Comixology: First off, please tell us about Anna Smudge. Set up the concept/world, and tell us about the story and the characters. Brandon Carter: Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink is about a sixth grade girl with a knack for listening who becomes the top therapist in Manhattan. She has to unravel a complex mystery involving a cannoli-loving hitman, her art teacher who has gone completely bonkers (that's a medical term), and a naked guy covered in seaweed; all while she has to get her homework in on time and fend off the school bully, with a little blackmail thrown in for good measure. Oh, and she has to save her Dad from the criminal mastermind, Mr. Who.
Cmxlgy: Who's the target audience? This is being distributed by Diamond, and it's being debuted at NYCC, but it's not exactly a typical graphic novel, is it?
BC: The book is for kids ages ten and up, but also those adults who have a love of finely honed bathroom humor and intricate mysteries. And no, the book is not a typical graphic novel. It's a 256 page book with full page Glenn Fabry portraits of all of the antagonists at every section break. We wanted to inject the very traditional children's book market with some of the dynamic art & layout sensibilities from the comic book field to shake things up a bit.
Cmxlgy: Give us a little background on the writer, MAC (Melissa A Calderone), and her inspirations for this series.
BC: Well, MAC was a regular writer for Popular Science Magazine. So, she's interviewed NASA scientists and written about some pretty cool topics such as asteroids, space junk, and the development of Mars space suits. But MAC is probably most famous online for her often cited article regarding catching diseases from public toilets. How is that for a claim to fame?!
She would often talk about just growing up in NYC amongst all of these precocious Manhattan-ites who pretty much operated as mini-adults while being raised by workaholic parents. So, I think a lot of the story came from that.
Cmxlgy: How did Glenn Fabry, who's currently doing covers for X-Factor and Hellblazer, get involved as artist?
BC: Well, Glenn has a specific style that really complements MAC's writing. Glenn rides a fine line between being disturbing and being hilarious. And when we were initially discussing who to hire, MAC kept referencing his name. So, MAC wrote up some pretty lurid character descriptions and we sent them on over to Glenn to see if he'd be interested… and the rest is history!
In terms of our artists, we purposely didn't look around for someone in the kid's book market. We really wanted to bring a new and dynamic flair to the books. I realize that Glenn and our cover artist Greg Horn wouldn't be your typical kid's book choices, but even though both of these guys mainly cater to adults, they really know how to create a fun experience for an eleven-year-old.
Cmxlgy: Tell us about Toasted Coconut Media. Was the imprint formed in order to distribute The Professionals series? What other titles do you publish/will you be publishing?
BC: Toasted Coconut Media is a start-up children's book publisher named after our favorite kind of donut! We are highly selective about the titles we take on and plan to release only a couple a year so that we can give each project more time and attention than a title would normally receive at a larger house. The Professionals series is our first release and is really our flagship title. However, we have some other stories in various stages of development including a tween murder mystery, a teen psychological thriller, and a young readers book entitled My Butt is a Musical Instrument.
Cmxlgy: This is the sort of series one might expect to see at Scholastic, or perhaps Oni Press or another publisher that has an established brand in the Young Adult graphic/illustrated novel market. How did it come to be at Toasted Coconut instead?
BC: Funny enough, MAC was on submission with Scholastic and a few other large publishers for almost a year. They were extremely interested in taking on The Professionals as one of the series that would fill the Harry Potter void.
When I picked up the book for the first time I was blown away by all of the twists and red herrings that you didn't usually see in a kid's book, and knew instantly that I wanted to publish it. It's not your typical simplistic linear mystery. The story comes together like pieces of a puzzle, and it has a pretty shocking ending. This is the sort of story that I, personally, like to experience. And so far, every kid who picks the book up has not put it down. Anna even won a Top Choice Award at Flamingnet.
Cmxlgy: Are you selling copies at the NYCC?
BC: Yep! If you can make it to the show, come on by Booth 1630. We are decorating our booth with massive banners of Greg and Glenn's art and a video display, flying Glenn in from the UK to make a rare state-side appearance, and getting Greg, Glenn, and MAC to sign some copies of Anna Smudge. We'll have a free poster for those that buy the book at this early sneak peek before its release.
Friday night at 6pm in room 1E02, Greg Horn and I will be taking the audience on a behind the scenes look at the creation of his cover for Anna Smudge. Especially for those aspiring artists, this is a warts and all view of the process that an eye-popping cover goes through for a client publisher.
If you can't make it to the Con, crack open your issue of Previews this month and check out our ad on page 399. And then talk to your local comic shop about getting you a copy of Diamond item number APR084327.
