel
's Incredible Hulk
2001 Annual. The first issue of his comic Super-F*ckers sold approximately 2,500 copies through Diamond Distributing
. In 2002, Kochalka said that all 5,000 copies of the first printing of the Monkey vs. Robot graphic novel had sold out. There has since been a second printing, and in an interview in August 2006 Kochalka said that over 10,000 copies of Monkey vs. Robot have been sold to date.
Since October 26, 1998, Kochalka has kept a daily diary comic strip. These strips have been published by Top Shelf Productions
, first as The Sketchbook Diaries and then in collected form as American Elf. The complete archive of daily strips is now available as a webcomic
, American Elf
. The strip marked its tenth anniversary in 2008. Kochalka told The Onion
that he wrote the first diary entry while traveling by plane to the San Diego Comic-Con. Kochalka's friend and fellow cartoonist Brian Ralph
was working on his comics on the flight, and Kochalka was inspired to begin cartooning on the plane as well. Kochalka created diary strips during the week of the convention, and committed to doing a diary strip every day.
Beginning in December 2007, Kochalka made all of his daily diary strip archives free for all readers; previously the archives had only been accessible to paying subscribers, with only the newest strip available for free. Under the relaunched "American Elf Supersite," all the archived strips dating back to 2002 were free for all readers, while paying subscribers receive access to other comics and MP3s. Kochalka reported on his blog that the site had received around 200,000 hits as a result of the change. Subsequently he opened the archives all the way back to the strip's beginning in 1998.
The book American Elf is a collection of Kochalka's daily diary strips, released in a large edition by Top Shelf Productions
in Summer 2004, compiling five years of the daily diary strips and other supplemental material. A second volume was released in early 2007, collecting years six and seven of the daily strips in full color. A third volume followed in November 2008, collecting the years 2006 and 2007 in color.
Kochalka's two primary publishers are Top Shelf Productions
and Alternative Comics
. He has also published numerous short stories in comics anthologies, self-published his own mini-comics
, and published graphic novels through other publishers such as Black Eye, Slave Labor Graphics
, and Highwater Books
.
Kochalka created the comic Impy And Wormer, which appears in Nickelodeon Magazine.
, a cartooning school in White River Junction, Vermont
that was founded by cartoonist James Sturm
. Kochalka is part of the "Little Idiot Collective," a group of artists assembled by the musician Moby
.
Kochalka's band, James Kochalka Superstar, has released nine album
s.
Spread Your Evil Wings and Fly
was completed some time before its release in the fall of 2005; an online petition was launched to convince Kochalka's record label Rykodisc
to release the CD. Over 500 people signed the petition demanding the album's release.
Virtually all of Kochalka's CDs come packaged with his cartoons in the accompanying pamphlets, in some cases using the pamphlet as a full-length mini-comic.
Kochalka's best-known musical works are probably the songs "Pizza Rocket" and "Hockey Monkey", the music video
s for which were shown on Nickelodeon
's animation
showcase series KaBlam!
.
Rolling Stone
named "Britney's Silver Can" one of "The 100 Best Songs of 2006".
The song "Hockey Monkey", which James co-authored with The Zambonis
, was used as theme song of the Fox comedy, The Loop
.
Kochalka was also in the band Jazzin' Hell, and contributed vocals as the character Frank Poole in the rock opera CD, ODYSSEY!
Moby sang back-up vocals on a seven inch single from Kochalka's former band Jazzin' Hell, an outtake of which resurfaced on Kochalka's album Don't Trust Whitey.
with his wife Amy and their two sons, Eli and Oliver.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. His comics are noted for their blending of the real and the surreal. Largely autobiographical
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Kochalka's cartoon expression of the world around him includes such real-life characters as his wife, children, cat, friends and colleagues, but always filtered through his own observations and flights of whimsy. In March 2011 he was declared the cartoonist laureate of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, serving a term of three years.
Early life
Kochalka grew up in Springfield, VermontSpringfield, Vermont
Springfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 9,373 at the 2010 census.-History:One of the New Hampshire grants, the township was chartered on August 20, 1761 by Governor Benning Wentworth and awarded to Gideon Lyman and 61 others...
. He attended the Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...
and has an MFA in painting. His first published comics work was around 1994. He has cited Eightball
Eightball (comic book)
Eightball is an alternative comic book series written and drawn by Daniel Clowes. The first issue was published by Fantagraphics Books in 1989, soon after the end of Clowes's previous comic series, Lloyd Llewellyn...
by cartoonist Daniel Clowes
Daniel Clowes
Daniel Gillespie Clowes is an American author, screenwriter and cartoonist of alternative comic books....
as being a key inspiration in leading him "towards a whole world of comics that [he] never knew existed." Kochalka strongly believes that simplicity is desirable in comics, and says that "Craft is the enemy," and has had public debates in print and online with other cartoonists who disagree with his position. Kochalka's "Craft is the Enemy" essays were collected in the 2005 book The Cute Manifesto
The Cute Manifesto
The Cute Manifesto is a book by James Kochalka released by Alternative Comics in 2005, containing many of his essays on the scope and impact of the comics medium, and his views on the importance of cuteness....
.
Career
Kochalka spent six years working in a Chinese restaurant in Winooski, VermontWinooski, Vermont
Winooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, in the United States. Located at the mouth of the Winooski River, as of the 2010 census the city population was 7,267...
before leaving to devote his full energy to cartooning and music. His song "Hockey Monkey", recorded with the band The Zambonis
The Zambonis
The Zambonis are a Connecticut-based indie rock band formed in 1991 by musicians Dave Schneider , Peter Katis, Jon Aley, and Tarquin Katis. The Zambonis write songs exclusively about hockey...
, was the theme song for the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
series The Loop
The Loop (TV series)
The Loop is an American sitcom that ran from March 15, 2006 to July 1, 2007 on Fox. The show starred Bret Harrison as Sam Sullivan, a young professional trying to balance the needs of his social life with the pressures of working at the corporate headquarters of TransAlliance Airways, a major U.S....
.
Comics and graphic novels
Comic book writer/artist Frank MillerFrank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
told SuicideGirls
SuicideGirls
SuicideGirls is a website that features softcore pornography and text profiles of goth, punk and indie-styled young women who are known as the "Suicide Girls"...
that he is a "big fan of James Kochalka," predicting Kochalka is "going to become more important and it’s going to be fun watching that happen. He reminds me of me when I was six years old and I came into my mother’s kitchen with a bunch of sheets of typing paper folded over and stapled in the middle that were covered with drawings and I said 'Mom this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.' I’ve learned a lot from people like Kochalka because they do stuff that shouldn’t work but does."
Kochalka is prolific in his comics work. He told an interviewer in 2002 that he had created 2,000 pages of comics by the time he completed high school. His comics have earned him four Ignatz Awards (Outstanding Minicomic 1997, Outstanding Series 2002, Outstanding Online Comic 2003 and 2004), a Harvey Award
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
(Best Online Comic 2006), and multiple nominations for the Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
. His work is characterized by a simple drawing style, bright color
Color
Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...
s, and frequent appearances by cats, robots, elves, and monkeys.
Among his most widely disseminated works is a four-page story, "Hulk vs. The Rain," that originally appeared in black-and-white in an unauthorized alternative comic called Coober Skeber. The story was later redrawn in color by Kochalka for inclusion in Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
's Incredible Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
2001 Annual. The first issue of his comic Super-F*ckers sold approximately 2,500 copies through Diamond Distributing
Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is the largest comic book distributor serving North America. They transport comic books from both big and small comic book publishers, or suppliers, to the retailers. Diamond dominates the direct market in the United States, and has exclusive arrangements with most...
. In 2002, Kochalka said that all 5,000 copies of the first printing of the Monkey vs. Robot graphic novel had sold out. There has since been a second printing, and in an interview in August 2006 Kochalka said that over 10,000 copies of Monkey vs. Robot have been sold to date.
Since October 26, 1998, Kochalka has kept a daily diary comic strip. These strips have been published by Top Shelf Productions
Top Shelf Productions
Top Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. The company is based in Marietta, Georgia, Portland, Oregon, and New York City, New York....
, first as The Sketchbook Diaries and then in collected form as American Elf. The complete archive of daily strips is now available as a webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
, American Elf
American Elf
American Elf is an online comic strip diary created by award-winning cartoonist James Kochalka.Many critics consider these strips to be Kochalka's most significant work. American Elf has won the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Comic Series and Outstanding Online Comic.-Style:Each strip usually...
. The strip marked its tenth anniversary in 2008. Kochalka told The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
that he wrote the first diary entry while traveling by plane to the San Diego Comic-Con. Kochalka's friend and fellow cartoonist Brian Ralph
Brian Ralph
Brian Ralph is a U.S. alternative cartoonist. His illustrations have appeared in Wired and the New York Post. His debut graphic novel Cave-In was nominated for three Harvey Awards, one Eisner Award, and listed as one of the Comics Journals "five best comics of 1999". His second graphic novel...
was working on his comics on the flight, and Kochalka was inspired to begin cartooning on the plane as well. Kochalka created diary strips during the week of the convention, and committed to doing a diary strip every day.
Beginning in December 2007, Kochalka made all of his daily diary strip archives free for all readers; previously the archives had only been accessible to paying subscribers, with only the newest strip available for free. Under the relaunched "American Elf Supersite," all the archived strips dating back to 2002 were free for all readers, while paying subscribers receive access to other comics and MP3s. Kochalka reported on his blog that the site had received around 200,000 hits as a result of the change. Subsequently he opened the archives all the way back to the strip's beginning in 1998.
The book American Elf is a collection of Kochalka's daily diary strips, released in a large edition by Top Shelf Productions
Top Shelf Productions
Top Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. The company is based in Marietta, Georgia, Portland, Oregon, and New York City, New York....
in Summer 2004, compiling five years of the daily diary strips and other supplemental material. A second volume was released in early 2007, collecting years six and seven of the daily strips in full color. A third volume followed in November 2008, collecting the years 2006 and 2007 in color.
Kochalka's two primary publishers are Top Shelf Productions
Top Shelf Productions
Top Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. The company is based in Marietta, Georgia, Portland, Oregon, and New York City, New York....
and Alternative Comics
Alternative Comics (publisher)
Alternative Comics is a U.S. independent graphic novel and comic book publisher which operated from 1993–2007. Located in Gainesville, Florida, it is owned and operated by its founder, attorney Jeff Mason...
. He has also published numerous short stories in comics anthologies, self-published his own mini-comics
Minicomic
A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term "small press comic" is equivalent with minicomic reserved for those publications measuring A6 or less...
, and published graphic novels through other publishers such as Black Eye, Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics is an independent American comic book publisher, well-known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics.-Company history:...
, and Highwater Books
Highwater Books
Highwater Books was a small but influential independent comic book publisher based in Somerville, Massachusetts, noted for its arty editorial direction and production values under publisher Tom Devlin...
.
Kochalka created the comic Impy And Wormer, which appears in Nickelodeon Magazine.
Teaching
Kochalka is an instructor at the Center for Cartoon StudiesCenter for Cartoon Studies
The Center for Cartoon Studies is a two year institution focusing on sequential art, specifically Comics and Graphic Novels, Located in the village of White River Junction, in the town of Hartford, Vermont, the Center offers a Master of Fine Arts degree, both one and two-year certificate...
, a cartooning school in White River Junction, Vermont
White River Junction, Vermont
White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States...
that was founded by cartoonist James Sturm
James Sturm
James Sturm is an American cartoonist, Xeric Award-winner, and co-founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont...
. Kochalka is part of the "Little Idiot Collective," a group of artists assembled by the musician Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
.
Music
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s.
Spread Your Evil Wings and Fly
Spread Your Evil Wings and Fly
Spread Your Evil Wings and Fly is an album by the band James Kochalka Superstar. It is their second release on the Rykodisc label, following their debut album Our Most Beloved, which collected earlier songs from a variety of independent labels.A video was made in 2006, on a Game Boy Camera,...
was completed some time before its release in the fall of 2005; an online petition was launched to convince Kochalka's record label Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
to release the CD. Over 500 people signed the petition demanding the album's release.
Virtually all of Kochalka's CDs come packaged with his cartoons in the accompanying pamphlets, in some cases using the pamphlet as a full-length mini-comic.
Kochalka's best-known musical works are probably the songs "Pizza Rocket" and "Hockey Monkey", the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s for which were shown on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
's animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
showcase series KaBlam!
KaBlam!
KaBlam! is an American animated television series that ran on Nickelodeon from 1996 to 2000. Then it moved to The N on April 15, 2002 as part of its The N's Saturday Nights block...
.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
named "Britney's Silver Can" one of "The 100 Best Songs of 2006".
The song "Hockey Monkey", which James co-authored with The Zambonis
The Zambonis
The Zambonis are a Connecticut-based indie rock band formed in 1991 by musicians Dave Schneider , Peter Katis, Jon Aley, and Tarquin Katis. The Zambonis write songs exclusively about hockey...
, was used as theme song of the Fox comedy, The Loop
The Loop (TV series)
The Loop is an American sitcom that ran from March 15, 2006 to July 1, 2007 on Fox. The show starred Bret Harrison as Sam Sullivan, a young professional trying to balance the needs of his social life with the pressures of working at the corporate headquarters of TransAlliance Airways, a major U.S....
.
Kochalka was also in the band Jazzin' Hell, and contributed vocals as the character Frank Poole in the rock opera CD, ODYSSEY!
Moby sang back-up vocals on a seven inch single from Kochalka's former band Jazzin' Hell, an outtake of which resurfaced on Kochalka's album Don't Trust Whitey.
Personal life
Kochalka lives in Burlington, VermontBurlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
with his wife Amy and their two sons, Eli and Oliver.
Discography
- Carrot Boy the Beautiful
- The True Story of James Kochalka, Superstar
- Kissers
- Monkey Vs. Robot
- Don't Trust Whitey (2001)
- Hotchocolate Superstar (InternetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
-only, available from Dangerfive Records) - Dangerforce Five Singles Club (A collaboration with Colin Clary)
- Our Most Beloved (2005) (a best-of compilation packaged with a five-video DVD)
- Spread Your Evil Wings and FlySpread Your Evil Wings and FlySpread Your Evil Wings and Fly is an album by the band James Kochalka Superstar. It is their second release on the Rykodisc label, following their debut album Our Most Beloved, which collected earlier songs from a variety of independent labels.A video was made in 2006, on a Game Boy Camera,...
(2006) - Digital Elf (2009)