Kenny Keil ( LosAngeles, CA) – June 2011
Hello, Good People!!!
It’s time for yet another installment of Ten2one. This month we’re gonna take our first trip out to the West Coast ( by way of Louisiana…), We’re gonna check in with an artist and writer with a great sense of humor and a great outlook on life. Sit back and get ready to laugh your head ( and other parts ) off, as we meet Kenny Keil. So we’ll let Kenny tell you a little bit about himself, and give us the scoop on Self-Medication, The Grocery Store Olympics , and Clubbing with Stephen Hawking. But don’t take our word for it. Heeeeeeeeeeere’s Kenny!!!!! ( yeah that was cheesy…but where’s YOUR blog?)
What’s up internets! My name is Kenny Keil and I’m an artist and writer currently living in Los Angeles. I’m originally from Louisiana where I grew up on a steady diet of comics, cartoons and music, and eventually went to school for a degree in graphic design. Then I did something almost unheard of for someone with a design degree – I got a job. And then a couple more jobs after that, all the while pursuing personal side projects with what little free time I could muster. Now, after years of taking the road most travelled, I’m venturing off into the world of freelancing and putting more focus on comics, illustration and writing. Recently I self-published a comic book collection called “Giant-Sized Tales to Suffice”, a humor anthology that lovingly parodies the stories, fans and creators of the American comic book. My comics and illustration work has also appeared in various anthologies, journals, MAD Magazine and throughout the internet. I’m also getting into screenwriting and storyboarding for commercials, web shorts and music videos, and pretty much whatever other creative ventures life brings my way. When I’m not working I enjoy reading, running, and hanging out with my family.
1- What was your favorite toy as a kid?
A pencil. I was the kind of kid who could keep himself occupied for hours on end with a drawing utensil and a blank sheet of paper. Still am. (Runner-Up: Orko action figure from Masters of the Universe)
2- What collectible item do you cherish the most?
In 1992 I had the opportunity to meet Stan Lee at a comic convention signing. Because the line was so long (and Stan was like, 70), there was a strict 2-item per person limit. Now keep in mind that I’m 12, so it’s not like I own a bunch of comics that Stan Lee actually wrote. Also, I’m 12… so I’m an idiot. So what are my 2 items? A copy of Ravage 2099 #1, and… another copy of Ravage 2099 #1. One to keep, and one to eventually pay my college tuition, naturally. Now’s the part where you ask me what the hell a Ravage 2099 is. Well, I’ll tell you. He was a crime fighting garbage man from the future. Look, they can’t all be gems. Besides, the guy hadn’t written a comic in like 40 years, what do you want from him? But deep down I just knew that Ravage would one day rank right up there with Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. I probably don’t have to tell you how that one turned out.
So yeah… to the outside observer, I probably own cooler stuff than that, but I treasure my Stan Lee-autographed Ravage 2099 #1′s the most because they’re just such an exquisite balance of “awesome” and “completely missing the point”. I live for that balance. It’s the yin and yang of my very being.
3- What’s the Best Advice you’ve ever gotten?
When I was little, every morning before I’d go to school my mom would tell me to “have fun and learn something new.” Even in my adult life I find that to be a pretty solid game plan.
4- What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever done on a dare?
I’m not really the “dare” type, but there was this one camping weekend back in college where I attempted to tumble down a hill head first. Hold on, the ridiculous part is coming. Not satisfied with simply reaching the bottom of the hill still breathing, I decided to go for a big finish, using my momentum to launch myself into the air for one final mid-air somersault. I landed on my shoulder so hard that I thought I was going to die. I spent the next 2 weeks in extreme discomfort, just going through tube after tube of Icy Hot trying to numb the pain of what I assumed was a sprain of some sort. I asked my friend who was majoring in Exercise Science about it (because that’s kind of like seeing a doctor, right?) and he was all like “Dude, if you had broken something, trust me… You’d know.”
Well, I didn’t know, obviously, so I took that to mean nothing was broken. Then the left half of my entire upper body started turning yellow. I decided maybe it was time to go to the hospital, where an X-Ray confirmed that I did in fact have a broken collarbone. That I had been trying to treat with Icy Hot. The doctor decided that since I’d gone this long without pain medication, there was no need to start taking any now (asshole), so instead he just fitted me up with this old velcro brassiere-like contraption to make sure everything healed properly. So I spent about a month wearing a giant bra, and to this day my shoulder aches whenever it’s about to rain. Don’t do dares, kids.
5-What brings out the snob in you, Music, Movies, or Food?
Definitely not food. I can fine dine with the best of them, but at the end of the day not much is fucking with a cheeseburger. Also, I find it odd to be snobbish about carrying out a basic biological function. Seriously, who or what isn’t a “foodie”? Here’s my rule of thumb: If babies and houseplants can do it, it’s probably not worth being elitist about. Let alone uploading pictures of to your Facebook page.
I can be pretty snobbish when it comes to the other two, but I’ve seen (and loved) far too many terrible movies to be any sort of credible film snob. And I don’t really have the time or energy to musically snob out like I used to. There was a time when I seriously thought you could judge a person by their CD collection. Obviously that was foolish of me, because nobody even has CD’s anymore.
6-If you could change the end of any movie, what movie would it be, and what would you change?
I’m a pretty passive audience, so I tend not to get worked up on how I’d do things differently, even when I strongly dislike a film. That said, “Shutter Island”? Yeah, that one was pretty disappointing. Plus I just saw it a few weeks ago so it’s fresh on my mind. I’ll go ahead and spoil it for those you haven’t seen the movie. Or the trailer, because you can totally guess the “twist” from the trailer: Turns out Leo is crazy and the whole thing is an elaborate hoax mixed with hallucination. I dunno, maybe if I had never seen Fight Club or say, graduated the 3rd grade, that ending would have surprised me. But as it stands, I haven’t seen a twist that weak since I took Stephen Hawking to a Chubby Checker concert. As for how I’d change it? Well here’s the thing – the twist is SO obvious that about halfway through your brain starts trying to trick itself into thinking it’s going to twist the other way, and Leo’s hallucinations turn out to be real. So you can’t really go that route either, because that too would be expected. Therefore, I’d stick with the hallucination angle, but toss in one last curveball that nobody would see coming. For example, maybe on top of all the other hallucinations, Leo’s character is actually a really fat dude who just thinks he looks like Leonardo DiCaprio. I think that’d be worth another half a star, at least.
7- Do you have any phobias?
I’m afraid so.
8-What contest would you always win?
I’m telling you, if grocery store self-checkout aisles were a competitive sport, I’d be pro. I’d have sponsors and shit. And that’s with no formal cashier training, mind you. Just raw talent. You should see me blast through a cartful of groceries while all those other knuckleheads fumble around a jar of Jif looking for the barcode. Okay, so yeah, maybe they don’t realize I’m racing them. But even if they did, it wouldn’t matter.
9- What was the last class you took?
I guess it would have been two years ago when I took a baby class with my wife to prepare us for our first child. It covered everything from labor and delivery to changing diapers to not leaving your baby in the oven for too long. It took me 4 years to get a handle on Photoshop, but I was able to knock out child rearing in a single Saturday afternoon!
10- What did you want to be when you grew up?
They very first job I ever wanted was farmer. Then I smelled a farm and decided I wanted to be a cartoonist instead.
Parting Shot:
“Be excellent to each other. And party on, dudes.” – Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
So yeah. There’s Kenny Keil…but WAIT, there’s more. Be sure to check out his Graphic Novel; “Giant Sized Tales to Suffice”. It’s hilarious, and looks GREAT on your bookshelf
"Giant Sized Tales to Suffice"
If you want to learn more about Kenny, his comic, or any of the other projects he’s written and worked on, make sure to check out these links:
