The Simpsons Archive: Meet the Artists!

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Meet the Artists!

Jason Ho

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Bongo Profile: Jason Ho
Transcribed By Bruce Gomes (bgomes@simpsonsarchive.com)
from Simpsons Comics #82. Also published in Futurama Comics #13.
© Bongo Entertainment, Inc. , 2003.

1. How did you land your gig at Bongo?
Dumb luck. During my sophomore year at UCLA, I saw an ad in the school paper for a comic book intern. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the ad was placed by the publishers of Simpsons Comics!

2. Married or single?
SINGLE. So very, very, single. Ladies (21 and over), feel free to send me your headshots and resumes - I'm interviewing potential girlfriends this month. I'm kidding. No, I'm not. Seriously.

3. Where did you study?
I graduated from UCLA with a degree in English and a minor in bear-baiting. But my artistic skills are mostly self-taught. Recently I took some uncredited courses at Cal State Fullerton with a talented teacher named Marshall Vandruff. The courses have really been helpful - remember kids, you're never too old to learn. Be cool, stay in school. And so forth.

4. What artists are you influenced by?
Too many to name, but here are some of them (in no particular order): John Byrne, Joe Madureira, Neal Adams, Curt Swan, Rumiko Takahashi, Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Floro Dery, a lot of artists (whose names I don't know) from companies like Capcom, Takara and Bandai. Oh, and the guys who did the character and mechanical design for Giant Robo.

5. What other comics are you reading?
At the moment: Doom Patrol, Transformers, Astroboy, Shonen Jump (particularly Naruto), Rama 1/2, Inu Yasha, Robin, Jack Staff, Planetary, Blade of the Immortal, Dungeon (from NBM), JLA, Thundercats, Robotech.

6. How about books?
Over the past year I've read Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer), Good Omens (Gaiman and Pratchett), Kavalier and Klay (Michael Chabon) and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (J.R.R. Tolkien). Other favorites from the past include Watership Down (Richard Adams), Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger), and Hamlet (Shakespeare). In general, I'm a huge nerd. I just started American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Give a hoot, read a book!

7. Who is your favorite artist/band?
I don't really have one. I tend to like random songs here and there from various artists and genres. The closest I have to a favorite would be the multi-talented Yokko Kanno (Macross Plus, Vision of Esclaflowne).

8. What are your ten "desert island CD's?"
Actually, if I knew I was gonna get stuck on a desert island, I'd secretly replace some of the CD's with lunch meat or something so that I wouldn't starve to death. Or I'd sharpen the edges of the CD's and use them as bladed projectiles, hunting down wild boar and kookaburra with uncanny accuracy.

9. What are your three favorite films and why?
It's a Wonderful Life, because Donna Reed is a hottie.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, because it's infinitely quotable and re-watchable. In college, my roommate and I would watch it three or four times in a night. We could quote the movie verbatim from beginning to end.
Transformers, the Movie, because I'm a huge Transformers fan. Actually, I'm not huge at all. I'm about 5'8, 147 pounds.

10. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Filling out this questionnaire without using any profanity.

11. What annoys you about yourself?
My failure to use profanity in this questionnaire.

12. Everyone in L.A. has had at least one "brush with celebrity." What is your favorite?
I was at college the same time as "Blossum" and "Urkel." I didn't know them or anything, but it was surreal seeing them on campus.

13. Do you have any hobbies?
I spend a lot of time drawing non-Simpsons stuff in my free time. When I'm not drawing, I'm usually watching anime, reading or writing. As I mentioned above, I'm a rabid fan of Transformers in all its myriad forms. I collect the toys and DVD's, and obsessively lurk the internet listening for the latest news and rumours concerning the Transformers franchise.

14. What advice would you give to young upstarts who want your job?
Draw, draw, draw! Don't obsess over making everything perfect - it's okay to make mistakes. Just have fun and learn to develop your skills of observation. Push yourself to take on new artistic challenges, and don't be afraid to try new things.