Punk Planet dot com - Graphic Novels

Tackling the Novel - A Lucky Man/40 Hour Man Joint

Ben Tanzer — Mon, 21 May 2007 23:24:51 -0400

My publisher Steve Lafler and I recently had the chance to sit down and talk about writing novels. Our conversation went something like this:

Steve Lafler: Ben, in your debut novel Lucky Man, you take a unique approach—the story is told from the point of view of four friends. Gabe, Jake, Louie and Sammy each get a crack at the narrative from their own point of view. In part four of the book, Sammy’s version of the story brings a crescendo and a sort of denouement to the book. I’d like to know what inspired you to structure Lucky Man this way?

Ben Tanzer: Steve, I was thinking about how friends of a certain age or circumstance can become so close that their thoughts and experiences begin to merge, like they have one brain, and I really wanted to run with that. I also wanted the characters to be somewhat distinctive though and so they not only get to tell the same story from their perspective, but the novel is divided into four sections, with each section highlighting one of the characters and their struggles. I always knew the fourth section would be focused on Sammy and so I crafted his story to come to some bit of closure at the same time as the overall story. What I would like to know is what inspired you to tackle your new graphic novel in partnership with someone else? I could see where that might be an experience that’s both more creative and more frustrating.

Dog Boys, Bugs, and 40 Hour Man - Talking Comix with Steve Lafler

Ben Tanzer — Sat, 05 May 2007 16:19:09 -0400

Steve Lafler is the creator of Dog Boy comics, the BugHouse series of graphic novels, and now 40 Hour Man which he co-created with writer Stephen Beaupre. Further, 40 Hour Man was released by Lafler's new imprint Manx Media - http://www.manxmedia.com/ - which he created after working for several years with Top Shelf. I caught up with Lafler as he prepares to move on to new adventures and new digs in Mexico with his family, and here is what he had to say.

Let's start by talking about the Dog Boy comics - what do people need to know about these comics and what do they say about you?

I started drawing Dog Boy stories about a year out of college. After doing a daily strip for my college paper at UMass, I’d been messing around with the comic book format, looking to bring myself up to speed with it. As soon as I got a handle on comic pages vs. comic strips, I sat down and Dog Boy just happened, the material flowed like honey. I was working with an automatic writing/surrealist technique at the time, and Dog Boy sprang from my psyche mirroring the concerns of a young man making his way in the world: The search for meaning, for transcendent truth was primary. And of course, so was being broke, drinking beer, dropping acid and trying to get laid. Dog Boy back issues are available from Cosmic Monkey Comics at http://www.cosmicmonkeycomics.com/. I will do a collection someday, who knows when. Joe Sacco wrote an introduction for me, which will be in there.

Manx Media Invades The Press Club in Portland, OR on April 17th at 7:30pm

Ben Tanzer — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:43:48 -0400

Check out Manx Media's invasion of The Press Club in Portland, OR (2621 SE Clinton Street) next Tuesday, April 17th at 7:30pm. There will be juggling, RSS feeds, pinwheels, sitars, thinking outside the box, clowns, a live performance by Foreigner, visioning and futuring, and readings by Ben Tanzer and Steve Lafler from the novel Lucky Man and graphic novel 40 Hour Man respectively.

Manx Media Takes Over Quimby's - March 7th - 8:00pm

Ben Tanzer — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 02:34:03 -0500

Check out Manx Media's takeover of Quimby's (1854 West North Avenue - Chicago) next Wednesday, March 7th at 8:00pm - http://quimbys.com/events.php?m=03&y=2007. There will be interpretive dance, claymation, PowerPoint presentations, origami, puppetry, dog training, blood donation, political debate, tightrope walkers, yodeling, agenda setting, and readings by Ben Tanzer and Steve Lafler from the novel Lucky Man and graphic novel 40 Hour Man respectively.