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The Genre Series - Ande Parks on Writing the Historical Comic |
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Written by Caleb Monroe
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Monday, 25 December 2006 |
This week I start what I’m calling my genre series, where I’ll be interviewing writers on the specifics of writing certain genres in comics. Since I’m working on a historical comic for Ground Floor (as voted by you), historical was the first obvious choice of genre.
In addition to be being a prolific inker, Ande Parks has written such historical OGNs as Union Station and Capote in Kansas, and was a natural choice for this interview.
What was your first published book as a writer? Was it Union Station? How did that project come to be?
Yeah… Union Station was my first published Original Graphic Novel, but it wasn’t the first comics I’d written. I created a character called Uncle Slam for my pal Mike Manley’s Action Planet Comics in 1994 or so. I wrote and finished, with Hester doing loose pencils. We did several short stories, and then two issues of a book, Uncle Slam & Fire Dog. It certainly wasn’t the kind of work Union Station was, but it gave me some experience and confidence as a writer. To be honest, though, I’ve always been more of a writer than an artist. I just didn’t see how to make a living at it when I left college, so I concentrated on something much more stable… inking. ;-)
Union Station happened because I decided I wanted to start moving my career into writing, and historical fiction is what appealed to me. I researched it for almost two years, and then put together a pitch, which I handed out to several publishers in San Diego. I lucked out… Oni wanted to do it.
What is it about true historical stories like the ones behind Union Station and Capote in Kansas that first attracted you?
I’ve always been more attracted to non-fiction and biographies, for some reason. I love history, so the research appeals to me. I also like the idea of using comics to educate people about stuff I feel is important. I hope the stories are not primarily about their settings, but the context is there. I’ve heard from several people I know in Kansas City who didn’t know much about the US massacre before reading my book, and they were fascinated by what went on in their town in the not-too-distant past. I should also credit Alan Moore and Harvey Kurtzman. From Hell and Harvey’s EC war books made me believe that historical fiction could be done brilliantly in comics. Of course, I shoot at their level, and always fall so far short… but it’s a good target to have in mind.
When writing about true events, particularly events that have occurred in the past century, is there any particular legal steps you need to take to make sure you can tell the story? How did this manifest on your own projects?
I worried about that a lot on Union Station, but I found that you have pretty broad leeway with historical figures… people who were in the limelight for one reason or another. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to deal with the dead… the ancestors are less likely to be litigious than the person themselves. Plus, I was dealing, in large part, with known criminals. What was I going to do to tarnish Pretty Boy Floyd’s legacy? Actually, I was harder on the FBI than the criminals, but again… what would I say about Hoover than hasn’t been said hundreds of times before me?
I was more concerned with sources. I made sure I pulled facts from as many sources as possible, so no one author could say I just grabbed their work and re-told it. I also included an annotated bibliography on Union Station, so anyone could see where I got my data.
So once you’ve hit on the story you want to tell and you’ve ascertained that you’re free to tell it, what’s your next step?
Some degree of research. The amount can vary from project to project, but you have to get into it to some degree. The research is where the theme will reveal itself, and theme is vital to me. I need something I can easily say my story is about. The research inevitably tells me what the thing in the project is that I can latch onto and be passionate about. I might have an idea before I get into the research, but the facts often force you to re-examine.
How do you approach research for a historical project?
Gather everything you possibly can, and just immerse yourself. When I’m in the research phase, everything I read is about the project. I look for books, articles, online materials, and vintage news clippings, if possible. I’m not just interested in the narrow range of facts of my story, either. I might end up looking into peripheral stuff, which can help inform the story in some way that I hadn’t thought about before. I bought a whole book about the Four Seasons during Capote research, even though there was just going to be one scene set there. I just wanted to see what it was about, because I thought it might give me some insight about Truman’s life.
Once you’ve done all your reading, you have to put things on the shelf and try to let the story live a little. On Union Station, I did try to stay very close to the facts. On Capote, I tried to shut out the research to a greater degree, because I feared I would end up re-telling In Cold Blood. It varies from project to project, but the groundwork is the same, and it’s crucial.
Okay, so you’ve finished your research, you have all the facts and you’re ready to write. How do you go about injecting an engaging human drama into those facts? In essence, how to you make the story come alive?
Thus far, I have chosen to interject some fictional characters into my stories to help that happen. Union Station was so big… so sprawling, that I felt we needed an anchor that would connect everything and put a personal face on the drama, so I created the reporter and his family. With Capote, I wanted to represent the victims, and give Truman a tangible link to them, so I “created” a reincarnation of Nancy Clutter.
Those characters, though, are tools to accomplish what’s really important to me… and that is the theme that I decide upon during the research phase. The main them of Union Station is struggle between what is best for you and yours vs. the greater good, with a secondary theme about abuse of power. Capote is about the sacrifice required to produce a great work of art, with secondary themes about alienation and the nature of love. Every scene has to serve those themes, or it doesn’t belong in the book. That’s what makes the stories love for me… what makes them have a shot at being important. Of course, you have to be true to your characters as you serve those themes, and those characters have to live and breathe… they can’t be historical cutouts.
What does your writing schedule look like, especially with the inking to contend with? Are there specific hours each day or week when you write, or is it simply whenever inspiration or opportunity strikes?
To this point, I have simply fit in the writing as best I can, whenever there’s time. I’ve been pretty slow on the writing thus far, but I need to pick it up. Right now, I’m thinking about having one exclusive writing day a week. That day would probably take place outside the house. I write more effectively and efficiently when I’m away from all distractions. I also need a lot of time to ponder each scene before it’s written. Driving works well for that, for some reason… driving or mowing the yard.
Have you ever made any changes to the real events so the story would work? As a writer, where do you think the line of responsibility lies between telling the tale and telling the exact truth?
Well, one of the main characters in Capote is, for lack of a better term, a ghost… so, that’s a yes. I think I have the leeway to make my story work, as long as I’m true to the nature of the characters. These are NOVELS, and I have little patience for people who think you can make a novel work by simply plugging in a series of facts. Your job is to create a compelling narrative, not to write a history book. You are responsible to the characters, but not always to the facts.
Language is a living thing, and changes gradually over time. How do you approach dialogue when writing a period comic?
Well, I haven’t stretched myself too far yet. Both of my projects were set around where I live and grew up. I knew guys who live in the era of the Union Station Massacre when I was a kid… my grandpa was alive then. I know how those guys spoke. Same for the rural folks of Capote. Truman was more of a challenge, but after the research, I just knew him, and I felt I could write him as Truman, without going over the top with it. The big challenge was Harper Lee, who does precious few interviews, and about whom very little has been written. In the end, you have to get inside the character’s head and just let the stuff come out.
I should also mention that there is a balancing act with dialogue… one I consider to be absolutely crucial to effective storytelling. The dialogue has to be natural, but it can’t really be realistic. I don’t want to read a comic book that is written just the way people actually speak… I’d be bored to death. I try to write them honestly and naturally, but condensed down to what really has to be there to make the scene work. I have this interview with Orson Welles where he’s talking about screen acting, and he brings up James Cagney. He says, “There has never been a person in the world who acted the way Cagney acts on film, but there is not a frame of his career that isn’t absolutely true.” That’s how I feel about dialogue.
I just recently did several interviews on the subject of short comics, including one with Jason Rodriguez, editor of the upcoming Postcards. As a creator, do you have any specific advice to other creators about writing short-form comics?
First, be Will Eisner or Harvey Kurtzman! Really, I’m not sure I’m good at it. I think I’m good at hitting notes in these short stories, but I wish I could make them more of a complete narrative. I struggle with it. I guess my advice would be that, if you have to choose between leaving the reader with a feeling or having a tidy little story with beginning, middle and end, there might be more value in the former. Great art makes you feel something, and that’s what I try to do with these things. Are they great art? Um… not likely, but I think they have the potential to resonate with a reader, and that can be a valuable experience.
What are you reading right now?
Damn little. I went through a big noir phase recently, because I want to write something with that sort of vibe. Jim Thompson blew my mind, as did Hammett. I’ve been reading some comics lately… a lot of Brubaker. I’m not working on any big books right now. I should be doing biblical research for my next project, but I’m finding it hard to make myself do it. That’s coming, though.
Do you have any practical advice about balancing one's friends and family against a career in comics?
I’ve had several friends ask me how to make this work as they get to the phase in their careers where it’s not a part-time proposition anymore… it’s a career. It’s tough, especially when you work at home, and the distractions of the family are all around you. Family comes first for me, but the work has to get done, just as if I went off to an office every day. It can be a juggling act, because the work is always there. Still, it can be done, and I’m really grateful for this career and the lifestyle it allows. I’m at home, watching my kids grow up every day. I don’t waste half my life commuting. I can do things on my own schedule. It’s a good life if you can muster the discipline to get the damn work done.
Any final advice on the life or craft of writing in general?
Find something to say… have a point of view. Don’t be satisfied with spinning great yarns. The world needs great yarns, but it also needs beliefs, and the two are not mutually exclusive.
Also, don’t be scared to do the work and put it out there. When I meet people who tell me they’re dying to make comics, I tell them to get started. We don’t work in an art form that requires us to raise millions of dollars or be dependant on a huge crew. You may not make a living at it, but there is nothing to stop you from using comics to tell your stories.
Do you have any current or upcoming projects you want to plug?
The Postcards thing is the next writing that will see print. I’m just starting the next OGN, which is called Blood Red (from Oni again), but it’s gonna be about a year and a half before it comes out. So, buy Postcards, and buy the book that pays my bills… Ant-Man!
Thank you, Ande!
Caleb
Monroe bought Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #16 when he was
11 years old and it was all over after that. You can learn some more
about him here.
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