Paul Allor is a something of a longtime favorite here at Multiversity Comics. Many of us have liked much of his work, from his early “Clockwork” to his “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “GI Joe” stories and his creator-owned “Strange Nation”. Now Allor is teaming up with artist Paul Tucker for the book “Tet” through IDW/Comic Experience. It’s a look at the lives of three people and how love, crime, and war affect their lives for decades.
The first issue of “Tet” is available for pre-order starting today. Read on as we chat with Paul Allor and Paul Tucker about “Tet”, getting the Vietnam War just right, war, crime, romance, the IDW/Comic Experience partnership, and much more. Take a look at the covers for the first page and three unlettered preview pages below.
“Tet” is your upcoming comic as part of the Comic Experience/IDW partnership. It’s described as “a story of hard-boiled crime and star-crossed romance, set at the height of the Vietnam War and the decades that followed”. What can you tell us about the book?
Paul Allor: “Tet” is a story about a murder that takes place during the Vietnam War, on the eve of the Tet Offensive. But it’s also about the impact that these events have on our three main characters’ lives, years and even decades later.
I’m incredibly proud of this book. Every project, I try to nudge myself out of my writing comfort zone, in some way, and on this one, I didn’t just nudge, I shoved. As a result, “Tet” is fairly different than anything else I’ve worked on so far. It has a narrative structure that moves in a nonlinear fashion, and wraps back around itself. I also think that the story that you would expect from a basic plot description is pretty different than the story you actually get.
Another thing I can tell you about “Tet” is that it is flipping gorgeous. Artist Paul Tucker did such amazing things in this book, creating a deep, rich sense of mood, and using color as a storytelling tool in some really breathtaking ways. When I came up with the idea for this story, Paul was the first person I thought of, and I was so thrilled when he liked the idea and came on board as artist and co-creator.
Paul Tucker: I have been telling people it’s kind of like if you set Casablanca against the Vietnam War instead of World War II. There is murder, mystery and romance indeed, but it’s all cast in the horror and pain of a long and brutal war.
“Tet”s main character is Eugene Smith, a Marine Corps lieutenant and translator in Hue City. He’s seen some grisly things already during his time in Vietnam, but his life has toned down a bit until he’s swept up in a murder investigation. What else is there to Lt. Smith?
PA: Well, Eugene is our narrator, but I think of him as one of our three main characters, along with Ha — a Vietnamese woman who’s Eugene’s fiancee — and Bao, a police officer in Hue City. Bao, in particular, is one of my favorite characters from my books, and was such a blast to write. We meet all three of these characters in 1968, and then see them again in 1984. A large part of our narrative is centered around seeing how they’ve changed, and discovering why. I think in some ways, this story is structured more like an excavation than an exploration. Instead of seeing the story play out from start to finish, we instead uncover it, piece by piece, until in the end, everything is clear.
The Vietnam War era is a time that’s rich for story possibilities, though I don’t think we often see a mix of war/crime/romance in the comics that use the period. What drew you to the period and the story?
PA: I came up with this idea a couple years ago, now. The initial spark was basically just the notion of a murder that takes place in the middle of a war zone, and an investigation that’s derailed by battle. And that developed into a story about emotional paralysis, about how we can become prisoners to our own regrets. Vietnam seemed a natural setting for that story, both during the war and in the years that followed.
Continued belowI didn’t really set out to write a war/crime/romance story. It was more that the story I developed was a war story, and it had crime in it, and it had romance in it (though nearly everything I write does — I like romance), so I started calling it a war/crime/romance story.
PT: My artwork tends to lend itself well to stories set in the past, so that part immediately appealed to me. During production I was constantly in awe of how Paul was weaving this story together. There are a lot of moving parts in a relatively small four issue package. I think the genre stuff all serves his master plan and as a bonus, it kept it visually interesting and challenging for me throughout.
As mentioned above, “Tet” is part of the Comic Experience/IDW partnership, and one of the first four books to come about as part of it. How has the experience been so far?
PA: It’s been amazing. I don’t think it’s a huge secret that many comics publishers these days are very focused on producing high-concept, easily-marketable books, often with multimedia potential taken into consideration. That’s not a criticism; it’s just the environment we’re in right now. And for that reason, I think we would have had a very hard time getting “Tet” picked up anywhere else.
But the Comics Experience imprint at IDW is focused on making good comics. Period. They don’t take multimedia potential into account, and aren’t just looking for easily-digestible high-concepts. That isn’t to say that they don’t care about marketing, or about putting out successful books. But I think the philosophy is, “there’s a market for great comics. So if this is a great comic, let’s do it.”
On top of that, Andy and his team have been incredibly supportive, and great to work with. On the IDW side, we’re working with Bobby Curnow, who’s also my editor on my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles books, so that’s been fantastic. I love the folks at IDW. They’re also putting out the print trade of “Strange Nation”, my digital comic with Juan Romera, and I’ve worked with them on “TMNT” and “GI Joe”. From editorial to marketing to the folks up top, they’re an awesome team, and have always been very supportive of my work.
With “Tet” taking place along real events, how much research was put into getting things right? Into getting the right look for Hue City and the inhabitants?
PA: Yeah. Sooo much research. But thankfully, there’s a wealth of information out there about the Battle of Hue City. I started off by reading several books on the subject, moved on to primary source government documents, and listened to oral histories from the men and women who lived through it. The 1980s scenes were a bit tougher to research, but again, oral histories and government documents were a tremendous help.
At the same time, I absolutely know that I got things wrong. That’s the nature of the beast. But historical accuracy was very important to me, so I did all I could to minimize the mistakes. I wanted to be as respectful as possible to the Marines, Vietnam forces and civilians who lived through this, as well as the South Vietnamese who remained in the country after the war.
And honestly, when it comes to research, the writers have the easier part. Artists have to actually make sure this stuff looks accurate, and feels right, which seems a lot tougher, to me. But I will say, I think Paul’s work on this book has a very strong sense of verisimilitude.
PT: I certainly endeavoured to get things as accurate as possible. There is plenty of visual reference for the war. Most challenging were the mundane details. I am from Newfoundland, Canada – however I did live in Asia for a couple years and that experience led me to at least google some specifics that I probably would not have otherwise. Like Paul mentioned, I’m sure I got some things wrong. One tried and true way to find the best, most useful reference is for the project to be over and out of your hands – so I’m sure that will happen in the coming months.
Continued belowPA: Incidentally, Paul and I are working on a new thing that’s also very, very research heavy. Next project, I think we should tell a story about something that requires zero research. Furries in Space, maybe. Because write what you know, right?
I know with “Tet” everything is already completely done. All four issues are finished and the first issue is just now in Previews. Why was it important to get those issues done and make sure everything went according to schedule?
PA: It wasn’t necessarily the plan to have it all done before the book came out — let alone four months before — but it’s certainly nice that it worked out that way. Paul did all the artwork on this book himself, layouts to colors. He set a pretty ambitious timetable for it, and we built in a pretty healthy buffer, for “stuff happens.” But instead, Paul hit the mark every time, and actually ran a bit ahead of schedule. Oh, and only one of the issues is a standard 22 pages. The other three all have a bit extra.
Dude’s a machine, basically. And now we can just kick back, relax, and watch the book come out. Or add another four issues. You down with that, Paul?
PT: Why stop at 4?
