HIVE is a locally-produced quarterly comics anthology with international distribution. The fourth edition is due out at the end of April and is loaded with talented cartoonists from across the nation. TAGSGF.com is tracking down its contributors to give you an inside look at what makes these artists tick.

thrash HIVE Q&A Series: Kralls linked meat love is in the genes

Thrash by Hawk Krall

hawk 150x150 HIVE Q&A Series: Kralls linked meat love is in the genes

Hawk Krall

Philadelphia’s Hawk Krall has tasted many hot dogs and credits his taste for tubular meats to his Pennsylvania Dutch (he’s German, “Pennsylvania Dutch” refers to the area) heritage. Krall is a repeat contributor to HIVE and you’ll be able to find his unique, brightly illustrated work in the next edition. TAGsgf.com caught up with Krall to ask about his hot dog obsession, getting commissioned to draw fluids and Philadelphia movies.

TAGsgf.com: We’re going to jump right into the important stuff. When somebody visits your blog, they are greeted with hot dogs – many of them, bold, brilliant prints of various dogs. How did this come about?

Hawk Krall: I had been doing some food-related illustration for a while, and comics about working as a line cook – which is what I did for a living for years – and sent some work to Serious Eats (a NY-based food website) mostly hoping for some free promotion.

I ended up pitching a few ideas to them and we went with the Hot Dog Of The Week theme which has sort of exploded and I’ve learned more about hot dogs than I ever thought I would. Almost every city, town, and country has their own variety of hot dog (sometimes several) that the locals will fight to the death to prove is the best.

It’s also given me a chance to do a lot more typography which I love and I’ve noticed non-hot-dog clients asking me do lettering. The prints I started doing last year around the holidays and have been pretty popular, especially in hot dog crazy places like Chicago and New Jersey, Cincinnati and even Washington DC.

TAG: Do you like any linked meats or is it strictly hot dogs which hold your fancy?

H.K.: I love them all! For the Serious Eats column I usually stick to a pretty rigid definition of “hot dog”, meaning a frankfurter made with emulsified meat. Anything made with coarse ground meat is technically not a hot dog, but a sausage.

I pretty much enjoy any cured, smoked, or tubular meats, probably goes back to the Pennsylvania Dutch (German) side of my family that would always have piles of smoked sausage and lebanon bologna at every meal.

TAG: It looks like you’ve been fortunate to try many different styles of dog. What’s your favorite and where should people go for the best?

Charlie's hosts one of Krall's top dogs.

H.K.: Really hard to pin down a favorite. For pure atmosphere, Charlie’s Pool Room in Alpha, NJ wins as being the most interesting place I’ve had a hot dog so far. Think Howard Finster’s Paradise Gardens with hot dogs. The owners are great hosts, and the dog is also a unique to the area (Easton PA) “Mop Dog” style with homemade onion relish. My favorite here in Philly is a truck at 25th & Passyunk that makes their own Pepper Hash (a traditional Pennsylvania finely chopped slaw/relish made with cabbage, green peppers and vinegar).

I’m also a huge fan of the bacon-wrapped dogs that you find in Mexico, California, and Arizona, whether you call them danger dogs, tijuana dogs, or Sonorans. I’ve never had the real thing out west, just a few decent versions in Philly and NY and my own kitchen, so I’m not ready to pick a favorite. I’ve also grown to love Slaw dogs, the best of which you can find in West Virginia. The Half-Smoke at Ben’s Chili Bowl, technically not a hot dog, is also one of my favorites, and just an overall amazing place.

As far as hot dog brands go, Thumann’s from New Jersey and Zweigel’s from NY State makes some of the best I’ve ever tasted. Snappy natural casings, great flavor, nothing like the bland 99 cent hot dogs most people get at the grocery store. There are also traditional butchers around the country that make their own hot dogs and frankfurters, a dying art that really needs support.

There’s plenty I haven’t tried yet that are on the list and could become my next favorite- Italian Hot Dogs and Rutt’s Hut in New Jersey, Pink’s and Oki Dog in LA, Biker Jim’s in Denver, Japadog in Canada, Crazy hot dogs in South America and Europe topped with seafood salad and potato sticks.

TAG: What’s the craziest topping you’ve had on a hot dog?
H.K.: Colombian hot dogs in Queens topped with crushed potato chips, bacon, raspberry sauce, mayo and sometimes ham, American cheese, cabbage, hard boiled eggs and a criss cross of 7 different secret sauces.

TAG: Is there room in your diet for a classic dog or have your taste buds been spoiled?

H.K.: Absolutely. Sometimes the best way to have a hot dog is just on a bun with mustard, often a welcome break from eating something like the Colombian dogs mentioned above. It’s the equivalent of Pizza aficianados who rate every place by their plain pie.

And the places that have been around for 50 or 100 years, there’s a reason for it – along with regional loyalty, they usually do it so well that they don’t need bells and whistles. Well-crafted dogs and rolls from small local butchers & bakeries is also a big part of the picture.

TAG: Hot dogs aren’t everything though, what else should people expect from your work? How would you describe it?
H.K.: I guess it’s just kind of how I see the world around me, in a ridiculous way. People and places that are interesting, amazing and / or hilarious to me.

TAG: You’re a contributor for HIVE, how did that come about?
H.K.: I’m not sure if Jordan contacted me or vice versa. I knew he was looking for contributions and I happened to be working on a bunch of comics to submit to anthologies at the same time. I was doing stuff about working as a line cook at the time and what I didn’t realize until recently is that he has also done that for a living.

I’ve been doing comics off and on for years but have been focusing on the food stuff and illustration lately and am surprised that all of a sudden it seems like people actually want to read my comics. So I’ve got some new stuff in the works for the next HIVE, which seems to be getting bigger and better every issue, and it’s great to see that Jordan is really driven and dedicated to it. Also it’s an honor to be on the same pages as Noah Van Sciver. I almost gave up on comics completely until I started reading his stuff.

TAG: I personally enjoy the “Sewer Bucks” image. Tell us about working on a project like that, and how it comes about. How’d you become the fluid guy? Can you explain that?

H.K.: I’ve done a few covers and spot illustrations for that paper (Willamette Week) over the last year or so. They do seem to call me whenever squirting or flowing liquids are involved. I think it goes back to a crazy column for Philadelphia Weekly that I illustrated for 3 years that always seemed to involve spewing blood or beer or cheese whiz or something. Then I started getting jobs about people sweating, banana flavored semen, and hydro-electric energy. Lately though it’s all been hot dogs.

TAG: Do you have any major art influences or people you read when you were younger?

H.K.: Red Grooms was a big one, when I was a kid I saw the Ruckus Manhattan exhibit – a giant, life-size 3-D chicken wire and papier mache installation of NYC in the 80′s and was mesmerized. I also love all those Photorealist (Hyperrealist?) painters of the 70′s, Richard Estes, John Baeder and Ralph Goings, lots of lettering and diners and street scenes.

My parents – who are both artists, and probably my biggest influence – had books and books of this stuff just lying around which I devoured. We spent almost every weekend combing small towns for old newsstands, diners and abandoned amusement parks that they would (and still) draw and paint and photograph.

As far as comics go, I loved newspaper comics growing up, Calvin & Hobbes and even old Windsor Mccay and Lil’ Abner stuff that my folks had lying around. I tried to read “Maxx” and “Sandman” and all that when I was in Junior high because it seemed like what you were supposed to do. Pretty soon after I found a bunch of old Crumb, Zap Comics and Freak Brothers from a head shop and it was all over, I threw out all the gothic superhero stuff and would ride my bike 15 miles to find comic shops that carried Hate and Eightball.

Later I got into the whole fanzine thing (I wrote about “punk rock” and comics about smoking weed and “fighting the pigs”) and would get comics from people all over the world. My favorite was this mini-comic called “Full Cup” about a dude with a crappy job who drank a lot of coffee. I remember it being hilarious and have never been able to find it anywhere. So if anybody out there in internet land knows what I’m taking about give me a buzz.

TAG: Outside of HIVE where have you been published and where can people find your work?

H.K.: As far as comics go I have a mini-comic, “Prize” that I put out once in a blue moon with lots of stuff about working in restaurants and 7-11. My comics have also been in Danny Hellman’s Typhon, several issues of Rocktober magazine, and a bunch published in full color in a british magazine called Notion. Back in 2003-2004 I had a bunch of early comics in the short lived, but incredible Philadelphia Independent newspaper.

Illustration-wise it’s mostly alt weeklies- Philadelphia Weekly, Las Vegas Weekly, NY Press, Village Voice, Baltimore Citypaper, Willamette Week, and a few magazines, as well as the Hot Dogs every week on Serious Eats. I’ve also got some bigger food and hot dog related projects currently in the works. My dream job is to do an entire food truck.

TAG: Hawk Krall is your legal name? How many times have you been asked that?

H.K: Yes. A lot.

TAG: What’s the best recent album you’ve picked up?

H.K.: Not recent but new to me are these two late 90′s noise rock bands from Canada, Kittens and Shallow North Dakota. They could both be described as Melvins meet Helmet but heavier & more technichal with a maybe a touch of country? People seem to have coined it “Prarie Metal” which sounds about right.

TAG: Which Rocky movie is your favorite?

H.K.: Either the first or the one with Drago. But my favorite all-time Philadelphia movie is Trading Places with Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy.

TAG: If you could eat a hot dog with any historical figure, who would it be?

H.K.: Anybody that was around Coney Island in the late 1800′s

TAG: Ketchup, mustard or relish?

H.K.: Mustard. Ketchup is for french fries.

TAG: Anything Else?

H.K.: Right now I’m working on a short comic for Atomic Books‘ free comic book day, and I’ll have some work up in May for “Philly Comics Dudes” a show put together by Pat Aulisio who also lives here and does some crazy comics. I think might also be contributing to Hive. Other than that check out Serious Eats for Hot Dog Of The Week every Friday afternoon.