Bored Panda reached out to the man and the legend behind the internet’s beloved Mr. Lovenstein webcomics, J. L. Westover, to find out more about what he has been up to lately, as well as his new projects. “Well, I don’t know if you’ve been following the news but… some Major World Events have occurred since we last spoke,” Westover said.
“Luckily, I sit at home and doodle stupid comics all day so really very few things have changed for me. Probably the biggest thing I did was the Kickstarter campaign for my new book, ‘Mr. Lovenstein Presents: Failure,’ and it was somehow a success despite my best efforts,” the creator told us.
The creator said that his new book "Mr. Lovenstein Presents: Failure." is exactly what the title implies. “The book is the highest concentration of failure in the known universe other than my own body. I stuffed it with my funniest and failuriest (that’s a word now) comics, and even tossed in some fun new book exclusies.”
Moreover, the retail version of “Failure” will be available in a store near you this November, so keep an eye out for that, J. L. Westover said.
When asked how his creative process, drawing style, and ideas have transformed with time, he said: “you might as well say my first comics and my latest comics were drawn by two different people.”
“Every new comic is a chance to streamline my process and hone my skills, and after drawing a couple thousand, I’m starting to get the hang of it. I’ve developed a colorful, squishy art style in the last few years that I find quite pleasing and fun to draw. Most importantly, I make sure each comic is sweatier than the last,” J. L. Westover told Bored Panda.
According to the artist behind Mr. Lovenstein, he “knows how to make comics now.” And that’s the biggest difference when comparing his earlier work to his work today.
“I had no idea what I was doing when I started. I had no interest in convention or structure or even coherence. It was a hobby back then so I didn’t give my comics the care and attention I do now. I just banged them out and moved on,” J. L. Westover explained.
The artist said he tended to go for edgier, punchier, harsher, darker humor. “I was more interested in shocking people than entertaining them. Whenever I’d see a collection of my comics, they’d always be titled like ‘Check out these dark and twisted comics from Mr. Lovenstein.’”These days, however, J. L. Westover wouldn’t categorize his comics that way anymore.
“I’ve grown softer over the years. I’m still no stranger to the macabre, but now I handle it with delicate nuance instead of blunt force.”
“I have a few irons in the fire right now,” J. L. Westover told Bored Panda when asked about the new projects he is working on right now. “First and foremost, the sequel to ‘Failure’ is in the works. It’s tentatively titled ‘Mr. Lovenstein Presents: Feelings.’”
“Just imagine page after page of people crying and you’ll have a good idea of what to expect,” the creator said and added that he is also working on a party game “that’ll probably involve an equal amount of crying.”
