Do you ever find yourself thinking that kids today have no imaginations?
Well, James Kuhoric can tell you why-and that's just what he does in his new miniseries Tales of the Legendary Talespinners.
While other series focus on the fictional creations of literature and legend, Talespinners focuses on the creators of the stories. "Legendary Talespinners is a story that I've had bouncing around my mind for the better part of this decade," Kuhoric said. "It started as most good tales do-with a single character-and grew organically from there. I wanted to tell the story of a girl, Abby, who locked her imagination away at an early age; I wondered what would happen to her if she were dragged into a crazy world that didn't jive with her orderly perspective of life. From there, Talespinners developed into a story that was part Alice in Wonderland and part Wizard of Oz with a large dash of Big Fish and Shrek thrown in for good measure.
"At its heart, Talespinners is about the power of imagination and belief in the magical elements of life. It has a dark side to it as well, as we'll find out-the scars of childhood and their impact on adult life are one of the themes that lie just beneath the surface of the story. And the degenerative state of the fantasy world is an allegory for the loss of innocence and lack of imagination in today's society."
Talespinners follows Abby as her dulled imagination is reawakened. "We did our best to make Abby and her transformation from shy introverted girl into the Dreamer, a Legendary Talespinner, something that everyone could relate to," Kuhoric said. "Deep inside, everybody knows that they were meant for more than the humdrum of everyday life. Legendary Talespinners is an escapist dream that forces us to own up to our childhood wishes and experience the familiar tales of the past with a new twist. And in so doing, we must face the darkness that threatens to overtake those dreams when we lock away our imaginations in favor of the mundane machinations of everyday life."
Are broader fantasy-based series like this more accessible to casual readers than superhero adventures? "I love superhero comics and graphic novels," Kuhoric said. "And Talespinners is certainly very different from most of the work I've done with horror and SF stories over the years. But I see this particular series as something that could appeal to readers of all ages and genders. While the book is all-ages accessible, it does have layers that will appeal to all fans in the way that Jeff Smith's Bone transcends those imposed boundaries.
"To accomplish that, I had a very specific plan for the presentation of the book and especially the creative team we would need to illustrate the story. The finished graphic novel collection of Legendary Talespinners is meant to read like a major animated feature like Monsters vs. Aliens or Up. From day one when I was introduced to Nick Bradshaw, I have loved his work-Nick's illustration of my Army of Darkness stories are among my favorites to date. He just has a way of understanding a script and delivering art that perfectly captures the spirit of the story. I had no doubt in my mind that having Nick involved with the design and art direction of Talespinners would make sure my vision for the world was perfect. The covers he supplied for the series are amazing - they're part homage to some of the original Baron Munchausen tales and beautifully mix the elements of Legendary Talespinners into them.
"The most important part of making Legendary Talespinners into 'an animated feature on paper' is having the right person doing the interior art. When I brought the idea to the Dynamite crew, I already knew who the interior artist had to be. Ever since I read The Clockwork Girl, I wanted to work with Grant Bond. His animated style was ideal for story I wanted to tell, but more importantly his ability to capture vibrant expressions in his panel work had me sold on him as the only choice for Talespinners. Over the course of the last six months, Grant has been amazing to work with and has gone above and beyond to make this series really special. When it is collected into trade format and you get to see all the behind-the-scenes work he put into character design and layouts, you will be amazed."
"James contacted me almost a year ago," Grant Bond added. "He'd seen some of my older stuff and was interested in me accomplishing the same look for Legendary Talespinners. After speaking with him for a while, I could tell he was one of the good guys in comics and had a great vision for an interesting story, so I decided I had to jump on board."
What ultimately hooked Bond was the story itself. "It really is an interesting twist to the these genres," Bond said. "The biggest challenge has been simply ensuring that I'm accomplishing Jim's vision for this unique and intriguing world... My goal is to create and interesting feel to the artwork that catches the readers' attention and draws them in."
Kuhoric points out that his series isn't another take on Fables, Imaginaries, or Stuff of Legend, all of which focus on the fictional characters, not their creators. "Bill Willingham has been one of my favorite creators for the past two decades. Fables is such a fun read and really has developed a world that is familiar to everyone with a brilliant mix of classic elements and fresh presentation. But I've always felt that fairy tales got their power and 'life' from their telling and re-telling over many generations.
"It occurred to me that the strongest of those people who spun the tales would have attained a certain level of immortality by the influx of power that the belief in their stories generates. That premise became one of the main story elements in developing the existence of the remnant fairy tale world, and even the continued longevity of characters like Baron Munchausen and Mother Goose. All the stories have a stored power in them because of the wonder they have induced over the years, but the storytellers are the focal points for that power."
Does Kuhoric feel that today's children have truly lost much of their imaginative power? If so, why? "I have to be careful answering this one so that I don't sound like Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace and start yelling, 'hey, you kids, get off my lawn!" Kuhoric joked. "When people have asked me why more children aren't reading comics, I often make the argument that technology has made the ultimate difference in how recent generations view printed material. When I was young, way back in the 1600s, you didn't have DVDs, the internet, or PS3s to occupy and spoon-feed your imagination one pixel at a time. Sure, we had television and Pong, but when we wanted a superhero fix, we would read comics and then draw out our own adventures. Today if you really wanted to know if the Hulk could beat the Thing in a throw down, you just have to get a copy of Marvel Ultimate Alliance and go to town.
"I can't say that I blame kids-I'm an adult and I love watching blu-ray discs and playing videogames. But there is more to having a rich and vibrant imagination than just soaking in what game designer or DVD producers have put together for you."
Ultimately, the series can be seen as a paean to the powers of imagination. "Legendary Talespinners is about one particular girl who locked her imagination away at a young age and didn't look back. Abby was one of the contributors to the slow creeping death of the fantasy world. By not believing in the old fairy tales and fables of her childhood, she was unknowingly contributing to the decay of that fantastic world of fiction and frivolity. But when she is dragged over the rainbow, her destiny as a Legendary Talespinner unfolds. And once the flood gates of her imagination are opened, the places she can go and the creatures she can create are virtually limitless. Unfortunately for her, one of the most beloved storytellers of all time has turned into a power-hungry devourer of tales and Talespinners. And young Abby is now the main course on the menu..."
Are the fictional creations real in this series--that is, are the talespinners tapping into a reality that others don't see? "The premise of Legendary Talespinners is that the power of telling stories over the centuries and the belief in them has kept the fantasy world alive on the other side of the mirror. It was the wonder and belief the stories created that gave birth to the people and creatures that populate the fantasy world.
"But as belief faltered, so too did that world begin to wane. When Mother Goose, one of the most powerful of the Legendary Talespinners, realized that her vitality and immortality were dissipating, she came up with a sinister plan to maintain her power. Thus, the guardian of the fantasy world and the gatekeeper of the fairy tales became the most unlikely wicked witch of them all. As Abby starts to believe in the tales, her imagination draws her in and starts to reshape the fantasy world. In the end, she must be the one to either save the tattered remnants of the world of fables... or bury it."
Will the series feature appearances by any of the well-known talespinners from our real world, or are Kuhoric's talespinners creations of his own fertile imagination? "You never know," Kuhoric replied. "I firmly believe that creators like Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, and Warren Ellis are modern day Talespinners; if they were okay with me adding them, I'd love to work them into the story in the future because they make up the quintessential fabric of what a Talespinner is.
"But for the time being the Talespinners we encounter in the first miniseries are from an older age. We do take some liberties with the classic tales here by expanding them with new twists and turns, much like the characters themselves would have as their stories continued to evolve over time. A character like Baron Munchausen is perfect for our story, because he was renowned for coming up with ridiculous tales based on his escapades. It would make sense that he would continue to exaggerate his own experiences and develop new areas of the fantasy world with each tall tale."
Fables, Unwritten, Imaginaries, Stuff of Legend, and now Talespinners--it seems that many writers are attracted to the metafictional, since these series all focus to one degree or another on the blurred lines between reality and fiction. Why is that theme is so popular? "I'm a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's work, which in my humble opinion was the catalyst for the explosion of metafictional stories we've seen in comics over the past decade. For example, Stardust is a beautiful story that has all the elements of a fairy tale, but with a modern sensibility in the telling that created a unique and enjoyable reading experience. Everyone loves the familiar feel of the old stories of childhood, and creators like Neil have found a way to make the things that fascinated us as kids grow into something new which can capture our imagination as adults. I hope that I've accomplished something similar in the story of the Legendary Talespinners and that people enjoy this peek into the twisted world of fantasy."
Is Legendary Talespinners just a self-contained three-part story, or is this the beginning of a larger series of miniseries? "The first installment of Legendary Talespinners is a complete story that will introduce readers to the main characters and the concept of stories having a 'life of their own.' But it is only the first chapter in a much longer tale. In Talespinners, we are watching as a very powerful storyteller is born. Abby's continued adventures are a bit darker in tone than the initial arc (and that's including the fact that they have to face a horde of zombified fairy tale critters in our first series). If fan interest in the series continues, we will be looking at a schedule to continue the story later in 2010."
Legendary Talespinners is the latest addition to Dynamite's increasingly diverse line of books, which includes superhero adventure, SF, classic literature, realistic war fiction, and sophisticated fantasy. Has this diversity been a part of the Dynamite plan all along, or has it developed along with the imprint? "I think it's been a little of both," publisher Nick Barrucci said. "We've been fortunate in that we've either been able to reach out to creators about projects and genres that we're interested, or these unique properties have tended to find their way into our orbit, where we can spend the time to develop them."
Tales of the Legendary Talespinners #1, a $3.99 comic by James Kuhoric & Grant Bond with art direction by Nick Bradshaw, is scheduled for late February release.
-by Cliff Biggers
