ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS: Jon Michael Lennon

Jon M. Lennon is the lunatic behind PRODUCT OF SOCIETY and the star of Matt Zingale’s documentary of the same title. Easily the most offensive artist you’ll find at any convention’s Artists Alley, he is a major force in indie comics.

ME: Your work has taken a new direction of late. What broke you out of your regular style and propelled you into this new transgressive style?

JML: Real life happened. I was shocked out of stagnation and complacency by a sudden, unexpected confrontation with my own mortality. In February 2013 I spent three days in the hospital with pancreatitis. A week later I fell in love with a woman who had no interest in me. These two events sent me on a new course that altered my life, art and future. I gave up fast food and pop and started exercising. The woman I was obsessed with was also an artist, so I started pushing myself to make better art to impress her. I eventually lost over a hundred pounds and was rejected by the woman who had been such a motivator for me. As an unexpected consequence of the weight loss more women began showing interest in me but I hadn’t really dated anyone for five years so I found myself unable to deal properly with normal dating experiences. As the physical changes and emotional trauma piled up inside of me I constantly worked on new art. I pushed my style and technique in ways I had never attempted before as the content of the pieces became darker and progressively nightmarish. The dust has still not settled on 2013 for me but what is clear is that I am physically and mentally healthier and I am more satisfied and excited about the artwork I am creating than I have been in years.

Jon can be found here. Be sure to buy his work here. Follow him on Twitter here.

C2E2 2013 REVIEW: PRODUCT OF SOCIETY #6

[DEPT. OF FULL DISCLOSURE:  I know Jon Lennon, Leo Perez, and Josh Filer, and I consider them friends.  That said, I do not give out favorable reviews due to bias.  Luckily, I’ve never had to trash a friend yet.  I think that’s because I’m really good at meeting and befriending talented people.]

This is it.  After years of tormenting Chicago conventions, PRODUCT OF SOCIETY has reached the end.  This is the last issue.  Creator Jon Lennon has been at this since 2007, and now he’s ready to move on to new projects.  Does he go out on a high note?

As with the last few issues, this one is an anthology, a primer for anyone who wants to peruse Artists Alley.  He starts this one out with a story written and illustrated by him called “At a Trailer Park.”  A bunch of rednecks hang out in a trailer park as one of them boasts that he finally got his chick pregnant.  The baby, sadly, looks like a flipper-handed alien.  Oh yeah, and Jesus is hovering around over this guy’s trailer, and He is pissed.  As usual, Lennon is grotesque and offensive as all hell, and he comes armed with awesome lines like, “My grandma taught me to fuck like a stoned giraffe,” and “He shit out a black hole!”  Where can you go wrong?

Next up is Josh Filer’s “Boar Semen Extender,” which was reviewed here.

The third story is Leo Perez’s “The Hidden Truth,” about a spaceman in the future who discovers that L. Ron Hubbard—sorry, El-Ron—is still alive.  He’s been feeding off Thetans and living on the outskirts of Venus, where his head as gotten really fucking large.  Of course, the spaceman has a plan . . . .  Seriously, you can’t go wrong with a story that not just makes fun of Scientology, but also tears it to pieces.

The fourth story is “Consume,” written and illustrated by Thor Fjalarsson.  It’s a rather unsettling story about how corporations ruthlessly use their employees.  A boss calls one of his employees into his office not to fire him, but, well, read the story and see for yourself.  That last page is fucking intense.

“Alien-Zombie-Vampires . . . from CANADA!!!” is probably the weakest story in the book.  Written and illustrated by Ray Wegner, it tells of the Canadian invasion of America, in particular Chicago.  It would seem that Canadian scientists managed to put together a hybrid of the three titular monsters, which they used to take down Chicago.  The problem is, this isn’t much of a story.  It seems like a prologue to something bigger.  The art’s pretty cool, though.

The last story, “Ailment,” is written by Lennon and illustrated by Alexis Moulds.  It seems to be about the deconstruction of beauty.  Surely, those who read Lennon’s work aren’t used to cute deer, birds, and squirrels in his work, but never fear.  It doesn’t last long.  A young girl frolics in the forest with her woodland creatures, but something is amiss.  What happens is brutal and gorgeous.  Check out that last panel.  It’s the perfect way to end the final book in the series.

Be sure to check out PRODUCT OF SOCIETY #6.  Lennon says maybe someday the title will come back in a much different form, but for now, this is the end of one of the finest series Artists Alley has produced.  Buy it before it goes out of print.

PRODUCT OF SOCIETY #6

Written and illustrated by various artists

Published by CheeseLord Comics

24 pages

$3.99

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON C2E2 2011

Geeks: you’ve been doing pretty well for yourselves in the pussy department. It used to be for every skinny, pimpled bastard, there was a mega-ton she-thing on his arm. Now, you’re swimming in quality pussy. Keep up the good work. Addendum: there are also far too many underage girls wearing next to nothing. Stop! Your time will come.



Is it just me, or is it getting too easy to put together a storm trooper costume? The same goes for you, Ghostbusters. If it’s too easy, it’s too common. If it’s too common, it’s not fun anymore. Speaking of which, I’m glad to say I only saw TWO Jokers this year. And ONE Captain Jack Sparrow. But that’s too easy, too. If you’re locked into this cosplay thing, then at least make it interesting for the rest of us.


Quidditch players: too easy. I’d mercilessly give you shit, but everyone else already does this for me. The thing that makes Quidditch cool is flying around on broomsticks. Reality: broomsticks don’t fly, so pretending to play Quidditch is LAME. This goes for you, too, lightsaber duelers. If there isn’t the danger of you losing a limb, it’s not cool.


Listen up assholes! Brian Azzarello is the best American comics writer working in the business today! Get in line to meet him, fer Christ’s sake! I’ll gladly make the sacrifice and wait. Let’s make this happen for Wizard World 2011, or whatever the fuck they’re going to call it.


My biggest regret of C2E2: not hanging out with Jon Lennon on Saturday. I was too busy running around, going to panels and meeting writers and artists. Granted, it was all for you (and for me and my books that needed signing), but at the same time, Jon was there all day, hanging around with Leo and Cliff, and I only got to see him at the end of the day, when he was exhausted and ready to go home.


Listen, all the mad, crazy bullshit aside, Jon’s a great guy. He gives out free books, and he’s super nice, and all he wants to do is get people to read and admire his art. He got a raw deal when he tried to get into artist alley. Since he didn’t have a website up, they wouldn’t let him get a table. What did he do? He showed up anyway and pimped his book by handing out free samples. The card below is what he was giving out. I don’t think he’ll be angry with me for posting it here (since he was giving them away to sell his book; check out the website below the comic), but you guys need to get out there and pick up PRODUCT OF SOCIETY. Remember, you’re about to read the work of a CANCER SURVIVOR.

Ah. And with that, I’m going on blog vacation. There are a couple of reviews in the can, but after that, nothing for at least a month. Or maybe until I’m ready to start posting the DUI Diary, which might be sooner than you think . . . .

JON: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL ARTIST: A review of PRODUCT OF SOCIETY [THE FILM]

According to a high school career placement test, comic book writer/illustrator Jon Michael Lennon should have been a farmer. Thankfully, he said, “Fuck that,” and went to work on PRODUCT OF SOCIETY instead. If he hadn’t, who would have filled in the vacuum of such an artist of questionable taste?



Matthew Zingale, working toward a Masters degree, directed and edited PRODUCT OF SOCIETY [THE FILM], a look at Lennon’s life, art, and opinions, and he couldn’t have picked a better subject. In fact, he revels in Lennon, trying to reinforce the offensive ideas of the PRODUCT OF SOCIETY comics by trying to make the viewer as uncomfortable as possible. For example, Zingale leaves things in that other documentarians would edited out, like whenever Lennon coughs or pauses or loses his train of thought. There is even a scene when someone knocks on Lennon’s door, and they stop filming for him to see who it is. There are awkward silences and unsettling close-ups. This isn’t cleaned up and prettified for easy consumption; this is LIFE.

Lennon’s love of comics started with superhero books. To this day, he’s still got a thing for Supergirl (as evidenced in a scene where he holds a mini-bust of her, rubbing a finger all over her surface . . . ALL OVER). However, everything changed when he encountered books like PREACHER and JOHNNY THE HOMICIDAL MANIAC. With these two titles, he learned that comics don’t just have to be about superheroes; they can be about anything.


Armed with this knowledge, he starts making his own comic books. He says at one point that he got into this field to “draw and get laid.” Some people might find issue with his subject matter, but to his credit, he tried to do something a bit cleaner by illustrating a children’s book. He quit, though. “I have no wholesomeness in me because my soul is black.”


He is full of self deprecating moments like this. As he works on something with the TV playing in the background, he makes it a point to talk about how alone he is. He lives on his own with only a cat for a companion. Then, later he confesses to smoking too much. “No one said suicide had to be quick and easy,” he says.


He is clearly an angry man. Even though he tries to keep politics out of his work, he readily admits to being an anarchist. He makes sure everyone knows that he doesn’t play the Democrat vs. Republican game because “everybody sucks.” He says that our society is so bad off that it needs to be torn down and built anew, and considering how many people he’s killed in PRODUCT OF SOCIETY, this attitude definitely comes out in his work.


“I close my eyes and that’s the madness that comes out.” Too true.


Is Lennon flawed? Yes, but then again, so is every man. Lennon is more than just a man; despite his locksmithing day job, he is above all else an independent artist, and this is especially highlighted during the second half of this film, which takes place at Wizard World Chicago.


Lennon sits at his table, trying his best to sell his product to adults (and to avoid children whenever possible). But what happens? Not many people buy, which is the sad song of the independent artist. Granted, when all is said and done, he sells more books than he thought he would, but it’s still not enough to compete with even a small comic book company. He doesn’t break even on his work, much less make a profit. He pays Kinkos a shitload of money to print them up, not to mention whatever he spent to get into WWC, and he doesn’t even come close to making his money back.


Yet on the first day, he gives out copies of his book to his companions in Artist Alley. He gives a free book to prospective customers in the hopes that they’ll come back later and buy something. He says at the end of the film that he will keep doing this, so long as he has the money to continue printing the books.

From a business perspective, the man is insane. But he’s an artist. He arts again and again and again. He will continue to art as long as he’s alive, because this is something he loves. This is where his heart is, and that, too, shows in his work.


So the next time you’re in Artist Alley and you see Jon Lennon, stop by and say hi. That money you were going to use to pay some dipshit who has never worked for DC to draw Catwoman sucking Batman’s dick? Spend it on PRODUCT OF SOCIETY instead. You’ll save money, and you’ll save yourself from a stagnant intellectual life. More importantly, you’ll save Lennon by putting food on his table and allowing him to art again.

PRODUCT OF SOCIETY [THE FILM]
Directed by Matt Zingale
Produced by 13:26
80 minutes

[DISCLAIMER: In the interests of full disclosure, I should mention that Jon and I have been friends for several years, and in the near future, the new issue of PRODUCT OF SOCIETY will contain a story based on an event from my own life (adapted and illustrated by Leo Perez). One of my TABARD INN bumper stickers (CHOOSE DEATH) even shows up in this film. And though it was not used in the movie, Matt shot footage of me interviewing Jon at WWC. I can, in all honesty and objectivity, say that I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. If it sucked, I’d have said so, and I’d have stated my reasons as to why. Then again, I don’t see how I could have NOT liked it. Jon and I have the same weird questionable taste, which is what brought us together in the first place. This movie works because it’s the unadulterated truth. Nothing is glossed over. Jon isn’t afraid to show us how he lives, and Matt isn’t afraid to film it. Do you want to know how it is to be an independent artist? Check out PRODUCT OF SOCIETY [THE FILM], and you won’t be disappointed. You’ll also find out why I used the word “art” so strangely at the end of this review.]

WIZARD WORLD INTERVIEWS PART ONE

Welcome to Wizard World Interview Week! Yes, I've finally transcribed everything for your reading pleasure! I was going to release one interview a day, but then I realized that this is a short week. In light of this, I have decided to kick off with TWO, count 'em, TWO interviews! Enjoy, and be sure to support the small press! Buy their work!

First off, here is my interview with Jon Michael Lennon, writer and illustrator of PRODUCT OF SOCIETY . . . .



John Bruni: How long have you been in the business?

Jon Michael Lennon: Zero years. I am not in any business. No, I’ve been making my own comic books for four years.

JB: What inspired you to publish your own comics?

JML: I always wanted to, and I publish my own because it’s hard, as anyone can tell you, to break into the actual business even with small publishing houses. You always submit stuff, and you get nothing back. After time, a lot of people are like, “Oh, they don’t want me, so I’ll just keep trying, or I’ll give up.” Well, I got a Visa with a high limit. Sure, the debt keeps getting higher, but I’ll pay off a little bit every year. The goal is to someday, maybe not have to pay a printer. Until then . . . you know.

JB: You’ve been around Artists Alley a while now. How has it treated you?

JML: It all depends on the person. I sold a couple of books today, which is better than zero. It’s tough because not everyone is my target audience. You guys are probably more my target audience because you’re younger, you have a sense of humor. A lot of people walking around are old, they got Wolverine shirts, they have no interest in dolphins having sex with chicks. The way it’s treated me? It’s all a matter of positivity. I’m not the most financially successful at this, but I try, and that’s all that matters. I’m lucky to be in the position to be able to do that.

JB: Is it hard marketing your stuff, considering the mature content?

JML: Maybe it kind of screens my audience a tad. At the same time, I don’t have the ability to do anything wholesome. I’ve tried. If the word “fuck” isn’t in my work, I don’t like it. It’s just what I do. Think of Adult Swim. I know they’re not saying fuck, but that kind of humor, there’s an audience for that kind of stuff. Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Vertigo, I mean, they’re a bit more high class than me, but that kind of stuff? That’s my audience. It’s a very small audience, and I’m one guy, so it’s tough. But I keep going and going, and hopefully someday, something will happen. I’m doing this, no matter what, so I might as well make a few bucks off of it.

JB: Speaking of a weird audience, has it been cool to you, or does it get too weird?

JML: Too weird? Not so far, yet. It’s only Friday morning. Most people have been nice to me. They’ve either bought my comics and have been nice, or they’ve looked at me with disdain and spat on the table. Well, not that last part, but there is a chain of comic book stores in Chicago called Graham Crackers, and I know the manager of the store I go to, so I got him to carry the first book I did. And then, some kid bought it and the mother came back, quite irate. There was some guy shooting up semen into his vein to get high off it, or whatever the hell I was writing about. They had to pull it off the shelves. I don’t see the problem. They’re weak, man. Gotta’ be strong.

JB: Considering things like the anti-smoking killer, the stoner-thief having a demon come out of his asshole—-

JML: It’s funny, man. You’ve got notes and everything.

JB: Dare I say that there might be some moral content to your work? In spite of having, you know, government agents drinking poop from a glass?

JML: Wait, what’s the question? Well, of course. It’s all about accepting the Lord Jesus—-no, I’m just trying to make people laugh. If I had to say what my comics are really about, well, it’s gay-sounding, but I’m just trying to say life is funny, and we should all laugh at the worst possible things we can think of. We’re all going to die, so chill out. I don’t think there’s much more of a moral than that. I don’t have anyone getting raped, so I’m against rape.

JB: That’s good.

JML: Especially man-on-man. I don’t know, I’m no creature, man. I just want to make people laugh and spread my disease to the world with whatever comes out of my brain. This book here has the return of the Cyborg Dolphin, but the story I did in the back is really fucking dark. There’s a baby in the womb giving the middle finger, necro-bestiality, man-on-man rape. Well, you don’t see the rape, but it’s implied. This guy, he finds the Lord, and he reads the Bible and the Qua'ran 2-in-1, and he gets out of prison and celebrates by getting a prostitute who bites his dick off. So, those are lessons. Like, check out your prostitute first. Thoroughly.

JB: That said, would you consider any subject taboo?

JML: Jeez, man. I’m not a bad guy. I’m not a freak. I don’t think child molestation is funny. But besides that, what else can you say? For instance, I had a buddy who was doing the cover for PRODUCT OF SOCIETY #3, and it didn’t work out because he drew a woman in a straight jacket, just like we’d talked about. But when he gave it to me, besides being a bad painting, you could see her pussy, dude. I can’t have a pussy on the cover of my comic book. Are you fucking crazy? They’re going to kick me out of here. The only taboo is stuff that’s not funny. I got a lot about terrorists and stuff. Hell, I don’t know. If I could find a way to make child molestation funny, I’d probably write about it.

JB: What’s next for you?

JML: I’m still working on PRODUCT OF SOCIETY, but I’m kind of stressed out with it. The Cyborg Dolphin story has to be continued. After I finish this up, I’m going to start work on some paintings because I feel like I’m kind of stagnating with my cartoony style. I have the ability to do better art, so I want to take a break and do some interesting pieces like this series of paintings I’ve been thinking about. It’s still going to be dark and fucked up, but it’ll just be better art. I have some interest in doing computer animation, just to make some cartoons and put them up on YouTube. Otherwise, I’ll continue to do this kind of thing, society will live on, and that’s about it.


Interview the Second: Kurt Dinse, writer and illustrator of ONE YEAR IN INDIANA . . . .



John Bruni: How long have you been in the business?

Kurt Dinse: I’ve never really been in the business, but I’ve been making comics for about five years, maybe six.

JB: I’ve seen you a lot in Artists Alley. How has Artists Alley treated you over the years?

KD: Pretty good. It’s kind of a different vibe from the rest of the convention because people who usually come through here are here for a specific reason. They’re not here to buy a toy. They’re looking for something they’ve never seen before. Maybe some guys come through here asking you for a picture of Wolverine or something but most say, “Hey, here’s something I’ve never seen before.” So generally, it’s treated me pretty good.

JB: I’ve seen you at C2E2 as well. What do you think the difference is between the shows?

KD: You know, it’s kind of funny. I’ve been talking about that with everyone who comes through here. I found out that people are either bitching about this show, or they're bitching about C2E2. They want this show to be more like C2E2. The only thing I didn’t really like about C2E2 was that, I live around here, and it still is a pain in the ass to get to [McCormick Place]. But the thing about it was, there were windows. There was sunlight, and I could see the city, so it’s kind of a double-edged sword. I wish both companies would treat the artists a little better as far as having ridiculous table prices. I mean, I know they have to cover the prices and costs and stuff, but you’re not really helping anybody by thinning out their art pool. So, I kind of like them both for different reasons. This is a really big artists area as compared to C2E2, but C2E2 had a lot of really good artists over there. Sorry, I’m about as waffley as you can get.

JB: So, how much of ONE YEAR IN INDIANA is based on fact?

KD: More than you’d think. A lot of them are based on fact. Really, quite a bit of them.

JB: Even the one about the jam bands?

KD: Yes.

JB: What is your favorite metal? I see you’re wearing a Motorhead shirt.

KD: I grew up with a lot of the old school stuff. That’s what the character always wears. The shirts of all those good bands. That was the stuff I listened to back then. For a while, I listened to punk, then I came back to metal. Stoner kind of metal, or whatever they call it. I like the super heavy aggressive stuff. I like Mastodon a lot. I guess they’re kind of proggy, but it’s good, it’s different. I have a certain love for super noisy crap, like Relapse and stuff like that.

Cliff Breaux: Dillinger Escape Plan?

KD: Yeah, stuff like that. Have you ever heard them do Soundgarden’s “Spoonman?”

CB: No, I haven’t.

KD: It sounds exactly like the record. They didn’t change it much at all, and you’d think that band would freak that song out. I have an interest, not musically, in a lot of black metal. It fascinates me. It’s a fascinating culture. The music’s okay. It’s not that it’s not too fast, it’s just not heavy enough.

JB: As far as your art goes, what would you say are your biggest influences?

KD: There’s a ton. I started getting into a lot of guys from the Seventies in the past couple of years, like CREEPY and HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE. Corbin’s a big one. Started getting into Moebius a lot. That’s because their styles are so different. I grew up on John Byrne and all those cats. Really, all the different guys were all doing this weird Seventies stuff, the super-thick lines and all sorts of good stuff. That kind of era really influenced me.

JB: What’s next for you?

KD: I have a new book out, my first spin off of ONE YEAR IN INDIANA called TALES FROM THE FRATHOUSE. There are three, four little stories not based on fact at all. Well, maybe a smidgen. They’re just about frathouses, and I’ve always thought that they’re ripe for parody. But I hope to collect everything I’ve done in a nice, shiny, glossy book. I’ve got two more—-well, I have a lot more stories—-but I have two more to do, and then I’ll self-publish everything in a book with a color cover, something nice and thick. Then, I can just keep going on. Eventually, I’m going to run out of stories. I just have to figure out when. I probably have another year or two of this. And I’m doing this science fiction book called HURR, based on a friend’s story. He ripped it off from HEAVY METAL, and all that kind of stuff. It’s a rip-off, it totally is. And I’ve got some other stories that are brewing in my head, about an old folks home and maybe a version of THE RE-ANIMATOR, which would be true to the actual story, which I find a really humorous story, if you look at it the right way.


Tune in tomorrow for my interview with the creator of ARSENIC LULLABY, Douglas Paszkiewicz!