Journey into the sewer with Jay B. Kalagayan, the creator, writer, and publisher of MeSseD, a comic series inspired by the nickname for the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) that follows the adventures of sewer worker Lilliput. Kalagayan discusses the art of comic creation and collaboration, his influences, the value of diverse stories and representation, pursuing creativity at all ages, the comics landscape in Ohio, infrastructure, sewer worms, partners in slime, and, naturally, the Hell Is Real billboard.                                                                   

Kalagayan is the executive director of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC), a free comics, art, and animation festival in Columbus, Ohio. An entrepreneur and arts advocate in Cincinnati for the last 25 years, he is the founder of Know Theatre of Cincinnati and a co-founder of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. He is a writer of plays, cartoon strips, reviews, articles, marketing collateral, fundraising appeals, and geeky event calendars. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

The first two seasons of MeSseD are available digitally for free at messedcomics.com, and the series is available on WebToon. Kalagayan will participate in the Cincinnati Comic Expo September 22-24 and Cartoon Crossroads Columbus September 27-October 1.

Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email [email protected] (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.