We’re quite anxious to read SAMMY THE MOUSE, the new Ignatz title by Zak Sally; if we don’t find a copy in our mailbox this week, we’ll just have to buy one at MoCCA! Sally’s THE RECIDIVIST was one of our favorite indie comics of the last couple of years, and we’re anxious to see how he follows it up with what he says is a funny animal comic. We love funny animals! Why don’t they do more of them these days?

Anyway, in the meantime, Blake Bell has a long interview with Sally about myriad issues:

Blake: Instead of your own printing press, like with your Recidivist books, why go with Fantagraphics/Coconino? How did you make that connection?

Zak: Well, when i finished Recidivist, i’d planned to begin Sammy, but considering that i’d been “planning” Sammy for the previous 6-7 years, actually hunkering down and STARTING it was a pretty daunting idea. I’d been batting around different ideas of format and what have you, figuring i’d just eventually do it on my printing press and release it through La Mano (certainly no one was banging down my door to publish it), but at the same time sort of dreading it.

Putting out your own work is a very liberating and awesome thing to do, but the flip side to that is that it’s a lot more effort and work (and expense) that doesn’t involve the actual writing and drawing of the thing. I was finding it difficult to come up with the energy to…do the whole thing: i just wanted to worry about DOING the WORK.