And we’re back! We rejoin the Pearl of Sea team in part two of our Q&A. Missed part one? Check it out here to get all caught up. We’ll wait….
Now that that’s all set, let’s jump back in to the conversation with the writers and illustrators of our newest graphic novel, Pearl of the Sea. Pearl joins a host of new and forthcoming releases as part of Panel & Page, our series of graphic novels for readers of all ages. You’ll be hearing a lot more about other books in the series in the coming months.
In part two of our conversation, Anthony, Raffaella, and Willem discuss the process of bringing words and images together, their love of comics books, and how their new book shows “the importance of opening up and not being scared of showing our vulnerabilities.”
SBS: Willem—when Anthony and Raffaella came to you with their ideas for the story, and asked you to get involved in illustration, what was your process? Are you working from memory and imagination, or using other resources?
WS: There’s initially a lot of research and looking at, gathering reference, and doing studies of the world you need to create. After that, you try create the look which will tell the story best, but also in a graphic style that will be achievable to produce. We worked through various drafts and roughs—and some of the early scenes were very tricky to get right and it takes a number of approaches—but after a while the story starts to click and it gets easier as the story and style starts to become clear. So at some point I just had to steamroll through the book while Anthony came after, rearranging panels, sometimes with scissors and tape. And through these iterations the style emerged, which [character designer] Jessi Ochse nailed down in the end with her inks.
Concept images
SBS: Were any of you big comics readers growing up?
AS: I used to read a LOT as a kid, but then suddenly lost all interest for a while. It was Asterix and Tintin that got me back into reading. We didn’t have much access to comics growing up in apartheid South Africa, and I don’t remember seeing any graphic novels at all, but I used to trawl through second-hand bookshops looking to see what I could find, and there was definitely a phase where I got into everything from Richie Rich, to Archie, to Beano and Mad. My dad lives in Berlin, and when visiting there when I was about 16, I remember going to a comics store and just feeling so overwhelmed by the abundance of amazing comics and graphic novels. Unfortunately none were in English, but it definitely opened my eyes to this whole other world of visual storytelling that existed.
WS: Yes, Tintin and Asterix obviously, but also a lot of European stuff, 2000AD and Manga. I read very little superhero comics – I much more enjoyed the genre when it was “for adults”—so I’ve always viewed it as a versatile and superior art-form, because what you were able to find in comic books you didn’t find anywhere else. Still true today.
RDD: Growing up in South Africa in the 80’s when cultural boycotts were (rightly) imposed from other countries meant that I didn’t have much exposure to comics beyond really commercial ones like Archie. I was more of a book nerd and spent every Saturday at the Cape Town Central Library.
SBS: Pearl’s at a difficult age—she’s fiercely independent, capable of being on her own, and she’s grappling with some really complex emotions like abandonment and grief; but while she is definitely forced to take on bigger responsibilities than most kids her age, she’s still a child in so many ways: emotionally vulnerable, dependent on the adults around her, and worried about fitting in. Can you remember being Pearl’s age? Do you see some of yourself in Pearl?
AS: You’ve summed it up very well and I definitely resonated with a lot of what Pearl was going through. Being a teenager was tough—grappling with my sexual orientation, living with a brother I was mostly scared of, and a single mother who was trying to build up a business single-handedly… I just retreated into my shell, and it took a long time to figure out who I really was and what I wanted. I think a lot of children in single parent households end up growing up faster than they might normally, taking on responsibilities of an adult and pushing back the natural, more care-free tendencies that come with being a child in a safe and structured environment. There were phases I was angry or felt sorry for myself, but as a creative working with stories and character’s emotional arcs, I realized the importance of letting all that baggage go, and looking back, I realized how everything made me who I am today and I’m the better for it.
RDD: While I wasn’t abandoned by a parent like Pearl was, I grew up in a single-parent household and like Pearl, started working on weekends and holidays from my early teens. Initially, we didn’t have much money growing up in comparison to my other predominantly upper middle-class or affluent peers. I, like most white South Africans, was still way more privileged than the vast majority but from a young age, I would go to and from school by myself and do chores because my mother worked and we didn’t have a cleaner, or a house-keeper. It was hard and lonely at times but, in retrospect, it made me resilient and self-sufficient, something I really value now as an adult.
WS: To be honest, swimming in the sea terrifies me. What I identified with was the classroom scenes, being the outsider, moody kid in the corner… being ignored and yet part of a much bigger world and thoughts. I also liked her not being a “goody two-shoes” and that we avoided “Americanising” her.
SBS: Pearl is queer, but that’s not made to be a central component of the story. I know from speaking with you that this was an intentional choice. Tell me a bit about that.
AS: Growing up gay, I always felt like it was “wrong” and there really were very few examples of characters that were just normal people who happened to be gay. If anything, it was usually some kind of trouble that they had to deal with, which only made it seem like an even worse fate to me. I do think it’s important for stories to help create empathy and a greater curiosity or search for knowledge. For me, I try to tell stories that have been under-represented before, but in an entertaining way, so that people are swept up on a journey and find themselves caring about someone they might not have normally engaged with at that level. So yes, Pearl is coming to terms with her sexual orientation and it is affecting her relationships with her dad and friends at school, but the story isn’t primarily about that—it’s about her discovery of a vulnerable sea monster. So hopefully readers can see that not every child going through a struggle such as that needs to let that struggle entirely define them and their whole lives. It is not their only story.
RDD: Having close friends who are queer and moving in queer circles has made me acutely aware of how being queer can make you feel like an ‘outsider’—something I resonate strongly with. From a young age, I have very clear memories of feeling like an outsider. I had a weird name, wild, frizzy hair and was a child of divorce which was very unusual in 80’s South Africa. Like Pearl, I didn’t conform to what it meant to look and act like a girl. And still don’t in a lot of ways. I think Pearl is an outsider for many reasons, and being queer in a community which might not accept her makes her even more of an outsider, as well as the fact that she’s someone who struggles to open up to others.
SBS: If readers take away one lesson from reading Pearl’s story, what do you hope it is?
RDD: That, as a woman, it’s essential to be independent and self-reliant, but not at the expense of closing yourself off to others.
WS: Be honest with yourself and with who you are and you will find the road you need to be on.
AS: For me, it would hopefully be to realize the importance of opening up and not being scared of showing our vulnerabilities, because that’s the way we can truly connect—both with ourselves and with others.
Thanks Anthony, Raffaella, and Willem for taking the time for this interview—and for creating such a magical book!
