Literary Cartoons

Cartoonist Joe Matt (his self-portrait above) had an event at Skylight this evening. Writer/Director James Gunn moderated a conversation with Matt, who hadn't made a public appearance in almost ten years. (Though he just lives a few blocks from the bookstore.)

"He's very nervous," said James Gunn to me.

I'm always nervous myself about meeting and greeting someone like Matt. All you have to do is look at his work and know he has an interesting mind. It's quirky and twisted at the same time.

The cover of his current book is of a guy face down with used tissues surrounding him. At first I thought it was supposed to convey a guy with a cold. Then in his conversation he talked about doing comics about porn and masturbating. All of a sudden those tissues took on a brand new meaning.