The short version: Way back in the early 90′s me (Cheese) and some college buddies had a loosely knit art collective that helped each other out on various school assignments. We called ourselves the House of Twelve (there were 12 of us then). Years later, some of us regrouped to do the first issue of the comic, the name stuck. Since then the group has evolved and grown to the beast she is today. Sometimes there are less then 12, often more.
History of the House of Twelve
will you publish my book?
No. I do everything for House of Twelve either myself or with our regular contributors. So no, I am not hiring, nor do I need an intern. I also don’t need comic writers. I get more emails from ‘comic writers’ then I know what to do with. There are plenty of on-line resources for teaming up writers and artists. The cartoonists I work with 95% of the time are writer/artists and I’d like to keep it that way.
No, I will not publish your book. But since I know that won’t disuade you, feel free to send me samples (not 200 pages of your opus) and I will look at them. Also let it be known that I am extremely harsh when it comes to criticism. I pull no punches and tend to come across as a dick, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.
so, you're 'cheese?'
A valid question. My real name is Mark, it’s not a secret, but I guess it deserves an explanation. Between 1990 and 1995 I attended the School of Visual Arts in New York. While there, people twisted my last name, Hasselberger, and began calling me Cheeseburger. And while a cheeseburger is quite possibly my favorite thing on Earth, a really good one is a big, greasy, sloppy motherfucker. Now, trying to seduce young art school girls was hard enough without your first impression being “big, greasy, sloppy motherfucker,” and that's not to say I wasn't a big, greasy, sloppy motherfucker, I was. But it wasn't the impression I wanted to give folks, so I shortened it to Cheese, because everyone likes cheese (except the lactose intolerant, and they can go fuck). I’ve been Cheese professionally for about 20 years. It’s gotten to the point where everyone but my mother calls me Cheese.
