John Porcellino
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John Porcellino is a popular creator of minicomics. Porcellino's self-published, photocopied, mostly autobiographical series King-Cat Comics is among the best known and longest running minicomics produced today, begun when Porcellino was a teenager and still going strong. Porcellino's work consists of very simple line drawings, usually without any attempts at shading or anatomical realism, but his style has been highly influential on a generation of alternative comics creators, notably the Fort Thunder group. Content-wise Porcellino's work has evolved considerably over the years: through the mid-'90s his comics were much more angry and humorous, with a punk rock sensibility. A popular, ongoing feature was "Trail Watch", where Porcellino affectionately criticized the various drawing and story peculiarities in the syndicated Mark Trail comic strip. Porcellino also did an entire issue chronicling his (fictional) romantic relationship with Madonna, and did a series of strips following the adventures of Racky Racoon, a slacker-ish animal who works at a series of dead-end jobs and likes to get drunk. But mixed in with these stories there were always more quiet, melancholy or philosophical stories, and as the years went on these stories increasingly took over the book. Porcellino developed a strong interest in zen, and he began creating very zen-like stories reflecting on the transient nature of life and sometimes recounting tales of various zen masters or illustrating ancient zen koans. These stories alienated Porcellino's old fans who had enjoyed the humorous elements of his work, but they won him a new audience.
For several years Porcellino had his own music and comics distribution company, Grinding Wheels Enterprises (evolving later into Spit and a Half), but he eventually abandoned it and went back to just publishing his own work. In the '90s Porcellino did some stories about his struggles to find a publisher for his work, and reprinted several of the rejection letters that criticized his drawing skills. He was briefly in negotiations to do an entire Trail Watch book, but that project fell through. Porcellino still mostly publishes himself, although now this is apparently mostly by choice. In recent years other publishers have been publishing his work, including the graphic novel Perfect Example, chronicling his teenage struggles with depression. La Mano, Zak Sally's publishing venture, released Porcellino's Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man, collecting various King-Cat stories about Porcellino's experiences as a pest control worker. The book won an Ignatz Award at the 2005 Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD.
[edit] Trivia
- The title of King-Cat comes from a beat poem Porcellino reprinted in one issue. In the poem, Jesus Christ is referred to as the "king cat".
- Porcellino suffered serious, long-term and potentially dangerous stomach problems in the late '90s, a development that led to his increased interest in zen.
- In his work Porcellino has frequently mentioned having a third testicle, although sometimes he seems to be joking and sometimes he seems quite serious. When questioned directly, he usually responds that he has something that's not quite a third testicle, but declines to elaborate.
- Porcellino makes several cameo appearances in Julie Doucet's Dirty Plotte comics, perhaps most notably in a dream strip where they discuss getting married so she can keep her citizenship.
