Knighthood: Justin Melkmann

Many of our contributing artist's tend to work in a variety of mediums often not limited to illustration.

Justin Melkmann is one of them, creating his webcomic Earaches & Eyesores while touring with the band World War IX and making some awesome noise. His comic details much of his travels with the band, their gigs; their parties, as well as his much more personal decision to quit drinking. 

In this "knights" spotlight we get to discover a little more about what makes ol' Justin tick, the inspiration for his book as well as the fuel for his musical passion.

With a diverse range of creative options what made you decide to start a comic book?

Well, I wanted something that is both heart-warming, as well as knee slapping to read, so I figured I’d have to do it myself! All not kidding aside, I wanted to catalogue/bind together the oodles of material that I’d drawn for the mighty NYC barroom monthly art and music paper, The New York Waste. Roughly every two years I’d have enough Waste material for a new book. Oh wait, are you asking why did I print them in book form, and not just post on the web? I like having an old school genuine comic book to have and to hold. Plus, if it falls in the toilet, I’m only out $3 and not $5000. iPads cost about $5000 right?

Your book currently has 4 full issues, however two are no longer in print. Why did you stop printing the first two issues?

Actually there’s 5 issues of Earaches & Eyesores, and one other book that chronicles my devotion to one of punk rock’s most polarizing figures, GG Allin. That’s my best seller. That one’s called Slap In The Face: My Obsession With GG Allin. As far as why I don’t reprint the first two issues of my Earaches & Eyesores series…I’m embarrassed of the artwork. The stories and the writing hold up just fine, but the drawings? Oy vey. Not good. I’d been drawing/doodling all of my life, but I didn’t develop any kind of discipline or style until I started with The New York Waste.

What do your bandmates think about the comic as it often features them? Do they have any input to the book?

They love it! In fact, it’s odd, they all seem to like the ones that feature themselves the most!!! “You know which one is the best? The one with ME doing that hilarious THING, that’s your best work man.” And yes, they absolutely have input. Our drummer Jon is always noting which gut wrenching scenarios would make for a funny comic. Our bass player Brian recently told me how disappointed his 15 year old self would be if he could see him now. He wasn’t pitching it as a comic, but man, I’d love to do it as one.

With all the crazy stories in the book are there any you didn't include?

Sure! I got a million of ‘em! I love being in a band, so when even something that may seem boring or stupid happens, it seems larger than life to me and comic worthy. Walking to practice could be a freaking comic. But you asked for a crazy story. I don’t know about crazy, but there’s plenty of absurd Spinal Tap-like stories. There was the time my wacky idea to have a bubble machine completely backfired on me. I wanted to spruce up our live set with a bubble machine, but when I switched the cheap assed Halloween store machine, a wall of soapy suds just poured out in a narrow stream all over my head. I wanted the room to fill up with bubbles like it was New Years eve, but instead I was merely covered in sticky dish washing soap. Just recently we got to play with The Murder Junkies, which had been a dream of mine for about 15 years, and during our set the sound system crapped out. That fucked me up mentally for days. There it was, my big chance at playing with some of my heroes, and we blew it. Talk about embarrassing.

How does music influence your creative outflow?

Music influences my creative flow a ton. I listen to music while I draw, so I can only assume that if I’m listening to Tom Waits, I’ll draw something very different than if I’m listening to say The Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack. Sometimes I’ll pick a band to listen so as to create a mood. I can’t very well draw kittens and flowers if I’m listening to Poison Idea. Though, those would be some fucked up flowers and kittens. Plus, most of my ideas come to me while I’m listening to my ipod while I’m walking to work.

Have you created any other comics or have plans for anything new?

Well aside from the GG Allin book I mentioned, I’m doing a comic a week for the most excellent hardtimes.net. That’s that killer punk rock satire site that’s in the style of The Onion. Also, I’m writing and drawing the definitive, no holds barred World War IX bio-comic. My band has been through, and done a lot over the past 12 years, and our story MUST-BE-TOLD! Beside, who the hell else is gonna tell it but me, right? All I read is rock biographies, so I wanted to add to the pile.

World War IX has toured much of the states, made a bunch of music and have had numerous highs and lows: so what's next for the band WWIX?

More of the same I hope. We’re going to do what we’ve always done, make records, play shows, produce music videos, fall on our faces, throw temper tantrums, pat ourselves on the back, make fun of each other’s short comings, lose money, get stuck in traffic, and laugh ourselves silly. We’ve already got a few new tunes being worked on, and there’s a bunch of places around the country that we’re looking forward to playing again.

The artist formally and still known as Justin Melkmann can be found all over the web! Including tumblr; his book "Earaches & Eyesores" can also be read on Gryphonknights. You can find his band World War IX and pick up some merch on their website!