BOBC

Cartoonist Ben Katchor’s distinctive comic strips tell the singular story of a surreal city and the people who live and work there. His recurring character, real estate photographer Julius Knipl, lies at the heart of several of Katchor’s books, including Cheap Novelties: The Pleasures of Urban Decay. Attempting to describe these strips isn’t easy: they broadcast on an exclusive frequency and, like the works of novelist Steven Millhauser, turn the odd minutiae of urban life into the stuff of strange and compelling narrative. Cheap Novelties funnels the passage of time and a cultural history rare for the medium.

In conversation, Katchor is often rueful about the state of the modern city, lamenting the ways in which businesses have given way to greater standardization. He’s also dryly funny—which, given how his strip’s punchlines sneak up on you, makes a lot of sense. In the following interview, Katchor discusses the new edition of Cheap Novelties out next week and how he continues to draw inspiration from the metropolises around him.