Talk to Me

Posted by author Travis Nichols

Writing and illustrating are often solitary endeavors. Sometimes I catch myself not leaving the house for a few days at a time other than walking to a nearby market for one of those vegan noodle box things you can now find all over the city. I sit huddled over my laptop or paper with lo mein hanging out of my mouth and a glazed, expressionless look in my eyes and Dune playing in the background over and over. I mean, I assume my look is glazed and expressionless. Nobody is around to tell me either way.

When words and pictures leave my desk, however, things completely change. Writing and illustrating becomes a collaboration. Editors, marketing and sales people, designers, publicity reps, etc. Everyone has eyes on the work and input to give. There are emails and PDFs and CC'd conversations and quick changes and big decisions. You misspelled exercise (I always do). Is there maybe a better way to phrase the text on page 64? What do we think is the best red for the cover? There's no bleed on page 126. What do you think about this page order? What if this page said something like, "Who's licking Billy?"

I've worked with editors in comics and for other books, but The Monster Doodle Book took things to another level for me. The book started as a zine I gave out to trick-or-treaters in 2008. It was 32 pages long with no words in the interior. When it was acquired by Perigee, I originally figured it would be mostly an expansion of what I had already done. My editor and I starting corresponding by email about adding instructions here and there, and other ideas to make the book more dynamic. I talked with friends and solicited ideas ("How about a tank?", "LOBSTER CLAWS, dude!", etc. - those friends are included in the acknowledgments at the front of the book). It became much more than just something I created alone in my studio.

 
I made a promotional video where I raced around Manhattan and Brooklyn having friends draw pages in a copy of the book. I melted my Metrocard (slight exaggeration) and ate at some of my favorite places along the way. I saw friends that I hadn't seen in almost a year. Books. BOOKS. Am I right?

And since The Monster Doodle Book is a collaboration between me and readers, I wanted to come up with something that I could do at events that would involve attendees AND allow me to see doodling in action (and keep me from having to write and give long book talks). I created blowups of pages from the book and framed them in lightweight poster frames with plexiglass on top. Then I found some AMAZING dry erase markers called AusPens. They're refillable and don't dry out (in the pen or on boards) and wipe clean easily. I took the blowups and markers to my book release at WORD in Greenpoint, and later to a Story Time event for kids at Greenlight Books in Fort Greene (both in Brooklyn). I loved hearing adults defiantly say "No, I can't draw" and then catch them doodling half an hour later. And seeing a young child draw an EPIC PUKE for the first time was a highlight of my career.

Pictured: my friend Nate, one of the most talented artists I know. Not pictured: an adult who said they couldn't draw.

I was then offered a two-month book tie-in gallery show back in my hometown, Abilene, TX. I doubled my number of page blowups and hung the pieces with the markers attached by string. I had an opening and signing full of family, friends, and assorted Abileneans. It will hang until the fall, and it's a show that will change over time. During the opening, there was a phase where every piece had some sort of reference to a giant jelly donut. YES. If you went there now, it would be gone (unless that little girl returned). Evolving, shifting collaboration. Whoooooaaaaaaa.

 
I continue to do events for The Monster Doodle Book, but I'm also working on upcoming and hopefully-upcoming projects. I'm back at my desk in that noodles-hanging-from-my-mouth phase again, and I can't wait to get some new conversations going.

Comments

[Jen Vaughn]

Excellent article, Travis! Opening up a kid or kid-at-heart's eyes is the best part of a finished book. Keep on rockin'!