We recently had the chance to connect with Robert Goodin and have shared our conversation below.
Robert, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
It seems like there are an abundance of energetic, intelligent people in the world with little integrity, so I’m going with integrity.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a cartoonist. I’m made a living by working in animation as a storyboard artist, storyboard revisionist, background designer and art director on shows like Duckman, Wild Thornberrys, As Told by Ginger, American Dad, Beavis and Butthead, and a show I sold to Netflix that was cancelled while in production. I spend my time away from animation drawing comics where I’m allowed to succeed or fail on my own terms. It’s very difficult to make money in comics if you don’t draw superheroes, so it’s always been very slow going. I have managed to put out one all-ages graphic novel, “The Kurdles”, followed by two issues of “The Kurdles Adventure Magazine”, which were published by Fantagraphics. I’m currently working on the third issue.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I was raised Catholic, before turning to evangelical Christianity in high school and then becoming an 99% atheist / 1% agnostic ten years later. Although I wish I would have turned away from Christianity much sooner than I did, it did give me a lot of insight into the consciousness of the U.S. and how and why we find ourselves in this Christofascist present. I saw the seeds of the “us vs. them” dynamic in churches first hand and it was unsettling then and has blossomed into something quite dark now.
My experience with Christianity also humbles me to constantly question what I currently believe. What’s the evidence that supports that opinion? Is what I believe bullshit? Also, why did I believe what I once thought was true? Why didn’t I question it more? What was I afraid of or what need was it fulfilling to go along with it? I think people perceive atheists as arrogant, but I find the path to get there can be quite humbling. I’m constantly questioning things around me. It doesn’t mean that I won’t call out bullshit when I hear it, but I do try to consider things before that. Unfortunately our culture is awash in bullshit at the moment. It’s overwhelming.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
Although I’ve had my share of pain, I don’t know if I hide pain or present it. I don’t really think about that. It does go into my comics: pain, anxiety, fears, political views, desires, optimism, pessimism, and everything else. It all goes in there, hopefully buried, but as burning embers that helps fuel the stories and keep them from being empty and meaningless.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
Are there any smart people getting it right? I’d like to know who. Some of the dumbest, most vile people on Earth have an awful lot of power right now and the smart people can’t seem to do much about it. What can you do about an elaborate propaganda enterprise that lies to 1/2 of the country to vote agains their own self interest? I’ve heard about the dangers about global warming for most of my life. The effects are here and obvious, and yet we still can’t convince a critical mass of people it’s even happening. We’ve known that the top .01% of income earners are sucking up the world’s resources for themselves for a long time, but the problem only gets worse. We need a Manhattan Project of the world’s top minds to figure out how to dismantle the Empire of Bullshit and get the world back on course.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
I’m going to have a legacy? That’s great news! My future is looking up
Contact Info:
- Website: https://robertgoodin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nidoog/
- Twitter: https://bsky.app/profile/nidoog.bsky.social
Image Credits
All done by me.
