BAKER'S
DOZEN for 09/23/2009
Big Scary Monsters
Chris Wisnia on Doris Danger: Giant Monster Adventures
I
always enjoy running into Chris Wisnia during a con. Besides
being a gifted writer-artist and a good conversationalist,
Chris is also possessed of a rare sense of humor, combined
with a real affection for the inherent power of the absurd.
All these qualities have served him well in life and in
pursuit of his signature series, which features the sublime
and ridiculous menace presented by giant monsters and their
kin.
While
it’s true that I interviewed Chris a few years back
as part of the original “Baker’s Dozen” series,
with a new collection of his tales featuring Doris Danger
coming out soon from Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics, I thought
it a perfect time to talk with him about the new book and
what he’s been up to since we last spoke.
Bill
Baker: For those deprived of previous contact with your
work, who is Doris Danger, and why is she so interested
in Giant Monsters? And please, Chris, remember that there
might be young children reading…
Chris
Wisnia: Doris Danger is a tabloid photojournalist who
believes she was abducted by a giant monster when she was
young. She has now dedicated her life to trying to prove
the existence of giant monsters, with help from a colorful
cast of characters, including her boyfriend, former astronaut
Steve Wonder; the wise, elderly, wheelchair-bound sage,
Dr. Souseman; a peaceful cult of fez-wearing monster protectors;
and the Monster Liberation Army (or “M.L.A.”,
a band of armed mercenaries framed for crimes they didn’t
commit, now wearing ball caps and skin tight uniforms, and
each with a fighting specialty, such as judo, boxing, race-car-driving,
piloting, animal training,
bullfighting, and “Texan”).
Unfortunately,
Doris also confronts those who disbelieve, picket, or even
purposely try to hide and destroy evidence of giant monsters.
We find in this category her boss at Tabloia Weekly Magazine,
the US Army and the FBI’s “G” Division, a
trio of French beret-wearing brothers, as gruff eye-patch-wearing
politician, robots disguised as African
tribesmen, a famous actor disguised as a robot, and mad
scientists who don’t speak much but do a lot of giggling.
I
wrote and drew the stories in a retro-Stan Lee/Jack Kirby
style, as a tribute to their late 1950’s Atlas/Timely
giant monster comics. I included lots of strange, lumpy,
flat-toothed monsters with names like Spluhh, Pwahpwah,
Sneh-Sneh, Aahblah, and Muh Muh Muh.
Despite
how it may sound, these stories are meant to be campy, kitschy,
absurdist, way over-the-top melodrama adventures.
There!
And I didn’t even use the “F” word!
BB:
You’ve charted various characters’ journeys through
similar territories before, including some of Doris’
own; what made you want to concentrate on her strange adventures
at this point?
CW:
When I first began making comics, I self-published five
issues of a pseudo-anthology, which included Doris and three
other stories. I thought it would be a good sort of “try-out”
technique, to get some work out and see how people reacted
to not only an anthology format, but also to each character.
The issues didn’t sell well, but it gave
me some feedback, and so ever since then, I’ve been
focusing books on particular characters.
Doris
has tended to be the most popular and successful, so I’ve
been continuously producing her adventures ever since. But
I dabbled with a number of stories in different formats,
and always showing things to editors and publishers. Doris
was the first one to be picked up by a publisher, so that
kind of determined it.
BB:
How about the genre? What is it about weird fantasy, and
the Giant Monster subgenre, that so fascinates you as a
writer and artist?
CW:
When I was young, I would pick up a Kirby comic, and I hated
them. I thought, “That guy can’t draw. Look at
his weird, barrel-shaped anatomy. Why is everything so shiny?”
But in college, I studied art, and afterwards, I saw Kirby
with a new eye. I realized quality of art doesn’t have
to mean photo-realism. And the zany, really powerful,
out-of-control energy of Kirby’s work just blew me
away.
If
you’ve seen Kirby’s monster books, I just find
them phenomenal. They’re so bizarre and fun.
But
actually, what excites me more than that about this project
is examining the serialized format. I’m fascinated
with monthly comics, old movie serials, TV shows like The
X-Files or whatever JJ Abrams is doing, and even lower “art
forms” like soap operas and professional wrestling.
I
love the idea that these stories don’t have a beginning
or ending, but that you can just jump in and figure out
everything you need - who’s good and who’s bad,
what their motivations are – even if you catch them
out of order or miss a few installments. And I find it fascinating
how addictive they become, once you’re invested in
it, week after week. And how new writers or actors come
onboard, or the series runs for decades, so things just
contradict each other now and then, but they still try to
cling to this allusion of “continuity.”
BB:
Since we’ve last spoken, back in 2004, there have been
a few changes. One of the more noticeable alterations, I
think, is that your earlier outings were mostly published
as single issues, which were later collected into collections.
What lead to your decision to skip the smaller installments,
and head right for the graphic novel format?
CW:
Well…er…This new volume may be kind of misleading…
It’s actually a collection of virtually everything
I’ve published with the Doris Danger character so far.
This was the decision of SLG. However, so long as this volume
does well, it will be followed by a second volume of virtually
all-new material, at which point, we’ll be doing what
you’re suggesting.
I’m
actually very excited about the prospect. I have so many
stories to tell about Doris. There are a lot of gaps to
fill in. Despite the appearance that her adventures are
a string of random, unrelated, ludicrous events, they’re
actually very specific, related (but still ludicrous) events.
I’m looking forward to revealing all the details of
the zany stories, assuming the book does all right and I’m
given the opportunity.
I
think the graphic novel will be a nice format for this,
because it will give the space to reveal more, so that readers
will hopefully see and be impressed with the multi-faceted
connections more easily.
BB:
Well, if that opportunity does arise, do you think that
the change in format will have any real impact on the way
you’re telling your stories? For example, since you’d
no longer have to worry about doing things that fit within
the smaller page counts of the typical comic, might you
begin to stretch out a bit and let the rhythms of the stories
themselves dictate their lengths, and where any chapter
or other breaks might occur?
CW:
Interestingly, I’ll still keep the same format. The
format is what makes the stories, for me, because it’s
about serialized installments. And I tell the installments
out of order.
So
I’ve always done maybe five to seven page stories,
broken up into a few one or two page sequences of adventure.
And then the next story has no seeming relation to the first,
except maybe a little bleed over
with a character or situation. And as you read five or ten
of these stories, little pieces come out, and you begin
to see more of the individual stories and characters, or
how they connect with other stories.
I
(ostentatiously) liken it to William Burroughs’ Naked
Lunch, where he wrote the novel, then cut it into a bunch
of paragraphs or pages, threw them in the air, and published
the book in the order he randomly picked them off the floor.
I think Doris’s adventures will have a structural feel
sort of like that. But you have to read more and more
to really see the intricate depth.
It
sounds funny making a pretentious comparison like this because,
of course, the stories really are humorous and nonsensical.
But again, these pseudo-intellectual subtleties have really
fueled me, and driven me to continue creating more adventures.
BB:
How about your general approach to creating the tales? Do
you still write a script first, and then draw it straight
through, or have you begun to experiment with other approaches?
CW:
Well, the original idea was to produce a feeling that the
series has been running for decades. And so I’d shove
in as many wacky, awkwardly impractical events as I could,
but in a “this all happened in this previous issue”
(that doesn’t exist). And then I’d footnote the
issue number where these events allegedly happened.
So
now, my creation process is to read stories I’ve already
written, and it will just naturally spark questions for
me. Here’s an example:
I
started a previously published story with the Monster Liberation
Army announcing that they realize there’s a traitor
amongst them, disguised but actually codenamed “Chokey,”
a master of strangling people with his bare hands. And now
Doris is in Danger, because she’s on a mission with
him right now! And then the story moves onto another
subject.
So
re-reading that, I realized I needed to go back to that
story and reveal which MLA member is Chokey, what mission
he’s on right now with Doris, and how he tricked the
MLA into letting him join...and will Doris find out he’s
a traitor, or will he strangle her? Will the MLA find her
in time? All of a sudden, I have maybe a dozen sequences
that
need to be told, all of which were sparked from the brief
mention I made in passing in that older tale.
So
the stories kind of write themselves like that. I just mull
them over, for weeks or months or years, and I figure them
out over time. I jot lots of little notes down, or even
just gags or one-liners, on scraps of paper, and then type
them into a Word file by subject. When it’s time to
plot out a story, I go through my notes and decide which
subjects haven’t been mentioned for a while, or what
could use some further attention. Or what I’ve come
up with that makes me laugh on a second reading.
I’ll
usually completely script a one or two page sequence, and
then completely draw it. But if I come up with funnier jokes
while I’m lettering or drawing, I’ll slip those
in as well. Sometimes, while I’m scripting a page sequence,
for example, it will suddenly become a two-page sequence.
It’s a pretty fluid, wide-open format, which allows
for a lot of spontaneous silliness. And with a 96-page allotment,
I’ve got a whole lot of wiggle-room now.
BB:
One of the other aspects of format you’ve experimented
with is the size of the page, going from standard comic
book size to a considerably larger package. What lead to
your use of that bigger canvas, what were some of the specific
goals or effects you hoped to accomplish with that move,
and will you be returning to it with this new volume, or
any succeeding books?
CW:
When I first published the Doris Danger stories in the anthology,
they were comic-book-sized. When I decided to collect those
stories into a trade, it seemed obvious to me that a giant
monster book had to be a giant-sized, tabloid format. I
loved the old Marvel and DC Treasuries from the 1970’s.
My first comics were Star Wars and Justice
League treasuries. They were my entry into comics, at maybe
age five.
I
liked the idea of adults holding these giant books, and
feeling smaller proportionately, since the books were bigger...and
that maybe they’d feel a bit like a kid again. And,
come on! GIANT MONSTERS deserve a GIANT FORMAT. I made two
of these treasuries, a 56-pager and a 64-pager. The 96-page
SLG book basically collects these, but as you can see from
the numbers, I had to pull some stuff out.
The
SLG book is yet another format experiment. Dan Vado thought
it would make a nice book as a digest-size, so we’re
going the opposite way, down to the teensy-weensy-sized
5” x 7.5”. And actually, I think it will be great
this way too. My other (5-year old?) childhood entrance
into comics was a pocket-book of Lee-Ditko Spider-Mans,
including the first appearance of the Green Goblin.
I
think it will be interesting to have a precious little tiny
book, full of Kirby-style monsters. I’m looking forward
to seeing it.
BB:
Another major change this time out is that Doris Danger
is being published by Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics. How’d
that change of imprint come about, what lead to your moving
in that direction, and what do you hope comes of it?
CW:
Despite self-publishing about a dozen comics, I did not
do well financially as a self-publisher. I felt I couldn’t
afford to keep going this route, and I’ve been looking
for a publisher for some time.
I’d
been bugging Dan at SLG (Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics)
for over a year, and he finally said if we did a digest-sized
trade he’d be interested in the project.
I
had done about half the art for Sam Kieth’s Ojo (published
by Oni Press), but this is my first personal, self-created
project that a publisher has been kind enough to take on.
I
think SLG will be a good fit for the character. My hope
is that the book will reach a larger audience, enough so
that I can continue the series for three or four graphic
novels.
BB:
What about Salt Peter Press? Does this mean that you’ll
likely never self publish again, or will you reserve that
option for possible future use, when the right time and
project comes up?
CW:
At this time, I don’t plan to self-publish any more,
but who can say? Because I’m really not interested
in doing work for hire. I have a lot of my own projects
that I’d like to do, and if I decide I want to do one,
but can’t find a publisher, then what?
BB:
Well, another fairly major change you’ve gone through
over the past few years happened behind the scenes—you’re
now a father. What kind of impact, if any, has having a
couple children in your life had on your artistic life?
For instance, have you had to make any significant changes
to your working hours since their arrival in your lives?
And how about the nature of the stories you tell? Have you
noticed any shift in tone or perhaps presentation of certain
events in your work?
CW:
I haven’t noticed much change in tone, although now
that my oldest son is three and we read a lot of comics
together, it has crossed my mind. It happens Doris is a
fairly all-ages character, especially compared to other
projects I’ve done.
I’ve
always tended to get the most work done in the mornings,
when my wife is at work, and that’s still the case,
even with two kids. I definitely am unable to produce as
much work as I used to.
My
wife goes to work early, and the boys are up early. So that
means I’m up early. So, even though it would be a very
quiet, easy time to get work done when everyone is asleep,
I generally don’t do the night owl thing. Besides,
I prefer to be awake when the family is awake, and get some
time in with them.
I
guess the big change is that it’s hard to get in a
rhythm, because I’ll start inking, and then I’ll
need to go tend to something. When I come back, the brush
is crusted with ink, so I need to wash it out and start
over again. I get a couple lines down, and then it’s
up again to take care of something else.
BB:
Remind me, are you currently working as a full time artist,
doing all sorts of graphic design and such as a day job,
or am I mistaken in that?
CW:
Actually, my day job is as a guitar instructor at the local
music shop.
BB:
Of course. Well, what effect, if any, does that day
job have upon your comics work? Do those two, seemingly
unrelated, endeavors feed into each other, or do you sometimes
feel a bit drained by working as
an instructor?
CW: I teach private lessons. So switching between
music and art does change it up a bit, and I would say it
keeps me extraordinarily amped to get to the drawing table.
I always feel like I have too much to do and not enough
time to do it in. I never feel drained about making comics,
although I need to get up and walk around or answer some
emails after drawing all day.
Interestingly,
I find when I come home from the guitar lessons, I’m
not usually in the mood to practice or write music. But
that just makes me more excited to get drawing.
The
guitar lessons make me a decent living, though, and it’s
non-stressful work. One-on-one private lessons, usually
with people that want to learn. I’m my own boss. I
choose my hours. I get paid in advance. And I can make enough
income in a part-time week to spend a fair amount of time
making comics.
I
actually have no interest in doing commercial art or graphic
design. I’m perfectly happy in the arrangement I’m
in, with a day-job I enjoy, in a separate “art.”
If the comics were to pay the bills better, I’d be
happy to shift time allotments between the two jobs, but
that’s out of my control.
BB:
I know you’ve said that you’re not really interested
in it, but I have to wonder if there any company owned characters
or titles that your inner fanboy would like to write and/or
draw someday?
CW:
Yeah, there are a ton. I think it would be fun to play in
the big kid’s “Super-pool.” I would love
to do just about any Kirby character for a big company,
but in a Kirby style. I’d love doing a Hellboy story
in a Kirby style. I’d love doing Spider-Man stories
in a Ditko style.
I
would love doing Ant Man or Atom, with a lot of “giant”
bugs. I’d love doing Sub-Mariner or Aquaman, with a
bunch of sea monsters. I’d enjoy doing film noir stories
for Batman or Daredevil.
I
have a character named Dr. DeBunko, and I think it’d
be pretty smooth to transition this into Dr. 13 stories.
But,
even with any of this stuff, I would want to do my own stories.
I don’t think I’d be interested in just being
work-for-hire for a big company.
BB:
Well, what’s next for Doris and company? Do you have
her next adventures planned out yet, or might you be moving
on to some new territory?
CW:
New territory? Yes and no. I began writing Doris Danger
stories in 2002. I’ve been brainstorming her adventures
ever since. I’ve got hundreds of pages of notes on
adventures for her to go on, and most of them are just filling
in the blanks at this point. With the impending release
of the book, her adventures are really prevalent in my mind,
and I’ve been finding myself jotting pages of plotlines
each day. Of course, sometimes when you try to fill one
space, it just creates a new one on either side of it. And
sometimes the solutions I come up with surprise me. It’s
all just a matter of which holes to fill in first.
BB:
Anything else you’d like to share with us before I
let you get back to work?
CW:
The book is in Previews now, Diamond Previews code:
SEP090572, and the ISBN-13 is 9781593621803.
It’s
also available at Amazon here.
If
you care to pick up the certain-to-be-collector’s back-issue
“first appearances” of Doris, in Tabloia Weekly
Magazine and other Doris Danger books, you can go to my
official website, http://www.tabloia.com/.
There are a lot of fun bonus features there as well, including
sneak peeks, photos, and a gallery of giant monster
fan art.
Thanks
for a nice interview, Bill!
BB:
It was a pleasure, Chris!
Hey,
what are you waiting for? Give your local comic shop a call
to let your retailer know that you want the new Doris Danger
digest when it’s released this November. No local comic
shop? No worries. Just step on over to http://www.slgcomic.com,
Slave Labor Graphic’s home on the web, or hit that
Amazon link above and preorder your copy now.
Can’t
wait that long? Well, you can always head on over to www.Tabloia.com
and get yourself some of Chris Wisnia’s patented giant
monster action, adventure and absurdity right now!
