MEET JAY ALLEN
(aka J. Alan Wall)

Interview by Ariel Bouvier for the Villager Voice Magazine, Clemmons NC, November 2009 issue. Reproduced here by the kind permission of the Villager Voice Magazine

AB: How long have you been working as a cartoonist?

JAW: I'd like to say I've been doing it full-time successfully for 25 years or so, but I can't. In fact, I was pretty much out of cartooning for most of the 1990s after I lost my position as editorial cartoonist for the Kernersville News. I got back into it on a part-time basis around 2000 when I started my website, JAWTOONS.com. I would like to be doing this full-time, but there has not been a lot of opportunities for me to make any money with it, and I have this thing about eating and drinking soda. More recently, a Triad publication called The Salem Star began running my cartoons on a regular basis several months ago, which is the first time in some years that my stuff has appeared in print in my native Triad, or anywhere else for that matter.

AB: When did you discover your interest in art?

JAW: The late Al Capp, creator of Li'l Abner, once remarked "You must have two qualities to be a successful cartoonist. First, it helps to have been dropped on your head as a small child. Second, you must have no desire, talent, or ability to do anything useful in life." Well, if Mom falling down a flight of stairs while carrying me in the womb means anything (as she had told me at least once), then my destiny as a cartoonist was decided early on. I think it had to have been, for I was doodling in books and all over the walls at home before I even started elementary school.

AB: What is your muse?

JAW: Though I myself am not a church-goer, I believe my ultimate muse is God Almighty, the One who granted me my talent. Of course, I've also derived some inspiration from the numerous comic artists I've followed over the years, most notably the late Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts, and Blondie's creator, the late Chic Young.

AB: Who is your favorite cartoonist and why?

JAW: I would have to say the late Chic Young, creator of the Blondie comic strip, for I've always loved the character of Dagwood Bumstead. He was my main influence as far as my style of drawing. I also admire John Severin, the great Marvel Comics artist and long-time contributor to the now-defunct Cracked Mazagine. If I could only draw as great as he does.

AB: What advice would you give to an aspiring cartoonist?

JAW: Though it's much tougher to get a newspaper syndicate to take on a new comic now than it was a few decades ago, I'd say to him or her, "Go For It!", if the desire is really strong. Of course, they will need to acquire whatever art instruction they can possibly get and to study all the various comics and cartoonists of the past as well as the present. And finally, unless God wills that you have a successful comic, don't quit your day (or, in my case, night) job. Also, creating your own website may help as well.

AB: What is one thing that people don't know about you?

JAW: Because I'm one that pretty much keeps to himself, there are a number of things. One such thing I've enjoyed since my teenage years is the popular music of the 1920s and 1930s. I first discovered this genre back in high school, but I told very few of my classmates about it. For years I was an avid collector of 78 RPM records from that era. I still enjoy this music tremendously, for I have it playing when I'm on my job and when I'm travelling.

AB: What do you like to do when you are not drawing?

JAW: I enjoy surfing the Internet and listening to MP3 music. I also watch some TV, though not as much as I once did (I do create as well as watch DVDs). I enjoy a little travel, but I've not been able to do as much of that as I would desire, due to various factors.