Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • The Best of Times and the Even Better Times

      Nathaniel MacDonald
      May 7, 2012
      Columns, Manifesto
    Recent
    • Revisiting the Witchblade/Fathom/Tomb Raider Crossover

      Daniel Gehen
      February 8, 2021
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Comic Book G-Forces: On Goodness, Perfection, and "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"

      Nathaniel MacDonald
      September 21, 2016
      Big Two, Big Two Reviews, Columns, Comic Book G-Forces, DC Comics
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: 6 Most Expensive Comic Books April 2021 Update

      nguyen ly
      April 17, 2021
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Crocked Critics: The Fix #1

      Nathaniel MacDonald
      April 5, 2016
      Image, Indie
    Recent
    • 4.0

      Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past

      Stephen Cook
      March 3, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 4.0

      Harker #6

      Nathaniel MacDonald
      August 21, 2009
      Reviews
    Recent
    • Singles Going Steady – Vowels, Who Needs Them?

      Daniel Gehen
      March 8, 2021
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Interview: A Short and Sweet Talk with Andy Suriano and Matt Chapman About All Things Good and Nothing Bad

      Nathaniel MacDonald
      April 21, 2015
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Classic Interview: Dick Giordano - "It was more fun to be a creator AND an editor!"

      Nathaniel MacDonald
      July 24, 2015
      Classic Interviews, Interviews
    Recent
    • VISITOR is the Quintessential “SPIRIT” Story

      Daniel Gehen
      March 26, 2021
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Boom for 5/27/15: Fragile Egg People

      Nathaniel MacDonald
      May 27, 2015
      News, This Week in BOOM!
    Recent
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • SAVAGE DRAGON IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 17, 2021
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Review: 'Kickstarter for the Independent Creator: A Practical and Informative Guide To Crowdfunding'

      Nathaniel MacDonald
      September 14, 2015
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: 6 Most Expensive Comic Books April 2021 Update
  • Collecting Profile: Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Collecting Profile: 1990 Marvel Universe Trading Cards
  • Collecting Profile: Red Sonja
  • Collecting Profile: Dr. Doom
  • VISITOR is the Quintessential “SPIRIT” Story
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Interviews

Vera Brosgol: Ectoplasm and Teen Smoking

Nathaniel MacDonald
August 18, 2011
Interviews

On a bright and windy Friday at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, Vera Brosgol stepped out onto the back deck of the San Diego Convention Center to talk with me. We discussed Anya’s Ghost, her amazing new graphic novel from First Second Books. Looking out over the water, we did a lot of squinting while we talked.

 


 

Nathaniel MacDonald: Anya’s Ghost was pretty awesome. It seemed very personal, like something built on your own history. Where’d you get the idea for it?

Vera Brosgol: I just wanted to work through the way I felt about my cultural background. I was born in Russia like the main character. I wanted to reflect back on my childhood and teenage experiences and cram that all into a book. It’s not even remotely biographical, but it’s got little things that are true, where it’s based on people that I’ve met. So hopefully it doesn’t seem too fabricated.

MacDonald: It seemed grounded in reality, but not like an autobiography… So, when was the first time you met your own ghost?

Brosgol: [laughs] Aw, I hate the ghost-related questions because I don’t really know much about ghosts, or haven’t done a lot of ghost research. That’s where I lapsed. I looked up buses in upstate New York, but I didn’t look up ghosts. Go figure.

MacDonald: I don’t think there’s a lot of reliable research on ghosts out there anyway.

Brosgol: I read that book Spook by Mary Roach, but it was completely inconclusive. She agreed that there was no such thing as ghosts, and you can’t really float a book on that. That’s about all the research I was capable of. There’s also a really cool ectoplasm exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I didn’t work in any ectoplasm. Maybe in the next book. That stuff’s the best.

MacDonald: I think the ectoplasm was implied. Are you working on anything else right now?

Brosgol: I’m trying to get the ball rolling on some stuff. I didn’t feel like this book was over until it was out, even though I wasn’t actually working on it anymore, which is maybe a bad idea. But, yeah. I’ve got a graphic novel idea that I’m toying with, and also a children’s book proposal. Hopefully one of the two will get the go-ahead at some point.

MacDonald: You’ve also worked on Flight. How’s that been?

Brosgol: I think the last time I was in San Diego was when the first Flight came out. It was a really big deal. I remember getting the very first box, and everyone running across the hall, holding it over their heads. They all stood around, cut it open and smelled it. Good times.

Flight is awesome. I think I wouldn’t have a career in comics without it. It’s how I got in touch with my agent and made a ton of my friends. It’s like your training wheels for your own graphic novel. A ton of people who were in the first book have their own books now. It gets you a little more comfortable with the exposure.

MacDonald: Anya’s Ghost was your first graphic novel. Is that what you want to be doing next? Would you ever consider doing a monthly comic?

Brosgol: I don’t know. Do people still do those? I guess… I keep hearing that the floppy is dead. A series is kind of appealing, but I like having the whole thing done and in front of me. You can jump around and make sure it all works as a whole instead of releasing it in chunks. That was the problem with webcomics for me. There were things I wished I’d done, and I couldn’t go back and fix them because it was already out there. I think the graphic novel is a good size. It’s kind of like a film. It feels like the same amount of time, as well as the same size of story. I really like film, so it feels good.

MacDonald: How’s Anya been received?

Brosgol: Oh, it’s been great. I hear it from the publisher and my agent. They’ve been very happy with how it’s been doing. It got into the Scholastic Book Club, which is awesome. It’s reaching a lot of impressionable minds. It got a bunch of starred reviews, which is a thing for publishing people, I guess? It got five of those, which is neat. Yeah, it’s just been really well-received. A lot of librarians really like it, which makes me so happy, because they’re the coolest. Those are the gatekeepers.

MacDonald: I didn’t realize it was aimed at young adults when I first picked it up. Was that a conscious choice?

Brosgol: Not at all. I’m glad you didn’t really get that vibe. I just wrote it and they said, “Hey, this fits young adults. We need more young adult books. This is perfect.” They just slotted it in there. The only thing I had to do was take out some swear workds. I think they were tasteful, but we took out some stuff that wasn’t really contributing to the story, anyway.

MacDonald: You had teen smoking. That’s something.

Brosgol: They let me keep the smoking. I thought that was gonna be a problem.

MacDonald: She gives it up in the end.

Brosgol: Exactly! I put that in on purpose! That was my one concession to “young adult,” so it’d have a good moral. “Don’t smoke. It’s not cool. Murderers smoke.”

Nathaniel MacDonaldVera Brosgol

Share On:
Tweet
Misfits 2.03 Review
Ultimate Fallout #5

About The Author

Nathaniel MacDonald

Related Posts

  • Comics You Can Dance To #25: 'Harry Potter' Meets 'Howard the Duck' w/ Adam P. Knave & Nick Brokenshire

    Danny Djeljosevic, Nathaniel MacDonald
    May 24, 2013
  • Comics You Can Dance To #24: Triple Fisting w/ Corey Lewis

    Danny Djeljosevic, Nathaniel MacDonald
    March 28, 2013

Latest Interviews

  • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

    Daniel Gehen
    June 8, 2020
  • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

    Mike Nickells
    March 4, 2020
  • Simon Roy

    Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

    Mike Nickells
    January 29, 2020
  • Interview: V.E. Schwab on revisiting Red London in The Steel Prince

    Stephen Cook
    March 13, 2019
  • Interview: David Foster Wallace and Hellblazer, words on Wyrd with writer Curt Pires

    Stephen Cook
    February 27, 2019
  • “The Night Has Teeth” An Interview with Sarah deLaine, Artist of Image Comics’ “Little Girls”

    Jason Sacks
    February 26, 2019
  • Interview: Caitlin Kittredge talks the future of Witchblade

    Daniel Gehen
    February 12, 2019
  • Interview: Andy Nakatani and the Future of Weekly Shonen Jump

    Daniel Gehen
    December 19, 2018
  • INTERVIEW: Todd Matthy talks robots, princesses, and bridging the divide with storytelling

    Stephen Cook
    September 13, 2018
  • INTERVIEW: Gallaher & Ellis discuss THE ONLY LIVING GIRL

    Daniel Gehen, Thea Srinivasan
    September 7, 2018
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders