Depending on your definition of "breaking out," Canadian
writer/artist Jeff Lemire broke out either with his Eisner and Harvey-nominated
Top Shelf series of graphic novels Essex County, his recently launched
beloved Vertigo monthly Sweet Tooth, or perhaps will later this year
with a couple of DC super hero assignments: Superboy and an Atom
backup feature in Adventure Comics.
No use quibbling, though. No matter how you slice it, Jeff
Lemire is a major new visionary in comic book storytelling. His haunting, soulful style
is immediately recognizable and he is able to get under the reader’s skin with
foreboding atmosphere, evocative settings, and characters that are often equal
parts engaging and creepy. Later this
summer, we’ll see how his approach translates not only to the
super-hero world with
This interview marks the release of Sweet Tooth Vol. 1:
Out of the Woods, the first trade paperback collection of his acclaimed
Vertigo series, as well the trade paperback debut of The Nobody, his
original graphic novel for Vertigo published in hardcover last year. Both titles take advantage of his economical
scripting style, which allows his masterful, moody visual storytelling to seize
the reigns and take the reader on surreal but believable trips into strange
rural worlds with odd, compelling casts. The Nobody takes a stab at the Invisible Man concept, placing the
bandage-wrapped protagonist in a small town populated by people who don’t know
what to think of this strangest of strangers. Lots of secrets reveal themselves throughout the paranoid, melancholy
story. As for Sweet Tooth, we’ll
let Jeff explain that one in the interview. Suffice to say, there’s no way to pigeonhole this unique epic.
DT: How different is your approach to a monthly comic?
JL: Well, there are obvious differences. You
have to work to a set page count every month, break the story up into
serialized chunks etc. But those challenges are fun and exciting to work with,
and after a quick period of adjustment, I really enjoy doing it. Creating
cliffhangers, pacing out the story in little chunks. It’s fun.
But in terms of the actual
execution of my ideas, I am really trying to stay true to my storytelling
voice, try to find ways of being more economical in my storytelling to fit this
format, but still have it read like my graphic novels. Have it be quiet and
sparse.
DT: Sweet Tooth is of no particular genre and isn’t easy to pin down. Have you been in the position of having to describe it in a
soundbite?
JL: I did describe it as Bambi meets Mad Max once I think. Let me try again… After a
deadly pandemic wipes out ninety-percent of humanity, a new breed of
animal/human hybrid children emerge in it’s wake, immune to the disease. One
hybrid, a young deer-boy named Gus, may hold the answers to the mysterious
plague. He is soon taken in by Jepperd, a hulking bounty hunter who promises to
lead him to a safe-haven for hybrid children called “The Preserve.” What
follows is a fairy-tale for adults full of horror and adventure as they travel
across a decimated America.
DT: Fair enough!
This is not a book where I’d expect to see a “guest” (fill-in) artist, but as
writer/artist it must keep you busy. How long does it take you to produce the
book? When the schedule catches up to you, is the plan just to skip a month?
JL: I am way ahead and plan on staying way
ahead. I can produce an entire issue from script to finished inks in about
three weeks. This book will never be late, I promise!
DT: Essex County was black and white and The Nobody
had only a blue wash for color. Now
on Sweet Tooth you have the great José
Villarubia coloring you. How did you land José and how has the addition of color
affected your process?
JL: José was a friend of mine through Top Shelf. He had worked on a project with
Alan Moore with them, and I had done the Essex County books for them. I
was already a big fan of his coloring on The
Sentry, Desolation Jones
and Promethea , so there was no
other colorist I would have wanted. Luckily
he was eager to work with me as well.
Having a colorist like José allows me the confidence to know I don’t need to over render things in order to
create depth etc…but really I didn’t change my style very much. If anything, José
adapted his coloring to suit what I did.
DT: I would guess you have some idea of how Sweet
Tooth ultimately ends. Is there a set outline for when it ends (a la Preacher
or Y The Last Man) or is it more
open-ended?
JL:
I have already written the last issue, and have the entire story very strictly
plotted out to be about 40 issues. I usually come up with my endings first, and
work towards them.
DT: Looking ahead, how much is Sweet Tooth going to be involved with learning what happened in the
past, putting pieces together, versus focusing on what Gus and Jepperd deal with
going forward?
JL:
The story is much more about what happens to these people moving forward than on
unraveling the big mystery of what happened. I can’t say much more on that
subject without spoiling things.
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The
Nobody HC/TP
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DT: Sweet Tooth
– at least the opening story collected in Vol. 1: Out of The Woods - is a
post-apocalyptic road story with a man, Jepperd, who has seemingly seen it all;
and a boy, Gus, who has seen literally nothing outside of his home in the woods.
How do these two extremes in point of view communicate the world you’ve
created?
JL:
Well, one of the big themes I’m working with is innocence and childhood, and,
obviously, a gradual loss of that innocence as the child grows into manhood
himself. So I’m using this post-apocalyptic world as a metaphor for that
(among other things). The character of Gus starts as a total innocent, the
embodiment of childhood. And Jepperd is clearly the exact opposite of that. The
interesting thing now is to see how these two characters and their viewpoints
change and affect one another as their journey continues.
DT: When I read your work, I invariably run across a
panel that unexpectedly draws me in and I find myself sitting there staring at
it, absorbed. It’s
never a showy panel, but something that just humbly evokes the mood perfectly.
Mood and storytelling seem to be inseparable in your work.
Is that something you strive for?
JL:
Exactly. I think that my favorite artists, whether they be cartoonists like Seth
or Dave McKean, filmmakers like David Lynch or musicians like Nick Cave or Tom
Waits, all have a very idiosyncratic and personal vision and mood to their work.
As soon as you see minute of David Lynch movie, or a snippet from a Waits song,
it sounds or looks no other filmmaker or musician.
I hope my work has that quality as well.
Most comics are
created by a team of writers, pencillers, inkers, etc. Since I’m doing all of
those jobs myself I can really control the storytelling, and I don’t need to
separate those tasks. The drawing becomes part of the writing, etc…Only in a
very few examples has a collaboration achieved the kind of synthesis and
singular vision I am striving for with my work.
DT: Although realism is not your style, you manage to
make your characters so believable, and it really seems like they are having
complex thoughts (not to mention souls) behind those eyes. In The Nobody, you
were able to accomplish this with a lead character whose eyes we never see.
Was it tricky to capture that character’s thoughts and emotions?
JL:
No. I just try to draw an emotional truth rather than a literal one with my
artwork. I try to capture character rather than characteristics, if that makes
any sense.
DT: The Nobody is a powerful take on Wells’
Invisible Man concept. Did the
story build from the bandage-wrapped protagonist with you deciding where to
place him or did it start with the small town of Big Mouth with you figuring out
what kind of character would be a useful means of exploring the town?
JL:
It started with that iconic bandaged face popping up in my sketchbooks and me
slowly building a story around him. For a short time he was actually going to be
working on an assembly line at an auto factory! Maybe I’ll still use that idea
somewhere else.
DT: I was surprised to see you’ll be writing The
Atom in a one-shot and then as a second feature in Adventure
Comics. Have you had an eye on
the super-hero genre? Assuming
you’ve started scripting, what’s it like writing for another artist?
JL:
Very fun! I love superhero comics, especially DC stuff, and it’s a thrill to
try it out. I’m still very early in the process of writing these books (a new Superboy monthly will also
be announced by the time you publish this) and I’m still finding my way.
I guess the
challenge is to try and maintain my “voice” as a storyteller even though
I’m not drawing, and I’m working with established characters. It’s a
challenge I’m eager to take on, but not one I’m totally comfortable with. I
imagine there will be some growing pains as I start, and try and find my footing
in that world.
Collectededitions.com
thanks Jeff Lemire for taking the time to talk to us about his books. We look
forward to many more great things from Jeff.
JEFF LEMIRE: COLLECTED
The Jeff Lemire Library:
• Sweet Tooth Vol. 1 Out of the Woods TP: collects Sweet Tooth #1-5
• The Nobody TP: Original Graphic Novel in trade paperback format
• The Nobody HC: Original Graphic Novel in hardcover format
• The Complete Essex County: Collects the entire graphic novel trilogy
• Noir TP: Dark Horse crime anthology includes story by Jeff
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