Talking Elf – Tom Spurgeon chats to James Kochalka | The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Talking Elf – Tom Spurgeon chats to James Kochalka

Mon, Nov 24, 2008

The always excellent Tom Spurgeon on Comics Reporter talks to the brilliant James Kochalka, creator of, among other works, his autobiographical diary strip American Elf. here he is talking to Tom about how the strip has changed over its ten year (yes, really, the ten year mark just passed recently) run, just as his and his family’s life has changed:

“Sure, lots of stuff. For instance, I used to work as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant, which was in the strip a lot for the first couple of months before I quit my job to become a full-time artist. Amy and I used to go out drinking and stuff, but that’s not really in there that much anymore, because now that we have kids we just don’t do it anymore. My cat Spandy used to be in the strip nearly constantly, but she’s been largely replaced by Eli and Oliver. She still shows up in like one strip a month maybe, but she almost never talks anymore like I used to draw her doing.

Even my wife Amy is not in the strip as much anymore as she used to be. These two boys so completely overwhelm our lives that a lot of other stuff is pushed out. ”

(an early and very charming American Elf strip by James Kochalka, published by Top Shelf)

I’d imagine a lot of folks, especially those with young kids, will empathise exactly with where James is coming from on that score! I’m extremely fond of American Elf – when someone first passed me a copy of the first book I was, I admit, fairly indifferent, could take it or leave it, but as I read on it slowly got right under my skin and now I love a regular Kochalka fix. Happy tenth birthday to American Elf; celebrate by going for a read of Tom’s interview then kick back and read some of the strip.