For her first graphic novel, Nicnevin And The Bloody Queen (paperback, Kindle), writer Helen Mullane has come up with a coming of age story that — as she explains in the following email interview — draws inspiration from ’70s horror movies, family dramas, and the work of young adult fantasy author Alan Garner.
When not writing and drawing Spy Vs. Spy for Mad Magazine or cartoons for The New Yorker, writer and artist Peter Kuper has done graphic novel adaptations of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Now he’s turned his eye, and his pen, towards Joseph Conrad’s controversial novella, Heart of Darkness. In the following email interview, Kuper discusses how he came to write and draw Heart Of Darkness (hardcover, Kindle), and how he adapted this racist story without losing its meaning.
While Western comics have been deeply influenced by their Japanese counterparts over the years, some comic writers and artists have gone a step further and been influenced by Japanese culture well. Take Honor And Curse, a comic from Mad Cave that’s driven by its creators love of manga, anime, and Japanese folklore. With Honor And Curse: Volume 1: Torn newly available in paperback and on Kindle, I spoke via email to writer Mark London and artist Nicolás Salamanca to discuss how this comic came together, what influenced it, and how they came to work on it together.
In a recent episode of his show Real Time, comedian Bill Maher critized those who thought comic books and graphic novels were literature. Perhaps Bill should read Starseeds, the philosophical sci-fi comic by writer and artist Charles Glaubitz. With Starseeds: Volume 2 (hardcover, Kindle/comiXology) recently released — and Starseeds: Volume 1 (hardcover, Kindle/comiXology) obviously already available — I spoke to Glaubitz via email about what inspired and influened this series, and his plans for it going forward.
We all deal with heartbreak in our own ways. Some people eat, some write poetry, and some smash things they may or may not regret smashing later. In the case of writer and artist Lisa Maas, she turned hers into the new graphic novel Forward (paperback). Though in asking her questions about it for the following interview, she also noted that it was inspired by other people’s stories of love.
Writers often consult professionals in other fields to make sure they’re getting things right. Mystery writers, for example, will sometimes talk to cops, detectives, or FBI agents. But in the new science fiction graphic novel Legend Of Sumeria (hardcover, paperback) by Jay Webb and Biju Parekkadan, PHD, it was actually the doc who was asking for advice.
Ever since Marvel Studios began their box office hot streak with 2008’s Iron Man, some so-called “serious” film fans and critics have lamented that these movies are nothing more than cinematic popcorn, devoid of any real substance. But that’s the last thing they’ll be able to say about Black Panther, which is not only the most serious Marvel movie to date, but the most socially-conscious and thought-provoking as well.