AMA — "How do people react to your doing NSFW comics?"

Q.: What kind of reactions do you get from people you meet at, say, a party, when you tell them what you do?

This has been one of the most fascinating sociological aspects of my doing NSFW comics. But first, I have to kind of explain “me.” I’m not really a social person. I don’t hang out with people — aside from my wife and kids. I don’t have a Friday night poker game or bowling league. I’m pretty introverted. When I meet people for the first time, I usually tell them I’m a graphic artist. That’s not because I’m ashamed about doing comics (including NSFW comics) for a living. In fact, it’s just the opposite. I know that telling them that I’m a cartoonist will lead to a longer discussion, and I would usually prefer to avoid that!

So, very few people know this about me, and that’s not because I try to keep it a secret. Rather, it’s because I just don’t talk to many people, and when I do, I don’t share an awful lot about myself.

But, of course, since I use my real name in my work, it’s not really possible to keep it a secret. And once people get to know my family, they find out pretty quickly.

And that’s when the fun part starts. Very people discuss it with me directly. I have a few friends who I talk about this with — and they typically focus on the business aspects. ("You can really do that for a living?!")

However, at parties, my wife has been pulled over into a corner and asked how SHE feels about my doing pro smut. (This has happened repeatedly.)

And that’s when my beautiful partner looks them in the eyes and tells them that she’s absolutely thrilled about her husband’s career… that sex is normal and natural — and therefore, stories about sex are normal and natural… and that she feels sorry for anyone who can’t feel comfortable with their own sexuality.

And then these people — the ones who had secreted my wife into a corner of the room to speak in hushed tones and barely repressed giggles — kind of go silent.

I love that woman.