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Interview with KARL KRESSBACH conducted by Gerhard
We would describe Chromosome Crossroads as ‘darkly brilliant’ since
it’s concerned with a subject that would have to be considered largely off
limits for most entertainment media although it does have a number of
precedents in literature and theater. We’re going to avoid identifying the
subject and leave it up to you as to whether you think it would spoil the
impact of the story to do so and try to ask questions that will allow us to
talk around the subject. What attracted you to the idea of doing a story
about one of the last great taboos in our society?
KTK- I’ll let the title speak for itself. I find that since the human
race has been given the gift of conscious decision-making, we can override
and question the practice of TABOOS, depending on their severity. I have no
morals, I don’t hold back and I never will. I make the unacceptable,
acceptable; in the case of ‘Chromosome Crossroads,’ I used humor and more
cartoon-like characters to try and fluff it up. If the reader laughs, and
some have, the topic becomes easier to digest. The story itself will become
more serious as it goes further into the series (currently it is roughed for
12 chapters).
We’re curious about the reaction to the story—first of all your own
reaction as you actually started putting it down on paper
KTK-With the first chapter I was going for humor, so I was laughing.
, then the reaction of anyone who saw or read the pages as you were
producing them,
KTK- I had one girl proof the pages for clarity in the story telling
(she is not a comic book reader) the only thing that she was impressed with
was the title, but overall she found it to be “fucking disgusting.”
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then the reaction of the printer
KTK- I printed these at home.
and finally the reaction of the audience to this point.
KTK-Darkly Brilliant...ummm...I find that a lot of the people who read
it have nothing to say, some people just laugh at what a sick mind I have,
which is one of the reasons why I try and separate my work from myself. I do
not think about my audience when I work because I find it pointless to
appeal to particular genres. I will make the work regardless of who might
read it.
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Is Chromosome Crossroads typical of the works that you’ve done?
KTK-I just did a short called "Redemption" that was about incest,
but
it had nothing to do with Chromosome Crossroads.
Would a list of your other works that you’ve done—The Complete Karl
Kressbach—be in the “darkly brilliant” category?
KTK- I come from the hills. The idea of my work being brilliant only
brings on flattery and I cannot condone that. I find arrogance and an
inflated ego are detrimental to my work. Dark…well maybe, but I find that I
am shedding light on a dark subject. Though darkness is unavoidable, I have
little if any morals. I can’t make happy or optimistic things; my mind
won’t allow it. My mother gave up on trying to get me to draw cute animals
to show off to her friends at work, I just can’t do it.
§
Or have you worked across a whole range of subjects and approaches?
KTK- I work in different mediums trying to figure it all out. To me,
the emphasis is on the idea. With an idea in mind, I stare at a wall and ask
myself: “What is the most powerful way to execute it?” Be it a sculpture,
oil painting, illustration, comic book, sequential art (I categorize this
separately) or even music. This tactic is frustrating because then I have
to attempt to master these other techniques. Figurative sculpture is my
main medium, but comics are so irresistible that I find myself focusing on
them more and more.
Do you have a complete list of websites where Chromosome Crossroads has
been reviewed?
KTK-www.Opticalsloth.com
KTK-We just completed HOAX #1 which will be in the February Previews
Catalog and shipped in April. HOAX is a quarterly anthology of all new
artists and it will be ON TIME!
P.S. I can give you a list of our other publications if you would like. I
have a new book that will premiere at S.P.A.C.E. and will be limited for the
show specifically. It is called “STOP” and it is 28 pages (I proudly did it
in 2 weeks!) Oh, and it’s pornographic.
We’re trying to create as many links as possible to comic-book
websites large and small to get the word out about all of the Day Prize
Short List nominated works and this seems like as good a way as any to go
about it.
KARL KRESSBACH
mental note press
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