I spoke to comic writer and artist, Troy Nixey regarding the upcoming hardcover release of “Trout: The Hollowest Knock,” the second arc in the series following the strange misadventures of an equally odd child. It is always a pleasure to talk to Troy and I was lucky enough to pick his brain regarding this outlandish and wondrous miniseries and his collaboration with other creators.
After nearly twenty years, how easy was it for you to return to these characters and this bizarre world they inhabit? Were there any real difficulties getting back into it or did it all fall into place as the ideas started forming?
Troy Nixey: It wasn’t the passage of time and whether I’d be able to pick up where I left off that concerned me, the biggest hurdle was the story I wanted to tell and could I give the characters the ending they deserved.
I was unaware of what Trout and his adventures represented when I created him in the 90s. It’s glaringly obvious looking back but at the time I was trying to find my voice in comics and I chalked up my creation of a weird, shy little boy to simple experimentation. It wasn’t until years later that I accepted Trout is me as a young boy and how I felt about myself after experiencing childhood sexual trauma. The memories of what happened came flooding back when I was eighteen. Thankfully, I managed to tell my parents but I still wasn’t emotionally prepared to deal with how it had affected me.
From my inability to deal with it on a conscious level came Trout, rushing forward from my subconscious. I still wasn’t willing to make the connection with what happened and what I was creating. It wasn’t until I really started unpacking the past in my forties and how it shaped me to that point, that I allowed myself to make the connection. A story of a shy, weird-looking, quiet little boy who lives alone in a tower drawing scary pictures who has to capture a horrible creature who escapes from his memories…It couldn’t have been more obvious. I just wasn’t ready to see it until I was ready to see it.
It was when I began fleshing out a new story that I realized Giuseppe is also me. The adult me. The protector of the younger me. That’s too abstract for a fantasy/horror tale so Giuseppe became Trout’s father but I knew that whatever journey they would take they had to have a happy ending. A happy ending was the foundation that I built The Hollowest Knock, upon.
Now that this miniseries is over and it’s out in the world, how happy are you with the final result and the audience reception?
TN: I’m incredibly happy with it. I poured my heart and soul into it. I struggled at times, both creatively as all comic creators do on anything they work on and of course I struggled emotionally because of how personal it is.
As for audience reception? People seemed to either love it or not understand it, but that’s true of most of my work. Hahaha. Some felt that Trout’s journey was too passive. I completely disagree. Trout represented my emotional journey; the blame and shame and fear were with him always. Giuseppe represented the physical journey, and, while arduous, there’s something heartbreaking about a child in distress. But Trout came out all right in the end. Drawing the last page felt pretty damn amazing.
Obviously there is something to be said for releasing stories as smaller volumes or, for comics, as individual issues, but how excited are you for readers to have another hardcover edition that they can read through all at once?
TN: It’s nice that all of Trout’s adventures are in two volumes. Even with my growth as a storyteller over twenty years from the material in the first volume to the second, people who read both should be able to enjoy it as a whole.
I have to say, it is a rarity to have a main character who is honestly unsettling to look at, is an indeterminate age, does not speak, is somehow relatable, and readers want to see succeed. Why do you think Trout resonates with readers, when in most circumstances a similar character would fail to do so or be relegated to a lesser role in someone else’s story?
Continued belowTN: Trout is weird looking; some say ugly but that’s how I felt about myself for a long time. His reactions to terrible things are genuine though and that’s where I feel the connection with readers, happens. Trout simply wants to be safe and feel loved. We can all relate to that. Also, his mom is a mermaid so he’s not going to look 100% human. Haha!
This story is your baby, and its importance to you is quite clear throughout. Was there ever a time when you considered working with another writer or artist as a collaborator to get it made or were you always determined to create it under your own steam with your singular vision?
TN: For obvious reasons there was exactly zero chance anyone but me would ever write or draw Trout. Hahaha. I do love collaborating with writers and artists but the Trout comics will always just be me handling the words and pictures.
Speaking of collaborators, you worked with Dave Stewart on “The Hollowest Knock,” among other books. When you pair up, do you work closely with him or do you trust him to color the story the way it should be? As one of the best colorists working today, I can’t imagine a better choice for Trout. He definitely understands the time period and genre blending in this type of story.
TN: Dave is incredibly collaborative and infinitely patient as I’m super picky. I’m pretty specific in what I’m looking for in terms of mood and tone and palette. Having worked with Dave over the years he knows what I like and of course he’s bloody brilliant so it’s always going to look beautiful. We used color as a storytelling device quite a bit in The Hollowest Knock; colors would shift to create drama or draw the eye and in the case of the tentacled protector, hint at his health and power. There’s a lot of subtle storytelling elements in The Hollowest that wouldn’t work if it was in black and white. I felt confident including them because of how good Dave is. He really busted his ass on this book and I’m eternally grateful to him.
I know there’s been talk in the past about a possible live-action Trout movie, but are there any plans to do more comics, or something with animation?
TN: I don’t have any plans for further comic adventures but yes, there’s been attempts to produce a live-action movie. The scripts deviate from the comic quite a bit but the quirkiness and some of the bigger ideas remain. I love the idea of an animated series that sticks closer to the source material. Who knows, maybe one or both will happen one day.
You have an affinity for late 19th/early 20th century city-by-the-sea horror/fantasy which you’ve used to great effect in Trout, Jenny Finn with Mike Mignola, and for those fans who find you on Instagram, your creepy Popeye sketches. What initially drew you to this style and these eras?
TN: As you can imagine I’ve been asked this question more than once over the years and I still don’t have a definitive answer. I don’t know what draws me to the past and why it’s reflected in almost everything I do. What I do know is I love it and looking at the concepts I have in different stages of development, it’s not changing anytime soon.
What can readers expect from you in the near future? Do you have anything you can share with us now?
TN: 2020 is going to be an interesting year. The project I had lined up that would have been the bulk of what I did next year suddenly disappeared. Kaare Andrews and I are going to tackle a project we created a few years back and I’m currently writing the strangest thing I’ve ever done called The Oily Detective. It represents the attempt to quiet the negative voice we all have. It’s so so weird and I’m enjoying the heck out it. I’m not shopping it around yet, just writing and drawing and when I feel good about it, I’ll see who’s interested. I’ve never taken this approach. It’s a little nerve-wracking but exciting.
“Trout: The Hollowest Knock” will be released everywhere comics are sold on January 28, 2020.
