Geek Syndicate Feb. 2012 | Page 24

Geek Syndicate
2nd February, 2012 sees the release of Mary Talbot’s first Graphic novel, Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes.

INTERVIEW - Mary and Bryan Talbot
of writing. The idea of producing a graphic novel script really appealed to me. I wasn’t too sure about autobiography, though, doubting that anyone would want to know my life story! So I starting looking into ways of making it interesting, or so I thought. I was vaguely aware that James Joyce had a daughter, so I went into that as a possible angle. That’s how it started. Bryan was keen on producing something different too, I think. He’d had an idea for a collaborative project lined up with the narrative poet, Dorothy Porter, who he’d met at a Literary Festival in Brisbane. Sadly, she died before anything came out of it. GS: This was a very emotional read, how was it to write it? MARY: I did masses of research into Lucia’s life and was very moved by what happened to her. The final section about her was painful to write. In fact, I found I was starting to well up with tears every time I read through that part. I took it as a good sign, as far as the book was concerned; if it affected me so much, then surely it would do something for readers. Writing about my own past was a different matter. Obviously it’s familiar to me and the most recent event recounted (my mother’s death) was well over twenty years ago. I wasn’t dredging up suppressed memories or anything of that sort. GS: As a very personal journey how much did you want to include and how far did you want to go? MARY: I was considering just focusing on Lucia at one point and for a long time I saw my own story solely as a means to explicate hers. Once I started to work on the two interweaving plotlines, however, I could see how it would work as a single story. Then I was completely comfortable with it. I did ponder the birth scene quite a lot before adding it, though. GS: If every reader could take one thing with them from reading this what would you hope it be? MARY: Parents, your children’s memories of you are important to them! Well, something like that. More generally, I’m hoping readers will reflect on gender politics and, I suppose, make comparisons between their own experiences, mine and Lucia’s. GS: What do you see as the book’s greatest strength? MARY: For me it’s the artwork. GS: The visual style is fantastic so how do you decide what style to use? BRYAN: Thank you! To both of you! I knew that Mary’s, Lucia’s and the present day sequences had to be distinct from each other to avoid reader confusion. The drawing styles for each are basically similar but the rendering and colouring sets them apart. I chose the clear line style, with quite simple faces, as the simpler the face, the easier it is for readers to relate to the character.

Dotter of her Father’s Eyes, Mary and Bryan Talbot. Cover © 2012, Jonathan Cape.

Mary is the writer of this moving tale of parallel lives. Who better for her to turn to for the artwork but her husband Bryan (Alice in Sunderland, Grandville). Geek Syndicate took the opportunity to interview Mary and Bryan about putting together the book. GS: When and why did you decide to do this moving piece of work? MARY: Bryan suggested it initially, with a simple question: ‘Why not write a graphic novel script about your relationship with your father, the Joycean scholar?’ I’ve had academic work in print for years, but early retirement has opened up my horizons to other kinds
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