I think we are on the 8th interview for this series of GMN4 contributors. From here on out, we will mostly stick with one a day. I had originally envisioned four of 'em in one shot, but they look a bit garish and cluttered when posted that way.
Kevin Cannon is the author of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel "Far Arden" and produced illustrations for the acclaimed documentary "Forgotten Miracle." He is also co-founder of Big Time Attic, a Minneapolis comics studio which he runs with Zander Cannon (no relation). The two Cannons specialize in illustrating nonfiction & educational graphic novels, covering topics such as space travel ("T-Minus: The Race to the Moon") and genetics ("The Stuff of Life"). He is a member of the International Cartoonist Conspiracy, and has the fez to prove it.
IKAF:1.) What do you do to make ends meet? Does this interrupt the output of your own creative projects, comics and otherwise?
Kevin Cannon: I've been fortunate lately in that I've been able to work on corporate cartooning and illustration gigs to pay the bills. But it certainly didn't start out that way -- for the first few years out of college I took any job I could find: data entry, telemarketing, chauffeur, landscaping... and I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
Now I basically have a cartooning day job, which can be difficult because most nights the last thing I want to do after a full day of cartooning is to go home and do more cartooning. Some nights I don't feel creative at all, so I have to set pretty modest goals. Like right now I'm working on a 400+ page graphic novel and it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, so I have to say "okay, just two more pages and you can call it a night." It feels like running a marathon sometimes. But running it alone, at night, with no one handing you cups of water. Sometimes it's good to break up a long project like that with smaller ones, which sort of cleanse the palette, and afterwards make you want to jump back into the bigger project.
IKAF:2.) Is there something in particular you have done to balance your art and the need for monetary sustenance?
Kevin Cannon: I think I'm living the most ascetic life that I can stand at this point. Being a total cheapskate means that I'm able to say no to paying jobs once in a while and use that time for my own work. And then while I'm drawing I dream about the island I'm going to buy when all this hard work pays off. [Insert laughter.]
IKAF:3.) When was the last time you bought a comic anthology (or any kind of anthology)? Was there anything in particular that attracted or repelled you to that specific one?
Kevin Cannon: I think the last anthology I bought was "Art Out of Time" by Dan Nadel, and actually that may be considered more of a scholarly work or retrospective than an anthology. But anyway, it's a collection of strange, forgotten strips from the early part of the last century, and I was immediately drawn to it in the same way you're drawn to an old box of photos or something you find in an attic. I like the idea of being able to read really obscure, often bizarre work, and I'm glad Nadel did the leg work to collect and publish it.
IKAF:4.) What are some of the projects you are working on now?
Kevin Cannon: I just finished co-illustrating a graphic novel on Evolution -- with Jay Hosler and Zander Cannon -- and that should hit stores in January. In my free time I'm working on a sequel to Far Arden, but I have no idea when that'll be done. I'm also working on a cartoon for this year's Union of Concerned Scientists calendar, a cover for City Pages, and I'm co-organizing this August's Lutefisk Sushi comic art show at Altered Esthetics gallery.
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