Kayla Escobedo interview
Kayla
Escobedo was raised in DeSoto, TX and is a senior at Harvard University in
Cambridge, MA. She is currently studying Visual and Environmental Studies with
a focus in Studio Art, and is also the Art Board director for The
Harvard Lampoon, a designer and librarian for The Harvard Advocate,
and a co-founder/curator for The Harvard Monday Gallery. She is the creator and writer of “Monty
Comix” and a
contributor to Dexter Cockburn’s “Oh
My Comix”. Kayla is
currently working on her thesis for the VES department.
Vincent Wright: I would like to say thank you for taking your time to do this interview. So, Kayla what’s happening for you at the moment comic/creative wise?
Kayla Escobedo: Well, I’m living in Cambridge and beginning work on my senior thesis. Thanks to some funding from Harvard, I’m able to afford it. I’m totally open to my thesis taking a different shape later on, but as it stands now, I’m working on 3-D comics and some large-scale painted comics. My practice has always been divided – I made comics that looked like comics and paintings that looked like paintings. But I’ve always been interested, as many current artists are, in the line that divides the two. Instead of just putting a comic page in a gallery, I want to actively merge the ideas of both worlds into a new body of work. At least that’s my grand idea. I’m not sure how close to it I’ll get.
Vincent Wright: How long have you been
making comics for and what attracted you to the medium?
Kayla Escobedo: I started making comics right after I first read Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan during the fall of 2008 (my first semester at Harvard). I have loved comics, I mean really loved comics, since I was able to read, but they honestly intimidated me. I never considered myself much of a writer or storyteller, but my paintings were sort of narrative-based. I had characters that appeared in series of paintings and, if seen together, could piece together a rough story. After I read Jimmy Corrigan, I was so affected by the real power of the medium that I wanted to give it a try. My desire to create comics was really a result of being struck with inspiration from that work of art.
Vincent Wright: Were there any comics growing up that you were into that had a major effect on you?
Kayla Escobedo: Oh, absolutely! At an early age I was super into Archie Comics, Garfield, and Peanuts. I still read that stuff from time to time. Especially Peanuts. That work gets even better as you grow up and reread it. As a kid, I would get those long rectangular Garfield comic collections for Christmas and I went crazy over them. They had raised lettering, shiny covers, and great smelling pages. Anyway, I had limited exposure to any comics outside of the newspaper or the checkout stand at the grocery store. And my mom was really strict about the content of anything I was into. As I got older and was able to explore bookstores on my own, I found a copy of Peter Blegvad’s The Book of Leviathan. That crazy, strange book turned my head upside down. As a preteen living in South Dallas, I didn’t have too much “mature” art or culture in my life, and I had never seen a book like that before. Equally as influential, though, were cartoons and shows. Ren & Stimpy, Rocko’s Modern Life, Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and these crazy Christian live action puppet shows on local TV all influence my aesthetic, writing style, and content just as much as the comics.
Vincent Wright: I would like to say thank you for taking your time to do this interview. So, Kayla what’s happening for you at the moment comic/creative wise?
Kayla Escobedo: Well, I’m living in Cambridge and beginning work on my senior thesis. Thanks to some funding from Harvard, I’m able to afford it. I’m totally open to my thesis taking a different shape later on, but as it stands now, I’m working on 3-D comics and some large-scale painted comics. My practice has always been divided – I made comics that looked like comics and paintings that looked like paintings. But I’ve always been interested, as many current artists are, in the line that divides the two. Instead of just putting a comic page in a gallery, I want to actively merge the ideas of both worlds into a new body of work. At least that’s my grand idea. I’m not sure how close to it I’ll get.
Kayla Escobedo: I started making comics right after I first read Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan during the fall of 2008 (my first semester at Harvard). I have loved comics, I mean really loved comics, since I was able to read, but they honestly intimidated me. I never considered myself much of a writer or storyteller, but my paintings were sort of narrative-based. I had characters that appeared in series of paintings and, if seen together, could piece together a rough story. After I read Jimmy Corrigan, I was so affected by the real power of the medium that I wanted to give it a try. My desire to create comics was really a result of being struck with inspiration from that work of art.
Vincent Wright: Were there any comics growing up that you were into that had a major effect on you?
Kayla Escobedo: Oh, absolutely! At an early age I was super into Archie Comics, Garfield, and Peanuts. I still read that stuff from time to time. Especially Peanuts. That work gets even better as you grow up and reread it. As a kid, I would get those long rectangular Garfield comic collections for Christmas and I went crazy over them. They had raised lettering, shiny covers, and great smelling pages. Anyway, I had limited exposure to any comics outside of the newspaper or the checkout stand at the grocery store. And my mom was really strict about the content of anything I was into. As I got older and was able to explore bookstores on my own, I found a copy of Peter Blegvad’s The Book of Leviathan. That crazy, strange book turned my head upside down. As a preteen living in South Dallas, I didn’t have too much “mature” art or culture in my life, and I had never seen a book like that before. Equally as influential, though, were cartoons and shows. Ren & Stimpy, Rocko’s Modern Life, Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and these crazy Christian live action puppet shows on local TV all influence my aesthetic, writing style, and content just as much as the comics.
Vincent Wright: Where do you get your inspiration from?
Kayla Escobedo: Currently, I am looking at the work of painters who I feel have a real dialogue with the comics world, or who reference comics in their work in an interesting way. Joe Brainard and Raymond Pettibon are my two favorite ‘fine artists’ right now, as well as Donald Baechler, Claes Oldenburg, and Paul McCarthy (although I’m not sure how direct their connections to comics are). And I can never seem to put Art Spiegelman’s Portrait of The Artist as a Young %@?*! back on the shelf, it’s so good. His work from this period is really fearless. It’s so tight and well-crafted while at the same time being pretty schizophrenic and wild. Gary Panter’s work, which is also incredibly brave and crazy, is up way high on my list of inspirations. Jimbo: Adventures in Paradise is my #1 favorite of his. I’m also really into Mark Newgarden’s “How To Read Nancy” essay, as well as his book We All Die Alone. I draw a lot of inspiration from the way he carefully considers the form of comics. He really breaks it down and focuses on the power of line, symbols, composition, and characters (and their recognizability) and the science of humor. Herriman’s Krazy Kat and Chris Ware’s Quimby the Mouse are some of my all-time idea generators in terms of style and page design. Dan Clowes’s lettering and coloring have really influenced my “Monty Comix” series, and Tim Hensley’s Wally Gropius comics are brilliant. He sure can write a twisted narrative. Ivan Brunetti’s sick sense of humor and fearless acknowledgement of humanity’s flaws is always a source of inspiration. Tim Lane’s sense of everyday Americana is truly beautiful, and he really knows how to write some down-to-earth dialogue without sounding cheesy. His comics have this “American-ness” that I can relate to and really gets me going. There is a similar down-to-earth “Texan” quality to the television show King of the Hill that I find very appealing. I watch King of the Hill and The Office (the Greg Daniels adaptation) obsessively and draw a lot of writing guidance from Louis C.K.’s show, Louie. I am really attracted to the tight, frank, believability of the dialogue in these shows. I’m also inspired by these same qualities in Joan Rivers’s comedy. I know the content of my work is not exactly comedic, and the thread that ties these shows to my own work may not be clear, but that stuff really gets me excited. And oh boy, the Coen Brothers really know how to write a tight script. The Big Lebowski is my all-time favorite movie. I love their writing and their ability to craft adaptations of books. I’ve taken some lines from No Country For Old Men and put them in my comics (although I may have Cormac McCarthy to thank for that). The Coen brothers also have a way of capturing this sense of “southern-ness” that I really respond to. O Brother, Where Art Thou in particular. I grew up listening to the old-timey music from that movie, and I find it very comforting. I’ve also taken the titles of some of my pieces from some Sufjan Stevens lryics. His album The Age of Adz has been playing constantly as I make my newest body of work. John Kricfalusi always seems to be looming over me as sort of the gold standard of sturdy, expressive, tangible character design. I mean, his cel paint choices (like when his animators use a blue line to describe something instead of just a black line is so great), costume designs, and ability to show tension are all spot on. He can really show how heavy a fat cat is by the squish he draws. I’ve tried my hand at animation, and it is hard stuff. I plan on animating more, and will always look up to John K. Of course, the aesthetic of Max Fleischer’s animations have guided my drawing style and the design of both Monty and Whalegirl. And performance artists like Klaus Nomi, Andy Kaufman and Paul Reubens I consider icons. My own artistic practice swings wide open, and I could see myself reaching into the performance art world. Finally, and in some ways most importantly, the content of all of my work – paintings, comics, drawings, sculpture, and animations – all share a world-view bond with the filmmaker Alejandro Iñárritu. His sensitivity to violence and acknowledgment of suffering and death is similar to my own. His work is incredibly sad, but it’s so important. It’s never gratuitous in its pain and is rewarding in its humanity. I can’t watch his movies very often because they are so intense and difficult, but I think he’s brilliant. The same goes for Chris Ware and his latest work, Lint.
Vincent Wright: I noticed that your
comics are called Monty but the main focus seems to be on “Whale Girl” was that
intentional?
Kayla Escobedo: Well, Monty Comix was the sort of the umbrella name for all of the comics I was making at the time. Whalegirl was the first character I came up with, then Monty followed. The name ‘Monty Comix’ just had a nice ring to it, which is why I called everything that. I do try to use them pretty equally, though. Now that my work is all human-based, I’ve stopped calling my comics Monty Comix. I’m not sure what they’ll be called now.
Vincent Wright: How much of your comics are autobiographical and how much are fiction?
Kayla Escobedo: Just about all of it is autobiographical. My latest stuff is based on my thoughts and experiences, but swings a little bit closer to maybe fiction, but Monty issues 1-5 are all based on things that happened in my life.
Vincent Wright: Where did you come up with the design of Monty and Whalegirl?
Kayla Escobedo: Like I said, Whalegirl came first. I had determined to make my first real comic, and was sketching out ideas for characters. I had the movie ‘Where The Toys Come From’ on my TV and was pausing it to sketch some of the really cool old toys that show up in the beginning. I came up with a bunch of characters that didn’t feel right, so I decided to draw something from my head. So I drew a standing humpback whale (my favorite animal). I then replaced the body with a naked female body, added a hat and a pipe, and Whalegirl was born. On the back of that sketch page, I drew my first comic starring Whalegirl (which are the contents of Monty Comix Issue 3). Monty came a few weeks later. I was in class and sketched out a composition for a new comic. In the first panel, before I knew what I was doing, I drew a fuzzy little naked, old-timey looking monster guy. I looked at him and thought, “He looks like a Monty.” (that comic is the first page in Issue 2).
Vincent Wright: What’s your process of making a Monty Comic and what direction do you want to go with them in the future?
Kayla Escobedo: A lot of my earlier stuff I wouldn’t plan at all. I’d sketch out a cool composition and then find a way of filling it in, thinking as I was drawing. Always in pencil first, inking in pen, then adding a wash or marker. Now I really, really plan them out. I do thumbnail sketches in my sketchbook, I’ll maybe make 10 of them. I do all the writing of the comics separately. I consider every word I include, and rewrite the text maybe dozens of times until I get it right. Then I go to the final paper, measuring out the panels with a ruler on a large sheet of paper, sketching the figures in detail, and trying to rule out the lettering as straight as I can. I then ink with a brush and erase pencil lines. The more comics I make, the more invested in planning I become.
Vincent Wright: What do you make of the
comics industry nowadays ?
Kayla Escobedo: Oh I’m not sure. I don’t read or pay much attention to the really popular mainstream comics at all, so I can’t really say much about the state they’re in. I think there are some cool alternative comics out there, but I also see a lot of stuff I think is crappy. Most of the stuff out there is crappy, I think. Hmm. I don’t really know. I’m not sure if people are really reading the good stuff, or if it even sells. I wish I knew more about it all. I’d have a better idea of the world I’d like to be a part of.
Vincent Wright: What too tools and materials do you use to make a Monty Comic?
Kayla Escobedo: I used to use only Microns, but now I use ink with a brush or nib. When I add color to my stuff I use Prismacolor markers or acrylic and oil paint. Sometimes I’ll use watercolor, but rarely. I don’t use digital coloring, but in the rare case that I do, it’s just to touch up a really nasty mistake that would take away from the story.
Vincent Wright: In regards to the fine art work you do, what connection is there, if any, to you comic work?
Kayla Escobedo: For the most part, there hasn’t been much of a connection, which is what I’m trying to change with my newest body of work. I’m really interested in considering the question of the role of comics as art, and exploring the implications of the comic-as-object versus the painting-as-object. While paintings are valued as a lasting and permanent medium that people hang in museums and view from a distance, comics are traditionally viewed in the form of newsprint and pamphlets, and so I think they’re generally associated with a certain disposability and ephemerality. I’m interested in exploring the medium as a legitimate art form. I want to carefully consider the formal aspects of comics and the expressive potential of sequential narrative through images and symbols, and I want to discover new ways to incorporate these aspects into the viewers’ interaction with comics.
Vincent Wright: What do your family and
loved ones make of your comics?
Kayla Escobedo: Haha uh, well, I don’t really show my family much of my stuff. I guess they’re OK with it, which is to say that they don’t really talk about it. I know it makes them uncomfortable, and in all honesty, I can understand. My friends really like my work, and are very supportive. My family is supportive of my desire to be an ‘artist,’ but I think there’s an understanding that I don’t need to show them everything that I make, and I don’t. They’re conservative Christians, and my comics don’t really fit in with their interests and ideals, so I try to keep it all quiet. I don’t like to make people uncomfortable, especially my family.
Vincent Wright: I hope its ok to say this, but I find your comics eerie, erotic and endearing all at the same time. How have other people seen your work and what message are you trying to give over when you create them?
Kayla Escobedo: Of course that’s OK! I think that the erotic-ness was really in Issue 4, and it came with a heavy weight of disturbing-ness, too. I don’t try to make work with any real sexual gratification. I don’t make erotica, and I don’t really want to. The sex in my work comes with pain and embarrassment, but also curiosity. In all honesty, I’m not sure what people think about my work. I’ve had some online reviewers write about my stuff, but they mostly summarize the storylines of the comics. Although I’d like to get more feedback on the Monty Comix stuff, I’m starting to really depart from the subject matter in them. My newer comics with human characters are almost the opposite. There isn’t really any sexuality or graphicness.
Vincent Wright: What’s next for you and what would like to achieve in the future?
Kayla Escobedo: I have one more year of undergrad to go, and finishing that will be a wonderful thing. During this coming year I’ll be working on my thesis, trying to explore comics more deeply. After graduation, I think I’ll move back to Texas and try to ‘make it’ in the Dallas art scene. I’m not sure how, and it’ll probably take a long, long time, but I’m willing to try. Texas is cheap and I love it there. I may get a job teaching, or work in a gallery for a while. I’m not sure yet. It depends on who will hire me! In any case, I’ll continue making work, that’s for sure.
Vincent Wright: What would be your
advice for new budding cartoonists who are starting out and what to
expect?
Kayla Escobedo: Well, I’m one of those budding cartoonists myself, so I don’t have too much to offer. Making lots of work is the best I can think of to say. I’ve been looking for some advice myself haha.
Kayla Escobedo: Well, Monty Comix was the sort of the umbrella name for all of the comics I was making at the time. Whalegirl was the first character I came up with, then Monty followed. The name ‘Monty Comix’ just had a nice ring to it, which is why I called everything that. I do try to use them pretty equally, though. Now that my work is all human-based, I’ve stopped calling my comics Monty Comix. I’m not sure what they’ll be called now.
Vincent Wright: How much of your comics are autobiographical and how much are fiction?
Kayla Escobedo: Just about all of it is autobiographical. My latest stuff is based on my thoughts and experiences, but swings a little bit closer to maybe fiction, but Monty issues 1-5 are all based on things that happened in my life.
Vincent Wright: Where did you come up with the design of Monty and Whalegirl?
Kayla Escobedo: Like I said, Whalegirl came first. I had determined to make my first real comic, and was sketching out ideas for characters. I had the movie ‘Where The Toys Come From’ on my TV and was pausing it to sketch some of the really cool old toys that show up in the beginning. I came up with a bunch of characters that didn’t feel right, so I decided to draw something from my head. So I drew a standing humpback whale (my favorite animal). I then replaced the body with a naked female body, added a hat and a pipe, and Whalegirl was born. On the back of that sketch page, I drew my first comic starring Whalegirl (which are the contents of Monty Comix Issue 3). Monty came a few weeks later. I was in class and sketched out a composition for a new comic. In the first panel, before I knew what I was doing, I drew a fuzzy little naked, old-timey looking monster guy. I looked at him and thought, “He looks like a Monty.” (that comic is the first page in Issue 2).
Vincent Wright: What’s your process of making a Monty Comic and what direction do you want to go with them in the future?
Kayla Escobedo: A lot of my earlier stuff I wouldn’t plan at all. I’d sketch out a cool composition and then find a way of filling it in, thinking as I was drawing. Always in pencil first, inking in pen, then adding a wash or marker. Now I really, really plan them out. I do thumbnail sketches in my sketchbook, I’ll maybe make 10 of them. I do all the writing of the comics separately. I consider every word I include, and rewrite the text maybe dozens of times until I get it right. Then I go to the final paper, measuring out the panels with a ruler on a large sheet of paper, sketching the figures in detail, and trying to rule out the lettering as straight as I can. I then ink with a brush and erase pencil lines. The more comics I make, the more invested in planning I become.
Vincent Wright: What do you make of the
comics industry nowadays ?Kayla Escobedo: Oh I’m not sure. I don’t read or pay much attention to the really popular mainstream comics at all, so I can’t really say much about the state they’re in. I think there are some cool alternative comics out there, but I also see a lot of stuff I think is crappy. Most of the stuff out there is crappy, I think. Hmm. I don’t really know. I’m not sure if people are really reading the good stuff, or if it even sells. I wish I knew more about it all. I’d have a better idea of the world I’d like to be a part of.
Vincent Wright: What too tools and materials do you use to make a Monty Comic?
Kayla Escobedo: I used to use only Microns, but now I use ink with a brush or nib. When I add color to my stuff I use Prismacolor markers or acrylic and oil paint. Sometimes I’ll use watercolor, but rarely. I don’t use digital coloring, but in the rare case that I do, it’s just to touch up a really nasty mistake that would take away from the story.
Vincent Wright: In regards to the fine art work you do, what connection is there, if any, to you comic work?
Kayla Escobedo: For the most part, there hasn’t been much of a connection, which is what I’m trying to change with my newest body of work. I’m really interested in considering the question of the role of comics as art, and exploring the implications of the comic-as-object versus the painting-as-object. While paintings are valued as a lasting and permanent medium that people hang in museums and view from a distance, comics are traditionally viewed in the form of newsprint and pamphlets, and so I think they’re generally associated with a certain disposability and ephemerality. I’m interested in exploring the medium as a legitimate art form. I want to carefully consider the formal aspects of comics and the expressive potential of sequential narrative through images and symbols, and I want to discover new ways to incorporate these aspects into the viewers’ interaction with comics.
Vincent Wright: What do your family and
loved ones make of your comics?Kayla Escobedo: Haha uh, well, I don’t really show my family much of my stuff. I guess they’re OK with it, which is to say that they don’t really talk about it. I know it makes them uncomfortable, and in all honesty, I can understand. My friends really like my work, and are very supportive. My family is supportive of my desire to be an ‘artist,’ but I think there’s an understanding that I don’t need to show them everything that I make, and I don’t. They’re conservative Christians, and my comics don’t really fit in with their interests and ideals, so I try to keep it all quiet. I don’t like to make people uncomfortable, especially my family.
Vincent Wright: I hope its ok to say this, but I find your comics eerie, erotic and endearing all at the same time. How have other people seen your work and what message are you trying to give over when you create them?
Kayla Escobedo: Of course that’s OK! I think that the erotic-ness was really in Issue 4, and it came with a heavy weight of disturbing-ness, too. I don’t try to make work with any real sexual gratification. I don’t make erotica, and I don’t really want to. The sex in my work comes with pain and embarrassment, but also curiosity. In all honesty, I’m not sure what people think about my work. I’ve had some online reviewers write about my stuff, but they mostly summarize the storylines of the comics. Although I’d like to get more feedback on the Monty Comix stuff, I’m starting to really depart from the subject matter in them. My newer comics with human characters are almost the opposite. There isn’t really any sexuality or graphicness.
Vincent Wright: What’s next for you and what would like to achieve in the future?
Kayla Escobedo: I have one more year of undergrad to go, and finishing that will be a wonderful thing. During this coming year I’ll be working on my thesis, trying to explore comics more deeply. After graduation, I think I’ll move back to Texas and try to ‘make it’ in the Dallas art scene. I’m not sure how, and it’ll probably take a long, long time, but I’m willing to try. Texas is cheap and I love it there. I may get a job teaching, or work in a gallery for a while. I’m not sure yet. It depends on who will hire me! In any case, I’ll continue making work, that’s for sure.
Vincent Wright: What would be your
advice for new budding cartoonists who are starting out and what to
expect? Kayla Escobedo: Well, I’m one of those budding cartoonists myself, so I don’t have too much to offer. Making lots of work is the best I can think of to say. I’ve been looking for some advice myself haha.
Thanks again Kayla for taking your time to do this interview.
No problem at all. I really appreciate the time you took to ask!
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