by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Vermont's James Kochalka stands out in the North American indie comics world, not only for his prolificacy and engaging simplicity. His cast of elves, monkeys, robots, piglets, boner-bearing frogs and cats, cats, cats tackle life's hassles (work, love, trust, sex) with good cheer, decency and common sense - the precise opposite of the calculated negativity permeating the medium. On his way to town for the Montreal Comic Expo, Kochalka took a moment to answer some questions from the Mirror.

Mirror: Your comics mostly aim to celebrate a certain naive happiness and cuteness, an almost criminal offense in the deliberately jaded, bitter and ironic world of independent pop culture. Do you agree?

James Kochalka: Yes! It's funny how so many people react with disgust and fear when faced with a work that doesn't ironically distance itself from real emotions. It's like they've raised a fortress of irony and bitterness around themselves, maybe as a way to protect themselves from getting hurt. I like turning those walls to sugar and watching them melt in the rain.

M: You pull off a delicate balance in doing this - any more cuteness and you'd slip into the realm of the maudlin. Do you have a particular strategy for keeping that little bit of bite in there?

JK: Well, I've always been what I call a cynical optimist. I have a doubting, critical eye, while at the same time being really happy and pleased to be alive. My stories express both these sides - my cynicism and distrust of most everything as well as my pure joy in being alive.

M: You've started doing your daily sketchbook diaries online, for a subscription fee. While I doubt this is hugely profitable, does it help draw attention to your work?

JK: Readership at AmericanElf.com has been rising every month. I think it's great to display my diary strips this way - readers can follow my life in real time as it unfolds. By having my strip become a daily part of my readers' lives, in a way, it's like my life itself becomes a daily part of theirs. It makes me and my work much more prominent and important to them in the landscape of their minds.

At the Montreal Comic, Science Fiction and Anime Expo at Palais des Congrés, Friday-Sunday, Nov. 14-16, $12-$25 (Kochalka appears on Sat., Nov. 15). More info at www.hobbystar.com