“You start to feel very weighted down sometimes.”

There were points at which I was trying to use my art to reflect positively on myself, to almost be flirtatious through the work.

That partially due to the world of media and commerce, the idea of a comic book has been lost in the ghetto.

But not the kind of comics that they were used to, and no, it’s not pornography, etc.

Look, there’s no denying that comics have moved dramatically into the mainstream in North American culture in the last 10 years.

I never go home and take out those business cards and go to those websites.

But if there was a mini-comic here in my hand, I’d read it while I ate my lunch.

I wanted to avoid doing what I thought people wanted me to do.

The idea of trying to make the effort to produce something, to put something out into the world, rather than just taking in all the stuff the world’s putting out at you.

I do think it’s getting more and more rare in this country to raise a kid with the attitude that creativity is something valuable.

And I do think it’s sort of too bad that what once was a safe haven for truly eccentric, outsider artists is no longer that thing.

Just in terms of being able to be a professional artist, but also it’s nice to not have to dread introductions.

I think there’s a lot of evolution that’s happened in intangible ways, in terms of how I think about the work or how I plan it out.

Either thought balloons or narrations or some sort of showy action, then those thoughts and realizations never existed.

There’s been a lot of progress recently. And I shouldn’t make a definitive statement about this.

The experience of reading a comic should not be the time it takes to turn each page.

When email and the Internet came along, I never publish an email address. I just stuck with this P.O. Box address.

We should never compare what we are with what we could be, because we will always be down on ourselves when we do this.

I actually dress up more in my home than I do walking down the street just because it is so much fun to play dress up.

I think people relate to me because of the ups and downs I have had. I mean, I’ve shared a lot of strong emotions in my life, that I think maybe ’cause they believe I’m not scared to tell everybody I’m a human being.

I grew up in that age, and it was memorable. But I’m down with all of it. Chuck D or Danny Brown? I feel comfortable with all of them. Word up, kid! Word up, man!

I’m back – now watch this!’ It all boils down to the music. The mask is a slight theme for people to enjoy, and it adds mystery.

They are just 100 per cent bear, whereas human beings feel we’re not 100 per cent human, that we’re always letting ourselves down. We’re constantly striving towards something, to some fulfilment.

I like to think of myself at home in the armchair, writing, smoking and occasionally wandering down the shop.

I spent 35 years growing up in the U.S., and it had its ups and downs.