1983, JACKIE and JACK, MAD Magazine, "Some Enchanted Evening," and graphic novels: author/illustrator Matt Faulkner
Charlie Barshaw coordinates our regular Writer Spotlight feature and interviews writers of SCBWI-MI. In this piece, meet author /illustrator Matt Faulkner.
You’ve been
in the children’s book world a long time, and it’s changed. Will you recall young
Matt, fresh out of school, pounding the New York City pavements and knocking on
publishers' doors?
 |
| Matt Faulkner and Kris Remenar |
When I first got to New York city after graduating from the
Rhode Island School of Design in 1983, I got a job working in an ad agency
doing what at that time were called mechanicals - the layout of type and
image that were used by printers to produce just about everything that got
printed back then; newspapers, record album covers, bags to hold fast-food,
etc. It was a fun, pleasant place to work but the job, making mechanicals,
was about as pleasing as burnt toast to me. Just as I was about to be let go, I
showed some of my drawings to the owner of the company.
Soon after, he offered
me a job drawing storyboards for commercials! What a great day that was. I got
my own cubicle to sit in and I got to draw all the time. It wasn’t exactly the
kind of drawing that I dreamed I’d be doing when I was in college, but it was a
start. I used that job to support my efforts in finding work as an illustrator in
publishing.
Back then,
you might catch an art director’s eye. You didn’t need an art rep or literary
agent. You just needed a portfolio of your best work and gumption. How much
different the process for your first book and your latest?
THE AMAZING VOYAGE OF JACKIE GRACE was my first picture book
which I both wrote and illustrated. It was published by Scholastic Inc. in
1986. The publishing of that book came about by my sharing the idea for the
story over the phone with the head editor, Jean Fiewel. She liked the idea,
asked that I write it up and, after seeing what I’d created, bought it. That
was the first and only time I ever instigated the sale of one of my ideas over
the phone.
I’ve just become a client of the Fuse Literary Agency.
My agent, Gordon Warnock, and I have been spending time discussing various
projects. We’re hoping to get these in front of editors soon. So, I guess the
main difference between then and now is that it’s my agent and not me who is on
the phone and online working to sell my work. I am very happy to put the
nuanced and often complicated process of selling a manuscript and negotiating
its contract into the hands of my agent.
How did you
get your first big break?
I was working at the ad agency I mentioned above. The
advertising editors and art directors with whom I worked had connections in
other creative business’ in New York, such as children’s publishing. One of
them introduced me to his illustrator wife who got me a portfolio review with
her editor at Scholastic. The next thing I knew, I was hired to create the art
for JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, my first illustrated book.
You said
your art style was influenced by MAD Magazine. What other influences led young
Matt into illustration?
MAD magazine! Ah, yes. I love(d) the artwork created by
MAD magazine illustrator Mort Drucker. Dude was a genius – witty, graceful,
spot-on drafting style, fantastic sequential imagery.
And then there are animated
cartoons. I love(d) the humor and slapstick ballet in Bugs Bunny cartoons.
Nobody sings a Wagner aria in a Viking costume quite like Bugs. Also, THE
GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS. Brilliant sequential storytelling. Both these animation
examples are from the genius-mind of animator Chuck Jones. So, I’d say that he
was and is a major influence for me.
Then, there was THE LORD OF THE RINGS. That magical
narrative lit a tremendous fire in my 14 year old mind that has yet to go out.
And, lest we
forget, Michelangelo. Because, well, Michelangelo.
There was no
“virtual” art when you started, just canvas and Bristol board and tubes of
paint with a fistful of brushes. You’re still a master of old-school physical
art, but do you incorporate any digital tools nowadays?
Thanks for that compliment, Charlie! I still love to
draw and paint with traditional materials. However, I have also used my iPad
and the Procreate application to make the illustrations for my recent graphic
novel/novel mash-up, MY NEST OF SILENCE and for SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK, a delightful
picture book story written by my wife, Kristen Remenar.
Tell us
about how you met and courted Kristen Remenar. A real SCBWI-MI love story,
right? (Be forewarned, Kris is telling her side of the story in her
interview.)
Kris and I had met at a Battle of the Books event at
which she’d asked me to speak. When we met, I knew she was a person I wanted to
get to know. However, I was in the process of moving to California at the time and
so did not pursue that desire. But then, two years later, I was invited to
speak at the Michigan SCBWI conference. I saw her standing across the crowded
cafeteria. I was startled in a very good way, not expecting to ever see her
again. Our eyes locked and…
(cue music - SOME ENCHANTED EVENING)
You
collaborated with her to produce her first picture book, Groundhog’s Dilemma.
Was it the plan all along that you would illustrate the story?
Plan all along? Hmmm… I think it was a bit of a surprise
when Kris received the call from the book’s editor, Yolanda Scott of Charlesbridge, asking if Kris would mind if they invited me to illustrate
GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA. Mind?! We were both very happy!
Your early
picture books were fun, fantastical exercises in imagination. What led you to
tackle the weighty subject of race relations in A Taste of Colored Water?
I believe(d) it to be essential to encourage the
discussion of important issues like race with children. Hence, A TASTE OF
COLORED WATER. Through my experiences sharing the book with many children over
these many years, I’ve learned that kids want to talk about race. I hope the
book has made it easier for kids to work out their thoughts and feeling about
race, with themselves and with the grown-ups in their lives.
And then, a
graphic novel about a Japanese-American internment camp during WWII. Much has
been made of your personal connection to that turbulent time. Your
Irish-Catholic relative went to Manzanar rather than let her child go alone. Was
that a cosmic arrow pointing you to the story? It was a hard sell, the
real-life injustice of the United States to a group of citizens during wartime.
What kept you pursuing the story? What was the turning point to getting it
published?
My graphic novel story GAIJIN: AMERICAN PRISONER OF WAR
was, for the most part, inspired by the imprisonment of my Japanese/Irish
second cousin Mary, her three children and her mom, my Irish American great
aunt Adeline. Their story of imprisonment in the Japanese American prison camp,
called Manzanar, was a powerful piece of my family’s mythology and was shared
proudly by my mom when I was a child
I thought it would stay a part of our
family’s history until, just after 9/11, I heard people saying that they
thought we should intern American Muslims. I couldn’t believe what I was
hearing.
It wasn’t long after that I decided that it was important for me to
write and illustrate GAIJIN: AMERICAN PRISONER OF WAR, a graphic novel
presenting a time in recent American history when we imprisoned people because
of their race.
A
labor-intensive labor of love, the sheer volume of illustrations and text had
to be mind-boggling. What were some of the challenges you faced in producing
this award-winning graphic novel?
Yes, GAIJIN was a considerable amount of illustration
work. That was a challenge. It was my first graphic novel, so, getting used to presenting
a story in that fashion took a lot of concentration. Yet it was also
tremendously satisfying to wake up in the morning and go draw and paint this story.
You weren’t
done, either. Your research had turned up a unit of Japanese-American recruits
who fought for the U.S. in Europe. An even harder sell. Yet you persevered, and
put out another award-winning hybrid novel, My Nest of Silence. What
were the challenges and successes you encountered on the way to its book
birthday?
Once I decided that MY NEST OF SILENCE was going to be a
graphic novel/novel mash-up, I set myself to the task of both writing the voice
of Japanese American Mari, the 11 year old narrator, and drawing the voice of
her 18 year old brother, Mak. I’m happy with the way they both share their
stories. I’d say that feels like a success. One of the challenges was my decision
to use the Procreate application on my iPad to create the illustrations.
Procreate is a great, user-friendly app and so the learning process went fairly
smoothly. Regardless, it was, at times, challenging to move from the familiar -
drawing and painting with traditional materials to the not-so-familiar -
drawing and painting with digital tools.
You’re back
illustrating for Kris. The community of characters you conjured forth on the
page is now dealing with child care and single-parenting in Squirrel Need a
Break. When you create supporting characters in a book, do they sometimes
threaten to take over the story?
Kris has developed a sensitive, funny, nuanced group of
characters in her GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA universe. In creating images of each that
reach to match the depth in Kris’ descriptions took up a chunk of my creative
efforts in GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA, and our new book SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK. As an
illustrator, the development of supporting characters can be fun. However, it’s
always important for me to remember that these characters (and anything else I
might add to visually embellish a moment in the story) are there to support,
not surpass, the core characters and elements of the story.
When Kris
was in recovery from her stroke, you took on all the household duties, cared
for her, AND kept your day-job, illustrating for a living. What got you through
the days, weeks, months, years of uncertainty and fatigue?
Kris is kind, funny and gorgeous. I focus(ed) on that. We’ve
worked together to keep the train on the tracks. And we’ve also worked to be
okay with letting things get a little messy when other things took precedence.
You’ve
illustrated books for others, including two for Laurie Halse Anderson and a
series of WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT…(ELECTIONS, FIRST LADIES, FREEDOM, and AMERICANS) by Ruby Shamir. Those historical manuscripts require a lot of
research. How much?
Quite a bit. I’ve filled binders with printed images for
reference material for my illustration projects. And, I own a considerable
library of illustrated history books which I still turn to when developing the
layout, the characters and the environment for a book.
What’s next?
I’m working on the initial stages of a couple of graphic
novels for a couple of authors and I’ve got one of my own in the works. And, of
course, I’m busy working with Kris on the next book in the Groundhog’s Dilemma
universe!
Thanks, Charlie and all our SCBWI/Michigan friends for
inviting Kris and me to be interviewed! Happy writing and drawing to you all!
Here’s a list of more recent honors:
2022- Recipient Junior Library Guild’s Gold Standard
for MY NEST OF SILENCE
2019- New Jersey Garden State Children's Book Award Nominee
for ELIZABETH STARTED ALL THE TROUBLE
2018- Association for Library Service for Children Reading List
a division of the American Library Association
for GAIJIN: AMERICAN PRISONER OF WAR
2016- Bank Street College’s Best Books of the Year
for GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA
written by Kristen Remenar, illus.d by Matt Faulkner
2016- Michigan Reading Association’s Gwen Frostic Award Winner
Given to a candidate who strongly influenced literacy in Michigan.
2016- Junior Library Guild Selection
for ELIZABETH STARTED ALL THE TROUBLE
illustrated by Matt Faulkner, written by Doreen Rappaport
2015- Asian/Pacific American Library Assocition Award Winner
for GAIJIN: AMERICAN PRISONER OF WAR
2014- CYBIL Awards Finalist
for GAIJIN: AMERICAN PRISONER OF WAR
2009- California Commonwealth Club Book Award Finalist
for A TASTE OF COLORED WATER
2009- Storytelling World Resource Award Winner
for A TASTE OF COLORED WATER
2009- NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
for A TASTE OF COLORED WATER
2009- Comstock Read Aloud Book Award Honor
for A TASTE OF COLORED WATER
2009- Anne Izard Storytellers' Choice Award Winner
for A TASTE OF COLORED WATER
2004- Young Hoosier Book Award Winner (Assoc. for Indiana Media Educators)
for THE MONSTER WHO ATE MY PEAS
illustrated by Matt Faulkner, written by Danny Schnitzlein
2004- Virginia Readers’ Choice Award Winner (Virginia State Reading Assoc.)
for THE MONSTER WHO ATE MY PEAS
illustrated by Matt Faulkner, written by Danny Schnitzlein
2003- Museum of Tolerance ‘Once Upon a World’ Children’s Book Award Winner
for THANK YOU, SARAH- THE WOMAN WHO SAVED THANKSGIVING
illustrated by Matt Faulkner, written by Laurie Halse Anderson
And here's more artwork, because, well, Matt Faulkner:
