James Kochalka is not just a prolific cartoonist, he also sings in his own band, 'James Kochalka Superstar'. In his graphic novel 'Kissers', a CD was actually included. His style is refreshingly simplistic and philosophical. His main character, whom he sometimes uses for autobiographical purposes, is Magic Boy, a small elf with pointy ears. Critics and fans responded like crazy to his ubiquitous and instantly recognizable one-pagers in comics and magazines, and his graphic novels like 'Paradise Sucks' and 'Tiny Bubbles'.
Kochalka first published comic by Alternative Comics was 'Mermaid', a one-shot from 1998. Later book publications include 'Peanutbutter & Jeremy's Best Book Ever', 'Fantastic Butterflies' and 'The Cute Manifesto'. His webcomic 'Fancy Froglin' was collected into a graphic novel called 'Fancy Froglin's Sexy Forest' in 2003. He sometimes works with cartoonist Tom Hart, with whom he created 'Triple Dare' and 'Monica's Story', an adaptation of the Starr report.
In 1998, James Kochalka started keeping a comic diary, which was published in July 2002, titled 'American Elf'. He also launched a website with the same name, on which his daily comics can be viewed.