Interview: Mark Siegel

On May 4th through 6th, while attending the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, I ran around to as many of my favorite kids comics creators as I could and asked them all the exact same questions. Keep in mind, exhibit halls are crazy loud and crazy busy (even when they’re held in a library), so there is a lot of background noise. Let me know in the comments if you have trouble hearing anything and I’ll translate for you.

Mark Siegel is a bit of a renaissance man. All you have to do is browse through his blog and the comments sections of his Sailor Twain website to see that. In addition to researching steamboat history, Chinese calligraphy, folk music, ghost stories of the Hudson Valley, the American Civil War, and, of course, mermaid lore, Mark also raises two children, writes and illustrates children’s books and graphic novels, and is the creative director of First Second Books, the graphic novel arm of the Macmillan empire.

I had a chance to speak with Mark during TCAF. He was there to talk about comics, the creative process, and his upcoming graphic novel for adults, Sailor Twain. If you’re planning to attend the ALA Annual Conference this weekend, I’ll be talking more with Mark on the Graphic Novel Stage, Sunday, June 24th at 11:30 a.m. Come, listen, and ask him some questions of your own.

Books mentioned in this video:

• Giants Beware!, by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado
• Explorer: The Mystery Boxes, edited by Kazu Kibuishi
• A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving

Filed under: Interviews