In this episode of Ink vs Algorithm, Mookie sits down with cartoonist and writer Jeff Krell, the creator of Jayson: a comic strip turned graphic novel universe that started as pure survival and evolved into a living, breathing archive of identity, humor, and cultural change.

Jeff didn’t break in through some polished pipeline. He got rejected, ignored, reshaped, and edited into existence. A local paper cut his work in half and ran it anyway. An editor forced him to rethink storytelling structure from the ground up. Underground comics cracked open what was allowed, and suddenly there were no rules except the ones he chose to keep.

What followed was a long experiment in character-driven storytelling. Jayson and his orbit of friends, which were often pulled straight from Krell’s real life, became a vehicle for catharsis, comedy, and eventually something more controlled: a way to step back, look at the past, and reshape it with intention.

The conversation hits hard and true about what it means to be an indie creator:

• Why most creators are lying to themselves about “doing what you love”
• How underground comics gave more freedom than today’s “inclusive” mainstream
• Why characters get more interesting when you stop protecting them
• How cartoons became a way of saying things you can’t say directly
• And why self-publishing isn’t a fallback, but a way to control your own destiny

Jeff also shares a blunt throughline: if you’re waiting to be discovered, you’re already losing. Krell built his audience one conversation at a time, throuigh conventions, hand-selling, face-to-face, and then watched the algorithm catch up later. His career success is less about nostalgia, and more about sheer endurance.

JAYSON is about what happens when you keep showing up, keep drawing, keep writing—even when nobody’s paying attention—and then one day, you realize the work outlasted the noise. If you care about storytelling, comics, or just figuring out how to keep creating without losing your mind or your voice, then Jeff's story will inspire you.

The Guest

Jeff Krell created the long-running gay-themed humor strip “Jayson,” which debuted in the Philadelphia Gay News in 1983 and enjoyed long runs in Gay Comix and Meatmen. Since 2005 Krell has been publishing original “Jayson” graphic novels including “Jayson Goes to Hollywood” and “Jayson Gets a Job!” In 2023, in collaboration with Sue Bielenberg, Krell debuted the all-ages Jayson spinoff “Arena Takes Manhattan,” a career girl humor comic starring Jayson’s sidekick Arena Stage. Krell also translates comics for famed German cartoonist Ralf König.

His Work

http://ignite-ent.com

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0988357429/

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In this episode of Ink vs Algorithm: The Writer’s Pod, author Mookie Spitz breaks down the 2025 Indie Author Survey from Written Word Media: a rare, data-intensive look at how over 1,300 indie authors worldwide are actually publishing, earning, marketing, and growing their business. He also reviews his review from the Outstanding Creator Awards, and correlates the two to tie a bow around the benefits of following the rules — and the fun of breaking them.

Mookie's solo pod isn’t aspirational nonsense or “write what you love and the universe will provide," but a clear-eyed tour through what really works (and what absolutely doesn’t) when you step outside traditional publishing and try to make it on your own. He walks through the survey’s most revealing findings, including:

• Why self-publishing now dominates the industry, and why that’s both a dream and a nightmare
• How much indie authors actually earn (hint: most don’t quit their day jobs)
• The brutal truth about paid advertising and why top earners reinvest nearly half their income just to stay visible
• Why email lists aren’t optional, and how they’re the backbone of every sustainable indie career
• Which genres quietly make money (romance, paranormal romance, cozy mystery), and which barely move the needle
• Why children’s books, literary fiction, and religious nonfiction struggle in the indie ecosystem
• The uncomfortable correlation between catalog size and income (60+ books is not a typo for earning $10K per month and above)
• Why covers sell books, editing keeps readers, and “just publishing” is never enough

Along the way, Mookie contrasts two kinds of writers:

• those treating indie publishing like a business; and
• those (him included) writing for creative fulfillment, curiosity, and stubborn joy

He shares firsthand lessons from LA Comic Con, real conversations with successful indie authors, hard-earned mistakes from publishing Jonnie Fazoolie & the Transfinite Reality Engine, and the uneasy tension between artistic integrity and commercial reality.

If you’re:

• an indie author trying to cut through the noise
• a writer wondering why your book isn’t selling
• an editor, cover artist, or marketer who wants to understand author behavior
• or a creative who loves the work but hates the hustle

This episode gives you facts, context, and empathy.

Bottom line: You don’t have to play the game. But if you want results, you need to understand the rules, and jump into the ring in your own way.

2025 Indie Author Survey Results

Outstanding Creator Awards

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What do Cornish miners, the Mayflower, the American Constitution, World War II, and rock ’n’ roll have in common? Cornwall!

In this 7th episode of Ink vs Algorithm, Mookie Spitz has tea with Bert Biscoe—Cornish poet, songwriter, historian, former mayor of Truro, and cultural force of nature—for a sweeping, deeply human conversation about history, language, power, and poetry.

Biscoe dismantles the naive American understanding of Cornwall (not just hens) and rebuilds it as a hidden engine of Western history:
• the Cornish pit stop that supplied the Mayflower and helped shape American governance
• the miners and engineers who powered the Industrial Revolution and modern warfare
• the cultural crossroads where Celtic identity, metal, and maritime trade converged
• the American troops who transformed Cornwall during WWII—bringing jazz, technology, and flush toilets

From there, the discussion turns inward and personal. Biscoe traces his own evolution from rebellious teenage blues guitarist to poet-politician. He explores the uneasy but powerful alliance between art and public service, and why poetry is not a luxury but a tool: a form of pastoral care, persuasion, and meaning-making.

Their chat then draws a sharp line between the art of persuasion and the racket of manipulation. Through Bert’s lens, figures like Barack Obama represent a tradition of rhetorical responsibility—language used to elevate, clarify, and move people toward shared purpose—while politicians such as Donald Trump embody its corrupted twin: speech designed to provoke, dominate, and extract attention rather than understanding. The distinction isn’t partisan, but poetic. One treats language as a civic duty, while the other treats it as a blunt instrument. And the difference, Biscoe argues, determines whether public speech builds societies or corrodes them.

Along the way, you’ll hear:

• Why poets, politicians, priests, and physicians all do versions of the same job
• How language creates influence long after formal power fades
• Why poets don’t belong in garrets—and never really did
• A live poetry reading and an unfiltered look at Biscoe’s daily writing practice
• A sharp critique of literary elitism and creative gatekeeping

Their conversation is part history lesson, part manifesto, part fireside rant, and is rooted in Cornwall, aimed at anyone who cares about words, culture, and how ideas actually move people. If you think poetry is irrelevant, politics is soulless, or history is settled, then this conversation will correct you.

The Poet

Bert Biscoe is a Cornish poet, songwriter, local historian, playwright, and former Mayor of Truro, best known for his work rooted in Cornish identity, language, politics, and cultural activism. A bard of the Cornish Gorsedh with the bardic name Viajor Gans Geryow, he has published several books of verse and prose — including Maudlin’ Pilgrimage, Rebecca (1996), The Dance of the Cornish Air (1996), At a Wedding with Yeats in Turin (2003), Trurra (winner of a Waterstones award at the Holyer an Gof Publishers’ Awards 2012), Words of Granite, On Yer Trolley: Poems Made During Complete Bed Rest! (2008), and White Crusted Eyes: Tales of Par (2009) — and performs widely across Cornwall. A long-time independent councillor on Cornwall Council and later Truro City Council, he’s also chaired local heritage groups, written on Cornish history, and regularly performs poetry and songs that blend local political commentary with folk tradition.

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