A Little Q&A

BorgFan posted a few questions awhile back:

Q. Jim, what are some of your favorite things to draw?

A. People. Big doughy ones, particularly, such as I grew up among in Price Hill. Disheveled homes with stacks of magazines on the end tables and kids banging on pianos. Teenagers in someone else's clothes. Big mammals. Waitresses at Big Boy. Dinosaurs and baseball players. People with their mouths wide open. Hectic family life. Big guys in tight spaces. Dogs posing as humans. Literary figures. Backs of heads. Kids jumping on each other. People carrying laundry baskets. Giant planets splitting in half. People disappearing into a time warp.

I hate drawing cats and trains and anything seriously architectural.

Q. Why do you tape your drawing paper to your board when you draw?

A. I like drawing into a stiff wind.

Q. Do you have assistants? What do they do for you?

A. Tons of assistants. Several stay busy just burning old roughs. Another's sole assignment is to contact the target of the next day's cartoon to be sure they have the proper sedatives on hand. One assistant had collagen injections just so she could bring the tip of my brushes to a perfect point. I hardly know what to do with all the help around here.