The Fabler

One of the fundamental premises behind making an autobiographical comic is to share an intimately personal look at the life of the author .

Authors who demonstrate a willingness to candidly discuss both what they perceive as their greatest strengths as well as what they perceive to be their greatest faults or weaknesses typically produce the most interesting, compelling material in this genre.

Adam Bourret, author/artist of the autobiographical comic book I’m Crazy, has produced a true-life tale brimming with unflinchingly intimate honesty and characterized as much by its simple charm as it is by its moments of agonizingly personal revelations.

In short, Bourret has created something that you should definitely read if you haven’t already.

I’m Crazy deals with a variety of themes, though chief among them would be Adam’s experiences living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, how that affected his relationship with his boyfriend, and how he coped with feeling isolated and ‘othered’ as a result of his OCD.

It was originally published as a graphic novel in April 2009, though after I’m Crazy won a Xeric Grant last year, he put the money towards rereleasing a more polished edition later in the year.

Adam has also been posting I’m Crazy as a serialized webcomic, with updates every M/W/F.  As recently as last Friday, April 16th, he posted the final update on the comic – meaning that you can now read it in its entirety online at Im-crazy.com.

A Xeric Grant wasn’t the only accolade Bourret has earned with this work – he is currently a finalist for Best Emerging Comic from the Doug Wright Awards and he also recently won Best English Comic at Expozine in Montreal.

The Fabler caught up with Adam for an interview, which you can read below:

KD: I’m Crazy, right from the get go, was a very personal, intimate look into your life. From some of the deeper inner-workings of your psyche, to intimate moments with your boyfriend (both in and out of the bedroom).

To what degree was doing this comic – and choosing to be so candid with its content – a cathartic experience for you?

AB: I don’t remember giving myself a specific limit, and the relationship was happening at the same time, so I just got swept up in it all.  Now it doesn’t really affect me.  It’s a little embarrassing at first, that strangers know all this stuff about me. But now that I’ve told my secrets, I felt like I’ve done away with them.  They aren’t part of me anymore.

KD: Looking back at where you’ve gone with the comic, is there anything you were particularly worried might be ‘too personal’ to put in? Is there even such a thing as ‘too personal’ when making a work of this kind?

AB: I really didn’t want to tell my biggest secret. I wanted the book to end with me whispering it in my boyfriend’s ear or something. But it wouldn’t have been as good a story without that big reveal at the end. I felt like I’d come a long way writing it and it was just one more step.

KD: How have you found other people with OCD (or any other disorders, for that matter) have responded to I’m Crazy?

AB: They love it! OCD people love it, people with anxiety disorders, people with depression. I get a lot of mail from people, especially people in their teens, wanting to share their own problems. I think that’s great.

It’s nice to write something that gives people a little comfort and guidance. I like to think these people read the book and feel less alone.

KD: As it is an autobiographical work, why not use the webcomic to continue to write about your life as it happens?

AB: Webcomics are a great way to get your stuff out to a large number of people, but personally, they’re not really my thing.  I wrote “I’m Crazy” because I’d had these experiences that very few people knew about, and I felt I had something to say about them.

So no plans for a day to day diary comic. I’d like to concentrate on fiction now.

KD: You recently won Best Comic at Expozine, and you’re also up for a Doug Wright Award this year. Before that, you had won a Xeric Grant.

What’s it like for you to have your work recognized (and indeed, lauded) by the comics community in general?

AB: It’s awesome.  When you self-publish the biggest question on your mind is “is anyone going to read this?”  Being nominated for awards means a lot to me, because it means people are paying attention and appreciating my stuff.

A lot of people warned me that self publishing was going to be a tough slog, and it is for a lot of good reasons.  But I’ve found a lot of support and approval in the comics community, and for that I feel really lucky and grateful.

KD: What experience did you have in comics prior to doing I’m Crazy?

AB: I’ve been drawing comics since I was a little kid, but “I’m Crazy” was definitely the first big thing I’ve done in comics.

KD: Would you do something like this again? Be it another autobiographical comic online or in print… or even just could you see yourself doing another regularly updated webcomic of any sort in the near future?

AB: I probably won’t do autobiography again, I think I’ve said all the juiciest stuff about myself.  There’s not going to be an “I’m Crazy AGAIN” or anything. I’d like to have an Ang Lee sort of career – where I do one thing and the next year I do something completely different.  This new book is like that, it’s all fiction and really different from “I’m Crazy.”

KD: Can you talk at all about any other projects you’re currently working on or have planned for the future?

AB: The new book I’m working on is called “Mighty Ernestine.”  It’s about a cold-hearted, ugly, enormous teenage girl whose kind of bullying her whole school into submission. So the school hires this hapless guy to try to rein her in an teach her how to be friendly.  I think it’s a lot of fun.  It’s a really lively, funny story.

Drawing it takes up a lot of my time, but I’ve got some other ideas.  I’ve been thinking of doing a comic about how to grow and cook your own food. I also had a pretty brutal nightmare that woke me up a few months back. It was really scary, but it also had a really good plot.  I think I might get a book out of it.

For more from Adam Bourret, you can head over to I’m Crazy (the webcomic), or check out the Facebook group.

-Interview by Kevin de Vlaming