Neil Jam is not the best comic, but it's pretty good -- and when it comes to minicomics, if it's weird and interesting that's enough for me. Neil Jam is one of my favorite minis right now, largely just for how the characters look. The character design is quite striking and very original. I love the character's huge, deep, black eyes. It feels as if their gaze is sucking the soul right out of me.

The story in Neil Jam #7 is told largely without words, using a series of repetitive, iconic images to comment on the nature of relationships. The story starts out very very simply, with relatively easy to interpret imagery, but grows more complex in its iconography as it moves along.

I guess there's this guy, Willis, who likes a girl named Ona, but she seems largely indifferent to him. Ona also has a gun, which can transform the clothing of whoever she shoots with it. Willis happens to secretly be a superhero with a big "W" on his chest, but this fact does not impress her. Even when he "rescues" her, she just shoots him with the gun again, transforming his clothing from tights and cape back to a suit and bow tie. It gets more complicated after that.

Anyhow, I thought it would be fun and educational to contact the cartoonist, Neil Fitzpatrick, and ask him directly what he thinks his creation means. I also thought it would be interesting to see an interview in the Journal with a new cartoonist who is relatively unknown and who has not yet proved himself in the comics community. I have big hopes for him, I see a lot of potential in his work, but I see some pitfalls for him as well. One major problem with his work is that he seems to be attempting to draw in a tight and controlled manner, but he's just not that good at it. His line is coarse and ugly when it should be pristine. Oddly enough, in this respect his artwork seems to have deteriorated from earlier issues. Anyhow, I politely didn't get into any of that when I questioned him. Perhaps I should have.

The following interview was conducted via e-mail.

KOCHALKA: It seems like the characters and plot events in Neil Jam #7 are signifiers of some kind of deeper meaning. Can you help me with this? What is this issue all about?

FITZPATRICK: People often talk of "the deeper meaning" in Neil Jam. It seems that many readers are often so baffled by the seemingly simple and mundane nature that Neil Jam can possess that they immediately want to come up with something "deep." I recently had this latest issue printed up by a local print place in town. The manager and I chatted about the comic for a minute when I placed the order. When I came in to pick up the finished copies, even he told me that it was "deep." I don't have a problem with this, though. I do deal with simple subject matters. More than anything else, this issue seems to be about Willis finding (or attempting to find) an identity. Whether Ona transforms him with her special gun, or he's ripping away his shirt and tie to reveal the superhero outfit underneath, he's constantly changing states.

KOCHALKA: In the first part, the use of the gun seems to be a symbol of the interaction between the guy and girl. Does the gun symbolize something, or is it just a silly clothes-changing gun?

FITZPATRICK: I like for Neil Jam to work on different levels. I like the fact that certain readers can read it and get a kick out of the funny drawings and silly or absurd events, while others will try and break it down until they've figured out what meaning it is truly supposed to convey. The gun is silly, and it does seem to alter Willis's wardrobe quite frequently, but it isn't just the clothes that are altered.

In the past, I have used a lot of dialogue in Neil Jam. Since this issue is wordless, I had to find another way to convey emotions and meaning. A lot of this I was able to do by simply changing Willis' outfit depending upon the state of events. A "silly clothes-changing gun" was the perfect tool to accomplish this feat! Here, I'll say it: The gun symbolizes change. Willis is always minding his own business, when out of nowhere, one of his "friends" will zap him with the gun and change him into something else. Poor guy.

KOCHALKA: "The Very End" and the epilogue have me stumped, although I love them. How do you see them in relation to the preceding parts of the story?

FITZPATRICK: At the end of part four (the very end), as longtime Neil Jam readers will attest, Willis, for the first time in the book, changes back into his original wardrobe; the outfit he's worn for every previous Neil Jam comic. I thought it would make for a good ending; that after spending most of the issue running from change, he ultimately does get changed, but into what he originally first was. His regular outfit for most of this issue was a different look. I thought it'd be cool to mess around with his appearance. (Kinda like how Marvel will every now and then mess around with Spider-Man's costume. Though, as I did, they usually just end up changing him back.) In the next issue, the "old" Willis will battle the "new" Willis.

The epilogue came about simply as a way to get rid of that all-mighty "special" gun. Having the big Boss-Man eat it pretty much ends any speculation about what could possibly happen with the gun in the future of Neil Jam. I didn't want my comic to be about the gun, so I got rid of it. The epilogue also introduces a new take on the Boss-Man, which I will be using more of in the next issue.

KOCHALKA: Have you had much interaction with the comics community? Is there a strong minicomics scene that you feel part of?

FITZPATRICK: While I would like to believe that I am aware of most of what is happening in the comics community, I have not had much interaction within it. Most of the reason is because I have been in school for four years. I did Neil Jam as a strip for the school paper and was able to pump out a 20-something page minicomic over my summer breaks, but simply thinking of all of the school work I had to do kept me from doing any more than that.

Now that I've graduated, I would like to accomplish an infiltration into this community. My immediate goal is to make Neil Jam one of the best minis out there. As far as being part of a minicomics scene, I'm not so sure. It is difficult for me to get my hands on the good ones. I'm aware of great comics like Tony Consiglio's Double Cross and Kurt Wolfgang's LowJinx, but those are the guys that probably everyone knows. The most frustrating part about being in this mini scene is that I know for a fact that there is a ton of great work out there that I don't even know exists. I'm hoping that attending more cons will help me with this problem of mine.

Neil Jam is a unique property. It is it's own thing. It is special, and I would love for more people to see that. As I begin to attend more cons, I am hoping that others will discover Neil Jam exists.

KOCHALKA: How important are comics in your life? Can you take them or leave them?

FITZPATRICK: I often have to do without them, for there is nowhere to get them, aside from through the mail or from the Internet around here. Neil Jam has been my main source of comics for some time. It sucks that I don't get to see other good stuff, but I think that it will only make for a more unique Jam, which can't be a bad thing.

KOCHALKA: What does being a cartoonist mean to you?

FITZPATRICK: I like the different tools that being a cartoonist requires. I equally enjoy writing, drawing, and design; the three main components I feel are relied upon in the creation of a good comic. This is also the reason I chose to get a degree in advertising. I have found that the creation of an ad is not that far removed from the creation of a comic strip.

Neil Jam #7 is available for $2 from
Neil Fitzpatrick
P.O. Box 741
Columbia, MO 65205-0741
neiljamcomics@hotmail.com