Interview with artist Al Columbia about his new book ‘Pim & Francie’

Here is an interview with Al Columbia from ‘The Daily Cross Hatch’ http://thedailycrosshatch.com/

So, what really happened to Al Columbia? Simple, really—he created some comics, for Fantagraphics, did illustration work for the likes of The New York Times, collaborated on with folks like Archer Prewitt, recorded some music, and did design work on The Postal Service’s 2003 debut, Give Up. Oh, and he also recently launched a Website, just in case you’re have some trouble keeping track of all that.

Al Columbia has kept fairly busy for the past two decades, though many people seemingly have some difficulty accepting this fact, judging from the enigmatic air that seems to surround his works in the online community. Maybe it’s dark nature of much of his work—evidenced most recently by the strips that comprise his new book, Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days. Perhaps it’s the artist’s self-describe concentration problem, which has hampered his ambitions of creating longer works.

Columbia can’t say for sure how the notion initially arose, though he’s more than happy to discuss the subject—and nearly anything else, for that matter, including his music, meditation, and his thoughts on Top Shelf’s upcoming re-release of Eddie Campbell’s Alec stories.

Are you doing a lot of interviews, these days?

I did one, but not really. But I guess I’ll do them as they come. Not yet, anyway.

Are people not really asking, yet? Or are you choosy?

I think it’s more a case of your being only the second person to e-mail me. I guess it’s the early stages of it.

Do you think people might consider you difficult to approach about some things?

Possibly, yeah, because I don’t really get asked to do a lot of these. I never really have, either. Which I guess could either be a good or bad thing. I don’t really know. I’ve noticed that. I don’t really understand why, but I think people might have a difficulty approaching me, sure.

There was that whole long running thread on The Comics Journal message board—you seem to almost have this air of mystery about you, at least on Internet.

[Laughs] Yeah, sure. I’ve heard people say that. I’m not sure why. It’s a big mystery to me.