CulturePOP

It’s quite likely that you’ve seen the work of Seth Kushner, even if you don’t read CulturePOP, his series for ACT-I-VATE with Photocomix Profiles of Real-Life Characters. As noted in his ACT-I-VATE bio: “Seth Kushner’s photography work has appeared in such magazines as The New York Times Magazine, BusinessWeek, Newsweek, Time, L’Uomo Vogue, and in galleries around the world. His book, The Brooklynites, (powerHouse Books, 2007) was considered ‘a terrific coffee table photo/interview book’ by The New York Times. Aside from living out his dream of writing a graphic novel based on his Schmucky past, he is working on Leaping Tall Buildings, a book profiling NYC cartoonists. Seth also co-created and co-edits the comics journalism website, GRAPHIC NYC and directs videos, including the “promo-mentary” film, (co-directed by Carlos Molina) The ACT-I-VATE Experience. Seth was born, bred and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife Terra, his son, Jackson, and way too many comics.” I love the range of topics/people that Kushner covers in CulturePOP–and I’m glad we got a chance to discuss the project.

Tim O’Shea: How do you go about selecting your subjects for CulturePOP?

Seth Kushner: My subjects have come from many places. Some are folks I’ve photographed previously (Gymnast Olga Karmansky,  Super Sucklord, Lisa Natoli) and relished the opportunity to explore them deeper, as this format allows for. Others were suggestions from co-curator, promoter and sometime editor Jeff Newelt (Douglas Rushkoff,  Carlos ‘Mare 139’ Rodriguez, Jonny Wilson of Eclectic Method, etc.) who is great at connecting interesting and creative folks. Dean Haspiel, who has been my editor on every piece, also suggested a few subjects (Jen Ferguson, Jennie Fisk,  and upcoming subjects Tim Hall and Cynthia Von Buhler). Finally, there are people I’ve been aware of and wanted to work with. (Rachel Kramer Bussel, Caits Meissner etc.).

O’Shea: When selecting a subject, do you have to respect or appreciate their craft to consider covering them, or does that even enter into the equation?

Kushner: Choosing subjects to cover is a very personal thing. Because of the huge amount of time I put into every piece, I really have to be excited and interested by each subject. People give me good subject suggestions all the time, and I politely reject them for reasons that are purely my own. It’s difficult for me to even explain why I think someone would make a great CulturePOP subject. It’s something I have to feel.

O’Shea: On average, how many photoshoots are involved for one installment of CulturePOP?

Kushner: On average, there is one photshoot for each subject. The “session” usually consists of a recorded interview and shoot, lasting around four hours in total. Of course, that’s after our initial conversations about concept and before my transcribing, retouching and constructing the actual piece. Each finished piece takes days to complete.

There have been instances when more than one shoot has been needed. Douglas Rushkoff,  for example started with a shoot in Times Square as a means of illustrating corporatism, but when I started putting the piece together, it became obvious that I needed more. Dean suggested I also shoot Doug up in Westchester, where he lives, in order to get a contrast to the city images.

The Cynthia Von Buhler piece I’m currently working on will consist of at least two shoots, but probably more. It’s going to be a huge one, and very different.

O’Shea: Do you go into a shoot knowing what kind of shots you want to take for the sake of your narrative, or is it a more organic process?

Kushner: I go into each session with a concept in mind, which is based upon my homework on the particular subject, plus conversations between the subject and me. But, it’s all fairly lose allowing for on-the-spot inspiration.

O’Shea: How do you layout an installment, and is there ever anyone you ask “Hey look at this scene, does that work for you?” Or do you prefer to just trust your own trained eye/sense of layout?

Kushner: I’ve studied comics form independently for my whole life, but when it came to sitting down and making them, it’s a whole different thing. Dean has been my mentor. I always construct the piece on my own and then send to him for feedback. In the beginning, Dean would have a ton of suggestions, all on the money, but now he has very few. That makes me proud, because I must be getting better and more confident.

Working on the layout is probably my favorite part of the process, even more than the actual shoot. I love figuring out how to best convey the narrative and I get to use my sense of design and story and am able to cull from all of my influences. It where I feel I get to be the most creative….and, I get to make comics!

Jennie Fiske

O’Shea: Speaking of layout, how challenging is it place the text boxes in such a way that allows the narrative to flow, while at the same time not obscuring parts of the photo you want featured? As frequent collaborator Christopher Irving noted in the first installment: “I feel you’ve gotten a very strong hand on the LETTERING aspect, breaking it up into the right visual and narrative beats to draw the eye and pull the reader along.”

Kushner: That was very nice of Chris to say! I find the process works best when I don’t think of my photos as “precious art” but instead as tools for conveying a narrative. That means text must be placed strategically on my images in order to lead the viewer’s eye around the page, and it has to work in conjuncture with the images to tell the story.

Lettering was something I was very nervous about in the beginning because I understood it’s a very particular art, and often an invisible one, when done well. Dean was very helpful to me in figuring out how to best place the text boxes and now, while I’m certainly no Todd Klein, I’m feeling good about my ability to add the text elements to these pieces.

O’Shea: How intimidating was it try to convey poetry in photography, as you did with the Caits Meissner installment?

Kushner: It wasn’t very intimidating. Caits Meissner’s  piece was the second one I worked on, so I probably didn’t know enough back then to be intimidated! Caits was someone I’ve know for a while and I’ve always wanted to work on something with her. She was one of the first subjects I thought of for CulturePOP. The poem was written by a friend of her family’s and meant a lot to her, so I put a lot of thought into how I would juxtapose images of Caits with the poem. I worked on a detailed shot list, broken down by paragraph and we discussed and planned together. Caits is an amazingly creative person, so we had a very good synergy. It’s still one of my favorites.

O’Shea: What have been some of the more logistically complicated photo shoots you’ve pursued in this project? Do you ever have subjects that initially express interest in being featured, but then freeze up when the actual shooting gets under way? Given that you are documenting creative people, do you ever let them weigh in on how they would like to be documented for the story, or do you feel that impedes too much on your creative process?

Kushner: I very much appreciate when the subject wants to be involved to the point where they’re a collaborator. For example, I recently worked with writer Tim Hall on his profile, which will post sometime in January. I transcribed Tim’s interview and sent it to him to edit. Tim’s a great writer, so what I received back was a whole new piece which was heads and tails better than the original and had perfect beats and a narrative thread which had the whole piece working in a way I never expected. I was thrilled.

O’Shea: Have any of your subjects been inspired to create a unique piece inspired by being the focus of your camera?

Kushner: The one I’m currently working on with artist Cynthia Von Buhler will be a unique one in the series because Cynthia has taken the opportunity with this profile to delve into a story about her fascinating family history. There will be parts of the narrative that will “flashback” to her grandparents during the 1920s and for those sections, she is building small dollhouse sets and characters for me to photograph. This one is a true collaboration and I’m very excited to be working with such a creative person and to be bringing a new element into the series.

O’Shea: Can you talk about how the Douglas Rushkoff installment came about? Would you agree in that the collection of unique tales you have that this one was one of the most unique?

Kushner: I’m not sure the Rushkoff  piece is the “most unique.” I think they all differ from one to the other, and they all share similarities. Rushkoff’s is certainly the longest! But, I can see why you might find it different. Unlike most of the ones I’ve worked on, it’s not a personal story, but instead it’s a sort of ‘Rushkoff 101.’ I think Doug’s a brilliant guy and his theories are important and I wanted to present them in a new way. It was somewhat daunting because I believe them to be so important. The recorded interview lasted 25 minutes (Doug talks fast and passionately) and once transcribed, it was over 2200 words. The average CulturePOP has about 400 words of text. It was huge! I took a stab at editing it, but every thought seemed to lead into something else and nothing seemed extraneous. I sent it to Dean who helped to break it down into beats, but he also couldn’t find much to omit. Then Jeff did a pass and he was able to tighten it slightly. Finally, I sent it off to Doug, and he did a great job of tightening and clarifying. That was the version I laid out into the photocomix.

People have responded very favorably to the piece and it’s by far the most viewed of all the ones I’ve done.

O’Shea: Am I mistaken, or have all the installments been in color? Has there ever been a temptation to do one in black and white? For me, I was wondering given how you capitalized upon iconic imagery and the contrast of darks and lights in the Lisa Natoli installment?

Kushner: There hasn’t been a black and white one yet, but there could be one upcoming. Or, at least one with black and white elements. Actually, the on one designer John D’Aponte’s  history of family mustaches utilizes sepia tone in parts.

As I begin to explore different types of narrative threads, I’ve been experimenting with different “treatments” to differentiate from “real world” parts. For example, the next installment to go up, on comedian/musician Reggie Watts is about how he “riffs,” how he turns real-life situations into improve routines. So, for the parts in the story where he does his riffs, I have the imagery turn very psychedelic to symbolize and illustrate this ability, this ‘superpower’ he has.

I plan to experiment more in future installments.

For the one on aerialist Lisa Natoli, I really wanted to make the parts of her performing very theatrical and beautiful and graceful. A lot of thought went into the layout in order to bring out those elements.

Rachel Kramer-Bussel

O’Shea: How challenging was it to pull off the story within the story for Rachel Kramer-Bussel‘s Bound. You not only have the dual narrative element, but you had to pull off a story dealing with eroticism/bondage in a manner that did not get too graphic, while still being sexually charged to some extent?

Kushner: I’ve very much wanted to explore fictional photocomix narratives. CulturePOP has been profiles of real people, and as much fun and as challenging as it’s been creating these, I want to begin creating photocomix using actors and sets and shooting them like movies. I was looking for a subject who would allow me to experiment within the confines of this series and I knew a writer would be perfect. So I approached Rachel Kramer Bussel about allowing me to illustrate one of her shorts stories from her new collection. Rachel writes very visually, so it was perfect.

Rachel gave me ‘Bound,’ an edgy bondage story. I read it and knew immediately I would be able to do an adaptation. I started by breaking her story down into a proper comics script. Taking the narrator/main character’s internal monologue and breaking them into the beats which would go into the text boxes, and removing all description from the text and turning it into direction for me to cull the visuals.

In adapting the story to a comics script, I created my own edit, different from Rachel’s story, but hopefully keeping the spirit of it. Also, this was an edgy, sexual story and while her descriptions of the situations worked in prose form, I knew a straight visual retelling would come across as pornography. So I quickly decided to be somewhat obscure in what I would show. I would keep it to close-ups, reflections and angles that would all allow for the viewer to use his imagination.

Next, I had to cast to production with two “actors” to pose as the characters. I showed my shooting script to a couple of friends and they were game and trusted me to not go overboard with the sexuality and objectify them.

I did the actual production as a “green screen” shoot, basically. All of the Vegas environments came from my own back catalogue of images, and were merged afterwards.

It was a large undertaking, but I’m really proud of how it turned out and it was a good experiment for me. I will be moving more in this direction very soon.

Rachel was great, because she gave me complete free reign with her material, which she provided me, trusted me and didn’t interfere at all, and loved what I did. A perfect collaborator!

O’Shea: What creative satisfaction do you get out of CulturePOP that you don’t gain in your other photographic venues/pursuits?

Kushner: In my freelance career shooting personalities for magazines I almost always have to end up with one singular photo, which will represent a person. I stared thinking that wasn’t enough. I wanted show show more aspects of a person. With CulturePOP, the “portrait” is just a small part of it.

CulturePOP was designed to allow me to experiment with photos and comics form, and to work with and profile people who inspire and fascinate me. Yes, its completely self-indulgent, but I hope viewing these sort of visual, narrative poems will be interesting and entertaining for others as well.

O’Shea: Is there anything you’d like to discuss that I neglected to ask?

Kushner: I think the terms “photocomix” or “fumetti” are somewhat loaded terms for many people. There seems to be a long history here in the US of bady done comics with photos. I remember Vertigo putting out some OGNs done with heavily manipulated photos a while back and, while interesting, I don’t think they worked particularily well for readers. I’m looking to do it differently and (hopefully) more successfully.

I was talking with Kim Deitch recently and he said he used to collect “photo novellas” imported by Hearst from Italy back in the the early 80′s. They were soap style stories but had consistantly strong writing. He also told me both Fellini and Sophia Loren got their start in fumetti. I had no idea. He was very encouraging and said he always thought there was untapped potential in fumetti and very much liked what I was doing.

Also, someone asked me why I was doing this on ACT-I-VATE, and not trying to bring the idea somewhere else, perhaps a venue which paid. It was a good question and I think I had a good answer. Because by posting these on ACT-I-VATE, a webcomix portal, I’m stating very clearly that what I’m doing is COMICS. It’s not photo collage with words or any other possible description. It’s comics. By definition, comics are words and pictures which go together sequentially to tell a story. No one ever said the pictures had to be drawn. Yes, traditionally, drawn images seem to work best, but that doesn’t mean the medium is not open to experimentation with other forms of imagry, like photographic.

Of course, it’s also a honor and a bit of a validation to share a platform with the likes of great creators like Dean Haspiel, Mike Cavallaro, Nick Bertozzi, Simon Fraser, Tim Hamilton, Michel Fiffe and the rest. Their work, and their encouragement and support of my work, has made a huge impact on me. It feels great to be a part of the group and to be making comics.

Monster Mash-Ups

This Saturday, October 30, marks the opening of Monster Mash-Ups (check out this video preview of the project) at Brooklyn’s Bergen Street Comics, a “collaboration between Brooklyn artist Jen Ferguson and Chicagoland writer Tim Hall. A hilarious and bizarro series of oil paintings and large format prints, MONSTER MASH-UPS update the classic movie and literary monsters of yore, including Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Blob, the Mummy, and many more.” While I’ve interviewed Hall before, I had not had the pleasure of interviewing Ferguson. As noted at her website, Ferguson is “an emerging artist working in DUMBO Brooklyn, NY. Her focus is on epic & monumental oils, both architectural and figurative. She also is known for small delicate drawings and watercolors.” In addition to discussing the mash-ups, we discussed her art in general, as well as opening with getting background on her musical pursuits through the band, Cows Like Shrimp. I rarely get to discuss art and music in the same interview, so I appreciate Ferguson’s time.

Tim O’Shea: How long have you had the band, Cows Like Shrimp, and who else is in the band with you?

Jen Ferguson: Cows Like Shrimp is a band I’ve been playing bass in for about five years, on and off. Originally, we were called “The Seftones”, after Sefton Stallard, the lead singer and guitarist. Sefton, who I’ve know for almost 15 years, is the main driving force behind the band. In addition to myself and Sefton, we have a few drummers who rotate in and out depending on their availability, and strangely enough are both named “pete.” Lately we’ve added an additional guitarist, Doug Kennedy, so we’re a four piece playing original music. Since I work in the studio alone for many hours a day, it’s a nice chance to collaborate and do a form of art that’s social.

O’Shea: What can you tell me about your work for the upcoming MONSTER MASHUPS show?

Ferguson: Monster Mashups is a collaboration I’ve been working on with Chicago writer Tim Hall. We’re investigating the classic monsters. Tim Hall has been writing from the monster’s perspective about various aspects of themselves, and I’ve been interpreting those through images. It’s been great fun to paint subjects like the Abominable Snowman; images in the popular culture that are wholly fictive. There’s no right or wrong way to portray them, yet there are some commonly understood features that one needs to include, for example, vampire teeth on Count Dracula. Other than that it’s wide open to reinvent! We’ll be exhibiting large versions of the images with words and some oil paintings as well. During the creation of these, I’ve been learning a great deal about the origins of many classic monsters, for example, Dracula is based on the real life Vlad III, “the Impaler,” a 13th Century Prince from Romania, known for his cruel habit of impaling his enemies with wooden stakes.

O’Shea: How did your collaboration with author, Tim Hall, on MONSTER MASH-UPS [debuting at Bergen Street Comics on 10/30 just in time for Halloween] come about?

Ferguson: The project was inspired by something silly; a photo of a very unshaven Tim Hall on his facebook page; he commented that he looked like the Werewolf. Tim and I had already been collaborating so I said “write me a riff on the Werewolf and I’ll draw it.” He did, and then we realized it would make a great project: written, first person confessionals of classic monsters, accompanied by visual interpretations. We did a some more, and then contacted Bergen St. Comics to see if they would be interested in showing the series. Once we had an exhibition commitment we got down to work. I think it’s important as an artist to give yourself projects. It’s a way to keep your work propelling forward without being beholden to someone else giving you an opportunity. You can make your own opportunity.

O’Shea: Am I correct in understanding that you contributed to season two of HBO’s Bored to Death?

Ferguson: Yes, I have artwork hanging in Jonathan’s kitchen in the show. There are two Brooklyn Bridge paintings propped up on a bookshelf; so far there has been one long scene where Jonathan’s character (played by Jason Schwartzman) is pacing back in forth of my art while his girlfriend (played by Jenny Slate) is telling him she wants an open relationship. People have told me they noticed my art in the show. To me it stands out but then again, it’s like only seeing your child in a group school photo. I’m extremely honored to have my work included in the show. The show’s creator, Jonathan Ames is very inclusive has made Brooklyn, with all it’s uniqueness, it’s own character.

O’Shea: A question spinning out of your recent profile at Seth Kushner’s CulturePOP: How is it that the Brooklyn Bridge has “emotional resonance”?

Ferguson: People tend to project and invest their emotions, identity and ideas onto architecture. Ask anyone who’s ever lovingly renovated a house. Think of all the iconic architecture in the world; the Brooklyn Bridge, the Chrysler Building, London Bridge, the Pantheon, Notre Dame- and countless others, as well as buildings in other countries that mean nothing to us but have the same resonance in their own cultures. Structures that achieve this kind of fame typically symbolize some strong identity, a technical breakthrough or the perfect manifestation of an aesthetic ideal. In other words, it’s relevant, and not only in the time of their creation, but across time. The World Trade Center buildings achieved this more post-humously than when they were standing. Usually, iconic buildings are recognized cross-culturally; during the World Wars, certain parts of old cities were spared bombing by both sides. Many people seem to have an attachment to the Brooklyn Bridge of some sort of another. It may represent something different to everyone. But there’s a reason that so many people choose the Brooklyn Bridge as a place to propose marriage. The Bridge becomes more than an object; it’s meaning transcends it’s physicality.

O’Shea: As noted in the profile, one of your paintings required a crane to install it in a person’s house. How hard was it to move out of your studio for that matter?

Ferguson: Lucky for me, my studio at the time had an enormous freight elevator- the kind made a long time ago for hauling giant machinery. The painting just barely fit with only a few inches to spare. I love to work big but since I’ve spent so many years doing everything myself, the idea of making things that I can’t personally move is a big hangup that I’m trying to overcome. It usually doesn’t occur to me to ask or hire people to help. My first instinct is to ask “how will I be able to lift that?”

O’Shea: Given that the bridge is an endless source of inspiration, I’m curious did you garner any bridge inspiration from Kushner’s photo shoot itself?

Ferguson: Seth did this really interesting sequence on the walkway; as I walked towards him he took multiple frames and it was like a Muybridge photo. That made me think of the idea of doing a series of the bridge from slightly different angles and hanging them together so the viewer can imagine movement. It was fun that day to get out on the bridge; even though I work only a few blocks away sometimes I tend to stay holed up in the studio. The best way to paint anything is to go out and experience it directly.

Dean Haspiel

Writer/artist/storyteller of many mediums Dean Haspiel is easily the busiest creator I know. I relish any chance I get to interview him. As always, we had multiple projects to discuss, some of which are allowing him to flex his writing muscles increasingly more (with work like his first prose novel, Post-Disaster Adventure Chronicles), much to his delight. Haspiel is welcome to share his great level of candor any time he can spare a moment, as he always is an easy (and enjoyable)  interview subject for me. Just to create a level of suspense, I chose not to ask who the nude centerfold is the upcoming DEAN HASPIEL: The Early Years.

Tim O’Shea: Would you agree that to a certain extent, in addition to being a collaborator with long-time family friend and CUBA: MY Revolution author Inverna Lockpez, that you were almost a pseudo-therapist for her. What I mean is, this is clearly a painful story for her to tell and by sharing it with you and getting in on paper/published, there’s some level of catharsis.

Dean Haspiel: Besides the possibility of providing entertainment value, art is therapy with the hope that the brave act of artistic expression yields emotional catharsis. I think CUBA: MY REVOLUTION was a major purge for Inverna Lockpez; a way for her to scrutinize and understand what happened to her years ago. And, in fictionalizing and sharing her story, I think it can allow for her to let go of some of her real pain. Whenever I artistically scrutinize the horrors and beauty of the truth, my goal is to entertain yet disperse the results upon others so that the many can share the burden of the one. Some things are just too difficult to handle on your own.

O’Shea: How long has POST-DISASTER ADVENTURE CHRONICLES been rolling around in your head and how did it work it’s way to Tim Hall’s Undie Press? Was it a story idea you once considered for comics but realized it would work more effectively as prose?

Post-Disaster Adventure Chronicle

Haspiel: Post-Disaster Adventure Chronicles is a self-imposed writing exercise I started three-years ago during a summer in the Catskill mountains. I woke up every morning and typed for an hour. I had just read Warren Ellis’ novel, CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, and enjoyed his format of rapid-fire, albeit, intense chapters and I decided each chapter of my project would end in a cliffhanger. And, because I was writing a serialized yet undetermined story, I wanted to keep the narrative pace fresh and alive. Soon, the story became about the day money stopped and how that impacts people. A modern day apocalypse. Every time I revisited the story I would pick up where I left off. Kind of like a narrative corpse only I was challenging myself. This kind of writing worked well for me in my BILLY DOGMA comix for ACT-I-VATE, where I drew weekly episodes not knowing where the story was going next. After writing a bunch of chapters, the summer was over and I put my book in a drawer. It wasn’t until author, Tim Hall, invited me to Undie Press that I dusted off the experiment and will continue to play my self-imposed writing game — in public. I met Tim during the heyday of The NY Hangover, an east village literary newspaper that published my very first BILLY DOGMA comix in the mid-90s. There was a grassroots nature to the newspaper that inspired me to spark ACT-I-VATE, a decade later.

O’Shea: How has STREET CODE weathered the transition from Zuda to DC Digital, do you feel like ultimately you’re reaching a larger audience with the new platform?

Haspiel: Only time will tell if my semi-autobiographical effort makes the digital grade. My goal is to get STREET CODE collected into print so I can go on a signing tour and read some of my New York City stories abroad, but I have to respect that new delivery methods are currently at play and that STREET CODE is surfing the wave of a massive paradigm shift in modern comics distribution.

O’Shea: In the new season of BORED TO DEATH, you are drawing the art “done by” Ray Hueston (Zack Galifianakis’ character)–does the writing team come to you to draw certain pieces, or are you allowed to draw whatever you want and they make it work for their needs?

Haspiel: Jonathan Ames writes every drawing I create for BORED TO DEATH. Sometimes I make a suggestion when Jonathan tasks me but that makes for good collaboration. A lot of preparation goes into the show’s narrative and is tightly weaved before a single frame is shot. However, I design the gag humor to be understood within seconds because of the limited screen time my art gets.

O’Shea: DEAN HASPIEL: The Early Years is set to be released in October, how many hours did Chris Irving end up interviewing you for the book?

Haspiel: Over four years ago, Chris Irving crashed my home and interviewed me for a couple of days for an aborted effort at Two Morrows Publications. A couple of years later, Chris launched Graphic NYC online with photographer, Seth Kushner, and we revisited the content he had culled and sat down for an update so as to flesh out the revamped book for Desperado/IDW. Chris devised a brilliant way to transition the essay-written interview in conjunction with my early art and comics work as one seamless experience. There are some original pieces in the 240pp tome, including thoughts and memories from my friends and peers, and a nude centerfold.

O’Shea: How did you and Irving decide what of your early work to include in the book? Was it hard to track down some of the early work for inclusion?

Haspiel: I own all my original art, so tracking down the comics weren’t hard. I cringe at most of my early work and that’s why we subtitled the book, “The Early Years,” to act as an apology of sorts. And, even though the book covers current events, my early works is the era we largely discuss. The book is equally a retrospective and introspection. An entertaining document for comix historians.

O’Shea: People seem really enthused about your upcoming WOODGOD story for STRANGE TALES (which you describe as your Marvel Two-in-One homage). Not to be greedy but I’d love to see your take on Wundarr, were there other Marvel Two-in -One characters you would have tried to work into the story or was WOODGOD always the focus? Hell, now that I think of it (and remembering my own affinity for Marvel Two-in -One, do you miss the days where a Thing adventure was partially framed around a poker game?

Strange Tales: Woodgood & Thing Play Stickball

Haspiel: Next to FF, MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE was my favorite comic series growing up and I would love to pioneer a relaunch if Marvel was ever interested. As for writing WOODGOD into my homage, I was looking for a character who had the latitude to befit an idea I already had and Woodgod was perfect. I tend to be attracted to tragic monsters and I wanted to bring a certain sense of macabre honor to Marvel’s worst idea ever.

Spider-Girl backup tale

O’Shea: Did Paul Tobin give you some fun nuances to work with in the back-up tale for Spider-Girl 1 (coming out November 10)? You think Marvel editors will block you from using Ben Grimm again any time soon after he’s appeared in two of your most recent Marvel assignments?

Haspiel: Paul Tobin wrote an early Spider-Girl story for me to draw as the back-up feature to SPIDER-GIRL #1. It features a very young Anya before she became Spider-Girl and her first visit with superheroes, featuring The Fantastic Four, before Sue Storm married Reed Richards. I get to draw the “lumpy” Thing before his signature hard-rock look came into fashion. Back when Jack Kirby was still drawing science fiction, Twilite Zone-esque, romance monster comics and making the transition to developing Marvel Comics’ “House of Ideas” with Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, et al.

O’Shea: The September 15 book signing as well as a performance by Jen Ferguson’s band, COWS LIKE SHRIMP–How hard was it to arrange the two events on the same day? What other signings/events do you have lined up in the near to long term?

Haspiel: My Midtown Comics book signing for CUBA: MY REVOLUTION, and Jen Ferguson’s band, COWS LIKE SHRIMP, playing the same night as her birthday was just a mere coincidence. So, I did what I do best and employed our social networking platforms to help arrange and promote all three events. We had a great night of comix, cake, and music, that got friends and fans hanging out and wearing animal hats made from balloons by a guy who lives in Red Hook.

Robot 6

I’ll be posting another interview later this evening, but it looks like I am fast approaching the end of my ability to post two interviews a week .

I may be able to post two interviews next week, but if not I hope to start doing some non-interview posts of interest. I am, as always, open to suggestions.

The past few weeks have been busy in terms of interviews at Robot 6 as well. In case you missed any, here are links to several of the pieces:

• Nick Tapalansky & Alex Eckman-Lawn on Awakening
• Nevin Martell on Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip
• Dustin Harbin on Storytelling
• Mark Waid on the Unknown
• Tim Hall on Uplift the Postivicals

If that’s not enough here’s a link to all my Robot 6 interviews or a link to all my interviews here at Talking with Tim.