Kraig Rasmussen Talks ‘The Monkeygong Comics Club’

Welcome to the table,

We all know Anton likes stuff that can fall into the “weird” category. Let me introduce you to something super strange The Monkeygong Comics Club. Creator Kraig Rasmussen’s old-school monthly book club will be delivering comics, exclusive art, sketches, mini-comics, gifts, surprise merch, and more.

I had a chance to sit down (virtually) with Kraig and talk about this bold new project. Check out the full interview below.

Anton Kromoff: Hey Kraig! Great to have a chance to talk to you. Before we dive too deep, tell our readers a little bit about the man behind the magic.

Kraig Rasmussen: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me about my work! Happy to be here.

Being saddled with adolescent nicknames like “Spidey” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” which were NOT said as compliments, and a reputation of being “obsessed with the Crow” – which is a great book, but it was Grendel FYI— common mistake – I was clearly destined for
Comics.

Early discoveries of Frank Miller, the Image trio of Lee-Silvestri-McFarlane, then Barry Windsor-Smith and Matt Wagner, all seduced me into the art form, bursting my brain with ideas and making me ravenous to draw! And draw I did, more than almost anything else. Then, after my first self-published comic in 2004, I officially became a comics lifer and will definitely never go back, however… that’s also when my love of craft and my frustration with the business first crossed paths, and got tangled beyond belief— but more on that as we go.

Fast forward through two decades of living life, part-time jobs, art school, freelance struggles, self-publishing on the side, plus just generally chasing the dream, and we arrive at today, where I have a modest handful of books and deep aspirations to find stability in this whole thing.

Anton: What got you pumped up to start The Monkeygong Comics Club? Can you walk us through how the idea took shape?

Kraig: Like many creators, I’m obsessed with making comics, but have found that the business of comics often makes it hard to simply sit down and just make comics. It’s a constant frustration, seeking balance between freelance work to keep the lights on and our self- publishing/creator owned work that has a way bigger chance at a future attached, and offers WAY more creative fulfillment.

That “art career hustle” is an unsustainable experiment in poor time management, wearing too many hats, and mercilessly denying one’s self. There are way better business tactics out there than what we as an “industry” tend to employ. Not to mention it leaves us with little energy to actually connect to people, which is a major part of storytelling and communicating ideas.

Those lacking elements and unfulfilled creative desires have always led me toward ideas of some type of subscription. In the wider world of creativity, exclusive content and immersive experiences have always attracted me. Whether it’s that deeply affecting one-of-a-kind DJ set, the perfect comedy set, the subscribers only podcast, or getting to meet creators behind the scenes and learning more about their process and DNA of their work. It always seems to me that the comics community doesn’t take advantage of this element Enough.

There have been examples though, such as “TR!XTER”, which took place across the street from SDCC in 2011, and was an incredibly immersive & inclusive comics art experience, offering tons of cool exclusive books & art to take home, or the Marvel Comics Subscriptions of the 80s, which people seemed to love. All these ideas percolated for quite awhile, and crystallized during the pandemic when I had a moment away from the hustle. Thus was born the Monkeygong Comics Club.

It comes not just from me trying to wrangle this rickety roller coaster made of cats that is a comics career, but also from needing a way to separate myself from the horde of online comics content, and connect directly to readers. It gives me a chance to do something different for myself AND my readers.

Anton: Diving into influences, you mentioned underground, psychedelic, slice-of-life, retro-European, and cinematic vibes. How do these flavors come together to create the unique taste of Monkeygong Comics?

Kraig: Well for one thing, I have to fight my brain not to create purely cinematic storytelling— I’m definitely a latent director who wants to dolly and pan on everything. But that tension between film and drawing helps me indulge in what makes comics visuals special— breaking format, changing up pacing, using design to compound ideas.

The euro stuff keeps me thinking classically, putting my mind in a lyrical, soft place, with lots of open space or character in my settings, but with an edge of undeniable realism, and it also reminds me to love the drawing process (just think Moebius).

Those elements complement the slice-of-life humanity I strive to find in my stories, and lay a nice groundwork for the weirder stuff to be really eye-popping or surprising when it happens. I’d like to think those factors already lend a certain visual signature to Monkeygong, but we can judge once a few more books drop.

Anton: Now you and I agree that underground comics are still rocking. What do you think gives them staying power, and how does Monkeygong contribute its own twist to the scene?

K: Well, I’m very glad we agree on that. It’s one less thing to settle in the world! Seriously though, “identity” is the first word that comes to mind.

Underground and indie comics have such rich, specific personalities, and such undeniable voices. (European comics offer this too…) Being a part of the underground scene all these years, learning from some of the best to ever do it, that need for unique expression was THE overriding takeaway.

Modern celebrity idolization has far too many people rushing to be like someone else. But underground art forms encourage the exact opposite, and proudly display the captivating results. It’s a very healthy type of open mindedness, a powerful way to live, and a wonderful
Teacher.

I think that’s the main thing that will perpetually keep underground comics alive. There’s only one Derf Backderf, one Raina Telgemeier, one Richard Corben, one Paul Pope, and you know them when you see them. I think that kind of identity says something positive and truly special about what people can do when they apply themselves.

Not surprisingly, this has led to some GREAT underground & indie comics finding themself on banned book lists. For the time being, I suppose we should just take it as further proof that sequential art is an incisive, idea packed, challenging medium.

While I love the comics form in general, I find that major publishers generally lean too much toward a more generic or “house” look, and safer, more “standard” stories— it’s a lot of repetition and A LOT of vanilla. Indie & underground comics on the other hand, go buck wild, constantly shocking us with the choices made by their creators, and tend to tell stories you can’t get off of your mind. (Just read Black Hole by Charles Burns and try to forget it. I dare you!) I have tried to take all those lessons to heart, added a dash of our modern survival need to “brand thyself”, and used that thinking to focus on making Monkeygong a label that says “original science fiction” whenever you hear it. I want it to be clear at a glance that I offer a serious sci-fi brand with a unified look, deep worlds to explore, and unexpected creativity around every corner.

Also, by proxy, I obviously want the label to be synonymous with my work, and only my work… for now.

Anton: Let’s talk perks! What’s the scoop on the exclusive art, sketches, mini-comics, and surprise merch that subscribers can look forward to?

Kraig: I want all members to feel like they’re in a special crew, so even the basic $20 members will get sketches in their books, a shirt or other extra apparel gift, and as soon as I can get them made, decoder rings and member badges.

The next tiers are when the real art starts, from small 3×5-6×9 pen & ink or color drawings delivered monthly, to full size 11×17 b/w or color illustrations delivered every other month. Obviously these tiers are limited based on how much extra output I can handle, but the more digital & basic subscribers I get, the more time I’ll have to draw.

Regardless, those are just the perks I can tell you about. I’m stewing on lots of ideas, and will always be dropping surprises in the bundles when I can.

Each monthly bundle begins with a book, a mini-print & sticker or pin as the base elements, and I’ll just start adding stuff from there… the surprises can’t be stopped!

Anton: Monthly subscriptions at just $3 sound like a steal! I mean at this point that is less than a bag of store brand-shredded cheese. What sparked the idea for this model, and what cool perks do both you and your subscribers get out of it?

Kraig: When I was building things, it automatically felt like there needed to be a very affordable entry level to the club, and one that could outclass the offerings & experience of other digital patron platforms like Patreon or Substack. Those two platforms don’t offer the value they claim, and the onus is really on audience members being big enough fans that they don’t care that they’re getting very little for their money.

Base level members of the club will not only get full paywall access to the library and full email content delivery, they’ll also get a monthly pdf download so they can have digital versions of every book offered to the club.

Plus, they’ll get an annual physical gift bundle of who-knows-what-? (but probably at least one book) as an extra thank you.

Anton: Community vibes are crucial for anything to have staying power these days. How do you see Monkeygong subscribers connecting with each other to share their fandom, and how does Monkeygong foster that sense of camaraderie among fans?

Kraig: Couldn’t agree more. Community is the thing that keeps comics ticking, and definitely a core tenet of my subscription, so I want to honor it at every turn.

The Comics Club community approach is 2-fold: first, I started a private discord to have a ready discussion area, and second, I’ll be hosting in-person events around the country at comic shops, after-parties at conventions, and open studios for local readers. Additionally, I’m already having rich interactions with members on my IG posts, and I’m sure that will only grow as I add members.

On top of that, I hope the specific genre and tone of my universe will connect people, because they have to be at least vaguely like minds to have joined the club.

I also think once several months of books have been delivered, members who meet at conventions will be in a very exclusive group of people holding those rare books, and that’s a great connector.

Anton: Combining physical goodies with digital content seems like a juggling act. How do you strike that balance, and what challenges or wins have you encountered in giving subscribers both worlds?

Kraig: In general the content/publishing flow of the comics club was inspired by what I’m already producing. It is designed to harness all kinds of illustration work in addition to the more than a dozen comics I’m creating, without adding too much extra work to my plate.

In that way, both sides take care of themselves. By working toward the books, everything else basically just happens. Not to mention that I’ve been working ahead for a couple years and already have more than 12 months of books in the bank to ship without even having to draw a single new thing. For me that is a hugely comforting guarantee that I can consistently deliver what I’m offering, and I hope prospective members will feel the same way.

I’m already stocking up the paywall with existing comics library content dripped out over the next few months, which will end up being a couple hundred pages of comics material before I even get going, plus piles of sketchbook material and project based concept art. Soon I’ll start including early chapters of new stories that I’ll drop in between printed books.

That just leaves video and written content to make, which is a diversion I really enjoy, and I can drop that stuff between comics & art drops.

Anton: Looking into the cracked crystal ball, do you have any plans or projects coming up for Monkeygong that you can give us a sneak peek into? What’s the inside scoop on what subscribers can get hyped about in the world of Monkeygong Comics Club?

Kraig: Right now I’m pretty excited about my FIRST LOOKS and members only videos. Because I’m dim, I didn’t even consider how much first look content I would be generating from my freelance work for publishers in addition to my own books and sketchbooks. I’ve been dropping all kinds of cool first looks the last couple weeks.

I’m also focusing on longer form content when it comes to video (and everything else). Immersion is super important to me, and our doom scrolling era is an absolute anathema to it.

So I honestly relish making longer, documentary style videos (& comics) and working to hold the viewer/reader longer. This will play into the members blog and my approach to other special projects as well.

Then there’s the many books I’m making to offer exclusively to the club; everything from MANY new comics to boutique sketchbooks, art books, and character/story bibles.

Some of those include the social commentary/satire/dystopian adventure “the Falling Empire”, a very unauthorized TMNT mini art book, and my 2023 sketchbook which is bursting at the seams with unseen drawings. (Plus I’ve got new chapters of existing books Sojourners, Technopolis & the Adventures of Dr. Cotton Hickox on the way.)

This whole plan is a great funnel for some really cool stuff that I’ve wanted to share for quite some time, so it’s hard to narrow down what I’m excited about!

Anton: As we wrap up I wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk to me. Where can our readers keep up with you and everything going on in your world?

Kraig: Thank you so much for having me, and for all the great questions! Primarily I hope readers will at least subscribe to my email list, but would love them to check out the club before anything else. They can just go to monkeygong.com/subscribe to watch videos & walk through the tiers available.

Aside from that, I’m most active on IG @kraigcomx and can be found regularly at SoCal and Southwest comic book conventions.