When someone experiences tragedy, a lot of different things can occur mentally. Some people need extra time to heal, others can bounce back like nothing happened but in some cases, like the protagonist of “Teeter Topple,” stranger things can happen. In “Teeter Topple,” Mark can see his imaginary friends and this leads to some interesting complications in his real life. We had the chance to talk to the creator of this original graphic novel about his creative process and the long journey the book had to print.
Let’s talk about the premise of “Teeter Topple.” This book has had a long history but how did the concept come to you and what were some inspirations behind this story?
Karl Slominski: Oh man, the story itself has been gestating for quite a while, through a few dozen different incarnations. I was in my last year studying at the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and realizing that if I had any hopes of carving a niche for myself as a creator it wouldn’t be as a gun for hire, but by doing my own stuff. I was dealing with a good friend’s death at the the time, something that hit me pretty hard and the story became something a lot more therapeutic.
Ironically, I ended up doing a LOT of work for hire stuff right out the gate from school and it forced me to put the book aside for a good few years – but that was something of a blessing in disguise because it gave me a healthy distance from the actual sources of inspiration and the kind of idiosyncratic, Alice in Wonderland-type of suburban fairy tale “Teeter Topple” actually became.
The concept of “Teeter Topple” (I would assume) allows you as an artist to experiment and really go out there with what you do. Was there every any points within creating this that you felt you needed to scale back on the weird or did you need to push yourself to go even bigger?
KS: Y’know, it’s funny – a lot of the execution of the art itself was just intuition. There’s a natural rhythm to the way some pages took shape – most of it was just me creating a narrative language. Things like the childhood flashbacks are done in fuchsia-hued crayons and washed-out watercolors and when you see photographs on the wall they’re ALSO painted in those colors. Or the Wizard of Oz approach to color in the fantasy versus stark black and white in reality. It was fun to play with. But a lot of the style (for lack of a better word) came from where the main character, Mark is mentally. As he spirals a little, the art tends to get a lot more energetic and frenzied. I really like those great Epic Comics books that played with the execution of the page to tell the story- just make a mess on the page and let the reader figure out the meaning behind it.
You created this book entirely on your own from art to writing. Could you talk about how fluid your process was? Did you allow yourself to really change things as you went along?
KS: For a story so topsy-turvy, the writing process was pretty straightforward. I had a loose outline that I streamlined a few dozen times before laying any pages out- but nothing was written in a traditional sense. There were massive chunks of the book that I wrote on the road or while I was working on other projects, so for a year or two I was walking around with a beat up binder of plot details and dialogue written on scraps of paper and napkins like one of John Doe’s notebooks in Se7en.
As awesomely weird as the book gets, there’s still a very human story being told. Could you talk about how you got into Mark’s headspace to tell his story?
KS: A lot of Mark’s story is just the not-so-greatest hits reel of my formative years. Moving back in with my parents in the suburbs after graduating, working a lame job as a cart-wrangler at the local grocery store, working through depression, etc. Some of it felt a little out-of-body, looking back from the distance of time passing.
Continued below“Teeter Topple” was announced in the fall of last year but then it lost its publisher. What happened and how did you end up at 215 Ink?
KS: I was always at 215Ink, actually. I love those guys. One of my earlier books, “Golgotha” with Andrew Harrison, was with them so I have a lot of trust in them. Unfortunately a lot of the ups and downs with the book happened because of preorders. The comic industry being what it is these days, you can’t just make a book and get it in stores — there are SO MANY amazing books out there at once, its an uphill battle getting noticed in that big ol’ catalog that the stores order from. The key is creating awareness, first and foremost- if the retailers (the REAL keymasters of comics) don’t know about your book, they probably won’t order it for their store and if the store doesn’t order it, people can’t buy it. So we almost put out my book the first time, but almost nobody ordered it. But that’s basically my “career” in comics, a bunch of books nobody’s ever really seen.
Like a lot of people, I find myself frustrated with how the comic book market works and I cannot even imagine how frustrating all that was for you. What would like to see from the market going forward?
KS: I don’t think I’d change anything, I’m not arrogant enough to think I have the end-all, be-all, solve-everything answer. I’m just lucky enough to see my comics get into stores once in a blue moon. I understand the numbers game, with preorders and retailer awareness- but your average reader really doesn’t. While promoting “Teeter Topple” this time around, I’m realizing that a lot of people that frequent comic stores DON’T actually realize how important preorders are. That’s why I think it’s ESSENTIAL for creators to befriend retailers. The comic shops get the comics!
Lastly, what’s coming after “Teeter Topple”?
KS: I’m working on a few things. I’m always working on a few things, it’s just my nature to stay crazy-busy like that. This spring/summer I’m hitting the convention circuit with “Cult of Ikarus” which is exciting because it’s written by my screenwriter girlfriend, Jenna Wright, and its our first time actually working together on something. Working with her has kind of rekindled my love for comics after all these years. Since she comes from a film background, her points of reference are vastly different than mine (cuz I’ve been on a strict comics-diet since I started making comics) and I’m learning to approach the medium with a more universal eye because of it. So in a roundabout way, ANYTHING that comes after “Teeter Topple” will see me pushing my work harder than I ever have before. That’s what I like most about comics—the constant challenge and growth.
This is your last week to pre-order “Teeter Topple” using Diamond code FEB172030. The book will be in stores April 26th.
