Listen to Leno

Nerdvana presents Small Press Saturday – aka, Lessons Learned Self-Publishing Comics

I love stand-up comedy, and I think the comedian and the cartoonist have a LOT in common. First of all, comedians are often called comics, and cartoonists MAKE comics, so their respective product shares that same root word. Both the comedian and the cartoonist develop material that exaggerates reality, creating something through which their audience can relate and ESCAPE. Secondly, the comedian and the auteur cartoonist have little barrier between the audience and themselves. What they make is some representation of who they are. The difference is, the cartoonist can hide behind the page — the comedian is out there, much more vulnerable. Just ask Chris Rock.

Cartoonists have even begun “touring.” If you follow your favorite comedians’ careers, you’ll learn of the smaller, no-to-low paying gigs they did before hitting the clubs, theaters, and arenas. Cartoonists are doing the same thing, now — “gigging” at library shows, art walks, and comic cons. Montreal and Edinburgh for comedians are what San Diego and New York are for cartoonists.

Also, in my experience, comedians and cartoonists alike often struggle with Imposter Syndrome. They constantly question their own abilities, probably because they hold their heroes in such high regard — your Richard Pryors, your Jim Lees — that they figure they’ll never compare. Ask any cartoonist in an artists’ alley if they’re the talent . . . not if they HAVE talent, but if they ARE the talent. The answer should be a resounding yes. If I’m in the business of making something designed to entertain someone, I’m in the ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS. You don’t need an agent, or to be published by Marvel or DC, to be a professional.

So, I listen to stand-up comedians’ podcasts all of the time, usually while I’m drawing, for inspiration. In an episode of “Fly On The Wall” with Dana Carvey and David Spade, Jay Leno kept repeating a phrase that sounded a LOT like a personal mantra, and since I’ve been chronicling my own mantras this year, I paid close attention. Carvey and Spade might’ve been prodding Leno about his limited social media presence, or his absence from the podcast world, when Jay said his job is, “Write joke. Tell joke. Get paid.” What a simple, easily forgotten mission in today’s age of breakneck speed, so, of course, I’ve adapted it to suit my own needs:

Make comic. Share comic. Get paid.

I didn’t start self-publishing comics to do anything more or less than those three things. Yet, since I’ve started making comics, I’ve put together multiple small cons and expos, organized annual comics-adjacent events like Phoenix Celebrates Jack Kirby, and led classes and workshops on making comics. Those things are fun and fulfilling, but they don’t compare to my never-ending desire to tell stories by making comics, and when they distract from that desire, I go light on the load.

Further, some of those supplemental projects don’t PAY. I’ve learned to prioritize the ones that DO. Talent gets COMPENSATED. Those paying gigs usually come in time, but they DO come for cartoonists as they might come for any other artist. Remember that the next time you’re paying for a comic con table, by the way. The subtext in that transaction is, the real talent at a comic con aren’t the artists, but the person that can get them all in the same room.

My variation of Leno’s mantra is my focus going into the new year. Call it a back to basics approach — not that I won’t organize or host events, but I’ll acknowledge them as supplemental to my thing, not my thing itself. When you adapt Leno’s mantra for yourself, what’s that thing you REALLY want to make and deliver so you get paid?

I’m a cartoonist. I make comics. That’s what brings me joy — which IS the strong implication of that root word for “comic.” That’s the OTHER thing comedians and cartoonists have in common — they make the people on the receiving end of their talent happy. So, make the thing that gives you genuine happiness. It’s usually the thing that puts the thinnest barrier between you and the audience, so they see who you are, as if you were on a stage. When you pursue that, believe me — people will “get it.”

Russ Kazmierczak Jr.

Russ Kazmierczak, Jr. is a Phoenix-based cartoonist and the creator of Amazing Arizona Comics, a mini-comic book that satirizes local news, history, and culture with superhero adventure. He was the Phoenix New Times’ 2018 Best Storyteller and one of The Copper Courier’s “9 People Who Are Making A Difference in Arizona” in 2023. Russ has taught comics classes at Bookman’s in Phoenix and Mesa, Phoenix Art Museum, Gilbert HD South, and other venues throughout the Valley. Follow his work and inquire about his classes on Instagram @amazingazcomics.