Read it HERE.

One page left to Chapter Two!

I’m VERY pleased to be posting this Q&A with Mark Siegel! For those that don’t know, Mark is the creator behind the beautiful and mysterious web-comic/graphic novel SailorTwain or the Mermaid in the Hudson that updates every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Mark is also the Editorial Director of the excellent Graphic Novel publisher First Second Books.

At a certain point, it was ready. The characters found their voices, the story had an organic life of its own, in other words, it escaped me. I’ve never worked this long on a single project, but this one keeps getting more interesting for me. And the idea of serializing it as a web-comic came later in the process. Reading a few web-comics myself, some of them long-form stories, some of them short strips (like Kate Beaton, my continuing favorite) it struck me that this was the 19th century serial-novel tradition, in its freshest incarnation. You know how people lined up on the docks to get the latest chapter of Great Expectations? Now I guess we have RSS feeds.
3. How are you enjoying the experience of working in web-comics? Have you felt a sense of community through the process?

I love it. Sailor Twain draws together some delightful, inspired, funny, articulate people from all kinds of backgrounds. There are also many more of the quiet ones, some of whom surface every so often in the discussions. It’s already been a wonder for me, meeting readers and contributors to the project’s research, with Hudson River history, poetry, boating details. There’s also a very unique feeling that comes from being received, page by page. That is priceless, and wouldn’t happen from only putting out the finished book in print. Plus, some of them are really careful readers, picking up on nuances and subtle story and character shifts, which is most rewarding. As for a sense of community, yes, it turns out that is the biggest discovery of all for me. At first the “companion blog” was an afterthought, with little tidbits to go alongside the story. But then it has grown into a part of the Sailor Twain experience, and the discussions sometimes take off in marvelous ways, with people I’m genuinely excited to meet.

4. Because the story is unfolding online, do you find that you’re changing parts of the story or art as you go along?

The story is framed and scripted, but then as the saying goes “plan your work, and work your plan…” As I work on finished pages, Sailor Twain is constantly being

kneaded like pizza dough, adjusted, a scene performed differently, dialog trimmed or cut, and so forth. The interactive aspect probably influences that to some degree, but I’m careful to keep a good head-start on what’s appearing online, maybe to keep away the wrong pressures from my telling of the story.

5. How did the artistic style of the project develop? (As in why charcoal as opposed to pen & ink?)

In the last few years, I made several early versions—entire chapters in ink, then in watercolor washes—but I always had a frustrating sense it wasn’t the right mood, or the right look for characters who were deepening and layering themselves. Then came a piece of charcoal, and suddenly I could feel the industrial revolution, steel and smoke, coal and steam, rain and fog. . . It just came together, and nothing else would do. I love charcoal. It’s forgiving, it can be soft and hard, it can suggest things in the mist, just beyond our sight.

6. Are you drawing inspiration from the creators that you work with at First Second?

Yes, absolutely. First Second showcases some of the most inspiring comics authors working today, and I get to work with them, witness their process. Lots of inspiration there. But then with a project like Twain, I also had to close myself to outside influences at a certain point. I try not to bring my inner fanboy to the studio.

7. Are you working with an Editor on Sailor Twain? If so, has that been odd for you?

Tanya McKinnon is an agent, editor, and author. She has been an invaluable editorial partner on Sailor Twain, since before First Second began. From the start she was relentless with tough questions, questions and more questions. Having a mind like hers team up inside one’s vision is a rare blessing. Tanya not only pushed me to a depth I wouldn’t even have set my sights on, on my own—she also gave me renewed respect for what an editor can be. It’s always been easy to bash editors (and several comics authors do it regularly) but I believe in good editors, not meddlesome, or authoritarian editors… A true editor may or not work under that title. Some talented authors have their kibbitzers, coaches, trusted friends… But unless you can spare ten years to give yourself the necessary distance from your own work, an editor can provide some of that, much sooner. I think that’s invaluable, and many good works might have been great with a bit more of it.

8. How hard is it balancing writing & illustrating Sailor Twain with your duties as “Head Honcho” at First Second?

Since before First Second started I’ve been working on my own projects. My routine involves a couple hours in the studio before heading to work in Manhattan. At first that was a discipline, but now it’s part of my daily well-being. So its always been there—only now, it’s out in the open.

Go. Read. SailorTwain. Now.

You can also follow SailorTwain on Twitter & Facebook.

And a HUGE thanks to Mark for taking time out of what must be a incredibly hectic schedule to participate in my Q&A series. In fact, I think he answered my questions while on vacation!

Today’s page us up at GO HOME PADDY.com.

Only two more pages until the end of Chapter Two.

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell from Back Bay Books: An interesting read dealing with (as the cover states) “The Power of Thinking Without Thinking”. Some of the chapters are boring, but the book is worth reading for the chapter on the musician Kenna and the lameness of Top-4o radio alone.

Horns by Joe Hill from William Morrow: I liked Heart Shaped Box, and I LOVED 20th Century Ghosts, but Horns left me disappointed. I just couldn’t come  to care for ANY of the characters, and some of their motivations seemed either thin or nonexistent. Big bummer for me, as I was looking forward to reading Horns for some time.

The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1 & The Walking Dead Book 5 by Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard from Image Comics: First off, Adlard is a Hell of an Artist; and as the chapters progress he simply gets better and better. As for the story, Kirkman has real guts. He proves quickly that NO ONE is safe in this book and does things to his lead characters that you would never expect from an ongoing series. My only complaint would be the use of splash or double-page spreads for scenes that would work better broken down into smaller panels.

Rock Bottom by Joe Casey and Charlie Adlard from AiT/PlanetLar: Well, look here— Charlie Adlard again! Adlard uses a ligne claire style for this story of a man turning to stone and it works perfectly. Casey’s story however falls flat from the number of cliches involved.

Paris by Andi Watson & Simon Gane from SLG Publishing: This one has a number of cliches in it as well, and they prevent this graphic novel from really shining. It’s shame, because Watson is REALLY good and Gane’s art is ridiculously fun to pore over. I’m interested to see if these two work together again and what the result will be.

A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi from Drawn & Quarterly: Tatsumi is an absolute MASTER of storytelling, but….A Drifting Life…well, it drifts. Basically an autobiographical work examining Tatsumi’s early years of creating Manga, the book spends more time focused on the shifting sands of post-war Japan’s Manga industry than it does on the intricacies of Tatsumi’s homelife and transition into adulthood that informed his mastery of the art form.

I’m currently reading Steinbeck’s The Moon is Down and The Comics Journal Library Vol. 7: Harvey Kurtzman.

Head over HERE and read the latest page. Ah, those lovable Bostonians…

Read it HERE.

Only FOUR pages left until he close of Chapter 2…

HERE!

Check it out HERE!

Head over to GO HOME PADDY.com and read as Paddy’s voyage on a Coffin Ship nears completion.

And as promised last week, here’s my interview with Matt Bors regarding his new Graphic Novel WAR IS BORING —out today!

1. How did you hook up with David Axe to work on War is Boring? Is this your first graphic novel? Or at least the first time working with a writer?

I first hooked up with David at a comic convention where we were both seated at the NBM table. I was familiar with his book War Fix and he was looking for an artists to do the sequel, his previous artist having fell through. Though he had only seen my political cartoons, which are drawn in a more cartoony style, I was able to convince him to give me a shot at the book. That book fell through and we developed War Is Boring, which, after an incarnation as a weekly web comic, was developed into a graphic novel and shopped around to publishers.

2. What about the subject matter attracted you to the project?

As someone who writes his own comics, I don’t want to give away my time to another project unless I feel strongly about it. While this is David’s life we are telling, he happens to have an interesting one. There is something immediate and important about the places he visits and the stories he tells. I’m very interested in politics and world affairs in the most impoverished, war-torn areas of Earth. I don’t get to go to these places, but this way I do get to help tell the stories.

3. What was your working process like? Had David written a graphic novel before? Or did you have to break down a regular book script into the graphic novel format?

David has published War Fix and has a few other graphic novels in the works. He writes scripts with a very specific panel breakdown and what’s happening in each scene. As we grew more familiar with each other’s approach, I felt comfortable suggesting changes where I didn’t think things worked and he was very good about giving me artistic license to rework certain scenes – either condensing them or drawing them out over more panels.

4. Did you design the overall look of the book? I’m thinking specifically of the Chapter pages.

I did design the chapter pages and the overall look of the book. The only thing I didn’t do was the type design on the cover, which was handled by Penguin.

5. Did you find doing this type of hard after creating so many political cartoons that haven’t focused on sequential art as much? Having read the book, I immediately wondered if you found any of the chapters harder to bring to life than any of the others (due to specifics of the story or tone in those chapters)?

I’ve been wanting to do some long form comics forever so I was clamoring for a chance. The entire time I was alternating between this book and my editorial cartoons so I had to start thinking differently for each one. I can’t think of any particular chapter that was hard, but getting the look right for each country took a lot of photo references for clothing, architecture and military hardware. Thankfully David brought a camera on his trips.

One area of the book where the tone completely changes is a surreal fever dream David has in East Timor that features talking animals. That is really uncharacteristic of the rest of the book so I did small things like use different panel border to signify to the readers we weren’t in reality anymore.

6. Word on your Twitter account says you’re headed of to Afghanistan. When, where and why? Are you at all nervous?

On August 9th I’m leaving with two other cartoonists, Ted Rall and Steven Cloud, for a month long trip through Afghanistan. Were are traveling to Taloqan, Herat and remote regions in the Southwest near the Iranian border to see how Afghans are coping with nine years of American occupation and war. We won’t be with the military, an NGO group or any other media outlets–just completely on our own. Ted and I are both filing comics form the ground to our syndicates. Ted is doing a daily cartoon blog for the LA Times and I will be posting sketches, comics and such to my website as well as lining up some longer work when I get back.

After nine years of sitting behind my drawing table, I feel I should put a little on the line to see what’s happening with my own eyes.

7. How hard was it getting War is Boring to the masses? What was/is your relationship like with your agent and publishers? How long did you have to work on the finished book?

This is New American Library’s first graphic novel and they were great about giving us editorial freedom and promoting the book. We hooked up with our agent, Bernadette Baker, fairly quickly and she was great in placing the book with NAL. As for the time frame, it took me about a year and a half to draw. It’s only 130 pages, which is on the short side of graphic novels, but drawing it in that time frame and still meeting my weekly deadlines for the political cartoons was pretty grueling.

8. Will you be doing any signings for War is Boring? Any kind of book tour?

There won’t be a book tour, but David and I are doing various appearances. I’ll be at Wordstock Book Festival in Portland in October. David and I will also be tabling at APE in San Francisco.

Thanks to Matt for taking the time to answer my questions. For an earlier interview with Matt, head here. And don’t forget—go buy WAR IS BORING.