Jordan currently lives in Seattle, where we works with PopCap Games as a studio artist. Despite his lifelong interest in comics, the bulk of his illustrative career has been spent working in the video game industry. (Some of the titles he’s worked on include the Sly Cooper franchise, League of Legends, Zuma, and Bejeweled 3).

That’s right, Jordan has every kid’s dream job – he designs videogame art by day and spends his free time working on comic books.

While he has dabbled in comics in the past, Hominids represents Kotzebue’s first foray into an ongoing series. The comic, which is now two issues in, is set in an era of ancient history in which early humans coexisted with another intelligent prehistoric species – Neanderthals. The world Jordan paints is lush, mysterious, and filled with the potential for adventure. As a neat aside, it was a concept originally dreamed up by his twelve-year-old self that Jordan decided to return to later in life and flesh out more fully.

I talked with Jordan about Hominids, his early interest in comics, and some of his background in doing artistic design for videogames.

That interview is below:

KD: Is it a fair statement to say that most of your illustrative work has been for the gaming industry?

JK: Yeah, primarily. I’ve done a few comic things as well. I did one of the online books for Heroes back when the show was popular and still on the air. Then I did some posters and a couple of commission projects for DC.

But mostly my work has been in the gaming industry.

KD: Was that something you shot for right from the start, or did you sort of fall into that particular niche of illustration?

JK: I shot for it, definitely. My older brother Travis, he was always a big influence on me and he helped me get into the industry. We’ve always had each other’s backs that way. We’ve helped each other get work and jobs, and it was an easy transition pretty much right out of school.

KD: What would you say is the best part of working in the gaming industry for you?

JK: Definitely my favorite part is the storytelling aspect. A lot of my work on Sly Cooper was doing the cutscenes, and so I had the opportunity to contribute to the story there and push that forward, which was neat. Also when you’re doing concept art, you get to play around a lot and get creative with it. With the Sly Cooper franchise, we were pretty much working from scratch and we had the opportunity to take a lot of liberty with the designs. This is opposed to working on something like, say, Call of Duty or something super serious like that.

KD: Between the stuff you’ve done to date, from Sly Cooper to the work you’re doing right now for PopCap, do you have a project you’ve worked on that holds a special place in your heart?

JK: PopCap’s great just because they’re a super awesome company and they treat their people really well. When I started Hominids, they were really, really supportive.

A lot of the backgrounds I did on Bejeweled 3 were a lot of fun because I got to be really painterly and imaginative with it. The project I’m working on right now, which unfortunately I can’t talk about, is a total blast. It’s really hard to compare because they’re sort of different animals, you know? But at the same time a lot of the people that I worked with on those projects are the same people so a lot of us make the same moves between companies.

KD: How far back does your own interest in comics go?

JK: As far back as I can remember. I mean, I really got into it with like the Uncanny X-Men of the eighties, back in the Chris Claremont days. That was really when I started collecting comics and it just stuck from there. I got really into cartoons, like the Batman animated series and Gargoyles, and I grew up on G.I. Joe and Transformers.

I never really grew out of those interests, and I guess I knew from an early age that I wanted to be doing something related.

KD: Was your work on the Heroes online comic book your first real work in comics?

JK: It was, though the DC stuff happened right around that time as well. I think it was in ‘06 that me and my brother Travis decided to combine our portfolios together as a team. At the time, we called ourselves the Kotzebue brothers and we have that on our website.

Prior to that we were selling ourselves as individual artists and it just clicked that it made more sense for us to pool our efforts. After we rebranded as the Kotzebue brothers, we had more people start to take notice when we had a table at that year’s Comic-Con. That’s when things started to happen for us in comics.

KD: One of the cool things about Hominids is that its an idea carried over from some sketches you did as a kid. What can you tell me about those early years of Hominids?

JK: Back then they were just called ‘natives’, and it was something for me and my friends to pretend and play at in the park. Back in the town I grew up in, Bellingham, there was a city park that was reminiscent of a lush jungle. There were these big forty foot trees with massive leaves, it looked like something out of Avatar.

It was the perfect place for a kid’s imagination to run wild. We made up these characters and would run around in the park forest until we wore ourselves out, then we would draw sketches based on what we had dreamed up.

I kept drawing those characters and they sort of grew up as I grew up. I never thought  I’d do anything with them, but then I wanted to do my own comic I revisited the concept. The idea that there was a time when we weren’t the only intelligent species on the planet was fascinating to me. You hear about how humans are unique because we’re the only intelligent species, but we’re not the only one, we’re just the only intelligent species that survived.

That whole era interested me, when there were humans as well as this shorter species of little hobbit-like guys running around. It would’ve been kind of like Middle-Earth without the magic.

KD: How much of the world you had created as a kid carried over to Hominids as we know it now?

JK: On the Hominids comic website, I have some early sketches and you can kind of see how it was laid out. I did try and do like a little comic when I was in seventh grade and it had a prologue page that is similar in a lot of ways to the new comic. I mean, it’s a lot simpler and more silly, but it features pretty similar characters. Originally it was set on a small island surrounded by mystery and magic, but a certain TV show kind of ruined that for me. (laughs)

That was fine ’cause it pushed me to go in a more interesting direction. Back then the Neanderthal characters were grouped into regular natives, mountain natives,  then there were the cannibals, and some surfer natives in there somewhere. The chimpanzees they fight were called ‘peanut people’ in the first issue. They were just small little guys that always caused trouble.

There are some similarities, but the overall story is quite a bit different.

KD: Somewhere between the first and the second issue, you made the decision to switch from doing the comic in black and white to full color. What factored into that decision for you?

JK: The first issue was very much an experimental issue just to answer the question, ‘can I do this?’ Can I do a full issue while working as well? My original thought process was that I wasn’t going to have enough time to do full color. The more I got into it, the more I was rendering it and fleshing it out and I realized that wasn’t gonna take much more to put the color in there.

Also, when you have a lush jungle setting, you sort of want to see that world in color. I thought it would be worth that bit of inconsistency between the first two issues to have a higher quality book.

KD: Do you think you’d ever go back and recolor that first issue?

JK: I intend to, actually. That’s something I’m gonna do inbetween issues two and three. I’m also going to have a booth at the Emerald City Con, so my goal is to have it done before then.

For more Hominids you can visit it here and here at The Fabler (requires login), or here on its official website. You can also check out his art blog, or visit the website of the Kotzebue brothers.

- Interview by Kevin de Vlaming

Is it a book? Is it a collective? Is it a movement?

I had questions, and Gerald had answers.

This interview is especially significant for two reasons, the first being that The Fabler has collaborated with Mr. Garcia to release a print-on-demand book for the Artist Block Party.  The book is titled ‘Illustrated Classics’, and it marks The Fabler’s first official foray into the wonderful world of print-on-demand.

As you might have expertly gleaned from the title, Artist Block Party Vol. 1: Illustrated Classics is a collection of illustrated reinterpretations of classic  stories. Within the pages of Illustrated classics, you’ll find Canadian artists’ depictions of everything from Baba Yaga and Frankenstein to The Odyssey and Swan Lake.

The second item of significance is that the proceeds from this book go towards the Alberta Literacy Fund and the Eugene Ouchi Scholarship Fund (for students attending the Alberta College of Art and Design).

What we have here is collection of beautifully drawn illustrations by passionate Canadian artists in support of education and literacy. How could I not talk to Gerald about such a wicked cool idea for a project?

That interview is below:

KD: How did the Artist Block Party originally come about?

GGG: There has been a small community of artists between Calgary and Edmonton that have been in contact with each other for a number of years, and I’ve always wanted to see us all come together for a group project. So I thought I’d throw this out there and see who would respond, and it worked out really well. Thirty people answered the call, and twenty people made the deadline in time to make it into the book.

KD: What can you tell me about the significance behind the name, Artist Block Party?

GGG: It brings connotations of being a collective – and incidentally, communism, but hey.  It’s all about being part of an equal group, and working things out as a group.

KD: You mentioned a ‘community of artists’ based in Alberta. How did you connect with these artists – how did you all come together?

GGG: We’ve had forums set up, Maple Ink in Calgary and Canadian Geek in Edmonton, and we’ve been in contact through those for quite a long while. It started with the 24 Hour Comic Challenge when we set up a list of contacts to get more people involved, then after that it took off from there as people started doing collaborative projects together, and scheduling meets which led to the local drink and draws.

KD: Vol. 1 of Artist Block Party is also a fundraising effort for the Eugene Ouchi Scholarship  Fund and the Alberta Literacy Fund. What can you tell me about the decision to donate proceeds from the book to these endeavors?

GGG: Eugene Ouchi was one of my instructors at Alberta College of Art and Design, who passed away just last year.  I’ve always been impressed with the sheer number of students that have benefited from his tutelage, and te scholarship is a way to honor him. The idea is that it would go to a student that is both deserving and in need of extra financial assistance.

Regarding the Alberta Literacy Fund, I’ve just always been a strong proponent of the Calgary Public Library. I spent a great deal of my childhood at the library, and I think as a result my love of books is something that’s just always going to be there. I think that’s important for people to have.

KD: Why did you choose to make the first volume a collection of illustrations as opposed to a sequential anthology?

GGG: The sequential book will come. I figured with the one page format it would be easier to manage all of the artists on shorter notice, which is how this book came together.

KD: What story did you choose to reinterpret for your submission to Illustrated Classics, and what can you tell me about why you chose it?

GGG: I chose to do Goblin Market, by Christina Rossetti.  I’ve always been a fan of the Pre-Raphaelites and I’ve always been interested in poetry, Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe – all of that. It came together out of that.

KD: We touched on your plans for a sequential anthology in the future. Can you elaborate any more on where else you would like to see the Artist Block Party go from here?

GGG: I want it to continue to be an opportunity for artists that have never had anything printed to have something tangible to share with the world.  I would like to see the Artist Block Party do something annually, or even bi-annually. I think that would be great.

KD: What’s the personal incentive for you in bringing together the creative community for projects like the Artist Block Party?

GGG: I felt like in my own experiences as an artist, there really weren’t many avenues available for me to choose from to get my work out there. I guess I just want to make that first step easier for other artists in that same position, and to get more people out there in general.

KD: Is there anything else you’re currently working on as an artist outside of this project?

GGG: Outside of this, I like to draw for my kids. They ask me to draw things for them every day,  and I get quite a lot of joy from that.

Thanks to G. Gerald Garcia for taking the time to chat with me about the Artist Block Party!

You can visit his blog here, and you can find Artist Block Party Vol. 1: Illustrated Classics available for purchase here on The Fabler. (All proceeds go to the Alberta Literacy Fund and the Eugene Ouchi Scholarship Fund)

-Interview by Kevin de Vlaming

“I’m proud to support local artists willing to put their foot out for a medium that encourages readers both visually and intellectually,” says Bruno Steppuhn, the Founder of Fabler Comics’ thefabler.com.

More than 30 artists are represented in the book that showcases classical stories and myth’s. Participating artists each donated their work to the project.

This is the first time that this group of artists have created a book in order to raise money for community organizations. The project was created to showcase Alberta artistic talent as well as generate interest in literacy issues in the province.

“There is a lot of talent in Alberta and books like this are a great opportunity for people to be exposed to that talent”

Gerald Garcia says that the book will help to promote artists and allow them to contribute back to their community. Supporting literacy helps them to tell others about their love of books and comics.

All proceeds from the books sales support the the Alberta Literacy Foundation and the Eugene Ouchi Scholarship Fund (ACAD).

—–

Literacy Alberta is a provincial not-for-profit organization working toward a fully literate society. We are leaders for literacy in Alberta. Together we foster a culture of learning for all Albertans. Literacy Alberta supports people involved in literacy activities, and influences public policy.

The Eugene Ouchi Scholarship is an annual competitive scholarship in the visual communications department created in memory of Eugene Ouchi.

The webseries, titled Murdoch Mysteries: Curse of the Lost Pharaohs, struck me as an innovative blend of live action and a sort of animation that is very motion-comic-esque. Curse of the Lost Pharaohs is intended as a companion series to the actual Murdoch Mysteries television series’ fourth season, and expands on the adventures of Detective William Murdoch and his quirky companion, Constable Crabtree, as they solve cases for the Toronto Police Force.

A thirteen episode online-only series of animated/live action adventures is an interesting vessel for a show set in the 19th century.

Jay Bennett, one of the producers behind the webseries, told me that the decision to bring the animated portions of Curse of the Lost Pharaohs into the mix was a practical one.

“By using animation it allowed us to go anywhere and do anything,” says Bennett. “We could go to the Pyramids in Egypt, fly over Niagara Falls in a hot air balloon and stage a ship battle at sea. Normally you only see this scale in Hollywood 100 million dollar films, but with animation in our tool kit, we were able to achieve this scope on a very limited budget and I think the results are fantastic.”

I was curious what motivated the producers to head-hunt a well known comic artist for this project, so I asked Jay what it was about Manapul’s particular style of art that singled him out as a good candidate for the show.
“As the story itself was a “larger than life” interpretation of Murdoch Mysteries,” Bennett replied, “I felt a strong, heroic animation style that matched the actors interpretation of the characters would fit best and give us the smoothest blend between mediums. Over the last several months of working together, the images he creates continue to blow me away.”

It might be relevant to note that this isn’t Francis Manapul’s first gig as an artist working with a Canadian television show. You may have also seen him as the resident artist on Beast Legends, a show about a team of researchers and creative types who travel the globe following stories of fantastic creatures and mythical beasts.

I talked to Francis about his experience making the Murdoch Mysteries webseries, how he ended up working as a ‘comic artist for TV shows’, and how he manages to juggle his time between this sort of thing and his work for DC Comics.

That interview, for your viewing delight, may be found below:

KD: How did you get involved with Curse of the Lost Pharaohs?

FM: Jay Bennet just emailed me out of the blue. We’d been talking about doing some work together but my schedule never really matched up. It just so happens that when this came up I had some free time, so we had a meeting and that was pretty much it!

KD: What’s the extent of your involvement with this project?

FM: Initially I was coming on to direct the art and oversee the illustration and the animation. But I actually ended up illustrating and storyboarding the thing myself as well!

Me and Jay would have a meeting and go through the script and storyboard the scenes and how they would work out. We already had the audio and we knew exactly how much time we would have between each video. So we had to make sure we tailor made each scene to that timeframe.

KD: Were you a fan of the show beforehand?

FM: You know, I can’t say that I had seen the show beforehand. I had only just seen commercials and stuff for it before Jay contacted me – I wasn’t too aware of what it was about beyond that.

KD: So what did you have to do to acquaint yourself with the characters and such before you started storyboarding?

FM: Luckily they had already shot the video content for this online series, so I could sort of see how the setting was and how the actors were acting. Jay was kind enough to give me stacks of dvd’s of the show so I could get caught up and see what it’s about – just sort immerse myself in this world, and you know, it’s a pretty funny show. I remember seeing the original TV movie (that preceded the series), and it was a very different take. Very serious in tone. This one can still be serious, but it usually has a very tongue-in-cheek approach to its subject matter, which I found interesting.

KD: What were the biggest challenges for you in approaching the art for this project?

FM: The biggest challenge was that I’ve never done anything like this before, and they haven’t either. It was a completely new learning experience from both ends. We had to economize the amount of illustration we did, but at the same time make sure that we were properly prepared for the animators to be able to break in and do all sorts of movement with those still images. The only way to do that was to draw every single element on a different layer, which was something I was not accustomed to.

It was a much bigger undertaking than I had initially expected, and it was actually the first time that I did all of my illustrations completely digital. After the second or third episode, I realized that drawing this thing traditionally was not very conducive at all in terms of a proper timeframe. Working the different layers using a computer, and using Photoshop, was a lot more deadline-friendly and I think it was also better for the animators because you’re able to zoom in 200-400% on a digital illustration and have it look nice and crisp whereas if you do the same to something that was drawn on a fairly large piece of paper, you’re going to start seeing the grain of the paper.

KD: To compare this to your approach to comic art, what would the level of digital integration you would use be for a comic like The Flash?

FM: Well with The Flash, I would do traditional pencils and ink, and then I would do watercolour grey tones on my pages. Then once I scan it in, before I send it to my colourist, I actually digitally colorize my work. It sounds weird, it sounds like I’m coloring it but I’m not. I’m just changing those grey tones to sepia tones or to blue tones depending on the scene to create the proper mood, then the colourist knows what sort of colour scheme to jump from.

You know, if I wasn’t doing those watercolours on my artwork, I would seriously consider doing more of my illustrations digitally. It’s fun, it’s very different, and I think my inks have never looked so slick than on Murdoch Mysteries. Of course the other side of that coin is that traditional illustration has that personality to it that the ‘perfection’ of digital art can’t really achieve.

KD: Curse of the Lost Pharaohs comes not too long after Beast Legends, another TV show you were involved with as an artist. Was pursuing this sort of crossover between comic art and television intentional, or did things just sort of pan out that way?

FM: (laughs) Things just sort of panned out that way. It wasn’t anything I pursued, for lack of a better term I sort of fell ass backwards into both projects. To me as an artist it’s always fun to do different things and push myself to try stuff I’ve never tried before. With Beast Legends, I’ve never spray painted a wall in my entire life and yet there I was…spray painting a thirty or forty foot wall after just learning to use a spray can fifteen minutes before we started shooting. With Murdoch Mysteries, because of what was called for, I had to use digital means for the illustration.

And while a lot of these opportunities definitely push me artistically, I think that being a comic artist has a sort of specialized versatility to it because really you’re just using art to tell stories in a very specific way. Once you have that concept down pat, that you’re using art to say something rather than just paint a pretty picture, then you can adapt to different mediums.

KD: How do you find a balance in how you manage your time between stuff like the Murdoch Mysteries webseries and Beast Legends, and keeping up with your DC Comics obligations?

FM: Well luckily Beast Legends ended way before Murdoch Mysteries, and the thing was… I’m sure you’re well aware of what’s going on with the DC Universe right now (more about that here and here), and because of the shake-up there were some holes in my regular comic book schedule. I would work on my comic book pages in the studio during the day, then I would go home and work on the Murdoch stuff, or I’d do it over the weekend. It just came at a good time because I had that bit of a gap, and I was able to use Curse of the Lost Pharaohs to keep drawing.

But now with the new responsibilities I have with DC, I think I’ll be focusing just on that.

(What Manapul is referring to is his new job sharing both art AND writing duties with Brian Buccellato on The Flash, beginning with the relaunched issue #1 in September)

You can watch Murdoch Mysteries: Curse of the Lost Pharaohs here, and more from Francis Manapul, check out his website, deviantART, or follow him on Twitter.

-Interview by Kevin de Vlaming

Now put that premise into the capable hands of Montreal-based artist Alex Fellows, a comic creator so talented he was nominated for a Doug Wright Award in the Best Emerging Artist category and then nominated again for that same award six years later.

Toss in a dash of surrealism alongside some genuinely interesting use of colour to convey tone and mood, and congratulations! You’ve successfully whipped up a steaming fresh batch of Spain & Morocco, the graphic novel currently being serialized online by Fellows over at www.spainandmorocco.com.

Cooking metaphors aside, Spain & Morocco is a fantastic read.  The characters are well-defined and marked by the kind of honest human flaws that mean they aren’t always likable, but they are, for the most part, relatable.

Fellows’ art is top-notch as well.  The expressions of those aforementioned characters are brought to vivid life in pencil and ink, while watercolor paints capture the mood and setting of the world they inhabit with inspired creativity.

It should come as little surprise that this project has been a long time in the works.

Fellows, who formerly was best known for his graphic novel Canvas, has been working on Spain & Morocco in one form or another since 2003. After Canvas was released by Fantagraphics Books in 2004, word got out that he was working on a follow-up project titled ‘The Unmoved’.

“From 2003 to 2007,” says Fellows, “I worked on a graphic novel which is basically a black & white version of Spain and Morocco. It was 110 pages or so, and it was called ‘The Unmoved’. It featured the same lead characters and the same basic setup. I originally proposed it to Fantagraphics, but they turned it down, so I put aside doing any comics for a few years.”

In the interim Fellows worked on animations (including this stellar animated video for a Deerhoof song), as well as a children’s picture book and some prose writing. Then a few years ago, he stumbled across his old pages from ‘The Unmoved’ and decided he would scan them and put them up online.

“I started touching up some of the pages so much,” he says, “that I finally gave up and completely redrew one. Then I realized that if I was going to juxtapose pages I was redoing with pages I had done six years ago, it would be pretty distracting to the reader. So I basically started re-doing the comic I had finished, but with watercolor, and I was really enjoying telling the story again. And this time I had the advantage of having a first draft.”

On account of the time Fellows has invested into this project, he says that his influences have changed regular over the course of its conception.

“For a while, I was reading the last Martin Amis novel, ‘The Pregnant Widow, which is about young people spending the summer in Italy trying to have sex with each other, and it was making me re-consider some of the scenes I was writing. Then the other day I was listening to the new Radiohead album and an idea for the story popped into my head. I guess whatever I’m looking at or reading, for better or for worse, makes it into my comics.

I’ve also been looking at Winslow Homer’s watercolors to try and skimp even the smallest smidgen of his sense of color and light and put it into my work.”

Despite the creative and notably skilful use of color seen in Spain & Morocco, Fellows says that painting is actually the step that requires the least amount of time in his artistic process.

“This is because I’ve been thinking about it the entire time while pencilling and inking,” he explains. “It takes about one to two hours per page. I usually work in big washes and I avoid using too many different colors. I try not to bog down the story with over-rendering, although I’m afraid I crossed that line in some places. I’m always re-thinking how I should be painting this comic. Sometimes I feel it’s too sloppy, then sometimes it looks too uptight.”

I mentioned that Spain & Morocco has a surrealist element to it. This is by no means a pronounced or regular aspect of S&M, so much as it is a tool that Fellows employs on occasion to help us get more into the heads of his characters.

“I like trying to convey what somebody is feeling through some kind of comic exaggeration or through expressionist drawing,” says Fellows. “Every day you see people walking down the street and it’s clear that their thoughts are elsewhere; having an imaginary argument with their boss, remembering something from their childhood, working out some plan to murder their neighbor’s dog… In the case of Spain & Morocco, my way of showing a fantasy or a memory without using a cloud-like thought balloon above the character’s head is just to integrate it into the setting. I try not to use it too often because it can be pretty self-indulgent.”

Alex Fellows’ work on Spain & Morocco has earned him an acknowledgment from this year’s  Doug Wright Awards in the form of a Best Emerging Artist nomination. Fellows says that he is “really happy to have a Doug Wright nomination, even if it is for ‘emerging artist’ again.”

“I guess the committee really liked my work,” he says, “and since I don’t have a book out, emerging artist was the only category they could fit me in. In any case, the Toronto Comics Art Festival is a really great convention and the Doug Wright Awards ceremony is very nice, so I’m looking forward to it.”

I also asked Alex if anything from Spain & Morocco was based on his own experiences’ backpacking around in foreign countries. His response:

“I went on four backpacking trips in my twenties, all of them with not much money. One of them was in the South of Spain, then across the water to Morocco, but the trip (S&M characters) Walt and Dan are on is pretty different than mine.

When I try to directly use an experience of mine it always turns into fiction. I feel more concerned with sticking to the story I’m telling rather than stitching together a string of backpacking anecdotes. Hopefully, the autobiographical bits I have put in are seamless with the fictional ones.”

Outside of Spain & Morocco, Fellows is currently seeking a publisher for a children’s picture book he has completed titled ‘Kelvin the Weather Boy’.

“I worked on ‘Kevin the Weather Boy’ full-time for nearly five months thanks to a grant from the Quebec Arts Council. Writing for children was a lot harder than I thought.  It means towing the line between talking down to the reader and talking about subjects that are way over their head. But I’m happy how it turned out. ”

Speaking of children, Alex currently divides his time between illustrating, animating, and raising a young child of his own. Contrary to what you might think, he insists this actually helps in maintaining an effective work/life balance:

“I’m more productive now that I have a child, a wife, and a full time job, believe it or not. When you’re working under the threat of your child suddenly waking up crying from his nap, you don’t dilly-dally as much. Sometimes I’m half-awake at the drawing board, but it just gives you a different perspective on things.”

For more from Alex Fellows, you can visit his official website, check out his blog, or follow him on Twitter.

You can find Spain & Morocco here.

-Written by Kevin de Vlaming

Two Generals, which just saw first publication this past October 26th, has already received a barrage of media attention.  It has been profiled on the main page of CBC.ca, featured on MSN, netted him an interview on The National Post, and was seen in a TV segment on CBC’s The National. Combine this with planning a release party at the J.A. McIntosh Armoury in Cambridge, Ont., doing a cover story interview with Canadian literary magazine Quill & Quire, and maintaining an ongoing blog about the process involved with creating the book and… well, you start to get an idea why Scott’s free time may be at a premium as of late.

Which is why we were excited that he agreed to do a quick Q & A for us here on The Fabler.  Which awards Scott the “gentleman AND scholar” distinction, in my books.

Two Generals marks Chantler’s first journey into non-fiction, providing a historical account of his Grandfather Law Chantler’s experience in World War Two. Prior to the book, Scott was known for his work on the Three Thieves series as well as the critically acclaimed collected Northwest Passage.

While Two Generals presents a detailed depiction of the conditions for Canadian soldiers during the Second World War, it also tells a story about the friendship between Law Chantler and his best friend Jack Chrysler.  Interesting to note: the roots of this graphic novel can be traced back to Scott stumbling upon his Grandfather’s war diary purely by accident, and many of the details of the story were filled in when Jack Chrysler’s widow’s daughter contacted him with a collection of supplementary letters and photos.

Read on, for the full interview with Scott Chantler:

KD: How would you describe the premise behind Two Generals to someone who wasn’t as interested in the historic aspect of the narrative?

SC: It’s a more emotional book than most people seem to have expected. And really, the whole idea was to do a story about friendship. The fact that it plays out on such a large historical stage is really just set dressing; as I’ve said in other interviews, the story would have been largely the same if it had been about my grandfather and his friend climbing Mount Everest. It’s their relationship that’s the most important thing.

KD: When did you first consider turning your Grandfather’s story into a graphic novel?

SC: I only considered it after having so many people suggest it to me. When I would tell people about all of the personal WWII memorabilia I had, they would invariably suggest writing about it. At first I was horrified by the idea, but began to warm up to it the more I thought about it and researched.

KD: How well did you know Law Chantler during his life? Would you say that you were close?

SC: I was 25 when he died (in 1997), so we had an adult relationship and were close, yes.

KD: To what degree was making this book about you building a better understanding for yourself about what sort of man your grandfather really was?

SC: I had a pretty clear understanding of who he was already. And also a good general idea of what he had gone through in the war. The real motivation was to retrace his steps in as much detail as I could, to see just how closely I could recreate his experience. Out of curiosity, I guess, and an interest in making sure that information wasn’t lost.

KD: As I understand it, the story of how this book came together is quite a tale in itself. From the chance discovery of your grandfather’s war diary to Jack Chrysler’s widow’s daughter contacting you with the letters that helped supplement your research…

Did you at any point consider putting your own experience researching the book into the graphic novel as a sort of companion narrative?

SC: I decided quite early on that I was going to try to keep myself out of the book as much possible. I didn’t want to just rip off the structure of Art Spiegelman’s MAUS, and it’s not as if my grandfather and I had some complicated relationship to untangle. I wanted it to be my grandfather’s story, not mine.

I am detailing the research and production of the book in a blog, though, which can be found at www.two-generals.com.

KD: What was the hardest information for you to procure while you were doing research for Two Generals?

SC: There are some things that I *never* found out, such as how my grandfather and Jack Chrysler first met. There’s also an officer mentioned near the end of the book, Capt. Jim Fawcett, who I was never able to find a photograph of…his appearance is invented, unfortunately (I put off drawing that page until the very end, just in case something turned up.)

KD: Throughout your research, did you speak with any actual veterans from WW II?

SC: Yes, I spoke extensively with a veteran named Col. Douglas Barrie, who had been a friend of my grandfather’s during the war. They were both the same rank (lieutenant) and were both platoon commanders, so they shared many of the same experiences. Col. Barrie died late last year, unfortunately, but his contributions to my research were exceptionally helpful.

KD: How did you artistically approach Two Generals differently than your previous graphic novels?

SC: I wanted this book to really get across the waiting, the fear, and the claustrophobia of preparing for war. So I was even more precise about timing that I usually am in my work. I don’t usually put so many panels on a page, but I went with nine panel pages to really slow down the tempo. And put them in a grid to create a highly regular, military-style rhythm.

There’s also the matter of colour, which is used more symbolically in Two Generals than in any of my previous books.

KD: Based on images I’ve seen of the finished book, the design looks fantastic – was it your intention from the start for the finished work to look like a diary itself, or did that come about much later?

SC: That was completely the idea of the book’s designer, Jennifer Lum. When we had the meeting about design, she had the whole thing worked out. I really just had to wait for her to stop talking so I could say “yes.” She gets the full credit for that one.

KD: As a final question, what sort of material can we look forward to seeing up on the Two Generals Blog in the coming weeks?

SC: Never-before-seen historical photographs, comparisons of reference pictures to finished panels from the book, excerpts from my grandfather’s diaries and my other research materials, behind-the-scenes anecdotes about where and how I discovered which pieces of information, and whatever else I think might be interesting to people.

It’s going to be fun and interesting, and people should read the book and then come to the site and follow along!

For more from Scott Chantler, you can visit him on his official website, follow him on Twitter, or visit the Two Generals blog.

-Interview by Kevin de Vlaming

Over the course of three months, comic creators posted full, 24-plus page comics for their peers to review, comment, and vote on.  After the finalists by popular vote were announced, the Fabler editorial folks went through and hand-picked three winners.

We figured, hey, if you liked their work enough to vote them into the finals, maybe you would like to know a little more about the talented individuals behind the comics.

The Grand Prize winner of this particular contest was Kutztown, Pennsylvania resident and illustrator Scott Ferguson, for his comic Scout Crossing. Ferguson, who nabbed a Wacom Cintiq 21UX by winning 1st place, originally came up with Scout Crossing because he “always wanted to do a comic about trends, and (he) wanted to have fun with it.”

Scout Crossing is more, of course, than a comic about trends. It’s a cleverly written story about a guy who could stand to apply himself a little more, a couple of strong, sassy ladies that for some reason stick by him, and the over-the-top pop culture stereotypes that want him dead. All this with awesome art and a chain-smoking Pizzly Bear to boot (look it up).

I talked to Scott about Scout Crossing, his early roots in comic books, and more.

The interview is below:

KD: Is illustration a full-time gig for you?

SF: Yes, I’m completely self employed. Nerf This is the comic which basically supports me, and on top of that, I also make a living working for various art directors and publishing houses around the US doing branding and illustration for their projects.

KD: How far back does your interest in comics go? Do you still remember what specifically got you hooked you on the medium?

SF: Hah, my interest in comics goes back to elementary school, where my older brother had a collection of X-Men and Image comics. This was around 1995 I believe, because I remember Spawn and the Savage Dragon were fairly new.  After this I started reading Spider-man and decided both that my favorite villain/hero was  Venom, and that I wanted to start my own comic.  (I may have been 11 or 12).

KD: How did you get started actually making comics?

SF: This might be something of an anticlimactic answer, but after reading some other comics on the web, I thought that I could do something like that, and maybe if I try hard enough, I could do something even better (still a very far-fetched idea).  After I started Nerf This, I almost immediately began to notice that drawing a comic every day was helping me become a better illustrator, and the feedback I was receiving was fantastic, so comic-ing became something almost like a disease (a fun, healthy disease of course).

Next I want to start a small press company for the comics I update.  The most important thing I’ve always wanted to do was to avoid ever drawing for a huge company.  I’ve always wanted to draw for myself.

KD: If you had to name three of the biggest influences on your artistic style (or storytelling), who would you absolutely have to mention?

SF: I’m not sure if I really have strong influences, but there are a few comics that come to mind.  Artistically, I’m completely envious of D. Helmer’s “the Meek“, I hope to have half that talent one day.  Ramone Perez’s “Kukuburi” – that man is a master of his craft, and I always look forward to what he’s coming up with.

Lastly, this applies especially with the writing, The Abominable Charles Christopher by Karl Kerschl. His ability to develop a story is a great thing, and his punchlines are brilliantly timed.

KD: How much of Scout Crossing is informed by your own experiences with cultural clichés? (the pretentious scenesters, the coffeehouse indie kids, etc)

SF: Scout Crossing is my favorite project because of the experiences that have accompanied it.  I used to live in a city that had an awesome coffee shop which was always packed. My friends and I were there almost every day, and the mix of people and styles you saw were great. The same applies to the bands I occasionally work with – I find myself being introduced to a new music scene with almost every client I meet.

I was just at a small art show last week, and someone who looked to be a few years younger than me walked past me, and even rolled his eyes… this was especially awesome because he had just a mustache, capri pants, a beanie, and sandals made from rope.  I immediately thought, “Wow, I’m drawing you in Scout Crossing”.

I love indie culture, the art, the music, all of it.

KD: How did Scout Crossing originally get its start?

SF: This answer might be a bit wonky, but I honestly just started drawing a few pages, and the story started coming together in my mind. Now, after 45 pages, I have a clear goal where I want the story to go.  Scout Crossing is entirely dedicated to my oldest brother, who was also an artist, and much more talented than myself.

KD: How do you go about  creating a page of Scout Crossing?

SF: My friends are a huge inspiration for my creating comics. They like Scout as much as I do, and we’re always throwing around ideas for what could happen. Having more than one person’s insight and brainstorming on a project is just as important (if not more important) than the art itself.

This next part of my answer is going to be honest, but completely embarrassing.  After I have an idea, I completely draw and render the strips before I actually write out the panels.  I have a decent concept of what I want my characters to express in a post, and that helps my finalize the writing.

The “equipment” I use is pretty straightforward, I sketch out a page on 11 x 14 bristol board, scan it in at 600 dpi, and I’ll set up my panels and frames accordingly.  Once I have this all done, I’ll begin tracing my lines with my old intuos 2 tablet, and once that is done, I move on to coloring, shading, highlights, effects, and textures, all in that order.  I use Photoshop CS5 to do all of this, and by the end of a piece, I often have over 50-60 layers in a single document.  All writing for the comic is done in Adobe Illustrator, so once that’s done I just import the lettering over and bubble it out.

KD: The other webcomic you’re currently regularly updating is Nerf This.

What could you say about the tonal differences between the two comics, and the different experience that each presents when you sit down to create a strip/page?

SF: It’s almost like night and day, Nerf This is very simple compared to Scout, especially aesthetically.  With Nerf This, you really don’t have to worry about camera angles or character placement.  I love writing and drawing both of them – they both have a different style of humor, and I believe that if I just had the one comic and not the other, I’d almost be terrified I would get a little bored.  The one thing that is a universal emotion for me is that I can’t allow myself to feel uninspired with either. I have to constantly update all of them, and I have to be excited about it every time I sit in front of my computer.

KD: Last question, just for fun.

If a film exec approached you tomorrow about a movie based on Scout Crossing, who would you tell him you’d like to see play the characters we’ve been introduced to so far?

SF: First, I would tell the guy that he’s making a horrid mistake, and my comic is nowhere near the quality of the movie screen. Then I would run in circles until I tired myself out from excitement.

Buuuut, I need to be more movie savvy for this… I could say maybe James Mcavoy for Boyd Pizzly.  Nora Zehetner for Penny Smashworthy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Scout Crossing, and maaaaayyyybe Emma Stone for Liz.  I would also include an actual Pizzly Bear for Pizzly Bear.

(If you sum this up, you can obviously see that I don’t make any sense.)

Congratulations to Scott again for being the First ever First Place Winner on a Fabler Contest! I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more of Scout, as well as the wickedly funny Nerf This.

For more from Scott, you can visit his home page, follow him on Twitter, or check out his comics on The Fabler.

-Interview by Kevin de Vlaming

When the combined comics of one creative Calgarian threaten to overwhelm the humble corner of the interweb that they occupy…

One name resounds clearly amidst the din. (the din?)

Damian Willcox is… dorkboy.

(cue theatrical John Williams knockoff score)

Damian Willcox has been making comics for over fifteen years, an impressive span by any standard.

‘dorkboy‘ represents his fictional alter-ego , a superhero in a world similar – but substantially more ridiculous – than our own. Over the years, dorkboy evolved into ‘dorkboy comics‘, a banner under which Willcox has created a number of totally different comic strips, each featuring their own unique artistic approach and distinctive tone.

One of those comic titles is ‘skully.‘, which features the curiously human encounters of an unassuming, well dressed spectre of death. Another is ‘workin’ jones‘, a much more realistically drawn portrayal of an average person in his everyday interactions with the people around him.

‘sketchbook comics‘ is yet another example of the diverse interests which appeal to Willcox’s creative side. sketchbook comics is the most overtly autobiographical of his creative corral, featuring a super-cartoony version of Willcox in short vignettes taken from his everyday life. The art is, as you might guess, very loose and sketch-like.

You’re probably getting the point by now that Damian Willcox is hard to nail down in a particular artistic niche. Which is for the best, really.

dorkboy comics, which originated as self-published minicomics before Damian moved the majority of his work online, is all about variety.

In an attempt to make sense of the creative cornucopia that is Damian Willcox’s comic book canon, I tracked him down for an interview.

The interview went as follows: (rest assured, dear reader – there’s very little alliteration in the actual interview)

KD: How did dorkboy comics start?

DW: Oh boy. I made the first one in 1995. When I was in college a friend of mine was in the printing program at SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology). He was doing a zine kind of thing, and he had one last page to fill so I ended up drawing a comic for that out of the blue.

Probably a year or two after that, I decided to make a minicomic as a christmas card from my friends and family. That would’ve been the first official 11×17, folded dorkboy comic.

People liked it, and I had fun making it – so it just kept going from there.

KD: Fifteen years is a long time to be involved with one comic concept. Does it feel like it’s been that long to you?

DW: No, it’s weird – it’s actually gone really quickly. The thing is, as I’ve gone along I’ve just started up a new comic whenever I felt like doing something different.

When you’re doing comics, you can change the presentation and you can change the content so much that you can create totally different story experiences.

There are certain stories I could only do with one of my comic titles that just wouldn’t work with any of the others.

KD: What methods or programs do you use to create the strips?

DW: Right now, I lean more towards digital methods. A big reason for that transition from pen and ink was that I was getting tendinitis.

I’ve tried a bunch of different programs, but the main two that I’ve settled on are Adobe Illustrator and Manga Studio. Using the second one, I’ve been able to reproduce the linework very closely to when I used to draw in pen and ink.

KD: On the topic of drawing digitally, I know you like to experiment with a lot of different mediums. Lately, what have been your favorite platforms or programs to play around with?

DW: (laughs) I’ve been doing comics on my iPod Touch, using SketchBook mobile. I’ve actually made six or so comics on that tiny little screen.

KD: How much of your time does dorkboy comics take up these days?

DW: Usually, the comics take up about ten to fifteen hours of my time per week. I can stay regular so long as I’m not too busy with work – during a busy period, it gets pretty hard to free up fifteen hours out of nowhere.

KD: What does your dayjob entail, exactly?

DW: I do product design for software. I don’t do any of the programming or anything, but I basically design how the program should work for average people to be able to understand it.

KD: Your collection of work tends to venture all over the place, and it becomes sort of hard to readily define. What do you tell people when they ask you about what dorkboy comics is?

DW: I try and break it down into the different titles. There’s no real way to summarize them otherwise – I mean, most of them tend to be more of the humor category, but then you have ‘workin’ jones’, which is much more serious.

KD: How did your approach to making comics change when you shifted from print to almost exclusively digital?

DW: With print comics, I would end up spending more time on the business side, on running around putting them together, and on distribution. Ultimately making comics is not something I want to be a job.  It’s something I enjoy doing, and once it becomes a job, it loses that portion of its appeal.

Anytime I’ve experimented with taking my comics in a direction where I could make money from them, like for a while there was interest in a tv series based on them, it just turns into an unenjoyable experience.

I just want people to read the comics and enjoy them really, and the nice thing about the web is I can do that without a lot of financial risk or commitment.

KD: What would you say is one important thing for an aspiring comic creator to know in the current state of the industry?

DW: I would say to have realistic expectations, and be realistic about where they’re starting. A lot of people might decide, “Hey, I’m going to do a daily webcomic” and then a month into it when they don’t have a million followers, be discouraged. The workload for that could get pretty huge, and it can seem daunting when you’re not getting the reception you hoped for.

The most important thing is just to make comics for the sake of making them, and get better in the process of doing that.

KD: Do you have anything else in the works that you might like to share?

DW: At this point I feel like everything’s been pretty much transparent in terms of what I’m working on. I pretty much post everything (laughs). If I do a crappy little sketch comic, it’ll either show up on the website or on Twitter.

I’d like to pull together my kernel corn and my workin’ jones stuff and maybe put together a couple of individual books. So that might work out in time for next year’s Calgary Expo.

For more from Damian Willcox, you can check out dorkboy comics, his blog, twitter feed, and the dorkboy comics Facebook page.

-Written by Kevin de Vlaming

Its themes of directionless youth and awkward/witty attempts at human connection will resound with you as genuine, just as you will very likely find yourself fascinated with the kind of idiosyncratic conversation that can be produced by a nondescript cartoon ghost.

This is the world that author and artist Ethan Rilly has created; a place that you will be able to relate to while keeping you guessing where the book is going with every page turn.

The story of Pope Hats centers around a young woman named Frances Scarland and her self-destructive roommate, Vickie. As Vickie careens down a path of alcoholism, Frances does her best to help her friend – but Franny has her own issues, which often come out in her interactions with a literal ghost named Saarsgard.

Ethan’s deft ability to construct a sincere narrative laced with convincing dialogue, combined with his knack for breezy, expressive illustration, contributed to Pope Hats winning a Xeric Foundation Grant in 2008. At the time, Pope Hats had manifested only as a limited-distribution minicomic.

Pope Hats # 1, a 32 page black-and-white comic book, saw wider distribution in 2009 via Adhouse Books.

The reason that we have yet to see a second issue of Pope Hats is owing to Ethan’s decision to follow the first comic with a longer length graphic novel, which he states on his website that we can hope to see in late 2010.

Being the impatient sort myself, I tracked down Ethan for an interview about the new book, his illustrative beginnings, and some general miscellany about what he’s up to outside of Pope Hats.

Read on, humble reader, and be enlightened:

KD: How far back does your interest in comic books go?

ER: I started reading comics in the early 90s around when Marvel was re-launching the X-Men books with Jim Lee as the main artist. I’m Asian, so I guess that was a pretty big deal for me. But those early books almost never cross my mind anymore.

KD: When and how did you decide that you first wanted to try your hand at making a mini-comic?

ER: I started a couple gag-ish comic strips for a campus newspaper when I was a student at McGill University. I needed an outlet that felt like the opposite of academia. My first mini didn’t require a lot of deliberation – I just xeroxed all those terrible strips together into a book and sold it in Montreal. To my surprise, people really responded to it.

KD: What formal education have you received in illustration?

ER: None, except for high school art classes. I guess I’m a little skeptical about art schools in general, though I am impressed by a lot of the young illustrators graduating from OCAD in Toronto. I’m more interested in good writers, which is a different ballgame.

KD: On your website it states that in addition to cartooning, you work for the Ontario government. Are you still occupied there?

ER: Yes, but recently I’ve been lucky enough to take some time off work for comics.

KD: How do you typically draw a balance between the responsibilities associated with your job and the sheer time commitment that being a professional artist entails?

ER: It’s never a perfect balance when I’m working full time. I don’t really have any good tips other than forsaking sleep (laughs). I sometimes dream about getting some kind of “bonus year” where I don’t age, don’t have any social or job obligations whatsoever, and where I just work intensively on comics.

Of course, in reality, that would be the end of me.

KD: How far along are you with the forthcoming Pope Hats graphic novel?

ER: A fair chunk is drawn, if I keep it down to a modest size.

KD: At this point, what are you able to tell me regarding what it’s about?

ER: It’s partly about failure. And there’s a part where I had to draw a whole lot of snow.

That’s all I’m going to say for now!

KD: Are you self-publishing it? Do you have plans for it to be distributed by AdHouse?

ER: I’m holding out until I finish it before I officially look for a publisher. I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

KD: How much of the story in the new graphic novel did you already have in mind when you put together Pope Hats # 1?

ER: Not much. Some of the parameters are the same. There’s something in particular I’m trying to capture, that Pope Hats touched the surface of.

Even with other projects I’m working on, it feels like I’m generally aiming for the same thing.

KD: Do you feel at all daunted by expectations for the new book, since the first Pope Hats received so much positive attention?

ER: To be honest, I don’t think there’s a great deal of expectation for my new comic or “graphic novel” or whatever you want to call it. Which is perfect. Agonizing over such things is hazardous.

KD: What else are you currently working on that you might like to share some info about?

ER: I’m working on a project where I interview real people and turn it into a wordy comic. I’m trying to marry comics with personal anecdotes that you would only tell when you’re at your most vulnerable–like at a seedy bar at two in the morning or something like that.

I like the project because it’s got “bad idea” written all over it. There are a bunch of logistical challenges. And it also satiates my interest in documentary-type stuff.

For more from Ethan, you can check out his official website. Popehats # 1 may be ordered directly from AdHouse.

-Interview by Kevin de Vlaming

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