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| James Kochalka | |
|---|---|
 James Kochalka at home in August 2000 inBurlington, Vermont | |
| Born | (1967-05-26)May 26, 1967 (age 57) Springfield, Vermont, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist |
Notable works | American Elf Sketchbook Diaries |
| Awards | FourIgnatz Awards, Harvey Award, 2006 Vermont Cartoonist Laureate, 2011–2013,Eisner Award |
| Spouse(s) | Amy |
| Children | 2 |
James Kochalka (born May 26, 1967, inSpringfield, Vermont) is an American comic book artist, writer, animator, androck 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 ofVermont, serving a term of three years.[1]
Kochalka grew up inSpringfield, Vermont. He attended theMaryland Institute College of Art and has an MFA in painting.
His first published comics work was around 1994. He has cited cartoonistDaniel Clowes as being a key inspiration in leading him "towards a whole world of comics that [he] never knew existed."[citation needed] 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.[2] Kochalka's "Craft Is the Enemy" essays were collected in the 2005 bookThe Cute Manifesto.
Kochalka spent six years working in a Chinese restaurant inWinooski, Vermont, before leaving to devote his full energy to cartooning and music. His song "Hockey Monkey", recorded with the bandThe Zambonis, was the theme song for theFox seriesThe Loop.
Comic book writer/artistFrank Miller toldSuicideGirls 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."[3]
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 fourIgnatz Awards (Outstanding Minicomic 1997, Outstanding Series 2002, Outstanding Online Comic 2003 and 2004), aHarvey Award (Best Online Comic 2006), and multiple nominations for theEisner Award. His work is characterized by a simple drawing style, bright colors, 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 calledCoober Skeber. The story was later redrawn in color by Kochalka for inclusion inMarvel'sIncredible Hulk 2001 Annual. The first issue of his comicSuperF*ckers sold approximately 2,500 copies throughDiamond Distributing.[4] In 2002, Kochalka said that all 5,000 copies of the first printing of theMonkey vs. Robot graphic novel had sold out.[5] There has since been a second printing, and in an interview in August 2006 Kochalka said that over 10,000 copies ofMonkey vs. Robot have been sold to date.[citation needed]
Kochalka created the comicImpy And Wormer, which appeared inNickelodeon Magazine.
In July 2012 Kochalka won the Eisner Award for his bookDragon Puncher 2: Dragon Puncher Island.
Kochalka's two primary publishers areTop Shelf Productions andAlternative Comics. He has also published numerous short stories in comics anthologies, self-published his ownmini-comics, and published graphic novels through other publishers such as Black Eye,Slave Labor Graphics andHighwater Books. He also makes the SpongeFunnies in theSpongeBob Comics series of comics.
For more than 14 years, from October 26, 1998 – December 31, 2012, Kochalka kept a daily diary comic strip. These strips have been published byTop Shelf Productions, first asThe Sketchbook Diaries and then in collected form asAmerican Elf.[6] Kochalka toldThe Onion that he wrote the first diary entry while traveling by plane toSan Diego Comic-Con.[7] Kochalka's friend and fellow cartoonistBrian 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.[8] The strip finally ended on December 31, 2012, with one final epilogue-style strip titled "Am I alive?" published on March 23, 2013.[9] Additionally, Kochalka published a tribute entry to his cat, Spandy, after her death in February 2014.
The bookAmerican Elf is a collection of Kochalka's daily diary strips, released in a large edition byTop 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.
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.[citation needed] Subsequently he opened the archives all the way back to the strip's beginning in 1998. As of 2017, those archives are no longer available, as the bulk of Kochalka's sketchbook diaries are sold in digital editions by Kochalka's publisher Top Shelf Productions.[10]
SuperFuckers (censored as "SuperF*ckers", "SuperF***ers", or "Super'F'-ers") is an adult-rated comic book series published by Top Shelf Productions between 2005 and 2007. The series revolves around a collection of crude and rude superheroes who never actually do any superhero work.Frederator Studios approached Kochalka with the possibility of producing an animated cartoon based on the comics. After pitching the show around to various cable television networks, Frederator produced the series for distribution on itsYouTube funded partner channel Cartoon Hangover.[11] The series premiered on November 30, 2012.[12] The first season consists of twelve five-minute episodes and follows closely to the comics.[13]The series featuresDavid Faustino in the lead role of Jack Krak, as well asMaria Bamford,Jaleel White,Veronica Belmont,Phil Morris, andJeff B. Davis.[14]The series was directed byFran Krause, written by Kochalka, and features the music of Anthony Davis and Dustin Pilkington ofBest Fwends.
Glorkian Warrior is a series of books oriented at a younger audience.[15] created by Kochalka and published by FirstSecond. The first (of three) is calledGlorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza. The second graphic novel,Glorkian Warrior Eats Adventure Pie was released in March 2015[16] and the third bookThe Glorkian Warrior and the Mustache of Destiny came out a year later.
The character was created by Kochalka and along withPixeljam was made into a videogame calledGlorkian Warrior: The Trials of Glork
Pixeljam Games releasedGlorkian Warrior: Trials of Glork foriOS in March 2014, and subsequently for Android, PC and Mac. Kochalka and Pixeljam funded the project with aKickstarter beginning in 2010.
Kochalka was an instructor at theCenter for Cartoon Studies,[citation needed] a cartooning school inWhite River Junction, Vermont that was founded by cartoonistJames Sturm. Kochalka is part of the "Little Idiot Collective," a group of artists assembled by the musicianMoby.[citation needed]
Kochalka's band, James Kochalka Superstar, has released nine albums.
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 labelRykodisc to release the CD. Over 500 people signed the petition demanding the album's release. It was followed by "Digital Elf" in 2009, "Good Morning, Glorkian Warrior" in 2015, "How To Tie A Tie On The Internet" in 2018, and "Eggs" in 2019. Additionally, two of Kochalka's other recordings have been released since, "Monkey Vs. Robot" and "Why Is The Sky Blue". Both hold copyrights from 1997 and 2005, respectively, and are listed on Spotify with those release dates.
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 videos for which were shown onNickelodeon's animation showcase seriesKaBlam!.
Rolling Stone named "Britney's Silver Can" one of "The 100 Best Songs of 2006".[17]
The song "Hockey Monkey", which James co-authored withThe 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,[18] an outtake of which resurfaced on Kochalka's albumDon't Trust Whitey.[19]
Kochalka lives inBurlington, Vermont with his wife Amy and their two sons, Eli and Oliver.
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Albums
EPs
Singles
Compilations and Best-Of
