Interview with Ayo

In the midst of the 2007 MoCCA Arts and Comics Festival, I briefly spoke with Ayo, author of the irreverent and often pantomimed mini-comic Little Garden.

Where are you originally from?

I’m from Mount Vernon, New York. It’s a small town north of the Bronx. Home to such rappers as Heavy D and Pete Rock and CL Smooth. That’s right. And Rob O who I see sometimes. I live in Brooklyn now.
That’s good company to have in Mount Vernon.

(Laughs.)
What do you think is the best musical accompaniment to your comics?

I used to post track lists on my blog with the panels, the cartoons I did – stuff like Jimi Hendrix and the reggae Bad Brains. But really what I listen to mostly is Dead Kennedys and gangsta rap.
What is your comic embarrassment?

Hmmm… I put out some minis [comix] in 2005, which I didn’t like them when I made them, but for want of nothing else to do, I put them out and gave them to people blindly. So I... hopefully they’ve discarded them unread. (Laughs.)
What comic would you never publicly admit to reading?

Wouldn’t that be like publicly admit to reading it? I can think of some stuff but like at the same time…I don’t know…Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what: Sizzle magazine from NBM because they publish this really gross, hardcore porn but they also publish good people like Brandon Graham from Ciero so I was “I love that guy so I’m just gonna pick up this thing no matter what the person behind the counter thinks of me.” (Laughs.)
Fill in the blank: milk is to cookie as ___ is to my comic.

As color is to my comic. You see I eat cookies without milk but at the same, you know, if I wasn’t lactose intolerant, it would be a nice thing to go along with it. I would love to combine if I could. (Laughs.)
Where can people find your comics?

Mostly people can only find my comics in New York City at the major comic stores [Jim] Hanley’s [Universe] and Rocketship and Forbidden Planet. The main thing I do is a comic called Little Garden but there’s no words on the front. Title’s on the back. Make you work for it. (Laughs.)

Thank you very much, Ayo.

Thank you.

© Frank Reynoso Jan. 2008, All Rights Reserved

LocoMotion: Jose Carmona art show Feb 3

Jose Carmona, a frequent contributor to The Indypendent, is having an art show in Washington Heights on Feb 3rd.

10 Fort Washington Ave. Penhouse level btwn 159th/160thst
New York, NY 10032. Tel: 212-568-2030 Ext. 208

Did he really read and watch all this...?

For the sake of brevity and lack of motivation, I'm going to use a rating system for the list of works below. Bear in mind that I normally don't like using such a thing but I think in this instance it'll be helpful.

We're all pretty familiar with the star-rating system: One star (*) is the lowest and 5 stars (*****) is the highest. The 1/2's give leniency to works that have a little more to them. :)

Best,
Frank

PS. This list is far from complete. I've read and watched more than twice what I have here since I originally began compiling this post.

Solaris by Steven Soderberg (****1/2)
Cutting Edge: Art Horror and the Horrific Avant-Garde by Joan Hawkins (***1/2)
Gremlins (****1/2)
The Exorcist directed by Martin Friedkin (*****)
House of a 1,000 Corpses directed by Rob Zombie (**)
Assscat 3000 by the Upright Citizens Brigade (*****)
Zodiac directed by David Fincher (***1/2)
The Art of the Laugh by John Sweeney (****)
Miyazaki's Spirited Away (****1/2)
Loveless Vol.1 by Brian Azzarello and various (***1/2)
Loveless Vol.2 by Brian Azzarello and various (****1/2)
Hellblazer: Rake at the Gates of Hell by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon (***1/2)
Seven Soliders Vol. 1 by Grant Morrison and various (***1/2)
X-Factor: The longest Night Vol. 1 by Peter David, Ryan Sook, and Dennis Calero (***)
It's A Bird by Steven Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen (****1/2)
Orbiter by Warren Ellis and Colleen Doran (****1/2)
Persepolis directed by Marjane Satrapi and Parannoud (*****)
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (*****) [Note: I read the first graphic novel years ago but haven't read the second.]

© Frank Reynoso Jan 15, 2008 All Rights Reserved