Ted Naifeh first gained recognition as the artist and co-creator of the comic series Gloomcookie, but it was the release of his own creation, Courtney Crumrin that really made his reputation. Since the initial miniseries Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things was released a decade ago by Oni Press, Naifeh has returned to the character a few times in between other projects.
He illustrated Death Jr. comics, collaborated with Tristan Crane on How Loathsome and illustrated Holly Blacks Good Neighbors graphic novel trilogy from Scholastic. Naifeh also wrote and drew Polly and the Pirates and wrote a sequel which was released earlier this year.
Courtney has always remained Naifehs best-loved creation, and this month Oni Press debuts a new full color Courtney Crumrin ongoing series, which serves as both an excellent introduction to Courtney and her world for new readers and a welcome return for those who know her well. Naifeh may have joked that the ten year anniversary of Courtney is making him feel old, but Naifeh remains just as talented a creator and as nice a person as he was when we first met years ago.
ALEX DUEBEN: First of all, congratulations. It's been ten years since Courtney Crumrin first appeared. Does it feel like ten years?
TED NAIFEH: What are you trying to do, remind me how old I am? Seriously though, it feels like a lifetime, since the person I've come to think of myself as, at least in a professional capacity, was born with this book. On the other hand, In re-reading it, I still find some of it very fresh. It looks and sounds like me.
AD: Why did you decide to recolor the original Courtney Crumrin comics and what made Warren Wucinich the person for the job?
TN: It's always a tough decision. I had some very talented people approach me wanting to color it, and even doing brilliant samples. And Oni sent me two different guys, one of whom did a very tight professional job, and the other one doing something a little weird and experimental. I chose the experimental guy. He turned out to be perfect. It's very easy to think of coloring as a craft, where the goal is to do a quality, workmanlike job with all the bells and whistles in their proper place. But what Warren does is experiment, try things, take chances. Sometimes his experiments don't quite work, but Jill Beaton and I give him feedback, and the result is simply this: every page is unexpected. And that's exactly what I wanted. It's not craft, it's art.
AD: Why a Courtney Crumrin ongoing series and why now?
TN: We changed the format for two reasons. One, the limited series just doesn't appeal to comic shops anymore. They want trades, or they want ongoing series. The second reason is that I needed an excuse to commit to Courtney. I really want to spend more time building her world. But once you're done with a mini-series, it's hard to commit to another. I regret that I didn't stick with the character and build more momentum. Even if I'd only done one mini-series a year, I could have had ten Courtney volumes instead of 4 by now. And who knows? She might have gotten a lot more followers. People like stories with a deep history. That's one reason Bone did so well. Jeff Smith committed to it.
AD: Has crafting an ongoing series changed your approach to Courtney or how you tell the stories? You've done miniseries and graphic novels, but never an ongoing like this.
TN: Yes, very much so. I'm building a longer form story, where each arc feeds directly into the next. You'll see when the first arc is done. It ends on a cliffhanger.
AD: Why did you decide to make the ongoing series in full color?
TN: Color books do better, for one thing. Everyone wanted it. And it looks great. But also, I've been experimenting with my style a bit, and my pages just seem to benefit from color. I've been using more heavy black brushwork. Warren adds a lot of depth and atmosphere to it.
AD: Does knowing that the book will appear in color mean you do anything differently from an artistic perspective?
TN: It frees me up to let the lines tell the story. I've been using less crosshatching tone to add depth. If you look at the first volume, it's riddled with crosshatching, essentially doing the job of a colorist. I don't need to do that as much. That's not to say the pages are unreadable without color. They're just not quite as atmospheric.
AD: With the ongoing, will we see one-off side stories like Portrait of a Warlock as a Young Man and tales of other characters appear as story arcs told within the series?
TN: Yes, I havestand-alone story coming up about a middle-aged Aloysius. It's funny though, I know folks like Aloysius, but they're less interested in him when he's on his own. He's like the elves in Middle Earth. They're interesting, but they need hobbits around to create contrast. Without Courtney, Aloysius isn't quite as mysterious.
As for other spin-offs, I've been thinking about it, but I need to decide which character to follow. I'm open to suggestions.
AD: That's an interesting observation about Aloysius. I guess that he's such an interesting character who has clearly lived such a colorful life, but we don't necessarily want to know the stories. Having said that, I hope we'll be learning more about Miss Crisp, and more about Butterworm. And you can always do a story about the cats. I hear people like cats.
TN: I don't know that we don't want to know, I just don't know that he should be the star. Maybe my co-star should have been a little more fleshed out. I will eventually do more tie-ins, which will be easier with an ongoing series. I definitely want to do more cat stories.
AD: Is the plan for you to write and draw every issue or will we see the occasional guest appear?
TN: For this series, for the time being, it's going to be all me. But I may have guest artists draw a spin-off series.
AD: Another series of yours that I'm a big fan of, Polly and the Pirates, had its second volume come out a few months back. How has the response been and will we see a third volume?
TN: The sales were great on Polly 2. Everyone seems to like it. I'm going to write Polly 3 as soon as I have some spare time.
AD: As far as the second volume of Polly and the Pirates, I was a little disappointed to learn that Norton isn't the actual Emperor of America as was implied in the first volume. Polly does spell out why we love Norton so, but what was the thinking behind that?
TN: I don't like to go too far in analyzing my own work, because, ya know, what am I, a psychology expert? But with Norton, it suppose it depends on how you look at it. By legal standards, Norton isn't the official emperor of America. But if you were to ask anyone in the Polly world who they thought the emperor was, they'd say Norton. Unless they're cynical bastards, of course. The idea is rule by individual consent. That's the kind of world Polly lives in, a much gentler, more optimistic world than ours.
AD: Will we ever see a new edition of How Loathsome one of these days?
TN: Yes, I don't see why not. I just haven't taken the time to go hunting up a new publisher. Tristan Crane and I have talked about self-publishing, though I'm still old-fashion enough to think of that as the last desperate refuge of an idea no one but me likes. Obviously, I'm getting old.
AD: I remember you told me years back that you had an eventual ending in mind
for Courtney. Has that ending changed?
TN: Nope. The series isn't going to last forever, and I intend a pretty grand finally. I still have other stories to tell.
AD: We've spoken professionally and informally a few times over the years and you've mentioned a few projects that have never come to fruition like Princess Ugg and Zenith. Have they been abandoned, are they on hold?
TN: Like I said, the Courtney series isn't going to go on forever. Those two series are very close to my heart, and will come eventually.
AD: Just to end this where we began, what can people expect from the ongoing series and preview a few things we'll be seeing in the coming months?
TN: I don't want to give too much away. I'm just going to say that the status quo of Courtney's world will be shattered.
He illustrated Death Jr. comics, collaborated with Tristan Crane on How Loathsome and illustrated Holly Blacks Good Neighbors graphic novel trilogy from Scholastic. Naifeh also wrote and drew Polly and the Pirates and wrote a sequel which was released earlier this year.
Courtney has always remained Naifehs best-loved creation, and this month Oni Press debuts a new full color Courtney Crumrin ongoing series, which serves as both an excellent introduction to Courtney and her world for new readers and a welcome return for those who know her well. Naifeh may have joked that the ten year anniversary of Courtney is making him feel old, but Naifeh remains just as talented a creator and as nice a person as he was when we first met years ago.
ALEX DUEBEN: First of all, congratulations. It's been ten years since Courtney Crumrin first appeared. Does it feel like ten years?
TED NAIFEH: What are you trying to do, remind me how old I am? Seriously though, it feels like a lifetime, since the person I've come to think of myself as, at least in a professional capacity, was born with this book. On the other hand, In re-reading it, I still find some of it very fresh. It looks and sounds like me.
AD: Why did you decide to recolor the original Courtney Crumrin comics and what made Warren Wucinich the person for the job?
TN: It's always a tough decision. I had some very talented people approach me wanting to color it, and even doing brilliant samples. And Oni sent me two different guys, one of whom did a very tight professional job, and the other one doing something a little weird and experimental. I chose the experimental guy. He turned out to be perfect. It's very easy to think of coloring as a craft, where the goal is to do a quality, workmanlike job with all the bells and whistles in their proper place. But what Warren does is experiment, try things, take chances. Sometimes his experiments don't quite work, but Jill Beaton and I give him feedback, and the result is simply this: every page is unexpected. And that's exactly what I wanted. It's not craft, it's art.
AD: Why a Courtney Crumrin ongoing series and why now?
TN: We changed the format for two reasons. One, the limited series just doesn't appeal to comic shops anymore. They want trades, or they want ongoing series. The second reason is that I needed an excuse to commit to Courtney. I really want to spend more time building her world. But once you're done with a mini-series, it's hard to commit to another. I regret that I didn't stick with the character and build more momentum. Even if I'd only done one mini-series a year, I could have had ten Courtney volumes instead of 4 by now. And who knows? She might have gotten a lot more followers. People like stories with a deep history. That's one reason Bone did so well. Jeff Smith committed to it.
AD: Has crafting an ongoing series changed your approach to Courtney or how you tell the stories? You've done miniseries and graphic novels, but never an ongoing like this.
TN: Yes, very much so. I'm building a longer form story, where each arc feeds directly into the next. You'll see when the first arc is done. It ends on a cliffhanger.
AD: Why did you decide to make the ongoing series in full color?
TN: Color books do better, for one thing. Everyone wanted it. And it looks great. But also, I've been experimenting with my style a bit, and my pages just seem to benefit from color. I've been using more heavy black brushwork. Warren adds a lot of depth and atmosphere to it.
AD: Does knowing that the book will appear in color mean you do anything differently from an artistic perspective?
TN: It frees me up to let the lines tell the story. I've been using less crosshatching tone to add depth. If you look at the first volume, it's riddled with crosshatching, essentially doing the job of a colorist. I don't need to do that as much. That's not to say the pages are unreadable without color. They're just not quite as atmospheric.
AD: With the ongoing, will we see one-off side stories like Portrait of a Warlock as a Young Man and tales of other characters appear as story arcs told within the series?
TN: Yes, I havestand-alone story coming up about a middle-aged Aloysius. It's funny though, I know folks like Aloysius, but they're less interested in him when he's on his own. He's like the elves in Middle Earth. They're interesting, but they need hobbits around to create contrast. Without Courtney, Aloysius isn't quite as mysterious.
As for other spin-offs, I've been thinking about it, but I need to decide which character to follow. I'm open to suggestions.
AD: That's an interesting observation about Aloysius. I guess that he's such an interesting character who has clearly lived such a colorful life, but we don't necessarily want to know the stories. Having said that, I hope we'll be learning more about Miss Crisp, and more about Butterworm. And you can always do a story about the cats. I hear people like cats.
TN: I don't know that we don't want to know, I just don't know that he should be the star. Maybe my co-star should have been a little more fleshed out. I will eventually do more tie-ins, which will be easier with an ongoing series. I definitely want to do more cat stories.
AD: Is the plan for you to write and draw every issue or will we see the occasional guest appear?
TN: For this series, for the time being, it's going to be all me. But I may have guest artists draw a spin-off series.
AD: Another series of yours that I'm a big fan of, Polly and the Pirates, had its second volume come out a few months back. How has the response been and will we see a third volume?
TN: The sales were great on Polly 2. Everyone seems to like it. I'm going to write Polly 3 as soon as I have some spare time.
AD: As far as the second volume of Polly and the Pirates, I was a little disappointed to learn that Norton isn't the actual Emperor of America as was implied in the first volume. Polly does spell out why we love Norton so, but what was the thinking behind that?
TN: I don't like to go too far in analyzing my own work, because, ya know, what am I, a psychology expert? But with Norton, it suppose it depends on how you look at it. By legal standards, Norton isn't the official emperor of America. But if you were to ask anyone in the Polly world who they thought the emperor was, they'd say Norton. Unless they're cynical bastards, of course. The idea is rule by individual consent. That's the kind of world Polly lives in, a much gentler, more optimistic world than ours.
AD: Will we ever see a new edition of How Loathsome one of these days?
TN: Yes, I don't see why not. I just haven't taken the time to go hunting up a new publisher. Tristan Crane and I have talked about self-publishing, though I'm still old-fashion enough to think of that as the last desperate refuge of an idea no one but me likes. Obviously, I'm getting old.
AD: I remember you told me years back that you had an eventual ending in mind
for Courtney. Has that ending changed?
TN: Nope. The series isn't going to last forever, and I intend a pretty grand finally. I still have other stories to tell.
AD: We've spoken professionally and informally a few times over the years and you've mentioned a few projects that have never come to fruition like Princess Ugg and Zenith. Have they been abandoned, are they on hold?
TN: Like I said, the Courtney series isn't going to go on forever. Those two series are very close to my heart, and will come eventually.
AD: Just to end this where we began, what can people expect from the ongoing series and preview a few things we'll be seeing in the coming months?
TN: I don't want to give too much away. I'm just going to say that the status quo of Courtney's world will be shattered.