Geek Syndicate
GS: What did you find hardest about illustrating the story? BRYAN: Giving the different eras their own atmosphere. Evoking the 1950s, 60s and 70s for Mary’s sequences and the 1920s and 30s for Lucia’s took a lot of research, though I’d say it was time-consuming, rather than hard. GS: As a team what is the secret to your partnership when creating something like this? BRYAN: In most writer/artist collaborations, the artist simply receives a script and then illustrates it. With Dotter, the collaboration was intense and on a daily, sometimes hourly basis, with Mary making artwork suggestions and myself suggesting improvements in dialogue and text. GS: How do you think the comics industry has changed over the last 10 years? BRYAN: Sales of monthlies and weeklies have declined and the newspaper strip seems to be on its last legs but the market for graphic novels has gone from strength to strength. It’s been very gradual, but they are slowly being widely accepted as a valid art form. GS: What is your next project that you are going to publish? MARY: My next project is a historical graphic novel, largely set in Edwardian England. It will probably run to about 150 pages – and it’s a corker. That’s all I’m going to say for now! BRYAN: I’m around halfway through Grandville Bête Noire and as I have two further Grandville books lined up, I’ll not be drawing Mary’s next one, though I’ll probably do some work on the panel breakdowns. We’re currently trying to find a suitable artist. GS: What advice would you give to people wanting to break into the industry? BRYAN: Divine endurance. Obstinate persistence pays off. Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes is published February 2nd 2012 by Jonathan Cape and retails at £14.99 www.bryan-talbot.com www.randomhouse.co.uk/ browse/graphic-novels/
Christophe Montoya
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