From Wednesday, July 17 through Sunday, July 21, 2013, while attending the San Diego International Comic-Con, I ran around to as many of my favorite kids comics creators as I could and asked them all the exact same questions. Keep in mind, exhibit halls are crazy loud and crazy busy, so there is a lot of background noise. Let me know in the comments if you have trouble hearing anything and I’ll translate for you.
I’ve been reading Eric Shanower‘s books for almost as long as I’ve been reading comics. (I came to comics as an adult, so don’t worry that he’s about to retire or anything.) Weirdly, I didn’t first discover him with his Oz comics. It was his Age of Bronze series that first drew me in. A retelling of the Trojan war that combines all the different traditions of the story, this series is brilliant, ambitious, and very much for older teens/adults. And then I stumbled on his Little Adventures in Oz books. Ah, his Oz books. The illustrations are luminous. The stories are clever, original, yet faithful to Baum’s world. And the retellings of Baum’s books, illustrated by Skottie Young, are everything an Oz fan could want in an adaptation.
Having the chance to talk with Mr. Shanower was amazing. I’m just sorry it took me so long to work up the nerve to ask for an interview.
Books mentioned in this video:
- The Adventures of Tintin, by Herge
- Walt Disney’s Donald Duck stories, by Carl Barks
- Archie: The Complete Daily Newspaper Comics: 1960-1963
- Asterix Omnibus, by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderso
- The Princess and the Goblin, by George MacDonald
- Wandering Jew, by Eugene Sue
About Eva Volin
Mr. Shanover and I are members of the same SCBWI chapter (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and I was shocked to hear him say he started in comics 30 years ago. He doesn’t look older than a senior in high school. So much experience for a young talent. I’ll have to address him as “Mr.” now!