We discussed the series directly with the author, uncovering some interesting facts about ToothyBJ, including his biggest influences from the worlds of comics and comedy. "I love comics. I grew up on a healthy diet of Hergé and Quino; truly masters of the craft. But I ended up doing webcomics, which is the comic equivalent of doing crack. My drug lord inspirations are ExtraFabulous, Mr. Lovenstein, Perry Bible Fellowship, and the most important of them all, Ai Uehara."
The cartoonist explained that his comics are intentionally far from relatable, as he feels this style of humor has been “done to death.” Instead, ToothyBJ describes his work as grounded in absurdism. “It’s amazing and comes out of nowhere. There’s no recipe for it, but maybe I can offer a piece of advice: always take notes, you won’t remember it later. I’m genuinely concerned that my memory is this bad. If I don’t write something down, it’s gone.”
The artist told us: “I think I already have said this: A good comic tries to surprise you one way or the other, take this and run with it.” He added that comic artists should avoid the common mistake of creating yet another self-insert comic, summarizing, “Don’t be that self-centered.”
Finally, ToothyBJ emphasized that the community is a crucial aspect of being a comic artist: “You know how nice it is when you tell a joke among friends and make a whole room laugh, now take that to the extreme. It's a rush, but it is earned, so it forever keeps you on your toes, and that, I would say, is my motivation. To keep earning people's laughs.”
