Big Things: Neil Kleid

He's a storyteller first and a cartoonist second; he loves web comics as much as minis; and he harbours a strange obsession with Todd Klein's money. Neil Kleid just can't stop talking to Ninth Art.
30 June 2003

Neil Kleid was raised in Detroit but lives and works in New York. He is the author of LATE NIGHT BLOCK, an almost-regular series of horror stories at OPi8, and RANT! COMICS (which he says, "presents my unique view on life, religion, love and exploding clowns") along with several other acclaimed minicomics. He is a co-founder of the THIRD EYE anthology and co-coordinated Alternative Comics' 9-11: EMERGENCY RELIEF book. His work also appears online at Modern Tales and Unbound Comics.

BIG NEWS:

Currently my main focus is BROWNSVILLE, a 172-page graphic novel exploring the lives of the men of Murder Incorporated - most notably, Abe Reles and Albert Tannenbaum. Reles and Tannenbaum were two of the guys that ended up turning state's evidence and eventually sent the entire troop to the chair - including their boss, Louis Lepke Buchalter, dubbed the Most Dangerous Man in America by J. Edgar Hoover.

I'm half way through the script now and I have to decide whether I'm going to be drawing this one or if I'll find a collaborator. My style tends to be a bit cartoony, so I might need a more serious artist in the vein of Jason Lutes or James Sturm.

Side by side with BROWNSVILLE are a few less monumental projects. I'm pounding out a six-page story entitled I WAS A TEENAGE SCI-FI WRITER for Cheese Hasselberger's second HOUSE OF TWELVE anthology. It's a fun little tale about geeks, aliens and creative muse.

I'm also doing some work for Kitchen Sink Magazine - a few illustrations and comics - and various anthology pieces. I have an eight page comic appearing in the TRUE PORN anthology, as well as five pages in a minicomic collection cobbled together by Sean Bieri and Carla Speed McNeil.

Compound that with the third RANT COMICS! collection and second issue of LATE NIGHT BLOCK debuting at this summers small press con, along with THE ART OF HEARTBREAK, a mini being illustrated by LNB contributor Jamesmith, and then on top of those, pile on the scores of mainstream pitches I'm writing, my first novel and assorted stage plays, magazine articles and whippersnappin' inflamed letters to the editor. Not to mention the time I spend bashing Ron Zimmerman, Larry Young and Ted Rall on the Internet under the guise of COMICKing2466.

You might say I need more hours in the day. Or lots more Bass Ale.

BIG BUSINESS:

For my original desire to create comics, blame my dad. He used to come home every Friday and drop a bag of comics off in the room I shared with my brother. We spent most of our Shabbos night (yep, I'm one of the few Orthodox Jews in comics) absorbing them, and even today Friday night comics are sacred to the two of us. Anyway, tracing comics is how I learned to draw. I spent hours on the kitchen table with old copies of X-MEN and the original TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES books, and eventually I started reading up on panel layouts and so forth.

I was enthralled with the way I could get drawn into the lives of these paper characters much as I could with my favourite TV show, though it was better because these guys never went on summer hiatus.

I went on to art school (Wayne State U in Detroit) and learned the finer points of my trade. I never lost sight of the dream of comics and those late Friday nights. When the time came, I tossed some samples together and through a friend was introduced to Jordan Gorfinkel, ex-BATMAN editor. Jordan was vital in my comic book growth because he was the first to tell me that my artwork sucked. He picked those samples apart and really didn't give me any sort of encouragement as far as my illustration skills, but he emphasised that my pacing and storytelling were quite good, and maybe I should consider a career as a writer.

I went back to Detroit (dejected that I didn't get an art gig, mind you) and started taking a look at how scripts are crafted - comics, films, plays - and within the year had my first comic book script in hand along with the bare bones of my first screenplay.

Now, indie comics. Where the hell did that come from? My entire life I was a superhero devotee and I never thought I'd get sucked into the underground comics community. To a novice like myself, whose only exposure to indie comics was the rack of Crumb books in the back of my local bookstore, anything non-superhero was for hippies. Damn hippies. Then in 2000-2001 I began working with the Third Eye guys, as well as other small press folks, and my writing was already starting to turn towards more real-life fare, partly spurred by my exposure to Oni Press and other less superhero-driven books.

In 2001, I spearheaded a forum series entitled STAND UP COMICS, which brought local comics talent out to spread awareness of the industry. The first panel featured a talk by Mike Carlin, Joe Quesada and Axel Alonso - I mention this panel because around the time I was flyering local comic shops to drum up an audience, DC Comics announced a BIZARRO COMICS signing. My friend Kelly and I spent the day handing out leaflets as well as talking the event up to the attending professionals, and that's when I met the Brooklyn Comics Community.

After talking to creators like Dean Haspiel (who remains one of my better pals and quasi-advisors in comics), Jessica Abel, Nick Bertozzi and others, my eyes were opened to a whole new world of comics - both in what to read and how to make. Dean's semi-autobio work inspired me to do my own, and Jessica suggested I start out like they all did - by making a minicomic. So I did. I thought it was capital-A awesome, when in actuality it capital-B blew. So I did another one (spurred on by Larry Young's 'APE Minicomic Challenge') called STABLE RODS, and people seemed to like it. And then I did another. And another.

Haven't stopped yet.

BIG TROUBLE:

The biggest problems I have are time and money. When I was out of work I had hours and hours to write, draw and stare naked at the ceiling. Now that I'm a full time design-type-guy again, I'm discovering that writing and drawing have to be done late at night (naked staring is a whenever kind of thing, I suppose).

Just last night I got home and tried drawing up a page of comics, after which I was planning on fine tuning one of my pitches. Of course, this is after I went grocery shopping, to the gym, had dinner, paid some bills and spoke to several hundred friends.

The trick - and it really is a trick - is to find one or two hours in the day or night when you can say Neil is no longer here, folks. Neil has left the building. Leave your message with my machine. That's the time that's strictly given to Lord Captions McGee, High King and Deity of Comics. You wipe your mind clear from the trials of the day and lock the bolts on your cardboard box - by god, its funnybook time.

I envy men like Warren Ellis who can spend the day writing at the pub with their funny accents and monster penises. I wish for the day when I can laugh and point at corporate America, dance Wiz style down the road and get paid to just write things like APE 1(OP): WHAT WAS RICH UP TO LAST NIGHT? APE 2: WELL, DONT BE SURPRISED WHEN THE WORDS FARM ANIMAL APPEAR ON OUR VISA BILL.

But for that I need money. Money don't grow on trees, nor does it take too kindly when liberated from old women. I make a certain sum from which Uncle Sam takes a cut; my landlord takes a cut as do assorted bills, expenditures and mafia, er, fulfilments. Knocking out 1-200 black and white minis hurts the pocket, and forget color covers.

As of this writing I'm considering a LATE NIGHT BLOCK trade, and I have 2-3 projects being illustrated right now that may have to get self-published. I'm also already at least 7-10,000 dollars in debt. So unless some kindly hot woman or sickly old man wants to make me their gigolo and pay for it, I couldn't tell you how they're gonna see the cruel, harsh light of day.

I'm selling my body for comics. Ew.

BIG SPENDER:

Truthfully, I can't afford to make comics. Every time I do a run it hurts me financially. Like I said, I'm no Nelson Rockefeller or JP McDeepPockets. The comics I make come from my spending cash. Sometimes I make it back at cons or through store sales. Most times I don't. The thing is, I'm not in this for the cash. Mamma Kleid didn't raise no stupid chillun. If I wanted a career that paid me the dough I'd be a stripper like Uncle Crystal. If anyone out there is reading this, let me dissuade you of the notion that anyone in comics is making tons of money - other than maybe Todd Klein. No, seriously, the man owns like three beach houses and five French Maids.

BIG AMBITION:

Money, time and all that are always obstacles. But even if I didn't have to worry about them, I'd make the same comic I am now. BROWNSVILLE is a story I've always wanted to tell.

Running a close second, I wrote a screenplay entitled AMERICAN CAESAR adapted from Shakespeare's classic tragedy. I started converting it into comic book form about a year ago, but I realized that it'd probably be bigger than FROM HELL and BOX OFFICE POISON combined. One day I'll pare it down and find an artist willing to bleed for me. It's like my Holy Grail.

BIG UP:

Oh, and here's another reason I have no money to publish - I spend it all on damn comics! I think if all the publishers gave me back the cash I spent on their books, I'd have enough to buy Marc Alessi and make him Peter David's love slave.

Obviously, I always check out what my friends are doing. Dean Haspiel and Josh Neufeld have never failed to impress me. But I generally buy almost anything published by Alternative Comics and Top Shelf. Paul Hornschmeier's work shocks and awes me, as does anything by Tomer Hanuka. Pete Sickman-Garner's HEY MISTER makes me giggle with glee but for pure solid laugh potential I grab Sean Bieri's work. If you haven't read his JUMBO JAPE you're missing out on pure comedy gold. Same thing with PRISON FUNNIES by Chip Zdarsky. I guess I tend to gravitate towards comedic creators - Gail Simone makes me titter like a schoolgirl and there's a small Evan Dorkin shrine in my bathroom.

For more serious fare, I'll pick up work by Warren Ellis and Brian Vaughan, as well as a lot of the Oni and AIT/Planetlar books, because they offer the most diverse selection of genres I've seen so far.

BIG TIME:

After I crush that freedom loving Captain America in my vice-like grip, I will turn my gaze and devastating laser beam on the rest of the world!

Oh, wait - that's the Red Skull's ambition.

As for me? I just want to tell stories. If it's in comics, great. If it's a movie, a TV show, a novel, a kid's book or even one of those flipbooks you find in boxes of Lucky Charms, that's fine too. Do I want to be on WIZARD's top ten writers list? I just don't care about things like that. All I want is to be able to write, draw and get my books out into the hands of people who will read, love and appreciate them: i.e., my parents. As long as I can get paid to tell stories and know that THE COMICS JOURNAL hates everything I do, I'll be content.

That and own a line of hair care products.

BIG FINISH:

"I just don't understand... He was such a quiet, unassuming young man. We never would have suspected he was gonna eat all them people. Hey, is this gonna be on TV?"

BIG DEAL:

I can be reached via my website as well as by sending that new-fangled electronic mail on over. Additionally, my minis are being carried at certain stores - Midtown Comics in NYC has a website through which you can order them, and you can also find them at Jim Hanley's in Manhattan, GreenBrain Comics in Dearborn, MI as well as at the Isotope Comics Lounge in San Francisco. Avid Kleid fans can also send me boxes of liquid cash care of 750 Columbus Ave., Apt 5L, NYC 10025.

And If Todd Klein wants to send me one of his French Maids, that'd be fine too.

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