Josh Simmons is an odd person, but I think he’d be happy to hear me describe him as such. His first series, Happy, was a deranged collection of short stories, many of which could best be described as having the intensity cranked up to 11. He also did comics about a sideshow carnival called Know Nothing Zirkus, a group that infuses its performance with sexuality and gross-out tactics.

He recently shifted into a different genre of comic; his graphic novel House was a silent journey into horror and claustrophobia. He also has the first volume of a new book called Jessica Farm coming out later this year, one where he’s drawing one page a month for the next 50 years. Which sums up Simmons in a heartbeat, really.

It’s hard to describe meeting Simmons in person, but there’s a combination of intensity and playfulness and insanity wrapped up into one.

This drawing, like Simmons himself, makes me laugh.