We have just put the finishing touches on Idiots’Books volume 39. Called Koochie is Free, the book is notable not only for the ridiculous name of its protagonist, but because it is our first ever book in the comic format. Which is to say, it is drawn in panels and has speech bubbles (though in both cases, Robbi’s interpretation of these conventions differs slightly from the norm).
A bit of background: Koochie is a cowboy. He rides a horse named Speedo. His morals are questionable (or perhaps just nonexistent) and his charm is undeniable. Here he is, standing in the desert.
I show you this panel less to pique your interest in the book and more to give you some insight as to how the sausage is made.
Now take a moment to behold the inspiration for the drawing. That’s right. Koochie might be the hero of his own story, but I think it’s important to ask where Koochie would be without such a strapping, masculine body double to stand in when Robbi is having trouble capturing a given pose.
Who is the real hero, I say?
The answer is self-evident, I think, and so I won’t even bother asking the question directly, lest your conclusion happen to differ from my own.
