You might think that all cartoons come from thoughts, and you might not be wrong. Jason Adam Katzenstein, however, specializes in drawing certain kinds of thought—the ones that wake you up at 2 A.M.—WHAM!—and keep you awake for hours, wondering why you’d say something so horrible to your dental hygienist when you don’t even have any idea what her stance is on composting. These are the kinds of thoughts that make you truly believe that you’ll never sleep again, until you do, and then spend the next day laughing at your midnight self. I’m lucky enough to have gotten to know Jason, and to have had the opportunity to ask him for I.R.L. personal assurance that it’s normal to feel bad for inanimate objects left out in the rain. But for the rest of you, well, you get his cartoons—where micro-anxieties hatched from his highly attuned, highly brilliant brain are tossed into the minds of trees and sharks and Hamlet and Anna Karenina. And, hopefully, these plants and super-sensitive literary protagonists make you feel a little more seen, a little less alone. Just don’t spend too much time dwelling on what Jason thinks about you. . . . Just kidding, he thinks you’re great. —Emma Allen
Do you draw with your left or right hand?
Right.
What art do you have hanging on your studio walls/above your drawing desk?
A poster of Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation from 1989 and an Adrian Tomine Weezer poster.
Do you snack while you draw? If so, on what?
I tend to drink a formidable amount of coffee. And then I’m, like, why’s my heart beating so fast?
Do you listen to music or podcasts while you draw? If so, specify.
Yes! I’ve been drawing to “græ,” by Moses Sumney, and “Nina Simone and Piano.” Some podcasts I’ve been loving: “Citations Needed,” “Know Your Enemy,” “Bad Faith,” and “You’re Wrong About.” My hand moves differently depending on what’s playing, and I often look back at something I’ve drawn and remember what I was listening to at the time.
What object or setting do you absolutely hate drawing?
I’m afraid this will sound cheesy, but I need to love what I’m drawing. Part of the challenge for me is finding my “in” to a challenging composition; how do I stage this in a way that is interesting to me? How do I make this fun?
What’s your favorite New Yorker cartoon trope or cliché (e.g., desert island, grim reaper, Rapunzel tower, etc.)?
Sisyphus. I love a still image that feels like it’s moving. I also love existential absurdity.
If you could have dinner with one cartoonist, living or dead, tonight, who would it be?
George Grosz. What a brilliant, fearless cartoonist. I wish I could sketch next to him and hear his stories.
What would you serve?
We’re German, so . . . Wiener schnitzel? Unless I want to blow his mind with modern food innovations and we eat, like, uncrustables.
What was your favorite cartoon (strip or animation) as a kid?
I watched “Yellow Submarine” over and over again. I read an anthology of the early Lee/Ditko Spider-Man issues. I still love both of these. Good taste, little Jason.
What did you spend your first New Yorker cartoon sale check on?
This was 2014, so I’m going with a grilled chicken chipotle wrap at Jessi’s Coffee Shop and two large hot coffees from Cup.
If you had to get a tattoo (or new tattoo) right now, what would you get?
I’ve thought too much about this, and the answer is a falling sperm whale and a bowl of petunias, and the bowl of petunias is thinking, “Oh no, not again.”
Dogs or cats?
Both. But dogs.
