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.
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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
About Eva Volin
Eva Volin is the Supervising Children's Librarian for the Alameda Free Library in California. She has written about graphic novels for such publications as Booklist, Library Journal, ICv2, Graphic Novel Reporter, and Children & Libraries. She has served on several awards committees including the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics. She served on YALSA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens committee for three years and is currently serving on ALSC's Notable Books for Children committee.
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