Interview by Rachel Gottesman

Howdy and a round of applause to you, sir, for being printed yet again. And a 12-club no less, meaning your artwork is now that much more exclusive.

Why hello! Yeah, I'm super excited to have a 12-club tee, and am really looking forward to having that particular design print!

Tell us about how you got started in comics and why it continues to be a fulfilling medium for you.

I've read comic books for the majority of my life, and started getting really engaged with the idea of creating comic books when I delved into more serious indie comics like Maus, Optic Nerve, and Jimmy Corrigan the Smartest Kid on Earth.



Once I got over the fear of making a completed comic book, in the last year as a student at CSULB working on my BFA, I decided to create a comic called NUMB, and submitted it for the Xeric Grant, and wound up winning. That was really my start in the comics world. Since that first comic, I've made a few mini comics, as well as a few shorts for anthologies. I've also been working on a full color graphic novel for NBM publishing titled Jacob's Apartment, which is now 2/3 complete.

As for why it's a fulfilling medium, I love the blending of image and text to tell a story. I like that with comics you have a control over timing in a story that's requires participation of the reader and creator. I love that indie comics are one of the only mediums of story telling where the creator does everything. Writing, drawing, inking, lettering, and coloring. It's a complete one man show. That is super appealing to me, and keeps it fulfilling.



When and how did you make the connection that awesome comics could also be awesome tees?

I've realized the more and more I get into doing t-shirt design, that the best way to design a shirt is to try to design a t-shirt that I would actually wear, or find cool. Chances are, if I would wear it, there's people who will also connect to it, who probably like a lot of the same things as I do.



I kept wishing there were t-shirts that also functioned as comics, because I love the aesthetic of the comic book, and it seems like another medium of print that comics should ideally go hand in hand with. Both are realms of pop culture, and tend to be a bit subversive in content. I wanted to merge the two!

Which is your most favorite comic book character of all time?
It's a toss up between Ignatz from George Herriman's Krazy Kat or Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan. For super hero stuffs, I definitely was a Spiderman kid.



If you only had a choice between living underwater or living in outer space for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

Probably in Space. Planets fascinate me. Although I'm pretty obsessed with Colossal Squids, so underwater is a high temptation.

Tell us about your best Halloween costume.

Okay, my best costume would have to have been the black knight from Monty Pithon's Flying Circus. It had a removable arm and everything. Pretty sweet stuff!

If there's anything else you'd like to add, now's your chance!

Thanks to everyone in the Threadless community who's voted on my designs, commented, or bought my shirts. It's always a pleasure to have prints on this site!



Check out my website/read my comics here: www.joshuakemble.com

I do a podcast about freelance illustration/and cartooning here: www.illustrationparty.blogspot.com

Thanks for chatting!

You're welcome, it's always awesome to talk to any Threadless folks. You guys have been really good to me :)



Interview by Rachel Gottesman

Read more interviews!