I've always been a big fan of wrap-around covers. I have a habit that whenever I get a new book I always take off the cover and open it flat, look at the case, look at the spine...see it the way the designer did on screen, flaps out, all of the pieces together...a visual conversation of the whole package.
When Leland Purvis sent along a thumbnail concept of this great art for RESISTANCE, BOOK 1 (a SPRING 10 book written by Carla Jablonski, with some pretty incredible art by Leland telling the story) our entire floor was buzzing over it. Playful, strong, and sets the tone of the series which chronicles the French Resistance during WWII and the children who got involved in the fight.
Realistic coloring wouldn't have made the cover as strong so I started to play around, inspired by the palette of the book which is a lot of beautiful blues and browns. I made over 20 until I had pushed myself too far. Got to the point of "world's ugliest color scheme" and then worked my way back. (You guys don't get to see THAT one, though I blame that fourth one down in the image on the left on me watching GHOST DAD earlier that week. NOTE TO OTHER DESIGNERS: Don't watch Bill Cosby movies and design at the same time. Listen to someone who learned the hard way.) After all the variations, I realized I had been on the right track in the beginning. Something quiet so a shock of red for the band would be impossible to ignore.
But it still felt too static and flat for a story with so much action, spying, running, disguises, and danger. It wasn't working, so I decided to add some texture. Sure I could have made fake bricks in photoshop or thrown a simple filter in, but what fun is that?! This was an excuse for a Texture Field Trip!
If you live in NYC and haven't yet become a wanderer, you're doing it wrong. I could argue it's the greatest place in the world for people watching...and texture hunting. A few hours of walking around NY and brooklyn and I had over 60 new textures on my camera. I'm a firm believer you should always have a camera on you, especially if you are a designer or tend to run into Hulk Hogan a lot. (I swear that guy is stalking me.) There's just something so beautiful about naturally aged architecture, broken concrete, bricks who have seen a lot of things...though if they could talk, I'm not sure I'd want to hear the stories. That first wall below was stunning close-up. The picture didn't do it any justice.
Can you spot the winner? Click on any for larger versions and feel free to use them, since it will give me an excuse to go on another Texture Field trip in the future. Though honestly...wouldn't you rather go hunting yourself? There's a lot of beauty if you look around you a bit and everything can be a texture if you use it right.
I didn't want the wall to look like a photograph in the end and I definitely didn't want it to overpower the art. I'm really happy with how it turned out and proud to have this as my second :01 design. Despite the fact I am constantly drooling over fonts, I've gotten really into hand-lettering lately. (Note if you are a fontophile and don't subscribe to these newsletters you are missing out.) But there's just something about hand-lettering that makes me connect more emotionally with a book. This is definitely not a light book. Sure there are funny and sweet moments, but it's dark, real, and inspirational. Creating the logo by hand made me feel connected with the kids in the story. My own attempt to say "take that" against the oppression France faced during the dark times of their Nazi occupation.
When I was twelve, our family moved from a bustling
Midwestern city to a relatively small town in the Southwest. It’s never much
fun to move away from friends and neighbors you’ve known your whole life in the
first place -- but to make matters worse, we moved in the middle of a school
year. So not only was I the “new kid”, but I was plopped right down in the
middle of classes that had already been in progress for months.
I stood out with my pale complexion in a sea of tanned
faces. And it wasn’t as if I’d merely moved to a nearby town where things were
changed but still recognizable. This was a completely different environment and
culture.
It had been November when we left our old town, but in our
new town it was still summer. Instead of 100-year-old house we’d lived in,
filled with nooks and crannies and all kinds of strange and antique details,
our new house was a year old with no personality whatsoever (yes, places can
have personalities - but they take time to develop, just like people!). But I’m
not saying one place was better than the other. They were just – different.
Instead of Oak trees there were Saguaro cacti. Instead of squirrels, there were
lizards. Instead of suits and ties, the teachers wore short-sleeved shirts,
bolo ties and cowboy boots. Instead of nearby museums cluttered with dinosaur
skeletons and mummies, there were modern galleries with paintings of grizzled,
horse-ridin’ cowpokes or Indian squaws, usually with a little papoose on their
shoulder. Instead of nights filled with the sounds of whooshing buses, snippets
of music and distant train whistles, the nights were filled with – silence.
Ah, the nights. The sky was so big. And with no high
buildings or the bright lights of bustling night time activity to obscure the
view, you could see so many stars – millions and millions – in a sky so huge
you felt as if you might suddenly fall upwards into it… Even before we’d moved,
I loved to read and get lost in my imagination. Now, instead of watching TV
after dinner, I’d go outside, into the quiet, peaceful dark of our street and
go for walks around the neighborhood. You could see lights on in the windows or
the glow of TVs in the dark. Sometimes the warm desert winds would stir the
bushes. Or headlights from a lone car would create giant moving shadows across
the fences that enclosed every house on our block. Occasionally something might
fly by above my head, black against the night sky. Was it a bat? Or some sort
of nocturnal night bird? It was all very mysterious. And that’s what I loved.
That’s when I fell in love with mystery and with imagination.
I’d imagine all kinds of things – usually based on whatever
books or comics I had been reading or movies I’d seen. Maybe those glows were
not TV screens – maybe a mad scientist lived there and was conducting secret
experiments. Or maybe it was an alien, disguised as a human, contacting his
home planet by interplanetary video-phone. And maybe that house at the end of
the street with the one lighted window – perhaps there was a meeting of a
secret society, a masked gang gathered around ancient maps, plotting ghastly
deeds. I’d imagine dark avengers or cat burglars creeping up the sides of the houses,
sprinting across the rooftops…
Then, eventually, I’d realize I had better get home – often
to face the “don’t ever wander off without telling anybody where you’re going!”
lecture. Which is, of course, good advice, but the pull of the night was
irresistible and a much-needed cure for the confusions and humiliations of the
daytime where I was just that pale new kid. Those night walks ended eventually.
I made friends and became less of a loner. I was no longer “new”, but the
memories of having once been “new” never really leave you.
Now, as a writer, looking back, I realize how important
those days were – and especially those nights. I love writing mysteries and
thrillers, ghost stories and horror stories – stories about the night and mad
scientists and aliens and dark avengers and cat burglars and even “new kids.”
In a way, all the stories I’ve ever written, including CAT BURGLAR BLACK – and
all the drawings I’ve ever done – are an attempt to recapture the magical way I
felt, just letting my mind wander and my imagination go nuts as I strolled
along in the dark.
Who needs gravity? Yup, round these parts (aka my design desk on the 7th floor of the Flatiron) SNOW FALLS UP. Crazy winds funneling down 5th ave and Broadway and hitting our building.
In the early days of the flatiron (early 1900's) the mostly-forgotten phrase "23 skiddoo" was invented because of our building. The fierce Flatiron winds raised skirts and attracted the interest of passing gentlemen. Police officers there kept the gawkers moving along by saying "23 skiddoo," the equivalent of "scram."
Also interesting to note: Look how clean my desk is! Yeah, that's not too normal, but piles of proofs for our Fall 09 books just went back to the printers. You do get to see our beautiful Laika and Slow Storm posters, ALA's Gene Yang poster, and fly-by glimpses of some of our upcoming projects like Cat Burglar Black and Color of Water. (Please note we are not doing a book about Phil Collins and kittens...sorry to disappoint you all I'm sure.)
Seems appropriate my task today is designing Germantown, a book about NY in the 40's by Laurence Klavan and Susan Kim, illustrated with fantastic art by Pascal Dizin. Feeling all full of NYC history.
I hadn't been following the strip, and I confess I just picked it up on Bill Watterson's endorsement. What a delight! I take so much pleasure in the kooky, wondrous artwork and writing. It has that 'where-in-outer-left-field-did-this-come-from' that the early Simpsons had, and rewards many readings in a way that Calvin & Hobbes last did for me.
One of the most exciting things about being part of a comics publisher right now is that we get to watch -- and help -- while teachers and librarians make graphic novels a part of their communities.
We asked one of the programs we're working with, "Get Graphic!" to talk a little about the exciting things they're doing to make graphic novels a part of peoples lives.
(Gene Yang talks to students at a program sponsored by "Get Graphic!")
Q: How Did “Get
Graphic!” get started? What was the inspiration for creation of the program?
A: The library was searching for a way to partner with other
community organizations in order to increase teen literacy. We were able to
partner with a wonderful and diverse group of institutions including: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, State University of New York
at Buffalo Libraries, Hein Publishing, Erie1Boces, Nioga Library System, The Buffalo
News Next Magazine, WBFO, and the Buffalo Public Schools. The idea
to focus on graphic novels was sparked by a desire to approach literacy advocacy
using a new strategy. We were interested in meeting teens on their own terms
and engaging them in reading with materials that they were already enjoying on
their own.
Q: It's great that
you had so many community organizations to partner with! What was it
about the graphic novel medium that made you and they all decide to band
together and do this program?
A: We were all dedicated to finding a new way to approach the promotion of
literacy with teens. We also wanted to engage teens with both educational and
creative activities designed to increase literacy and lifelong learning.
The graphic novel format seemed to be a natural fit for this as comics and
graphic novels are wildly popular, but have not yet been accepted in the world
of traditional education. Our school and library partners (Erie1Boces, Buffalo Schools, NIOGA Library System, and UB
Libraries) felt strongly that graphic novels would be a valuable enhancement to
traditional instruction presently offered in schools and well as a wonderful
addition to contemporary library collections. Our cultural organization
partners (Albright-Knox Art Gallery and WBFO radio) were intrigued both by the graphic novel as art form and as a
way to reach out more emphatically to teens. Our business partners (Hein
Publishing and The Buffalo News Next) felt that highlighting graphic novels
would benefit the community both educationally and culturally. We were all
motivated by the desire to enhance the lives of teens and their caregivers by
introducing them to a new and exciting way to experience the world of reading.
All the partners are eager and vocal participants in the various aspects of the
Get Graphic! grant project.
Q: Have you had any
interesting reactions from parents, teachers, etc., from introducing this
comics-centered program?
A: We have certainly been surprised by the overwhelmingly enthusiastic
response from everyone who has heard about our program! When we began planning
for the programs, workshops, and events we were simply hoping to engage the teen
community and introduce them more fully to a format with which they may have already
been familiar. When our events began taking place the positive response from
the community was tremendous. We have had attendees ranging from 9 year olds to
senior citizens. We have attracted attention from teachers, local artists,
school administrators, school and public librarians, and organizations from
outside of the Western New York area. Everyone
who has been in contact with us has been interested in learning more about the
project and has requested workshops, interviews, materials and more. Our
graphic novel classroom instruction kits generated so much excitement within
the educational community that we were forced to modify our kit distribution
schedule to accommodate over three times the number of requests than we had
expected. We are very pleased that our project has gone far beyond what we
initially anticipated, and has captured the imagination of our own community as
well as others.
Q: You’ve had a
number of speakers, what about them have you and teens been particularly
inspired by?
A: Teens and adults have been inspired by the accessibility
of our guest speakers. Both Gene Yang and Art Spiegelman engaged the audience
with such honesty that they created an intimate atmosphere that fostered open Q
& A and unbridled eagerness to learn more about the comics format. One of
our community partners, The Buffalo News NEXT Magazine, is written entirely by
teens. They have shown great inspiration from our programs, going far beyond
simply advertising our events. Over the 2007-2008 grant year they included a
number of author interviews and informational articles about Get Graphic! in
their weekly magazine.
Our Get Graphic! group has been very inspired by both our
guests and the greater community as well. In our grant proposal we planned for
five informational workshops for public and school librarians. We have thus far
presented nine workshops to Librarians, with two additional scheduled. We have
also, due solely to demand, presented six workshops to Middle and High school
teachers with an additional one scheduled, and two workshops to SUNY @ Buffalo
Library School Students, with an additional one scheduled. An October 2007
panel discussion “From Superman to Sandman” was so well received that we have
begun planning two more panel discussions for the upcoming grant year. Perhaps
the most telling of all is that the response has been so overwhelmingly
positive that we are planning Get Graphic! activities to continue well past the
June, 2009 grant completion date. Future plans include a Graphic Novel book
fair with author presentations and/or discussion groups for all ages.
Q: The GG! program
has a creative aspect, with teenagers encouraged to write and draw their own
graphic stories. How is this going?
A: We began the process of teen graphic novel creation with a
variety of programs during July and August 2008. The centerpiece of our Get
Graphic! summer programming was an author talk and graphic novel creation
workshop with Gene Yang. Both of these events, as well as our other programs, went
very well and received a lot of support from both teens and adults in the
community. In October we are welcoming Scott McCloud for an author talk and all
day teen graphic novel creation workshop. Mr. McCloud’s visit will signal the
beginning of our “big push” for the teen participatory portion of the Get
Graphic! grant. The “Our World in Words and Pictures” project will allow the
teens to submit 1 or 2 pages of their work to be included in a graphic novel that
will be published by Hein publishing. We are also holding a cover art contest
for which teens may submit their original artwork inspired by the “Our World in
Words and Pictures” theme. One winner will be selected, and their artwork will
appear in full color as the cover of the published teen graphic novel. The
published graphic novel, along with the contributing authors and artists will
be honored at a reception to be held in conjunction with the conclusion of the
Get Graphic! grant in May, 2009.
Q: “Multimedia Literacy” is a term that gets
bandied about a lot nowadays when talking about how people interact with
television, the internet, and graphic novels. How are you seeing this come out
in your program?
A: Our Get Graphic! project has generated a tremendous
amount of interest from teachers and librarians. When planning the Get Graphic!
grant and activities we felt certain that we were constructing a project that would
assist both teachers and librarians in serving the teen community. Now that we
are more than half way through the grant, we realize how much we underestimated
the enthusiasm with which the educational community would respond! We feel that
this enthusiasm is a direct result of the relative “newness” of graphic novels and
the way in which graphic novels present information in a “multimedia” format. The
combination of text and pictures presents information in a more modern way than
that of traditional literature and in a more interesting way for students. In
addition, it reaches reluctant readers and those that may struggle with traditional
text-only materials. The Get Graphic! grant gives teachers and librarians the
tools to be able to speak directly to the way teens interact with the world today.
Capitalizing on the popularity of graphic novels to reinvigorate traditional
instruction has allowed teachers and school librarians to reach students with a
multimedia format.
Adding to Gene Yang's entry about the Comics Festival in Angoulême, here's a ragged little scan from my journal, of a moment shared with Gene and Moebius...
Jane in California wrote to us, asking us to tell Emmanuel Guibert that she loves the Sardine books and to please hurry up and make her a movie too.
We passed on the message. And here's what Emmanuel sent back:
And Jane was thrilled:
... and when she found out Emmanuel lived in Paris she told her dad "Oh, that's why he didn't understand me!" Her father asked her what she meant. She said "well I wasn't asking for a drawing, I was asking for a movie!"
With her father's help, she even wrote the following to Guibert:
Merci pour le dessin monsieur! S'il vous plait faire un film et un D.V.D de sardine pour moi et le terre. Jane!
... which I guess Monsieur Guibert will simply have to oblige!
Lauren Wohl, who is one of First Second's publishers as well as the marketing goddess, just sent the following lovely Sardine moment:
Sitting in the Orlando airport, waiting to meet a colleague, surrounded by families carrying oversized stuffed Plutos, sporting Mickey backpacks, and wearing Minnie tee-shirts... I have half an hour, a cup of Starbucks, and two copies of SARDINE IN OUTER SPACE in my bag. A French family sits down on the well-worn (okay, fraying) chairs near me. Dad (who speaks English), Mom, 12-year-old son, and 9-year-old son. The younger boy is reading a Garfield comic book.
I take out a copy of SARDINE and start reading. Dad's eyes light up. "Joann Sfar?" he asks me.
"Oui." I nod. And then, to be sure he doesn't think I can actually speak any more French than that, " Yes. I work for the publisher of these books in the United States."
"Sfar is brilliant," Dad tells me. "Very famous.'
I nod.
The yougest son is listening intently, and hasn't taken his eyes off the book in my hands. I close it and give it to him. He does not wait even a moment before he opens it.
"It's in English," I tell him
His turn to nod.
"Do you read English?"
He is already reading. But slowly. It's maybe ten minutes before he turns the page. It's another ten minutes before he looks up.
He offers me his Garfield comic. A trade. I tell him no. "Keep Sardine. A gift. No need to give me Garfield."
But he insists. I accept his terms. And leave one happy young fellow to enjoy meeting Sardine and adventuring with her as he flies home, and she keeps the world safe.
When Leland Purvis sent along a thumbnail concept of this great art for RESISTANCE, BOOK 1 (a SPRING 10 book written by Carla Jablonski, with some pretty incredible art by Leland telling the story) our entire floor was buzzing over it. Playful, strong, and sets the tone of the series which chronicles the French Resistance during WWII and the children who got involved in the fight.
