There are a lot of questions that come up with reading THE NORM. The strip is a bit like jazz music, you have to give it a little while to understand it. But once you do, I think you'll enjoy it. Here's a Q of the moment, and some other FAQs.

FAQs about the strip

Q: I knew that we were connecting with your work when we spent ten minutes discussing whether Reine and Norm should get married . . . what exactly is their relationship anyway???
A: The back story is Norm and Reine knew each other in college. Best of times, best of friends. They may not be exactly alike, but most friends aren't. Just look at Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Clinton and Lewinsky (okay, that punchline is so old but I still chuckle at it. I wish I could laugh about Bush).

Q: How on Earth do you pronounce Reine's name?
A: It's French for queen. Ask someone who's French.

Q: I'm late to the strip. What's an X-GF?
A: It's Norm's shorthand for ex-girlfriend.

Q: Is the kid that looks like Norm, well, uh, what IS he?
A: Norm has a fervent imagination. Sometimes he talks to his "inner child." He also has an Old Guy Norm, a Crash-test Dummy Norm, an action figure Norm, a Smart Norm, etc. These manifestations only show up when Norm is under stress.

FAQs about the author

Q: Who were your influences?
A: Do you mean cartoonist influences? And why am I answering with a question?

Q: Where were you born?
A: In New York State. I grew up in Illinois. I was educated in California. I think you can see the problem here.

Q: Is Norm you?
A: No. Norm is a cartoon character. You should really know that by now.

FAQs about process

Q: What is your process?
A: I spend most of my time writing in a visual journal - setting aside "good ideas" until I have a better cartoon.
As for the process it's pretty much the same as any other cartoonist's. The only difference might be that I keep the aforementioned journal of ideas and drawings that I edit from.
Comics are unique to other media because of the blending of pictures and words - so I find it important to draw while I write ... good things happen when I do. Check out my Step-By-Step process for a brief overview.

Q: Where do you get your ideas?
A: THE NORM comes from everything. The humor starts as observational, but I don't try to regurgitate what I've seen or heard as much as try to capture how Norm would feel about it.
The other 98 percent of the time I steal directly from BLONDIE.

Q: How did you get syndicated?
A: The secret for me was to draw and write every day. For several years I goofed around in my spare time and sent submissions to the syndicates. I got some encouragement from syndicate editors and eventually with each new bland submission, less and less attention. They had figured me out before I had. By drawing and writing every day, I broke the choke-hold I'd put on myself and got to the essence of what makes my work unique.

Q: Who determines what the strip is going to be about, or the characters involved?
A: That's totally my fault.