The whole essence of good drawing - and of good thinking perhaps - is to work a subject down to the simplest form possible and still have it believable for what it is meant to be.

My father belongs to the generation that fought the war in the 1940s. When I was a kid my father told me stories - not so many but it meant a lot to me. I wanted to know what happened then to my father's generation. It's a kind of inheritance the memory of it.

We managed to put together a compilation that had some creativity to it. In the meantime I was listening to the free radio stations and I noticed that during their war coverage they were playing these songs born out of the Vietnam War that were all critical of the soldiers.

Argument is meant to reveal the truth not to create it.

The most essential thing for us was to get the business model right then put the world-class technology under it to support it. At Merrill that meant not doing what people expected.

And the buying of new machinery meant not only the possibility of production but even the new technology 'cos as I mentioned before we were back of seven eight years.

I am fascinated by all the new technology that creates places for us to meet in what is called cyberspace. I understand what it must have meant for the rebellions in the 19th century especially in 1830 and 1848 when the mass circulated newspaper became so important for the spreading of information.

The teacher that I was for decades and that I still am in a certain way wondered what was meant by the word education. I was truly dumbfounded at the very thought of dealing with such an essential and extensive subject.

When you've been raised in care rap music isn't just about guns and sexism. They're talking about real things you can hang on to problems of identity that you have sympathy with. It's not just about the music with rap: when I was in care it meant a whole lot more than that.

Life has never been easy. Nor is it meant to be. It is a matter of being joyous in the face of sorrow.