We recently connected with Jackie E. Davis and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jackie E. thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Sometimes I think about how nice it would be to get a regular paycheck if I had a “regular” job, but that’s about where my fantasy ends. I think I always knew it, but it took me years to accept how unemployable I really am. I just… can’t get motivated for other people. Whenever I work for someone else, I unfortunately do the bare minimum. I worked part time at a screen printing shop and while I did what I was told, I did it with very little enthusiasm and almost no effort to problem solve. Same with the coffee shops I worked at for 8 years. I made drinks to the standard of the shop, but didn’t care about where the beans were from, how to pour a better drink, what menu items might be good to add etc. I clocked in – did my job – and clocked out.

Now comics, I can draw them for hours a day and it’s still not enough. This job of writing stories, running a business, figuring out my taxes, learning new social media platforms etc. is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But somehow it’s easier than my “regular” jobs. Because those jobs were for someone else, but this, Underpants and Overbites, is for me (and for all my readers of course). Every minute I spend solving a problem, drawing a comic, printing too many shirts, losing money at a comic convention, trying a new type of water color paper – all those things take me somewhere new and exciting. Like I’m in a little boat with a pencil for the mast and everywhere I go, I get to add something new to my little map. I could explore with comics for the rest of my life and still never chart it all.

With my “regular” jobs, I never even left the shore.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’ve always loved drawing, and have always been determined to draw what I want to draw. For the first fifteen years of my life it was cows. Then for about 5 years it was puns, followed by a series about a worm that worked in an office, called Office Worm! A few years of drawing that gradually blended into years of drawing a larger pink blob I called a lump. One day I drew myself as a lump, and suddenly my diary comic was born! I named it Underpants and Overbites because I wanted people to get a feel for it before they even read it. I wanted them to think, “Now here’s an artist who doesn’t take themselves too seriously.”

For the past 6 years, I’ve continued to draw my character, who I call Little Jackie. She’s been on all kinds of adventures, and we’ve taught each other so much along the way. To date I’ve made 725 Underpants and Overbites comics! I’d say I’m the most proud of that – that I just keep going. I keep pushing myself to tell stories in new ways. Sure, some experiments “fail”, but what’s the fun in the unknown if you know what’s going to happen?

I fall more in love every day. I plan on making comics for the rest of my life. Hopefully Little Jackie is up for the adventure with me.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’ve been taught my whole life (by society, my school system, my peers) that if I’m not uncomfortable, I’m not working hard enough. A true “hard worker” is tired, worn out, thirsty, hungry, on the end of their rope. I feel like this myth is especially true for artists. That pain and discomfort are the only ways to make genuine art.

When I was in college I thought drinking would help me channel the something that all those famous artists had in their work. Drinking, all nighters, smoking etc. I thought, “If I can make myself as uncomfortable as they seem, maybe my work will be just as good!”

But really, I was abusing myself. And all that abuse was taking me further away from the artist I wanted to be.

It took many years and a particularly vicious case of shingles on my face to slow me down enough to see how poorly I was treating myself. And how that poor treatment was taking me away from art – not bringing me towards it.

I don’t live a perfect life, but I try to be kinder to myself. My younger self would probably see it as boring, but I think it’s what I’ve needed all along. A good night’s rest, some fresh air, and knowing when I’ve worked enough in a day.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

People often ask me, “What’s next? Don’t you want to be bigger? You could work for Disney!” As if what I already do isn’t enough. Also as if I’m qualified to work for Disney. I draw characters that look like potatoes and haven’t seen my resume in years.

My goal is to wake up everyday and do what I love. As long as I love it, I’m on the right path. Right now I’m working on telling longer and longer stories so that one day I can write a graphic novel that blows people’s socks off, but right now I just wake up and scribble. It’s the best.

I feel like a little sandwich shop that people love, but some people are insisting to feel successful I expand. Open multiple locations. Reach for the stars! Well I think the success and stars are right here on my paper. And staying small is what makes what I do (and those metaphorical sandwiches) so dang tasty.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.underpantsandoverbites.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/underpantsandoverbites/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/underpantsandoverbites?_rdr=p
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnderpantsAnd
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/UnderpantsandOverbites
• Other: https://store.underpantsandoverbites.com/