BIOGRAPHY:

James Kochalka (1968- ) is a unique and prolific cartoonist with a deceptively simple art style. His work is under-pinned by a philosophical yet whimsical attitude. His stories are often autobiographical and he draws himself as a happy elf named Magic Boy. He married his wife Amy in 1995 and they live with their cat, Spandy, in Burlington, Vermont, USA .

Interviews:
Comic Book Resources (2005)
The Comics Reporter (2005)
Comic Book Galaxy (2004)
The Onion (2004)
Mars Import (2002)
Winter Mittens (2003)
Kochalkaholic (2000)
More Kochalka interviews here>>

Resources:
American Elf.com
Kochalkaholic Blog Spot

Reviews:
Time.com: Sketchbook Diaries

American Elf: Collected Sketchbook Diaries
Top Shelf, 2004
Since 1998, James Kochalka has kept a daily diary in comic strip form with the desire to explore the rhythm of daily life and to become more conscious of what it really means to live. Sleeping, eating, thinking, talking - day in, day out. The Sketchbook Diaries are a grand masterpiece created from the little nothings of everyday life. They are a hypnotic and compelling look into the life of a Magic Elf Boy.

"...the best ideas seem so clearly obvious, that people find it nearly impossible to imagine that they were actually invented by someone, like collage (invented by Picasso) the mobile (invented by Alexander Calder) and the daily diary comic strip (invented by Kochalka)."
James Kochalka

Monkey vs Robot
Top Shelf, 2000
A factory of self replicating robots is stripping the jungle of its natural resources, threatening the territory of a colony of nearby monkeys. A series of encounters between the two groups quickly escalates in to all out war. Behind the explosive action and eye-catching graphics lies a stirring examination of the dual between technology and nature. A modern day fable for all ages.

"Each new Kochalka book is like the proverbial onion; new layers are peeled away revealing greater depths to his deceptively simple world. Monkey vs Robot is another piece of that onion skin - it charms, delights and surprises."
Seth

Cute Manifesto
Alternative Comics, 2005
In a powerful mix of philosophy and comics, James Kochalka tackles all the big issues - comics and art, birth and death, technology and joy, and everything in-between. Cute Manifesto collects The Horrible Truth About Comics, Reinventing Everything Parts 1 & 2, Sunburn and even his famous 'Craft Is The Enemy' letters to The Comics Journal.

"It charts a theoretical path to happiness and to greatness. It will help turn the doubtful young cartoonist into a surging genius. My plan was to write about art and how it relates to my life. A mix of theory and philosophy... and comics. Then I realised that any philosophy that doesn't deal with the problem of human unhappiness is pretty useless."
James Kochalka

Cute Manifesto (2005)
American Elf: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries (2004)
Top Shelf Conversations #1 (2004) with Craig Thompson
Peanutbutter & Jeremy's Best Book Ever (2004)
Fancy Froglin's Sexy Forest (2003)
Magic Boy & The Robot Elf (2003)
Monkey vs Robot & The Crystal Of Power (2003)
Pinky & Stinky (2002)
Fantastic Butterflies (2002)
Sketchbook Diaries #1-4 (2001-2004)
Tiny Bubbles (2001)
Kissers (2001)
Monkey vs Robot (2000)
The Perfect Planet & Other Stories (1999)
The Horrible Truth About Comics (1999)
Quit Your Job (1998)
Magic Boy & Girl Friend (1998)