ASHER PERLMAN Returns to Form with HI, IT'S ME AGAIN

Interviews Editor, Andrew Irvin, is joined by Asher Perlman, award-winning New Yorker Cartoonist and writer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert over Hi, It's Me Again.

---

COMIC BOOK YETI: Asher, welcome to the Yeti Cave! How is everything going this autumn in New York?

ASHER PERLMAN: Oh, it's beautiful. It's a beautiful, drizzly day. Thank you for having me. I'm really happy to talk to you.

CBY: It's our pleasure here. I'm personally a fan of your work separate from getting this press request, so I was happy to see your work show up in our inbox.

AP: Oh my gosh, now I'm even more excited to be here. Thank you.

CBY: Of course! Before we dig into your latest publication, I understand you spent your formative years in Seattle, Washington, then Madison, Wisconsin, before diving into the Chicago improv and theatre community. Having been in New York most of the past decade, what do you enjoy the most about NYC, and what do you miss the most about the West Coast and the Midwest, respectively? 

AP: I honestly love all three. I guess the obvious answer is; I love New York in part because it's where all my jobs are. That's why I moved here. Not any of the jobs I'm doing now, but I moved here to work on a different show back in 2017. I think that's the short answer.

I like New York. I grew up not really traveling here, but just knowing about it from TV and movies. It's really interesting to walk down a street and see something that I'd previously only seen in Home Alone 2 or something like that. I love the Midwest so much. The thing I miss the most is my family is still in the Midwest. Then, Seattle is a place I haven't lived since I was 11, I guess.

CBY: Do you still have extended family back there, or do you get to go back for any good reasons?

AP: My grandma was out there, but she passed. Although, we do have some friends still in Olympia, Washington. I'm actually doing a book event at Elliott Bay Books in Seattle in February, and then doing a second stop in Olympia. I'm going to get a chance to go out there again, to make the rounds with the book tour.

CBY: You’re not only a New Yorker cartoonist, but also work in the writers room over at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. While both formats require punchlines, you’ve got a bit more room to build up to it when it’s part of a monologue or other television segment than (largely) single panel cartoons. You’re also working on both a solitary process with your cartoons, and amongst other comedians when writing for a broadcast audience. How do you balance your dual obligations day-to-day, week-to-week, and what do you do to meet the different requirements of both roles, delivering for both editorial and production teams?

AP: I think the thing that's worked for me is a crushing lack of free time and just squeezing every second of my day for as much juice as possible. Every morning, I cartoon before I head to work. Then sometimes on the way to work—on the train—I'll draw. Then, I usually continue doing that after I get home from work. So basically, that's my before-and-after activity. We also have these hiatus weeks where we'll be off the air for a whole week, and I take those weeks to stockpile cartoons so just in case my productivity slows in a week we're on, I can pull from some of my backlog on the off weeks.

CBY: I remember reading Bill Watterson's comments on why he took his two sabbaticals, noting the daily, wringing of one's brain. The demand to be both creative—and immediately good enough for an audience—it sounds draining. Is it?

AP: It's so funny, because I feel like sometimes taking time off is actually the best thing you can do, because it gives you a chance to recharge, etc. Then other times, I feel like taking time off is a bad thing for me, because it allows me to sort of slow down and kind of forget the pace. I sort of get out of practice. Then you have to find it again, so yeah - I think it's a tricky thing to negotiate.

CBY: I enjoy how many of your cartoons draw their humor from having the inherent absurdity carried in the subtext of any given situation positioned as central to the punchline. Do you find your cartoons generally start with the narrative line, or the visual imagery? Within that ideation process, what does your illustration process look like from thumbnails to inking? (Because you're clearly working fast.)

AP: I am working fast. I'm excited you noticed that. I do everything I do starts out as a written line and then I draw it only after I come up with the joke.

So usually what I'll do is I'll brainstorm all my ideas in the doc and then circle, as I'm going, I'll circle the ones that feel like they have potential. I'm basically just doing like morning pages, free writing style, just three pages of, you know, free flowing ideas. And then I'll circle those ideas and then I'll come back afterwards and draw just the most rudimentary drawing, just enough to communicate the idea.

And then usually what I do is I send those really rough sketches out to a few friends and see which ones get a laugh. And then if they do get a laugh, then I'll go back that night and actually draw them up into their finished products.

CBY: So you actually go through the iterative process with feedback generally before you finalize them? It's good that you have people who are ready and willing to have a laugh when previewing your drafts.

AP: I'm sure they're on the verge of cutting me out of their lives at all times because I abuse that relationship. But yeah, there are some ideas that I'll just draw up and, I'm confident at least that I like it. So, you know, that's enough sometimes. That's what it's really about.

CBY: Ah yes, knowing what you can live with putting out into the world - you have a personal bar to clear (critics or comments notwithstanding). In talking about you sending comics off to friends, you've got others involved in the publication process. While you’ve written and illustrated all the cartoons in Hi, It’s Me Again, you’ve credited Patty Rice and Lucas Wetzel as editors, with Holly Swayne as Art Director, Elizabeth A. Garcia as Production Editor, and Chadd Keim as Production Manager. How did you coordinate with your editorial team over the process of putting this title together, and is there anyone else I’ve missed that you’d like to credit with helping ensure this book made it to the public?

AP: Man, it really takes a village. Obviously everyone at Andrews McMeel are there; that's the team. They're incredible and they're obviously the ones that saw it over the finish line. But behind me, I have so many friends and fellow cartoonists, and my wife, and my family, and everyone who I've forced to help me along the way. I feel like I can't name them because I'll definitely leave someone off, but believe me when I say there are a lot of people to thank.

CBY: Yeah, you don't want to commit the crime of omission - I get that. As mentioned, both Hi, It’s Me Again and its predecessor, Well, This Is Me have been released through Andrews McMeel Publishing. Can you tell our audience a bit about how you found the right home for these titles, and what terms they may have offered that helped set them apart from other prospective publishers? How did you land upon the various details of your print collections (format, page count, etc.)?

AP: Well, Andrews McMeel - they were always my top choice because they published basically all of the cartoons of my youth. I'm a nineties kid, so I grew up on Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side and so it sort of felt like a creative homecoming to be able to actually work with them and put out my cartoons. For my cartoons to join that illustrious family of art I grew up on, it was kind of a no-brainer for me. As far as format goes, I actually think that for both books, I came to them with that format as the pitch, and we really didn't deviate too much from it. Once we started, the first book was broken up into four sections and they were sort of thematically organized. So it was "love," "life," "work," and "play."

Then the second book is just two parts, but the truth is, I actually don't think it's that different because most, I mean, if you look at the four categories I picked for that first book, most cartoon topics sort of straddle at least two of those. So yes, loosely it was "love" and "work." I think for the most part—maybe I shouldn't admit this—but I do kind of feel like it was just a random set of cartoons.

CBY: There doesn't have to be a deeper theme, of course. I just wondered if you had specific requirements or expectations for the presentation of your work, and it sounds like you got the leeway you needed from the publisher. I also just had Patrick McDonnell, creator of MUTTS in to chat, and I know he's published with Andrews McMeel as well. It's definitely where, as I'm also a child of the nineties, all of the cartoonists that really made me laugh as a kid ended up putting their collections out through Andrews McMeel, so I was wondering around your rationale, and I can absolutely see why it would be first choice.

AP: It does sort of feel like they have a monopoly the people of this generation. Certain people; they really, really like it.

CBY: The cerebral dailies.

AP: Yes, exactly. The bigger thing for me was less the structure and more of the running order of the cartoons themselves because I wanted to make sure I didn't have two cartoons that were very similar next to each other, or even within a few pages of each other. For that I did rely on other people to triple check my work. I think that was the hardest part. I didn't want, you know, nine dog cartoons in a row. So I think spreading those out, and making sure the reader would have a variety of length in captions and cadence.

CBY: Yeah, there is definitely an inter-page rhythm to carry across the whole book, which comes through panel-by-panel, page after page. Also, as a regular viewer of The Late Show, your on-screen turn this year in the “Prove It!” segment of the show as a running gag about your admittedly ludicrous claim about being about to replicate Ja Morant’s “double clutch dunk in midair with a two-handed reverse finish” after six months of practice. I know Stephen Colbert often makes a point of crediting the dedicated team that goes into making things come together every day in the Ed Sullivan Theater. Is there anyone you’d like to credit from your time on the production that may go unseen in the background? Also, did you get to take home the glittering Late Show number zero jersey?

AP: Oh, I wish they'd let me take home that jersey (I think it's still in the costume room). I mean, everyone at the show is so great, and I really feel so lucky to work in a place where I can say I love my co-workers, because I know that that's not the case everywhere. It's so funny, because it's obviously a silly bit, but it really did take a whole building to make it work from makeup, to props, to costumes, to producing, to writing - it truly was the whole stage crew. I mean, for the final installment, we had stunt guys on-hand. So it really was an enormous effort, and everyone really stepped up. It was awesome.

CBY: It was great, because you can see the camera dolly back, pulls out wide, and the scope of the set opens up. The viewer then realizes "oh, yeah, there is a lot going on here beyond the desk" and you don't always get that in frame - it was really cool. I also know Stephen Colbert is a big sci-fi reader, and it was this looming goal in my career, that some point I'd be successful enough as a sci-fi writer that I'd have grounds for an interview on The Late Show, but I think my timeline on that is toast now. I know we can't get into the cancellation discussion further, but you’ve worked across various media and production formats over your career; is there any new role, particular project, or avenue of creative expression you’re planning to explore when your time at The Late Show concludes? 

AP: So many. I mean, my perpetual problem is there are too many things I want to be doing at any given time. So I have so many things on the docket from expanding my stand-up to my first graphic novel, and other TV work. I have a couple ideas I'm working on that aren't in the sharing phase yet, just because I nurture them very tenderly at first. Needless to say, I'm very excited to to continue doing it and I'm excited to expand beyond the single panel.

So yeah, it'll be exciting to see what what shakes loose and takes root.

CBY: Fantastic. I'm looking forward to seeing all of it come together. Plus, if you're working on additional stand-up now that you'll have more time for it, Melbourne has a very fantastic international comedy festival to look into booking.

AP: Okay, I'll see you there!

CBY: If you're looking to visit Australia, that's as good an excuse as any. I wanted to thank you for making some time to chat, Asher. To close, we always provide creators with an opportunity to mention creative work unrelated to their own endeavours that has been inspiring lately. What other comics, films, literature, music, art, or other work should our audience check out after giving Hi, It’s Me Again their attention?

AP: Oh, that's a good question. I have some friends who have come out with books recently that are really fun. So one is Kate Sidley, who I work with at The Late Show. She wrote a book called How to Be a Saint. It's a humorous version of history, which is really fun. Another writer on the show, Felipe Torres Medina, has a has a book called America, Let Me In, which is a book about immigration, which is really fun. In the live world, my old boss and friend, Jordan Klepper, is touring his show right now, Suffering Fools, which is a really, really fun show. More generally, I would just recommend all my New Yorker cartoonist friends. I mean, even just following them on Instagram. You know what? Tom Toro just had a book come out, And To Think We Started As A Book Club. I wish I had more stuff off the top of my head to plug. But I feel like is that is that enough of a list?

CBY: Oh yeah, it is an opportunity for people to shout out other stuff, because I know everyone has cool work in their orbit. We try and make sure that people can pick up on some, because there's too much out there, and things slide by. Asher, it’s been a pleasure to have you stop by to chat. If you have any publication, portfolio, or social media details you’d like to share, now is the time to let us know!

AP: Oh, thank you. Yeah, just my Instagram and my book links: https://publishing.andrewsmcmeel.com/book/well-this-is-me/ https://publishing.andrewsmcmeel.com/book/hi-its-me-again/

---

Like what you've just read? Help us keep the Yeti Cave warm! Comic Book Yeti has a Patreon page for anyone who wants to contribute: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookyeti‬