Justin Hubbell is a creative influence with an eye-opening, unapologetic perspective to his art. OBVIOUS discovered him while scrolling through Tumblr and saw a drawing of his featuring an amputee and we were immediately hooked! Once we found his website, we sent him an email and he responded quickly.

Interview

Tell me about your upbringing. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Rochester, NY. Raised in the wild by a pair of Godless Unitarians! To say that I had a somewhat liberal upbringing would be a sizable understatement!

What inspired the ‘Nothing Gaudy’ series?

My own self-loathing and my partner, Alexandria! I was doing the standard routine of kicking myself for gaining winter weight as I was sitting down for dessert with my beloved. She playfully said something along the lines of, “I wish it were Pies out Thighs out!” and there was no going back. I just thought how neat it would be if we had those kinds of rhymes for all types of people – not just buff people! I ended up changing it to “Thighs out Skies out” simply because I didn’t want to perpetuate a negative stereotype about overweight folks. Nevertheless, I think “Pies out Thighs out” would make a great tattoo!

How do you describe your style of artwork?

Evolving! Ultimately what I’ve always tried to shoot for is a balance between simplicity and detail – and as you can imagine that kind of balance is difficult to find! I’m always trying to experiment or do something different from my last comic. I’m my own worst critic (surprised?), so I’m not sure if I’ve achieved this goal just yet? But, I’m always excited for the next project!

Do you have any big projects in the works?

I really – really – really want to have a printed version of Orcs Vs Feminism. There’s a grant I applied for in May that would light the appropriate amount of fire under my ass. But as it stands it’s something I’m always putting off because making comics is infinitely more fun for me than making books. The printed book would have chapters, an epilog, and probably another ten additional pages/revisions. You can read the entire “first draft” at justinhubbell.com/orcs-vs-feminism – other than that I have probably seven comics in wings that’ll hopefully come out this year!

Where do you gain inspiration as an artist?

I draw a lot from my experiences – and as it happens, I’ve been ignorant about a lot of things throughout my life. Even now as I work to learn and UN-learn things I find I will stumble or trip. Most of my comics are autobiographical because I’ve often found that too many “lessons” are delivered with a wagging finger or an accusation. If I’m pointing the finger at myself then really nobody gets hurt. Highlighting my own inadequacies can be a challenge, but ultimately I try to end each comic on a positive note. Some notable exceptions to this are my latest comics but also “Unstoppable” which tells the story of a local disability advocate Teena Fitzroy. My ultimate inspiration is a need to help people (Superman complex much?) – if I can have someone read a comic and feel better about themselves or the world around them? That’s enough. (not that I’d turn down a lot of money mind you!) Currently waiting for my silence to be bought be the Koch Brothers.

Republican Party, Democratic Party or Cocktail Party?

I’m a registered Democrat but “room for improvement” doesn’t begin to describe the party. Typically I avoid bipartisan politics in my work because DC Scandals etc. move by so fast that by the time I’m done blasting Ted Cruz or whoever the topic will cease to be relevant. Social politics, on the other hand, are with us from sunup to sundown whether we acknowledge them or not. There are so many problems out there that we could solve in a week if we worked together – but currently, we can’t do that because we’re divided by things like racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, etc., etc. So as scornful as I am of the GOP? Ultimately we are the ones with the actual power. If we’re not working to help other people then what’s the point of arguing about D.C.?

Favorite Color?

B L U E

Dream job?

If I could do comics full time? MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. That probably won’t happen for a long time, but one can only hope! Patreon is super helpful and working with ‘Everyday Feminism’ has been a game changer too. I dream of a day where I’ll be able to afford to go to conventions and printing books on the regular. We’ll see!

Any shout outs?

Some serious heroes of mine include the wonderful Anna BonGiovanni, the fearless Scout Tran-Caffee, the powerful Ronnie Ritchie, and the amazing Alex at tittybartales.thecomicseries.com of course. I also ADORE the work of Hannah McGill, Sarah Graley, and Megan Nicole Dong – all three are absolutely brilliant. I’m a fanboy AND fangirl all over these people – none of them are ever fully prepared for my level of admiration you HAVE to check them out!

Social Media:

Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – Tumblr – Website – Patreon