Big Things: Karl Christian

The small press prince of angst talks to Ninth Art about his historic ambitions and boozy roots. Along the way, he sells his soul, runs with gangs, and beats Jesus.
07 November 2003

Karl Christian describes himself as a "lapsed catholic, introvert, biped, and whiskey drinker". Originally from Philadelphia, he now lives in Cambridge MA and has been self-publishing ANGST BOY COMICS for five years. He also created STURM UND DRANG and the more recent SCHADENFREUDE, which collects various individual strips from over the years.

BIG NEWS:

I finished the newest issue of STURM UND DRANG: STURM UND DRANG ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THE WAT TYLER REBELLION OF 1381. Fun! I'm also currently working on the next issue of ANGST BOY COMICS, #7, which should be out by the end of the year. Besides that I'm compiling another issue of SCHADENFREUDE and in the planning stages of a Lord Byron mini series (he's a bit character from ABC). I've also had some requests from people to put some of my rants from my eGroup and livejournal into some sort of book form. That can wait for the moment, though.

BIG BUSINESS:

Our Lady of Perpetual Drinking chose me after a late night haze of whiskey, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Vicks 44D. She made me swear on a half empty pint of Guinness to only use my powers for good, but admitted that she would look the other way if someone else were paying my tab.

Actually, I don't know if there was any sudden flash of light that made me decide to create comics. Sorry, no real radioactive origin story here. Thinking back, it just seemed like the natural thing to do. I was lucky enough to have a comic book store close by where I was growing up, which kept me pretty occupied for a lot longer than my mother seemed to like (yes, she threw away my comics too). I read all the typical Marvel and DC stuff, and graduated to indy comics somewhere in high school.

I started working in a comic book store in Center City Philadelphia around 1994. The guys there showed me a lot more of what was out there and I was able to meet a lot of other cartoonists in the area. They were a lot of help because I had no clue what the hell I was doing when I started, since I never really went to art school. I just took a class here and there. Around 1996-97, I was offered a back up page in the locally produced comic KISS AND TELL. That was the first Angst Boy comic. I just never stopped from there.

Music has always helped a lot too - listening to a lot of Morphine, Nick Cave, and Tom Waits.

BIG TROUBLE:

The biggest problem is getting the little men to stand still!

Besides getting the work done and staying on a set schedule that you create for yourself, I would say it has to be just getting your work to a wider audience. I've only recently started doing a lot of the big shows and it's pretty cool that people are starting to recognise my work.

BIG SPENDER:

How can I afford to make comics? By running with the Chinese Tong on weeknights as well as the second and third weekend of every month.

Actually, I ask myself the same question everyday. Right now I have to pimp myself out to other jobs to make money so I can afford such a glamorous job in comics. Yes, I have sold my soul to the machine and am slowly dying inside. The horror... the horror...

BIG AMBITION:

There are so many comics I would love to create given the chance. I've done quite a few comics dealing with actual odd moments in history (HALF-HANGIT MAGGIE, BERK AND HARE, the WAT TYLER one I just finished). I would actually like to do something like that since history has always been a big thing for me. I'm a bit surprised that most people seem to hate it.

I'd also like to try to do a big fantasy or horror comic. Not really swords and sorcery, but just something bigger using modern legends and such (wait a minute, that sounds very Vertigo-ish. Damn them!). On the other side, I also would like to do a comic exploring the early days of blues music, looking at the life in the South/Missippi Delta in the early parts of the 20th century. Something more personal, examining the lives of blues men like Charlie Patton, Son House, Skip James, and Robert Johnson.

How's that for an all-over-the-map answer?

BIG UP:

I always look out for Charles Burns, Evan Dorkin, Jamie Hewlett, Chris Ware, Daniel Clowes, Mike Mignola, Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman.

I've also been really enjoying the Herriman KRAZY KAT collections that Fantagraphics is putting out.

BIG TIME:

My ambition at the moment is to simply be able to survive doing my comic without pimping my skills out to the ever-hungry machine that survives on the blood and souls of the toiling masses. All hail the great machine!

I just want to take one step at a time. Get my books to more people, let people become familiar with my work, get this new ANGST BOY issue finished, and start work on the Byron story.

Oh... and I want to beat Jesus at poker. I would have done it already, but he keeps cheating. Damn his omniscience!

BIG FINISH:

I would like to be remembered as some guy that did pretty good comics. I'd like to have my books to actually outlive me, which would probably make some relative of mine extraordinarily wealthy (damn them!). Still, I would like my comics to still be read 100 years from now.

Or as a guy that made a great Mai Tai.

BIG DEAL:

The easiest way to get my comics is simply to email me. I also have an eGroup thingy and a livejournal for people to get news and embarrassing drinking stories. I still really have to get that damn webpage up. That thing has been haunting me way too long.

Several comic book chains in the Northeast carry my books. And I've been doing some of the bigger conventions over the last couple of years. Small Press Expo (SPX), APE, and San Diego.

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