I know what I’m about to say may stir up a hornets’ nest: I don’t like the movie of The Wizard of OZ. I can applaud Judy Garland’s performance, but nothing more. So when Tom Pomplun asked me to adapt Frank L. Baum’s The Glass Dog, I had my preconceptions, and this is not the best way to approach any job.

The main character of the story is a wizard annoyed by people constantly interrupting his work to ask him for his magical expertise. In order to get some peace, he asks a glass blower to make a glass dog, which he transforms into a real barking dog with his magical powers. This the wizard keeps as a guard dog to ward off unwelcome visitors.

I had two problems with this story. First, I didn’t want the wizard to look like the standard old man with a pointy hat and long white beard, not to mention the long robe decorated with stars and planets: in other words, I didn’t want an ordinary wizard. Secondly, how could I describe a glass dog? How could I give the artist an idea of the fragility and at the same time the consistency of an object made of glass?

I’ve had the opportunity to see glass blowers at work, and it’s a fascinating process. I could appreciate the skill with which the glass blower handled a molten lump of glass and, through a long, thin pipe, how he blew into it and transformed it into a fragile, iridescent object.

When I write or adapt a script for any strip, I try to approach the strip from the artist’s point of view. Living and working with an artist, I have often witnessed his frustration when he has to translate verbose, hyper-detailed scripts into drawings. But with this script, for the first time I decided that the question of how to deal with the rendering of a dog made of glass was someone else’s problem, namely the artist’s, and I would leave him to solve it. The first problem I resolved by describing the wizard as a sort of eccentric genius rather than a stereotypical wizard.

When Tom Pomplun, the editor/publisher of Graphic Classics©, where The Glass Dog was going to be published, told me the artist he had chosen to draw the strip was Brad Teare, I was surprised and thrilled. I’ve known Brad’s work since the ‘Eighties, when his strips appeared in Heavy Metal, and I deeply admired his art; but I was puzzled to see how he would render an object made of glass with his unusual scraperboard technique. When Tom emailed me Brad’s finished pages, I was thrilled. Brad had been able, I don’t know how, to render the shine, translucency and fragility of glass and the wizard looked more like the mad scientist I was after than the classic stereotype.

Unfortunately, although Brad did a great job with The Glass Dog, I haven’t made peace with Frank L. Baum, and I’m still not going to watch The Wizard of Oz!

As usual with these articles, I sent Brad a questionnaire to fill in. This is what he sent back. Enjoy!

Marvel or Disney?

Definitely Disney. I grew up reading the comics of Carl Barks.

What’s in your drawer?

Paints and brushes.

On the road with…

my gloucester easel. It is extremely light weight but I can paint outdoors on a canvas up to 36” x 48” (inches). It’s awesome.

What was the first book you ever read?

Tik-Tok of Oz by Frank L. Baum

What do you prefer to read in a waiting room?

I usually bring the book I am currently reading since I don’t enjoy reading most magazines (exception; Harper’s, but you will never find that magazine in a doctor’s office).

It’s a waste of time to…

indulge negative thoughts and behaviour.

What would you be happier without?

Indulging negative thoughts and behaviour. A lofty goal but hard to accomplish.

Never give up…

Hope. Hope is essential for the kind of persistence necessary to make it in the art world.

Instead of taking sleeping pills, you would read...The philosophy of Georg Hegel

Why do you do it? Because of the need to do my very best. Art is a field that requires one to be constantly improving.

Sunday, July 06, 2008 3:33:41 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

I was adapting one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories, The Crime of the Brigadier, or, How Brigadier Gerard Slew the Fox for Graphic Classics©, and as usual I was trying to find a face suitable for the hero, Etienne Gerard, Hussar of Napoleon’s Cavalry; I need to visualise the character so that I can “see” how the story will look. I do this even though the artist who draws the strip often has his own ideas about how a character will look. In this case, I chose Gerard Depardieu as the model for the Brigadier; I love the actor and I think he is the epitome of Frenchness.

I also wanted to give the reader a flavour of the sharp humour Conan Doyle used to underline the weirdness of French manners as seen from the English point of view. I thought that dotting Gerard’s dialogue here and there with short French phrases might be a good way of emphasising his character, but there was a problem; I don’t know any more French than “Oui”. I tried using translator programs found on the Internet, but the results were unsatisfactory. Then I realised that I had an ace up my sleeve: my next door neighbour was born and bred a FRENCHMAN!

So I approached Professor Ronan de Kervenoael and asked if he would help me translate a couple of idiomatic sentences for the script. And I couldn’t have found a better helper. During the couple of years we were neighbours, I often enjoyed watching the friendly but sharp cut and thrust between him and my partner Nick; I realised that the endless wars between England and France are far from being over, although at least these days they are fought with words! I have to admit that, even though I had to support Nick because he is my partner, I had to acknowledge the sharpness of the wit coming from the French side of the garden fence. Although there is also an endless quarrel going on between the French and Italians about the supremacy and quality of food and wine, sometimes I found my point of view was nearer to that of my transalpine cousin than with the Brit!

Some choice French phrases supplied by Ronan. He also helped us with the script...

Soon after Professor De Kervenoael left England for Turkey, where he teaches marketing at Ankara University, but we still keep in touch.

I asked if he would be willing to answer a few questions. Here’s what he sent back. Talk about French wit…

Tin Tin or Asterix?
Asterix of course .... the multiplicity of actors and the less serious  plots are better I think

What was the first book you ever read?

Gaston Lagaffe  then asterix then tintin and milou

If your life were a book, who wrote it?

Someone that do not have any concept of backward or forwards, in multiple language as an adventure story that never finishes and with the cynical humour of Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear presenter)

What do you prefer to read at the dentist?

Nothing just never go to dentist got very good teeth

What do you wish you had bought but never got around to it?

A classic car probably Italian

It's a waste of time... to try to understand women

When you do research, do you trust the Internet or do you prefer to 
consult books?

Neither I talk to real people and look at real  'practices' including practionners ( all stakeholders), practices (the doing and actions in situ) and praxis (time and intensity)

Instead of sleeping pills, you would read a couple of pages of...

Not sure of that one what about
1- Taking care of my kid best insurance to be tired at any time really
2- sex
3- sex again
4- Margaret Thatcher bibliography

Why buy books?

So if you have a wobbly table you can fix it

Never give up... running after the life and dreams that one day you may have time to do

Sunday, June 22, 2008 4:15:49 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Soap operas… hands up anyone who never saw a single episode of Dallas or Dynasty. Nobody? It seems we all sneer at them while simultaneously checking through the TV guide for the next episode of Lost.

Soap operas, or telenovelas if you are Latin American, pin millions of people to their TVs, following the vicissitudes of JR or Pamela.

Our great-great-grandmothers enjoyed similar entertainment, the only difference being that they read these stories in book form. Stories with plenty of thrills and drama, often read surreptitiously because they were considered too dangerous for the gentle, delicate minds of young ladies.

Basic ingredients of the plot are as follows:

1 ~ a young girl: she has long, blonde hair and big, blue eyes. She is the orphan of both parents, and the heiress of a reasonable fortune.

2 ~ an evil relative: he or she is either an uncle, an aunt or a cousin. This person is stony-broke, therefore they plan to steal the heroine’s fortune.

3 ~ a young lover: he is the son of the arch-enemy of the girl’s family: either that, or he has been undeservedly accused of a crime. With his love he will save the girl and her fortune.

4 ~ a location: a dark castle with dungeons, barred windows and long, narrow corridors…

5 ~ an ending: the villain dies asking forgiveness, and the two lovers marry and live happily for a long time.

I was prepared for a similar plot when I was given the job of adapting The Dream, by Mary Shelley. In this story the heroine, Constance, can’t marry her sweetheart, Gaspar, because he is the son of the arch-enemy of her family. I could imagine young ladies weeping at the thought that such gentle love could never be, just because of ‘family matters’. OK, so Gaspar’s father butchered Contance’s father and brother during a religious war, but these are mere trifles…

Because love must always win out, Shelley used an old trick, a deus ex machina: in this case, the vision of St. Catherine appearing in a dream. The saint blesses Constance for her love, the girl changes her mind, Gaspar is forgiven and they all live happily ever after. The end.

Though I did my best to preserve the saccharine nature of the story in my script, I wasn’t sure if an artist could convey, through my descriptions, this cloying sweetness. When I saw Anne Timmons artwork, which she kindly showed me at the pencil stage, I knew she was the right artist. Anne has a soft and gentle touch, and was able to soften those passages where I couldn’t cut corners. The result is a graphic story depicted exactly as if seen through the eyes of a young lady of the nineteenth century. Although I prefer stories that are stronger stuff, I found The Dream very enjoyable to adapt.

The Dream is published in Graphic Classics©: Special Edition. This is a limited edition first published for Free Comic Book Day 2008. You can buy it from the Graphic Classics website.

I asked Anne a few questions about herself. Here are her answers:

Barbarella or Catwoman?

Barbarella. Who wouldn't like flying with an angel? Barbarella has more costumes, too!

What’s in your drawer?

Templates, lead holders, pencils, compass, a quartz crystal, glasses case, lens cleaner, barrette, toy from a cereal box and a mini calculator

What was the first book you ever read?

Cat In the Hat

If your life were a book, it would be a book about…

A person who could go to any city they wanted to in the world, at a moments notice.

What would you be happier without?

Doubt.

What do you wish you had bought but never got around to it?

A scooter.

It’s a waste of time to…

let yourself worry about everything little thing.

Instead of taking sleeping pills, you would read a couple of pages of…

I rarely read to go to sleep but if I just can't sleep, I'll read articles in old TV Guides.

Never give up…on a friend. Stand by them through everything.   

Why do you do it?

Drawing? Because I know it's something I will do till the end. I don't think I'll ever retire like most people do. It's always been the most comfortable way of expressing myself.

Anne Timmons' pencils for pages 12 and 18 of Mary Shelley's The Dream.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 11:29:25 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

I’ve collaborated with Tom Pomplun, publisher of Graphic Classics©, for several years, adapting stories by the best of British and American authors, but I always thought of myself as a part-time scriptwriter because at the end of the day I became a writer more by accident than design. When Tom asked me to look for a retailer in Lancaster (UK) who might be interested in distributing free copies of Graphic Classics during Free Comic Book Day, it wasn’t a problem for me. A quick search and I found a little gem of a shop called First Age Comics, run by Mark Braithwaite.

Young and with plenty of enthusiasm, Mark has a contagious smile, so when I went to see him he was more than willing to distribute free copies of Graphic Classics and even persuaded me that I could do a book signing session. He told me that Andy Diggle would also be signing on the day. Needless to say, with such a big name at the event I was puzzled as to why I should be there. However, things had been set in motion and I had to carry on.

I was supposed to be doing my signing session late in the morning. The big day came and I arrived at the shop ten minutes early. After a cup of tea, at 11 o’clock I sat down, ready to sign copies. There were two or three people hanging around waiting for the main event who, seeing as I was there, approached me for an autograph, after all, you never know one day…

I was so flustered that morning I forgot to wear my reading glasses, and was left wondering why I couldn’t focus on the point of the pen as I wrote my first signature. After the first one however, everything went more smoothly. Sort of…

As I usual I was puzzled as to why young people would be interested in something that was so far from superheroes and manga, but Mark did a good job of introducing me and Graphic Classics.

By midday, all the copies were gone. At one o’clock it would be Mr. Diggle’s turn. In the best English tradition, a queue was already forming.

At twenty past one, Andy Diggle arrived running, sat in the chair, took out his pen and started signing. His fans were over the moon. I was too shy to ask for a signed copy.

I asked Mark some questions. Here are his answers:

Superman or the Hulk?

Superman. Not to be dismissive of the Hulk, there have been some very good Hulk comics over the years. The Superman concept has endured for so long and survived so many changes in the comics industry over the decades. The material that Kurt Busiek and Geoff Johns have been writing recently are also definitely worth a read.

What’s in your drawer?

A seemingly endless supply of paperwork (it's a very big drawer), a calculator, two pens (one black, one red) and a diary.

On the road with…

My wife Lucy and daughter Katie. There's no-one else I'd rather travel with.

What was the first book you ever read?

I can't honestly remember the title but I do recall Meg The Hen being in it somewhere meeting with some accident prone pots and pans.

Comics or comix?

Comics. Definitely comics.

What would you read while travelling from Earth to the Moon?

I'd probably take a few carefully selected Green Lantern comics. Those and the Lord Of The Rings trilogy

Instead of taking sleeping pills, you would read a couple of pages of…

Currently I'm reading William Shatner's autobiography "Up Till Now" and "Showcase Presents Booster Gold Volume One".

It’s a waste of time to…

Regret. Always look at what you can do about the future. The past has already happened.

Never give up…

...never surrender!!!!

Why do you do it?

For the love of the game.

Sunday, June 08, 2008 5:12:57 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Talk about a shrinking world. When I was young (and I never thought I’d ever be old enough to say something like “when I was young”), making a phone call abroad or receiving one was a complex business. International phone calls had to be booked in advance; then a human operator with a strong foreign accent was the only link between you and the other party. Receiving an international phone call was a good way to increase your social prestige; it meant you had some important connection somewhere far from home.

The march of technology has cut us off from the romance of international calls but given us something more useful: we can get connected much faster; we can have videoconferencing and do business internationally without leaving our comfy rooms. Thanks to this technology I have had the chance to collaborate with somebody who enjoys Christmas Day on the beach, and who, when I am sweltering under a hot sun, is wrapped up in his winter clothes.

So, back when I was young, it never occurred to me that I one day I would collaborate with an Australian artist. But it happened. When I adapted King Pest, a short story by Edgar Allen Poe for Graphic Classics (c) , editor/publisher Tom Pomplun gave the job of illustrating the strip to Australian artist Anton Emdin.

I’m always on tenterhooks waiting to see the final art. It’s hard to describe the frenzy I get into whenever I receive a complimentary copy; for the first time, I can see how the artist interpreted my script. So when one morning the postman arrived with a parcel from the US, and I opened it and saw the cover of Graphic Classics©, the first thing I looked for was the King Pest strip.

Poe isn’t known as the most cheerful chap, and I was prepared for something gothic and dark, but Anton’s art threw me a curve: plenty of silliness and humour, I started to laugh. His art reminded me most of Jacovitti, one of the most famous Italian cartoonists, who drew salami with big feet, wasps with huge noses, fish bones, mixed with the art of Don Martin.

Cocco Bill, by Jacovitti

Mona Lisa, by Don Martin

Anton was able to turn a dark tale about the plague into a humorous, silly, funny story; every time I look at it I spot some new silliness, which gives a new twist to the story. If I’m feeling blue, it’s enough to flip through the pages of King Pest to cheer me up. Anton’s art is more effective than an antidepressant.

Anton has kindly written a few lines about the adaptation of King Pest and has answered some questions. Enjoy King Pest.

Anton Emdin, by Anton Emdin

Boo Boo, or Tasmanian Devil?

To make love with or just to hold? Can you please clarify?

What’s in your drawer?

Looking in my top right drawer right now I see:

One monitor cleaning cloth

Two of this month's *ahem* men's mags (my cartoons appear in them, I swear!)

One old notebook

Pack of obsolete business cards

Broken business card holder

Seven Mini DV's of family video footage

A Firewire cable

Nintendo Gameboy games (where the hell is the Gameboy?)

BB gun and pellets

Wad of US dollars (from selling comix through the post)

Old bum bag (god that sounds wrong. The yanks call them Fanny Packs. That sounds even worse.)

Three spare Wacom nibs

Skateboard stickers

Two old wallets

One Mini Mag light (broken)

The other drawers are full of spare drawing paper, printer paper, original artwork, random clippings and cards I've kept, plus boring officey things like staplers and hole punches.

On the road with…

...clenched knuckles, grinding teeth, and a tank full of whiskey.

What was the first book you ever read?

I'd love to say "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carl but more likely it was something dull like "Your first book of shapes".

If your life were a graphic novel, who would draw it?

Probably no one. I'm not too interesting.

It’s a waste of time to…

...try to think up funny answers to interviews. People just think you're a wanker.

What do you prefer to read in a waiting room?

Anything but womens' magazines.

Instead of taking sleeping pills, you would read a couple of pages of…

Doctor Zhivago

Never give up…

...learning new techniques. Getting comfortable is the end of an artist.

Are you there yet?

Hopefully not even close.

Sunday, June 01, 2008 12:18:23 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

In life, there are a few things you can be sure of, but the kind of job you end up doing isn’t one of them.

It happened to me. Due to a long series of coincidences, I found myself doing something I never thought of – writing.

I started with a 12-episode comic series for a big Italian publisher. Then I wrote comic scripts for an American children’s magazine; this is when I started my collaboration with Nick.

When I think back to those days, it all sounds very unlikely. At the time I still lived in Italy, and Nick was in England. The only way we could communicate was by phone and by ordinary post. Then Nick bought a fax machine, and everything became easier, although I still had to rely on access to a friend’s fax. Then we both got computers, although compared to the ones we have today they looked like shoeboxes with keyboards attached. Suddenly, the world shrunk – Italy and England were seconds apart.

It was at this point that Tom Pomplun, and American publisher, contacted Nick. Strange things happen in life – he was looking for someone else, and came across Nick’s website. Tom thought that Nick’s style was suitable for a project he had in mind: an adaptation of Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast of H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds.

It was the first thing Nick and I did for Graphic Classics©, the beginning of a long adventure that I hope will continue for a long time.

I have very little experience of publishers, but Tom is definitely not the kind of publisher you see in the movies: the kind who only publishes work by writers they think will make them a lot of money. As far as I know, Tom doesn’t drive around in a Ferrari, and I don’t think he’s on Bill Gates’ Christmas list.

Sometimes I find myself crying on his shoulder (metaphorically speaking; he is in the US and I live in England) because some critic has given me a poor review. Yes, I still have a soft skin!

He always has words of encouragement, and a very soft touch when he disagrees with something and wants it changed. He has an iron fist in a velvet glove, if you know what I mean.

I’m always amazed by his talent for finding the right artist for a script, someone who can give the perfect twist to the story. Sometimes I have been puzzled by his choice, but then realised what he was looking for.

I have no advice to offer him, although I know he is as affected by a bad review as I am. Perhaps we should both follow the advice Vigil gives to Dante: Non ti curar di lor, ma guarda e passa, which translates as: Don’t pay attention to them, but give them only a glance and walk away.

Good luck!

Tom Pomplun

Batman or Mr Incredible?

Who’s Mr. Incredible? Oh, I just looked him up on the web. Actually, that was one of the few Pixar movies I’ve enjoyed. I hate the rubbery look of most computer animation.

 

What’s in your drawer?

I’m not sure. Whatever it is, it is buried under a lot of junk.

 

What was the first book you ever read?

Probably Dr. Seuss. The first “real” book I remember reading was John Wyndham’s “Day of the Triffids”.

 

On the road with…

My 1993 Honda. It’s got over 200,000 miles on it and still runs great, as long as the rust holds together. I read just yesterday that the resale value of 15-year-old subcompacts has risen 40% in the past year, due to the skyrocketing gas prices here in the U.S. More recent models get less gas mileage.

 

What would you read while travelling from Earth to the Moon?

Jules Verne’s “From the Earth to the Moon”, of course. Or maybe Wells’s “First Men in the Moon”. I always loved it that Wells claimed Verne “can’t write himself out of a paper sack”.

 

What would you be happier without?

Twenty pounds.

 

It’s a waste of time…

Trying to get rid of that twenty pounds.

 

What do you wish you had bought but never got around to it?

Microsoft stock. X-Men #1. Oh wait, I did buy that, then foolishly gave it away along with most of my other comics.

 

Why do you do it?

Because I don’t know what else to do with my life.

 

Never give up

All the information they ask for.

 

 

ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS

Sunday, May 25, 2008 3:24:36 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

During the past eight years I have collaborated with a lot of great artists, and I hope every one of them enjoyed working on my scripts.