James Kochalka’s the Sketchbook Diaries
June 25th, 2003by James Kochalka
ISBN: damn good question
The Sketchbook Diaries have been published in three volumes so far, with at least number four planned. Kochalka started drawing a daily diary sketch — usually a small, four-panel square, not strip — in October 1998. This first book spans his first year of diary sketches.
The comic is a small window on Kochalka’s day. He draws himself as the elf Magic Boy. People in his real-life world populate his diary strip: there is his wife Amy, their cat Spandy, and many friends who may appear as a dog, a bumpy-headed bug-eyed not quite human creature, or other assorted humanoids who may have conventional names or may just go by the moniker New Guy.
His daily sketches can make me laugh out loud, frown, wince, and even made my partner point them, then to me and say things like “oh my God, you do that.” Kochalka captures the magic of secret obsessions, bizarre behavior most of us would never own up to in public, and other assorted embarassments, peeves, and desires. If you have a cat, I guarantee you will recognize elements of the pet-human relationship in the strips about Spandy.
The visual style of the strip is casual, with not-perfect box panels and and a mix of all caps and regular print lettering. Kochalka’s art uses thick fluid lines and everything is printed in black and white, with no shades of gray. It is a comfortable, welcoming style.
I bought all three volumes at Mocca, from James himself. He signed them for me, even drew a little sketch of Magic Boy saying hello to me by name. He was quite nice, and I managed not to swallow my tongue in the few minutes I talked to him. There is something satisfying in buying the output of creative work right from the maker of it, and being able to shake his hand. I guess he meets lots of nervous fans at these things, so he was easy going while I was trying not to have a heart attack.
I’ve only finished the first volume, because I am resisting the temptation to devour them all at once. I really enjoyed volume one, and I expect two and three will only get better. Highly recommended.
Note: portions of this review also appeared at Four Color Hell.
