The Ronin interviews Joel Orff on behalf of Alltern8

The Ronin: First off, being an indie publisher really takes guts to push on and “keep on keeping on” before you make your first big break. What is it like for you?

Joel Orff: I think that if you ask anyone who’s done comics and started out by self-publishing, they would say that at the beginning it doesn’t feel like a struggle. One of the things that is unique about self-published comics and zines is that the writer or artist has complete control over their work. There are usually no editors or review processes to go through; if you have any idea, you can draw or write it up, and then print it on paper or online. The freedom of expression is exciting and fun, and it doesn’t feel like a struggle. That’s how if was for me. I just did comics for myself and printed them up, hoping to find an audience.

TR: How did you start, and when have you decided to become a comic book artist?

JO: When I was a kid my dad would bring home leftover newsprint from the local small-town newspaper in the town where I grew up, and I would cut and staple the paper into little comic books that I drew. For a couple of years I was doing at least one 32 page issue a month. I lost interest in comics when I went to college, but then a magazine called ‘Factsheet Five’ appeared, which published reviews of zines from around the world. Some friends and I decided to make a comic zine and began promoting it and selling it through Factsheet Five. My friends lost interest, but I kept putting out autobiographical comics of my own. Eventually Jeff Mason, the publisher of Alternative Comics, saw them and he’s published several books by me.