Probably most of you know the Steve Jackson Games card game Munchkin. The brilliant humor of Munchkin is based not only on the witty texts but also on the great illustrations by John Kovalic. As the German publisher for Munchkin for almost the last 20 years, we’ve had the opportunity to get to know John well. So it’s no surprise that for our new game Doodle Dungeon we thought of him to illustrate this fun game where you have to equip and defend your own dungeon.
Today we are very happy to interview John about his work as an illustrator in general and, of course, about his work on Doodle Dungeon.
John, first of all, how did you get into drawing and how long have you been drawing as a professional illustrator?
„I’ve drawn for as long as I can remember. My mom wrote a comic strip for a Children’s magazine when I was a kid, and so I always had drawings around me. I drew comic strips for my school and college newspapers, and editorial cartoons for local and national papers. I’ve simply always drawn. Everybody can draw. Some people just stop.“
Can you tell us a little bit more how you found your own drawing style?
„That took years, but essentially, though Peanuts was a huge inspiration for my simple style, I was never good enough to actually copy anybody else’s style. I didn’t realize at the time this was a good thing, and would eventually give my my own style. It evolved naturally. It’s still changing: if you look at my work 20 years ago, when Munchkin was new, it’s changed considerably. (I much prefer my work, these days).“
How long do you spend on a card drawing, e.g. for Munchkin, on average?
„I’ve now drawn between 7,000 and 7,500 cards for the game – if you break it down over the lifetime of Munchkin, that averages out to a card a day. But when I’m working on a Munchkin project, I like to do six to eight cards a day. That gives me enough time to concentrate on each one, and still leave a little time for, say, finishing a Dork Tower strip.“
What do you like to draw most? Terrifying monsters, deadly weapons or in the end „normal people“?
„My favorite? Easy: drawing ordinary people, both in Dork Tower, and Munchkin and other games. I want to get their faces just right – it’s all about their expressions and their poses. Weapons are probably easiest, though – Munchkin Warhammer (both Sigmar and 40K) made me realize that.“
How do you make the monsters look sly and scary even in comic style?
„Gosh, that’s a good question. I used to say that my job description was ‘I make Evil cute.’ I suppose I do try to make some of them slightly less cute. There were many such examples in the Munchkin Warhammer games. How do you make the Blood God loveable?“
What do you like the most about your work in general? And what is the most challenging part of your work?
„I enjoy the freedom to create, to make something fun that might help people forget about their worries for just a little bit. I love weaving a good story in the Dork Tower graphic novels, or crafting a solid joke in the Dork Tower comic strip, or just the pure, hilarious absurdity of the Munchkin games. It’s a privilege to be able to do what I’m allowed to do. The most challenging aspect is juggling the various aspects of my job: I still need to manage my time better!“
What role does humour play in board and card games for you?
„It’s huge. It’s everything. Laughing around a table with friends, as a well-laid plan in a Dungeons & Dragons game goes to heck, or your camel comes in unexpectedly dead last in Camel Up, is the best. Even if I’m running Call of Cthulhu game, my group will find some humor in it. I’m not a competitive gamer – I’ve only ever won three games of Munchkin – but there’s such joy in gaming!“
Do you have a favourite Munchkin card?
„The Duck of Doom. After that, possibly the Hobbes Goblin. But most definitely the Duck. It’s even become the symbol of a charity bike ride I take part in every year. I cycle 60 miles with the Duck strapped to my helmet, if we raise enough money! People love the duck!“
Certainly it also gets stressful sometimes, how do you deal with it? Do you have a compensation for stressful workdays?
„Not really. On days like that, you just have to sit down, and grind the work out, even if it’s late into the night. The best way to avoid that is to work ahead as much as you can. But cartooning is still a job, and you need to be as professional about it as possible.“
What do you do when you don’t have a clever idea for a new card illustration? Do you have a trick to boost your creativity?
„Start sketching! Sketch, sketch, sketch! But fortunately, for the most part, the art notes I get from Steve Jackson Games help enormously. After so many years working together, both Steve and Andrew Hackard, the Munchkin Tzar, knew what to expect from me, and I always sort of instinctively knew what they were looking for. Andrew passed away two months ago, and it was devastating. He was brilliant – really, a genius, a good friend, and fantastically fun to work with. It was extraordinarily difficult, illustrating this latest project, knowing I’d never work on a card he created again, or simply share a laugh at a convention with him.“
Yes, we were also shocked and saddened to hear that news. The second expansion for Munchkin Warhammer, Cults & Cogs, which was significantly developed by him, will be released in German shortly. We were impressed by his creativity and are thankful for all the great work he did!
Do you yourself have a project you are proud of in particular?
„I’m deeply proud of some of the pandemic and political and very personal Dork Tower strips that ran in 2020 and 2021. It was scary, going to some of the places the strip went, but I’m glad I took that risk. Otherwise, I’m deeply proud of the last chapter of the new Dork Tower collection, The Tao of Igor. It’s taken far longer than I had hoped, but I really am excited for people to read it.“
You also did the illustrations for Doodle Dungeon. What did you enjoy most about the project?
„I loved designing the three monsters! Trying to make them fun, cute and evil, but not look like anything from Munchkin, was a challenge, but also terrific fun.“
How did the work for Doodle Dungeon go?
„I needed that project! It was at the start of the Pandemic, and I found it very hard to concentrate, with the world going crazy (particularly in the US, given the insane politics of it all). The project took me much longer than it should have, as I almost had to re-learn how to work, in the middle of a world crisis. It was therapeutic, for me. I was also able to work with Barry Slate, my cousin Karen’s husband, who’s a terrific colorist. And teaming up with Pegasus again? That’s always a bonus!“
Have you played Doodle Dungeon yourself? And if so, what did you like best about it?
„Oh, Doodle Dungeon is just a beautifully silly and hilarious time, isn’t it? It’s a lovely game, and the components are extremely clever and well thought-out. It’s very welcome escapism. Working on games is great, but working on games you love to play is even better!“
Thank you, John, for this interview and the personal insights in your work!
Questions, comments, feedback? Share your thoughts with us at blog@pegasus.de.
