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My thrilling bio

Can I start with the end? I live in Savannah with my awesome wife (whose middle name is Reine) and insanely wonderful children. That's the only part I'm really proud of…I love these three people so much.

Okay. Now the lies: I was born in a trailer park in New York state, and once home from the hospital, I had to be taken back immediately; it turned out I was allergic to trailer parks. My parents eventually moved to Normal, Illinois and purchased a house for me. After 15 years of being normal, I attended Cal State Northridge, where I graduated with a B.A. in film studies, cum laude. I think it's French for "above normal" (that's the end of the normal jokes).

This next paragraph is like one of those math story problems. Ten years after college, "The Norm" launched in newspapers and ran for nine years before I pulled the strip from syndication, but an outpouring from fans inspired my beautiful, intelligent, lovely wife to create a subscription-based feature at Jantze.com. After two years, I retired the strip to GoComics.com. So, come on, how many years was "The Norm" in newspapers and how old was I when my daughter was born?

Prior to my comic strip, I collected a paycheck as a documentary filmmaker and a newspaper journalist. As the graphics editor at The New Orleans Times-Picayune, I covered everything from national elections to Hurricane Andrew. More importantly, I also met my wife.

Returning to California, I worked at Industrial Light + Magic as a visual effects art director on films such as "The Mummy," "The Hulk," and "Curious George" (not a documentary on the making of George Lucas' "Star Wars"). And, yes, I met him.

I currently work with film producers and corporations to create traditional and new-media works based on "The Norm" and other people's ideas. I teach animation and sequential art (that's what the kids call 'comics' these days) at SCAD in Savannah, GA. Lastly, and only because sleep is for the dead, I'm working on a new comic feature to launch sometime before my memorial service.

P.S. The answer to the story problem is 10 and 45.

A day in the life

THE CARTOONIST STUDIO:  What time do you wake up?
MICHAEL JANTZE:  6 a.m.

TCS:  What’s for breakfast?
MJ:  Yogurt, rice and coffee, not in that order.

TCS:  What do you do first?  Write?
MJ:  Mondays are writing days...nothing else. If I have time, I'll go to breakfast, have a plate of eggs and then sit for a few hours ... alone with no phone or computer.

TCS:  Draw?
MJ:  I like drawing, but it takes forever to get me to sit down and just do the work.

TCS:  Answer emails?
MJ:  God didn't invent Steve Jobs to not invent the iPhone. I do a lot of my office work during those short "down times", i.e. waiting in line to deposit my checks from clients and syndicate. Ha, ha.

TCS:  Describe your method of creating a cartoon.
MJ:  Paper stock is anything from copier paper to Strathmore.

TCS:  Non-photo blue pencil?
MJ:  Yes. I like the Col-erase 20044. It's not quite non-photo, so I can still see it.

TCS:  Pen type?
MJ:  For "The Norm" I had migrated to brushes...either a no. 1 or the Pentel Brush Pen (if I'm traveling). I letter with a Pigma Micron 05. For my new feature (as yet unreleased) I'm working with pen nibs, but I'm a big baby, so I'm back to Primsacolor Premier pen nibs and/or Pigma Micron 05. I'm working my mettle up to some Japanese nibs an art supplier gave me at a materials fair at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design).

TCS:  Computer useage when creating a cartoon?
MJ:  I've tried it...it's not as fun. And I don't care about speed when I'm drawing. I want it to be fun.

TCS:  Computer useage when coloring a cartoon?
MJ:  Yes! Photoshop works just fine.

TCS:  What’s for lunch?
MJ:  If I'm not teaching, a feast. If I'm at SCAD, the leftover feast...I bought a microwave for my office.

TCS:  What’s your afternoon schedule?
MJ:  When I'm home I take a nap. I LOVE naps. Then some chores like inking or emails.

TCS:  Work after dinner?
MJ:  Yes. If we're in production on animation it'll go deep into the night. If I'm in session at SCAD, I'll do some grading. When I'm just cartooning or writing, nights are family time.

TCS:  Any unusual habits or hobbies--cartoon related or not?
MJ:  Gardening. I find it to be the most calming thing...to take care of something that doesn't send emails or leave messages.
My stunning studio
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