Today we’d like to introduce you to Goosnav
Hi Goosnav, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am a mechanical engineer by trade, but I have been making art since I was a toddler. I began making comics in elementary school, around 3rd grade, but I stopped around when I entered high school. In high school, I created a memepage which became viral, granting me a platform for my art. I began by making funny videos and man-on-the-street interviews, but the my school responsibilities held me back from full commitment to art and media. The STEM course load I took in high school in college consumed most of my time and energy, and by the middle of college, I realized I couldn’t sustainably make videos anymore. I realized that I needed a new vehicle for my art which didn’t require the complex setup and painstaking editing required for filmmaking. This dilemma led me back to my passion for illustration and comic-making from my youth. Around 2020, I began experimenting with making simple comics. In retrospect, they were quite rough but the humor holds up. My goal was to use a style similar to Calvin and Hobbes, creating a modern version of the FarSide comics, for a Gen Z audience. Most comics are far too conventional in my opinion, and I wanted to create something that I have never seen before. The main theme of my comic strip is an absurdist exploration of sociology and philosophy. Over the last few years, my comics got more refined and polished, but there’s still a long way to go. In 2024, it seems there is little institutional backing for most artists and cartoonists, so it’s mostly up to the individual creator to prop up their own “brand”. 2024 has been a big year for Goosnav, as I applied all I know from my mechanical engineering degrees and my business studies to establish a compelling business arm of my brand. I began my own zine publication, called the “Goosnav Comic Book,” which I release on a monthly basis. I also created a trading card game, titled “Goosklerf,” which is fun to play but primarily serves as a unique collectible art piece. The future involves my self publishing of some short coffee table narrative books as well as major collections of the 500+ comics I’ve made so far. I also intend on diversifying my brand into furniture and product design, expanding an existing handmade luxury lamp product line I have (titled the “Goosnav Lamp V1”) into many more areas. All these projects may seem chaotic and dissimilar, but they make perfect sense within the context of the Goosnav world I’ve created. This is only a glimpse of things to come, but I’m very excited about the future of this brand and the interesting things that are coming.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Art is my passion, but it is my second focus behind engineering. An issue with many artists is that they are not understood by their contemporaries. This problem is magnified when the misinterpretation of your art can affect your job and livelihood, as the personal feelings and sense of humor of the wrong manager could irreparably alter your entire life course. We live in a time where our authentic selves need to be muzzled to maintain a facade of corporate culture. This struggle was likely true in most times in human history, but I think it’s definitely a major feature of our current culture. Watching a documentary on how the cartoon Ren and Stimpy was made, however, it appears that this struggle between conformist culture and crazy artist actually creates a great dynamic. Ren and Stimpy went off the rails (in a bad way) once full creative authority was given to John K (despite his obvious artistic genius). The real magic of Ren and Stimpy occurred when John K. was fighting with the producer of the show to create it. It appears there is value to the dialectic between the dissident and the conventional.
Ultimately, I think artists who have something worth saying struggle against the society they live in, but that’s likely part and parcel of the labor of art.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I was primarily known for my memes (my meme page had over 200,000 Instagram followers), but 4 years ago I pivoted to comics. If I were to rank order what I’m most known for today, it would be (1) comics (2) videos (mainly man-on-the-street videos) (3) crazy products (i.e. the “Goosnav Brick,” the “Goosnav Lamp,” etc.) (4) paintings and other art. My art is absurdist in tone, with inspiration from Bill Watterson, Gary Larson, John Kricfalusi, and Ralph McQuarrie. My goal with each comic is to make it something that no one has ever seen before. My objective is to create profoundly humorous pieces with important ideas, especially for our time. I have a number of principles I adhere to when making my works, and they all serve to maximize the likelihood that my comics are not only relevant in 2024 but also relevant 100 years from now (that’s the ideal anyway). One principle is that I try not to take comedic shortcuts (i.e. pun based humor, scatological humor, etc).
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Unfortunately, print media seems to be dying. Additionally, comics seem to be primarily enjoyed by baby boomers and Gen Xers. This means that new comic artist talent is going to have a very difficult time getting into existing print media institutions, as the older readership wants their “tried and true” lineup of old comic artists. New artists will likely need to develop their own “brand islands” or collaborate with other artists to create new institutions. This may manifest through the rise of new newspapers, but it’s more likely that the colonization of the digital space will continue. The issue is that the space will become saturated with too many comic artists, leading to difficulty for new talent to rise. Ideally, what we need is a set of institutions or people to rise up as tasteful curators, leading people to view the best that the new talent has to offer. Algorithms currently do this job, but I personally think we need something to rally around culturally (like a newspaper), rather than the faceless and inhuman vehicle of an algorithmic “feed”.
Pricing:
- The Goosnav Comic Book – $9.99/month
- The Goosnav Brick – $50.00
- The Goosnav Lamp – $300.00
- Goosklerf – The Goosnav Card Game – $35.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goosnav.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/goosnav.shop
- Youtube: https://YouTube.com/goosnav
