Last week, I talked to Alex Ness about his illustrated book of narrative poetry. This week, I’m talking to some the artists involved, most of whom are recognizable names from the comics industry. Gathering around the table are A Life of Raven’s Art Director and publisher Bob Giadrosich, Mike Grell (Green Arrow, Warlord), Alex Sheikman (Robotika), Peter Bergting (The Portent), Joel Vollmer (Dust to Dust), Cynthia Cummens (Star Wars trading cards), David Yurkovich (Less Than Heroes, Death by Chocolate), Rich Koslowski (Three Fingers, The King, The List, Marvel Comics Presents), Kurt Wilcken (Aztec Anthropomorphic Amazons), Tony Caputo (Vespers), Josh Howard (Dead @ 17, Black Harvest, Clubbing), and Jason Copland (Empty Chamber, Kill All Monsters!).
First though, I asked Bob how he came to be so closely involved with the book.
Bob, what went into your decision to not only help illustrate Life of Ravens, but to publish the book as well?
Bob Giadrosich: One thing that has attracted me to the project from the beginning was the strength of the words. I love to read poetry because it’s a heart language. It operates on a completely different level than a short story or novel. I believe that Alex has written some fine, fine poetry in this collection. One of my favorites is “Feeling Lucky,” illustrated by Jeff Fairbourn.
Many publishers we approached liked the material, but reacted with…“Poetry?” After that, in my mind, I was determined that the material be given access to the marketplace. Too many people had put together too much excellent work to not let people have the opportunity to read and view it.
The next question’s for everyone. How’d you all get involved in the book?
Kurt Wilcken: Alex kept sending me poems until I agreed to illustrate one.
Giadrosich: Initially, Alex asked me to illustrate two poems (“The Golden” and “Burning Perfection”) in early- to mid-2006. I think “Red Snow” followed soon after that. As I was slammed with other deadlines at the time, I did some rough sketches to set down the ideas and moved on. In subsequent phone conversations and through email with Alex, it became evident that more and more illustrators were becoming involved.
I think it was around September of last year that Alex asked if I wanted to act as Art Director on A Life of Ravens. I knew I could give it six months (in reality it went on much longer), but after that I would have to get back on the board and start producing art for outside sources again. One of my first jobs was to bring in some talent from the DeviantART community (10 artists), because at that point we had 50 poems and only 14 illustrators. Cynthia Cummens and Joel Vollmer brought the number up to 27.
A key ingredient of the project was that each illustrator could use as much space as he or she felt their particular poem warranted, so in essence, the page count was determined by the artists. The bad news was that, as the graphic designer, I couldn’t begin layout on the project until the majority of the art was done.
In the early days, the book kept shrinking and expanding as I tried to anticipate what each artist was doing. Sometimes it would change daily! Not the best way to approach a project, but in the end, I think it’s one of the strengths of A Life of Ravens.
Mike Grell: Alex Ness is a pal. When he sent me some of his poems and mentioned that he was hoping to publish them in an illustrated volume, I told him to put me down for two of my favorites.
Alex Sheikman: I’d done an interview with Alex a while back about Robotika, a series that I’m working on, and when the time came to select artists for his poems he contacted me.
Peter Bergting: Alex and I had been talking for a while and when he asked me, I jumped at the opportunity to do something together.
Joel Vollmer: I had just started emailing back and forth with Alex about working together on Dust to Dust and he asked if I’d be interested in illustrating some poems for him.
Cynthia Cummens: Some time ago, Alex interviewed me at Pop Thought about my Star Wars-related projects. Then earlier this year, out of the blue, he contacted me and asked if I’d like to be involved with this project. An opportunity to illustrate a poem sounded intriguing. After reading “Black Cat Sleeps,” I was certain I wanted to be involved.
David Yurkovich: Alex and I had been friends for several years. He invited me to be a part of LoR and I was happy to have been asked.
Rich Koslowski: I met Alex a couple years back at Minnesota FallCon after he reviewed my graphic novel, Three Fingers. We realized we had more in common besides just great comics and became fast friends. Been keeping in contact ever since through emails, and I’m always enjoying the poems he sends. Then, one day, he asked if I’d be interested in being involved with this project. I was delighted. And here we are!
Tony Caputo: Alex asked me if I was interested and it sounded like fun.
Josh Howard: I got to know Alex over the course of a couple of years through interviews and reviews. He had been expressing interest in doing something with me, so I was glad I could finally work it into my schedule.
Jason Copland: Alex and I had been looking for a project to work on together for quite a while, so when he mentioned Ravens I jumped at his invitation to illustrate one of his poems.
What attracted you all to the project?
Giadrosich: Having the freedom to draw what I wanted within the context of the poem. Each artist was given the same consideration: interpret the material as they wanted, understanding that the book would be available to a general audience.
Grell: It’s unique; a chance to flex different artistic muscles.
Sheikman: I have a pretty full schedule and at first I was not sure if I could commit to doing anything on top of my Robotika scheduled deliverables, but after I read the poem that Alex wrote, I just knew I wanted to try my hand at it.
Bergting: Alex’s writing of course, but also the chance to illustrate ravens, which is a favorite subject amongst artists.
Vollmer: At the time I was looking for some quick projects to gain some momentum to apply to some unfinished work.
Cummens: Well, I immediately sensed that Alex was very confident in wanting me to be on board for his project. I was excited at the opportunity to try my hand at visually interpreting his words. It gave me a chance to flex those creative muscles, which was a much needed change of pace from all the other projects I’d been working on, which at the time was primarily for the trading card industry.
Yurkovich: Poetry isn’t really my territory, but I find Alex’s work to be very strong, highly imaginative, and full of surprises. It was hard to resist. Additionally, I wanted to be part of the fantastic line up of creative illustrators Alex had tapped.
Koslowski: Besides Alex’s skill as a poet, I was also impressed with his obvious passion for the project and the other great artists he was lining up. It was impressive. But, primarily, I’m impressed by Alex’s motivation.
Wilcken: It looked like it would be fun. I like narrative poetry and it’s always interesting collaborating with another creator. And the poem had harem girls in it.Who can resist drawing harem girls?
Caputo: The challenge to draw a visual representation of a poem.
Howard: Alex has been very generous in supporting and promoting my work, so I wanted to do it as a thank you to him.
Copland: There were a few things that attracted me to Alex’s book, the first being the chance to work with Alex. A second reason was to be in a book filled with very talented people like Mike Grell, Alex Sheikman, Peter Bergting, Bob Giadrosich, Paul Harmon and Josh Howard. Artistically, it gave me a chance to do full page illustrations, which is something new for me.
Describe the poem(s) you illustrated.
Giadrosich: I ended up with nine poems (some with multiple illustrations), but of all those, “Burning Perfection” is among my favorites. It’s the story of a samurai named Kanaye Kurashima, who is darn near perfect in all that he does: calligraphy, poetry, archery, and swordsmanship. Everyone recognizes this, except him.
He’s given the task of guarding a Lady of the Court on the road, and in transit, they’re attacked by Ronin. It’s only at the moment of his death that he realizes that he had been so concerned with pursuing “to be,” that he never gave consideration to “is.” In many ways, it is a very modern tale.
Grell: “Defender of the Vines” is about the failed Viking settlement in America. “Green Hell” is a confrontation between cultures: one high-tech; the other primitive, but aided by a hostile environment in which they are anything but at a disadvantage.
Sheikman: The poem that I illustrated could be interpreted in many different ways. It’s not as much about any particular time or place; it’s about history and how we move through it. It has very much a Zen sort of feeling to me.
Bergting: They’re Viking-related; tailor made for me I believe. Very Norse; very cold.
Vollmer: One’s about a man leading a posse to kill a golem, another’s about Alex’s son, and the last was about a stripper and the man who watches her.
Cummens: I illustrated “Black Cat Sleeps,” about a cat that, while sleeping near the radiator, is lovingly watched over by the Egyptian goddess Bast. I’m the proud owner of three cats who fancy sleeping near the heat, as all cats do, so I could relate! And I could sense Alex’s fondness and awe for these beautiful creatures in this poem. It’s evident: his affections for them.
Yurkovich: I provided the illustration for “Life Amongst Ruins.” Alex could best describe the poem, but it’s a moody piece. I recall thinking “post-apocalypse” as I worked up the image.
Koslowski: I was given several choices to choose from on which poem I’d illustrate. Ultimately the one I connected with hit home with me because I could visualize everything so well. It’s been some time since I did the actual work but I remember “feeling” this poem as I read it. I know it may sound “deep” and corny, but it’s true. This particular poem spoke to me.
Wilcken: “The Emir’s Last Thoughts” describes a wealthy caravan traveling across the desert and is attacked by bandits. But are the raiders driven only by avarice, or by vengeance? This is the question the Emir ponders. From the title, I don’t think I’m giving anything away to say that he doesn’t have long to ponder it.
Howard: It’s about the Whore from the book of Revelation.
Copland: The poem I illustrated is called “Valkyrie Fly.” It’s a short poem dealing with the Valkyrie’s task of retrieving the souls of brave warriors that have fallen on the field of battle.
What led you to illustrate your poems the way you did?
Giadrosich: Because I did poems, chapter headings, and spot illustrations (43 in all), I tried to break them up visually. Of the poems, “Burning Perfection” and “You” were done with graphite, a medium I haven’t lent to publication in quite a while. “The Golden,” “The Last Field,” “Modern Sensibility,” “Norse War,” “Orbideath,” and “Red Snow” are my trademark brush and ink, while “Time to Die” was done in an expressionistic, monochromatic style.
Grell: “Defender of the Vines” was easy, though more time consuming. I chose a single image – the aftermath – rather than a narrative style. It was a chance to play with textures and design. When you know all you’ve got to work with is black and white, you have to really pull out all the stops.
Alex and I saw “Green Hell” differently, I think. His poem evoked images of the quagmire of Viet Nam, but I took it in another direction. In order to tell my version visually, it called for a sequential narrative.
Sheikman: I decided to approach it as I would an illustration assignment. I first decided that I was going to do a half page illustration and then I read the poem a few times to pull out imagery that might be compelling for someone flipping through the book (but at the same time the illustration had to have another layer of meaning to it that would became apparent after the reader read the poem). There’s a mention of an underwater civilization in the poem and I used that as the anchor for the illustration.
Bergting: Well, I knew it was going to be in black and white so the style was really a no-brainer since I only have a couple of different styles. The comic book approach seemed to be the best fit.
Cummens: After reading the poem, I did several sketches but came back to the first one, the one now published with the poem. Alex’s work is very rich in visuals, with lots of layers, levels, and tiers throughout. I had a strong image from the beginning, and just stuck with that. I’m proud of the end result and am thrilled I had the opportunity to work with such a talented poet. Thank you, Alex!
Yurkovich: Because this isn’t a comic book or graphic novel, I approached the piece not so much in illustration terms but more from a design perspective. For the last year or so I’ve been moving away from traditional illustration and working in the electronic media arts. “Life Amongst Ruins” worked well in this regard, and the image is primarily collage.
Koslowski: The poem dictated the illo. I wanted the focus on the Ravens and the wolf and the tree with the warriors marching in the foreground visible yet not taking away from what I thought the focus really was. And I illustrated it with an ink-wash style that I’m becoming somewhat well-known for, I guess. My primary goal was to do something unique, original, and kick ass! Hopefully I pulled that off.
Wilcken: “Last Thoughts” bops back and forth in its point of view, so I decided that a narrative graphic approach would be appropriate. Of course, to a cartoonist with a hammer, every problem looks like sequential art.
My drawings tend toward the silly and humorous, so it was challenging to play this one “straight.” Mostly straight, anyway. I gave the Emir a comical appearance, partially to contrast with the lean, grim, faceless raiders, partially to emphasize the shock of the ending, and partially because it fit with the ironic edge of the Emir’s final musings.
(Okay, the bit with the Emir and the harem girls was totally gratuitous, but I do not repent of it one bit.)
Howard: My style doesn’t really lend itself to symbolic imagery, so I just went with a more literal interpretation.
Copland: The poem spoke of the warriors’ final battle. For me, Alex’s words evoked the sense of chaos and frenzy that comes during such a struggle. I chose to try and capture that chaotic nature with a similar quality of line and texture. My drawings came out dirty, messy and raw… much like war.
Thanks, everyone!
Finally, Bob, how’s it being distributed? How can people get copies of it?
Giadrosich: This is primarily a web offering. Distributed by Booksurge, it’ll be available at quite a few different websites: Amazon.com, Abebooks.com, Alibris.com, Borders.com, Booksinprint.com, Globalbooksinprint.com, and Target.com. Of course, it will be available at our website, Sharayahpress.com, also.
Stores who are interested in stocking A Life of Ravens should contact Booksurge.com, who is acting as the principle printer and wholesaler.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I was jackpot lucky to know so many artists and to get to be a part of such an awesome project, and I thank them all for being a part of it.
A couple small corrections: the book I had reviewed of Rich Koslowski was THE KING not THREE FINGERS, (and I loved THE KING.) And it was not so much that I called Bob and asked him to be art director, it was a case of his asking me how things were going to be formatted and I said “what the hell are you talking about?”. The creation of the post of Art Director was in response to that, and I did ask but it was after we’d talked.
Thank you to everyone reading the interview, and being moved to buying the book, thanks to Michael May for his providing great questions, and the artists for working with me.