Today’s blog post is the first interview with one of our four graphic novelists attending TeenBookCon 2011. Mark Crilley is not only a graphic novelist, but he is also a prolific YouTube user. His instructional videos on how to draw have garnered him thousands of followers. If you haven’t already seen his YouTube channel, it may be about time for that.
And now on to the questions…
TeenBookCon: What drew you to the Manga style for the Miki Falls and Brody's Ghost series?
Mark Crilley: My life has been intertwined with Japan for quite some time, and I have long admired manga and anime artwork. I lived and taught in Japan for more than two years, 1991-93, and my wife is Japanese, so we continue to visit the country regularly. With the ‘Miki Falls’ story being set in Japan it was a natural to do that story with a significant manga influence. With ‘Brody’s Ghost,’ I wanted to continue to refine my use of the style, and see if I could create something more along the lines a of a boy’s manga series.
TBC: If you weren't able to be an author/illustrator, what other profession would
you like to attempt? Which profession would you never want to be in?
MC: I would love to host a radio interview show. Think of all the fascinating people you’d meet! I’d be terrible as the boss of any group of people in any profession. Telling other people what to do goes completely against my instincts.
TBC: What are your top three "Books or graphic novels to have if stranded on a
desert island"?
MC: I’ll go for ‘Into the Wild’ by Jon Krakauer, Chris Ware’s ‘Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth’ graphic novel, and Leo Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace.’ I’ve never read that last one, but hey, if I’m stuck on a desert island, now's my chance!
TBC: Do you have any upcoming book projects you can tell us about?
MC: My latest project is a ‘How to Draw Manga’ book for Impact Books. I’m almost done with it, but it won’t be out until 2012. It has lots of lessons that many such books leave out: How to draw elderly or overweight characters, 50 ways to draw hands, how to draw a character walking, etc. It’s got so much reference stuff in it I’ll probably end up using it myself!
TBC: Cool! No doubt your many YouTube channel subscribers are already chomping at the bit to get their hands on that one!
Well, we can’t wait to meet you at TeenBookCon on April 9th.
Mark Crilley is the author/illustrator of the following series: Miki Falls, Akiko, Billy Clikk, and Brody's Ghost. Find him on Twitter.
Mark will be speaking on the Graphic Novelists Galore panel with Misako Rocks, Raina Telgemeier, and Doug TenNapel.
More author interviews coming soon…and as always, we love to hear from you so give us some feedback!
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