Ted Naifeh first came to fame as the co-creator/artist of GloomCookie. Now hes writing and illustrating his own books like Courtney Crumrin for Oni Press and How Loathsome for NBM Publishing.
The character of Courtney Crumrin has had three books all now available in Manga size trade paperbacks. Courtney is young girl whose parents have dragged her out to a high-to-do suburb to live with her creepy Uncle Aloysius in his big spooky house. There Courtney has had adventures with The Night Things, the Coven of Mystics and in her latest book shes traveled to the Twilight Kingdom.
Check out the official website of Ted Naifeh
Daniel Robert Epstein: Oni Press was nice enough to send me the Courtney Crumrin books. Crumrin is a tough name to pronounce.
Ted Naifeh: I was warned that it would be a tough name for people to get but I didnt listen.
DRE: Have you ever really listened to people?
TN: Naw, what do people know?
DRE: Kelly Crumrin did the intros to one of the books, who is that?
TN: Thats my girlfriend. We had just met and I thought she had a pretty groovy last name so I borrowed it.
DRE: Are you still together?
TN: Yes, surprisingly enough.
DRE: Is she angling for some of that movie cash?
TN: No, she just wanted to write the introduction. Well actually that was my idea. Shes just happy to have her name be famous. Youd be surprised at how uncommon the name is. There is about a dozen or so Crumrins in the world and they are all related. They all come from this tiny little town in Illinois.
DRE: Are they witches?
TN: No not at all. Theyre hicks.
DRE: Which is worse?
TN: Definitely the hicks.
DRE: So is Courtney Crumrin meant for kids?
TN: I wouldnt say its meant for kids but I think its appropriate for kids.
DRE: But kids dont read comics.
TN: You know who reads comics? The children of comic book fans. Many of the kids that read that book are children of guys who like Batman. But what 11 year old girl is going to be interested in Batman?
DRE: Theyre not even interested in Batgirl.
TN: Believe me there are things you can do to make them interested in Batgirl. First thing, change that fucking costume. One of the basic premises of superheroes is that you cant change the costume very often because you want character recognition. The problem with that is that girls want to see different clothes, accessories and looks. Thats part of it.
DRE: She needs the artic gear and the warm weather suit.
TN: Change the costume but keep the theme. Guys like it too but they dont look at it that way but even so Batman has all different costumes.
DRE: The trade paperbacks of Courtney are Manga size, did it originally come out in regular size?
TN: It did. Each book was originally four issues then they repackaged to be much smaller so bookstores would carry it because Borders and Waldenbooks were very interested. They wanted that smaller format so it could go on the Manga shelves.
DRE: Do you like the smaller format?
TN: At first I wasnt crazy about it but now I think its pretty cute. I think it shows that there is this gigantic audience that would have been interested in comic books if they had tried to produce material to reach that audience.
DRE: Its weird to go into Barnes & Noble and see girls at the graphic novel racks pulling books off the shelves.
TN: Thats exciting. When I was just starting out that was the audience I wanted because I figured the world didnt need more testosterone pumped Punisher comics. What I thought would have been fun would be comics for girls. Not that I dont like action comics but the market was loaded with them even when I was a teenager and it still is. These are girls that wouldnt step foot in a comic book store.
DRE: And rightfully so. Most comic book stores are not pleasant places for girls to be.
TN: Its not for them. A girl is not drawn in by a big muscular picture of Spider-Man. The energy that those images create doesnt attract girls.
DRE: When you do different stories, do you have a Courtney mindset then a How Loathsome mindset or is it just write whatever deadline is closer?
TN: Its more about the deadlines. I dont go into a different mode because it all comes from the same place.
DRE: Could you describe that place?
TN: The fact that the characters are female is kind of cosmetic. In some ways I sit down and think about what a girl would do but most of the time its writing the characters and facets that are in my head. With Courtney its about being an asocial outsider, which everyone has in them, thats angry at the world for not understanding who they are. Then the world doesnt understand who they are because they are so damned angry all the time.
DRE: Her parents are the classic fairy tale parents of being detached. Usually in fairy tales parents are at work all the time or dead.
TN: Stories dont start to happen to people until the parents go away. When the parents are there the stories happen to them and the children just tag along. Youve got to take the parents away.
DRE: Did wanting to do books for girls come out of doing GloomCookie?
TN: I worked on GloomCookie and since that was so successful it illustrated to me just how many women were reading comics. Not mainstream comics but alternative Goth comics. Theyre dying for that kind of material. The great thing about GloomCookie is that it came along at this time when all these girls were reading books that werent exactly for them like Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. When they found GloomCookie it was about them, their friends and the feelings they have. When it first came out, it sold 10,000 copies which is unheard for a comic book that comes out of nowhere.
So I thought about what I had to say to that group. I didnt want to do a book thats about being a woman because what do I know about that. But I definitely didnt want to do a book thats about being a man. Batman, in a lot of ways, is about being a man and so is Spider-Man. Even Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is about these welling rages and hostilities that are inherent in a teenage boy. So I thought I would do a genderless comic with a main character that is female but there is nothing specifically female about her. Shes not sexy, shes not dating, she may have the occasionally crush but its very sexless.
DRE: Did it also come out of the success of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies?
TN: I think Im pulling in some of those people. Its not that people arent into fantasy when its not all the rage but people get tired of bad fantasy. When something revitalizes the market it allows people to be more open to good stuff. Now the market is flooded with bad fantasy. But people still believe that the next Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter might come along.
DRE: Youre a Goth icon. Are you Gothy yourself?
TN: I used to be. I dont listen to Goth music anymore and I never bought any Marilyn Manson albums. I was 15 when Bauhaus broke up and then subsequently got very popular in America. I jumped on that bandwagon real fast.
DRE: Did you do all the clothes?
TN: I still pick up the clothes. I think the clothes are the only thing left thats still interesting not that I own anything made of velvet. Im definitely into black heavy cotton, leather and big boots. I also ride a motorcycle!
DRE: What kind of people show up at the signings?
TN: A lot of parents with kids, a few dorky nerdy Goth kids, Vampire the Masquerade players.
DRE: Have you ever LARPed?
TN: Never got sucked into it. There is caf around the corner from my house where this big group gathers once a week. They get all caffeined up and go LARP. Theyve invited me and I go Yknow my dignity cant take this big a blow.
DRE: I tried it once and I wanted to do was talk to this really hot Goth girl that was there.
TN: Thats what sucks you in. You think youll hang out with the hot Goth chicks then you realize that half the guys are there for the same reason.
DRE: Its a bit too stupid, even for me.
TN: Its dorky but its cool if its your thing I guess. So many people look to do anything thats creative because many people have no creative outlet in their lives. Thats why people read comics and watch movies then discuss them. Opinion is the first step to making a statement about the world, which is what creativity is.
DRE: Do you avoid reading books like Emily the Strange because youre afraid they will encroach on what youre doing?
TN: I have an Emily the Strange book. Its so totally different in form because its not really a narrative. Its basically all postcards, like a picture then one line. Its cool but thats not what Im doing. Im just jealous I didnt do it first. I dont think I could have done Courtney if not for Emily because it was bouncing around out there in the unconscious.
DRE: So Courtney has been optioned for movies.
TN: Its a little further down the road than just being optioned. That being said, well see. Heres the saga, Oni Press has a division that shops the material around for movies. Small press in comics is not very lucrative so they want to expand into more of a multi-media company. They shopped it around and they showed it to Stan Winston Studios. They loved it and really wanted to do it. But they dont have the money because they are just starting out as a movie-making company. They just did one movie called Wrong Turn. They were really interested but Oni wanted some money up front. They shopped it around some more and then this Hollywood miracle happened, Stan Winston Studios wouldnt leave Oni alone. They kept calling and asking if they could shop it around themselves. So we were intrigued by their interest. Oni said they would stop shopping it around and gave them six months to do it. Stan Winston Studios wanted to find a screenwriter, put a pitch together and then shop it around. Thats what they did and then they landed a deal. Now we have a great first draft of a screenplay and investment money.
DRE: What books does the screenplay incorporate?
TN: Just about everything. It shuffled all the elements and then put them around a larger story arc because the first book was four individual stories.
DRE: How did you hook up with Oni Press?
TN: They were one of the companies that were looking for new books. I pitched them a project they rejected. Originally I wrote Courtney for Slave Labor Publishing but they just sat on it so I sent it to Oni. They called me back the next day.
DRE: What do you think happened with Slave Labor?
TN: I think that they were angry with me over busting up GloomCookie because they had a cash cow there and when I left, the readership dropped. But I think its back up now. Slave Labor has since invited me back and I will probably do another book with them soon.
The real issue is that there isnt much money in independent comics so the only way to make it economically viable is to write and draw it myself. Splitting almost no money between two people is just economically impossible especially with the amount of work I put into these books.
DRE: Have you ever met any SuicideGirls?
TN: Occasionally at conventions.
DRE: What do you think of the site?
TN: I think its awesome. I myself have always wanted to do an adult entertainment website. But one of problems I have with most adult stuff online is that its so generic. They give the models a stripy dress and they have to take it off as soon as possible. SuicideGirls is definitely not generic. Its got flavor which is what I like. Unfortunately I cant really afford to pay for online porn.
DRE: Well get you a membership.
TN: YAY! Dont be surprised if you then see some of the SuicideGirls show up as characters in my comics.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
The character of Courtney Crumrin has had three books all now available in Manga size trade paperbacks. Courtney is young girl whose parents have dragged her out to a high-to-do suburb to live with her creepy Uncle Aloysius in his big spooky house. There Courtney has had adventures with The Night Things, the Coven of Mystics and in her latest book shes traveled to the Twilight Kingdom.
Check out the official website of Ted Naifeh
Daniel Robert Epstein: Oni Press was nice enough to send me the Courtney Crumrin books. Crumrin is a tough name to pronounce.
Ted Naifeh: I was warned that it would be a tough name for people to get but I didnt listen.
DRE: Have you ever really listened to people?
TN: Naw, what do people know?
DRE: Kelly Crumrin did the intros to one of the books, who is that?
TN: Thats my girlfriend. We had just met and I thought she had a pretty groovy last name so I borrowed it.
DRE: Are you still together?
TN: Yes, surprisingly enough.
DRE: Is she angling for some of that movie cash?
TN: No, she just wanted to write the introduction. Well actually that was my idea. Shes just happy to have her name be famous. Youd be surprised at how uncommon the name is. There is about a dozen or so Crumrins in the world and they are all related. They all come from this tiny little town in Illinois.
DRE: Are they witches?
TN: No not at all. Theyre hicks.
DRE: Which is worse?
TN: Definitely the hicks.
DRE: So is Courtney Crumrin meant for kids?
TN: I wouldnt say its meant for kids but I think its appropriate for kids.
DRE: But kids dont read comics.
TN: You know who reads comics? The children of comic book fans. Many of the kids that read that book are children of guys who like Batman. But what 11 year old girl is going to be interested in Batman?
DRE: Theyre not even interested in Batgirl.
TN: Believe me there are things you can do to make them interested in Batgirl. First thing, change that fucking costume. One of the basic premises of superheroes is that you cant change the costume very often because you want character recognition. The problem with that is that girls want to see different clothes, accessories and looks. Thats part of it.
DRE: She needs the artic gear and the warm weather suit.
TN: Change the costume but keep the theme. Guys like it too but they dont look at it that way but even so Batman has all different costumes.
DRE: The trade paperbacks of Courtney are Manga size, did it originally come out in regular size?
TN: It did. Each book was originally four issues then they repackaged to be much smaller so bookstores would carry it because Borders and Waldenbooks were very interested. They wanted that smaller format so it could go on the Manga shelves.
DRE: Do you like the smaller format?
TN: At first I wasnt crazy about it but now I think its pretty cute. I think it shows that there is this gigantic audience that would have been interested in comic books if they had tried to produce material to reach that audience.
DRE: Its weird to go into Barnes & Noble and see girls at the graphic novel racks pulling books off the shelves.
TN: Thats exciting. When I was just starting out that was the audience I wanted because I figured the world didnt need more testosterone pumped Punisher comics. What I thought would have been fun would be comics for girls. Not that I dont like action comics but the market was loaded with them even when I was a teenager and it still is. These are girls that wouldnt step foot in a comic book store.
DRE: And rightfully so. Most comic book stores are not pleasant places for girls to be.
TN: Its not for them. A girl is not drawn in by a big muscular picture of Spider-Man. The energy that those images create doesnt attract girls.
DRE: When you do different stories, do you have a Courtney mindset then a How Loathsome mindset or is it just write whatever deadline is closer?
TN: Its more about the deadlines. I dont go into a different mode because it all comes from the same place.
DRE: Could you describe that place?
TN: The fact that the characters are female is kind of cosmetic. In some ways I sit down and think about what a girl would do but most of the time its writing the characters and facets that are in my head. With Courtney its about being an asocial outsider, which everyone has in them, thats angry at the world for not understanding who they are. Then the world doesnt understand who they are because they are so damned angry all the time.
DRE: Her parents are the classic fairy tale parents of being detached. Usually in fairy tales parents are at work all the time or dead.
TN: Stories dont start to happen to people until the parents go away. When the parents are there the stories happen to them and the children just tag along. Youve got to take the parents away.
DRE: Did wanting to do books for girls come out of doing GloomCookie?
TN: I worked on GloomCookie and since that was so successful it illustrated to me just how many women were reading comics. Not mainstream comics but alternative Goth comics. Theyre dying for that kind of material. The great thing about GloomCookie is that it came along at this time when all these girls were reading books that werent exactly for them like Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. When they found GloomCookie it was about them, their friends and the feelings they have. When it first came out, it sold 10,000 copies which is unheard for a comic book that comes out of nowhere.
So I thought about what I had to say to that group. I didnt want to do a book thats about being a woman because what do I know about that. But I definitely didnt want to do a book thats about being a man. Batman, in a lot of ways, is about being a man and so is Spider-Man. Even Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is about these welling rages and hostilities that are inherent in a teenage boy. So I thought I would do a genderless comic with a main character that is female but there is nothing specifically female about her. Shes not sexy, shes not dating, she may have the occasionally crush but its very sexless.
DRE: Did it also come out of the success of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies?
TN: I think Im pulling in some of those people. Its not that people arent into fantasy when its not all the rage but people get tired of bad fantasy. When something revitalizes the market it allows people to be more open to good stuff. Now the market is flooded with bad fantasy. But people still believe that the next Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter might come along.
DRE: Youre a Goth icon. Are you Gothy yourself?
TN: I used to be. I dont listen to Goth music anymore and I never bought any Marilyn Manson albums. I was 15 when Bauhaus broke up and then subsequently got very popular in America. I jumped on that bandwagon real fast.
DRE: Did you do all the clothes?
TN: I still pick up the clothes. I think the clothes are the only thing left thats still interesting not that I own anything made of velvet. Im definitely into black heavy cotton, leather and big boots. I also ride a motorcycle!
DRE: What kind of people show up at the signings?
TN: A lot of parents with kids, a few dorky nerdy Goth kids, Vampire the Masquerade players.
DRE: Have you ever LARPed?
TN: Never got sucked into it. There is caf around the corner from my house where this big group gathers once a week. They get all caffeined up and go LARP. Theyve invited me and I go Yknow my dignity cant take this big a blow.
DRE: I tried it once and I wanted to do was talk to this really hot Goth girl that was there.
TN: Thats what sucks you in. You think youll hang out with the hot Goth chicks then you realize that half the guys are there for the same reason.
DRE: Its a bit too stupid, even for me.
TN: Its dorky but its cool if its your thing I guess. So many people look to do anything thats creative because many people have no creative outlet in their lives. Thats why people read comics and watch movies then discuss them. Opinion is the first step to making a statement about the world, which is what creativity is.
DRE: Do you avoid reading books like Emily the Strange because youre afraid they will encroach on what youre doing?
TN: I have an Emily the Strange book. Its so totally different in form because its not really a narrative. Its basically all postcards, like a picture then one line. Its cool but thats not what Im doing. Im just jealous I didnt do it first. I dont think I could have done Courtney if not for Emily because it was bouncing around out there in the unconscious.
DRE: So Courtney has been optioned for movies.
TN: Its a little further down the road than just being optioned. That being said, well see. Heres the saga, Oni Press has a division that shops the material around for movies. Small press in comics is not very lucrative so they want to expand into more of a multi-media company. They shopped it around and they showed it to Stan Winston Studios. They loved it and really wanted to do it. But they dont have the money because they are just starting out as a movie-making company. They just did one movie called Wrong Turn. They were really interested but Oni wanted some money up front. They shopped it around some more and then this Hollywood miracle happened, Stan Winston Studios wouldnt leave Oni alone. They kept calling and asking if they could shop it around themselves. So we were intrigued by their interest. Oni said they would stop shopping it around and gave them six months to do it. Stan Winston Studios wanted to find a screenwriter, put a pitch together and then shop it around. Thats what they did and then they landed a deal. Now we have a great first draft of a screenplay and investment money.
DRE: What books does the screenplay incorporate?
TN: Just about everything. It shuffled all the elements and then put them around a larger story arc because the first book was four individual stories.
DRE: How did you hook up with Oni Press?
TN: They were one of the companies that were looking for new books. I pitched them a project they rejected. Originally I wrote Courtney for Slave Labor Publishing but they just sat on it so I sent it to Oni. They called me back the next day.
DRE: What do you think happened with Slave Labor?
TN: I think that they were angry with me over busting up GloomCookie because they had a cash cow there and when I left, the readership dropped. But I think its back up now. Slave Labor has since invited me back and I will probably do another book with them soon.
The real issue is that there isnt much money in independent comics so the only way to make it economically viable is to write and draw it myself. Splitting almost no money between two people is just economically impossible especially with the amount of work I put into these books.
DRE: Have you ever met any SuicideGirls?
TN: Occasionally at conventions.
DRE: What do you think of the site?
TN: I think its awesome. I myself have always wanted to do an adult entertainment website. But one of problems I have with most adult stuff online is that its so generic. They give the models a stripy dress and they have to take it off as soon as possible. SuicideGirls is definitely not generic. Its got flavor which is what I like. Unfortunately I cant really afford to pay for online porn.
DRE: Well get you a membership.
TN: YAY! Dont be surprised if you then see some of the SuicideGirls show up as characters in my comics.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 14 of 14 COMMENTS
cate:
I met this guy at the Porn Palace, he was nice and he didn't look at me all crazy cause I like comic books haha.
lyric:
Ted is effing amazeing... seriously AmAZEING I have all the courtney books and they rock my socks =)