Incredibly Kind Review of Hereville in School Library Journal!

On the School Library Journal website, blogger Elizabeth Bird posted an incredibly kind review of Hereville:

“Yet another troll-fighting 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl,” says the byline. Well seriously. How was I supposed to pass that up? I’d grabbed a copy of Hereville at an American Library Association conference along with a whole host of other books. I don’t think I even gave it half a glance at the time. Just nabbed, stuffed, and scooted. It was only back in the comfort of my hotel room as I repacked my bags that the byline got my attention. I sat down for a quick look. Twenty minutes later I was still reading, with no intention at all of repacking anything until I was done. In my experience, fantasy novels for children do not like to involve religion in any way, shape, or form. And children’s graphic novels? Puh-leeze. You’re as likely to find a copy of Babymouse wax rhapsodic on the topic of organized religion as you are a copy of Harry Potter. So to read Barry Deutsch’s book is to experience a mild marvel. There is religion, fantasy, knitting, some of the best art I’ve seen since The Secret Science Alliance, and a story that actually makes you sit up and feel something. This is like nothing I’ve ever encountered before, and I think it’s truly remarkable. Without a doubt, this is the best graphic novel of 2010 for kids. Bar none. […]

Confession: Truth be told, there is very little in this book I do not like. What’s more, it offers me, a children’s librarian, a sneaky way to introduce kids to religions and creeds they might not otherwise have any exposure to in a format they already love. Bereft of any kind of stereotyping you might name, Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword could only make me angry if it failed to produce a sequel in the future. Until then, we’ll just have to be content with this. A remarkable little book and, I guarantee, like nothing else you have on your bookstore, library, or personal shelves.

There’s a lot more to her review, but you’ll have to click through to read it.

(Click here for information about preordering Hereville.)

Process: Drawing a Panel of Hereville

I drew Hereville on my computer, using a Cintiq tablet, which is a kind of interactive pen-on-screen tool that I couldn’t possibly live without. The software I use is Photoshop CS4. I used to draw with CS2, but I upgraded to CS4 because it lets you rotate an image while you work on it.

Okay, so let’s see the sequence of drawing. The example panel here comes from page 12 of the graphic novel (I posted the pencils to page 12 here).

Mirka starts out as a stick figure. I usually start with the head, and usually draw it the same way — an eggshell shape first, then a line halfway up the egg to find the level of the eyes, then a 45-45-90 triangle to find the placement of the top of her ear. Sometimes I get lazy and just start drawing the face without those underlying lines, but then I often end up having to erase and start over, so that’s not the best idea.

Then I do a couple of lines to show the placement of her body and the set of her shoulders. This may not seem like much, but it’s actually really important — in a panel like this, where we only see Mirka’s head and shoulders and a little of her trunk, the set of the shoulders is going to do a lot of the work of conveying Mirka’s expression. It’s not uncommon for me to redraw the initial stickfigure “shoulder line” two or three times trying to get it right. In this case, I opt for slumped shoulders, as if the surprise has made her go limp, combined with leaning forward.

Then I added scribbly lines to to show her hair and clothes, and different parts of her body, and more details of her face. Scribble, scribble, scribble, erase, scribble, erase. I erased and redrew a lot at this stage, until Mirka finally looked “right” to my eyes. I don’t use photo reference for figures unless I’m absolutely unable to draw the pose otherwise, and in this case the pose was easy so no need for reference.

Then I drew in the word balloon. I draw all my word balloons freehand, rather than using premade shapes, but in this case I tried to be especially all over the place drawing the balloon, to convey Mirka’s shock and excitement.

At first, I thought that was pretty good. But over time I realized that it wasn’t working for me. Sheila, my editor at Abrams, agreed with me: The drawing didn’t have enough oomph to show how awestruck Mirka felt when she first saw the witch’s tower.

I tried again, this time giving Mirka a more stunned expression. (This is where a cartoony drawing style really comes in handy!). I also changed the “Oh wow” speech bubble to an exclamation point graphic. And I rotated the whole drawing so that she seemed to be leaning back to look up, since the tower ended up being quite tall. (So much for the leaning forward! Oh, well.)

Better. But still not there. And the exclamation point graphic I created looked jumbled and confusing to me, rather than conveying an emotion clearly.

So instead of an exclamation point over her head, I put Mirka in an exclamation-point-shaped panel border. (Doing this cropped out the set of the shoulders I worked on earlier. Oh, well!) I also enlarged the drawing of Mirka a little.

And now my internal “how stunned does Mirka look”-ometer said that this worked. So now it’s time to go on to “inking.”

Of course, since I’m doing all this drawing on computer, there’s no literal “ink” involved. But there’s still a stage where I draw the panel using solid black lines, trying to keep the lines as lively as I can without losing accuracy. Then I send a copy of the page to Jake, and Jake adds colors, using Photoshop on his computer.

And finally, the completed panel!

(Remember, Hereville is now available for preorder!)

Elizabeth Bird’s review of “Hereville” for School Library Journal.com

This review was originally published on the Fuse 8 Productions Blog on School Library Journal’s website. It’s written by Elizabeth Bird, who is currently New York Public Library’s Youth Materials Collections Specialist.

“Yet another troll-fighting 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl,” says the byline. Well seriously. How was I supposed to pass that up? I’d grabbed a copy of Hereville at an American Library Association conference along with a whole host of other books. I don’t think I even gave it half a glance at the time. Just nabbed, stuffed, and scooted. It was only back in the comfort of my hotel room as I repacked my bags that the byline got my attention. I sat down for a quick look. Twenty minutes later I was still reading, with no intention at all of repacking anything until I was done. In my experience, fantasy novels for children do not like to involve religion in any way, shape, or form. And children’s graphic novels? Puh-leeze. You’re as likely to find a copy of Babymouse wax rhapsodic on the topic of organized religion as you are a copy of Harry Potter. So to read Barry Deutsch’s book is to experience a mild marvel. There is religion, fantasy, knitting, some of the best art I’ve seen since The Secret Science Alliance, and a story that actually makes you sit up and feel something. This is like nothing I’ve ever encountered before, and I think it’s truly remarkable. Without a doubt, this is the best graphic novel of 2010 for kids. Bar none.

Mirka has a dream, but it’s not the kind of thing that gets a lot of support. More than anything else in the entire world she wants to fight dragons. The problem? She’s eleven, a girl, and she lives in the Jewish Orthodox town of Hereville. Still, Mirka gets a bit closer to her dream when she incurs the wrath of a witch’s pig, then does it a good deed, thereby indebting its witch to her. As it turns out, the witch tells Mirka that there is a good sword in the neighborhood, but the only way to get it is to defeat a troll. And when push comes to shove, Mirka’s going to have to use all her smarts and cunning to defeat an enemy that prizes one of the arts she loathes the most.

Think about children’s fantasy novels and religion for a moment. Religion in fantasies for kids tends to skew one of three ways. You can incorporate it and make it the entire point of the novel (Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, the Narnia books of C.S. Lewis, or Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time series which is technically science fiction anyway). You can make up an entirely new religion of your own (as in the novels of Frances Hardinge, Tamora Pierce, Megan Whalen Turner, etc.). Or you just sorta forget about it. Remember, in the Harry Potter novels there may be churches and Christmas, but when wizards marry there’s only a vague representative of some unnamed religion presiding. And children’s graphic novels are in such an infant phase at this point that religion never even comes up half the time. The Bone books by Jeff Smith aren’t about to launch into a treatise of religious doctrines (though Phoney Bone does strike me as a Calvinist at his core).

So Hereville is remarkable right off the bat because it isn’t afraid. It says, “Yeah, I’m gonna incorporate religion into this book. Heck, I’m even gonna TEACH about the religion of Orthodox Jews while I’m at it.” And darned if Deutsch doesn’t! Though Hereville itself might be a made up town inhabited entirely by practitioners of this religion, what we learn all is true and accurate. From the different ways girls can be rebellious, pious, or popular in their near identical school clothes to Shabbos to what the three braids of the khale represent (truth, peace, and justice), it’s all in there without ever sounding like you’re being taught something. The religion is integral to the story and you wouldn’t want it any other way.

Deutsch’s storytelling, which is also above par, makes this book very much a hero’s quest. However, to defeat her enemy, the troll, Mirka must use a set of skills she acquired at the beginning of this book. What I love is that the skill that comes to her aid isn’t her lamentable knitting (the troll insists on a knitting challenge, which Mirka is slightly less than able to do) but rather the art of debate as acquired from her stepmother. It’s the power of prevarication at work. At the same time, you’ve grown to really care for Mirka and her family. Even when she does bad things, you still understand where she’s coming from. There’s a sequence where she’s hurting her little brother, and the storyline flashes between her actions and images of her mother telling her years ago that she is responsible for keeping him safe. You realize then that Mirka is a real person with dimensions and faults, which is something I always like to find in my middle grade comic fare.

And then there’s the art itself. The longer I study it the more remarkable I find it. Sometimes it’s just very basic things. The moments when Deutsch chooses to switch between eyes that are merely black dots with eyebrows and when those eyes acquire whites and pupils is key to understanding the book. Then there are the little things you might not even notice. If two characters are talking and one is reluctant to say something, Deutsch might take a beat to have that character flip a braid away that was creeping down her shoulder in the previous panels. There are even times when it seems as though there’s a slight manga influence on the book. Not in terms of the look, of course, but more the reaction shots. Mirka staring daggers at Rochel takes on a literal meaning in one panel. In another, Mirka yelling at Zindel to wake up takes the form of a huge panel that literally pushes him to one side.

Can I take a moment to wax rhapsodic about the layouts on these pages too? I mean, this is an art. A true art. Deutsch is so good at breaking up the panels and playing with them. In my favorite sequence, Mirka visualizes a math problem. She’s in a situation where she has two friends over and has already cut a cake into thirds. Then a third friend comes over and she has to find a way to divide the thirds equally amongst four people. That situation takes up two pages but in each one there are multiple Mirkas to keep track of. You manage to do it, though, because of the ways in which Deutsch knows to command your eyeballs. You look exactly where you are supposed to, thanks to his cunning art. These are the sorts of things kids take for granted, but they’re often difficult to achieve. And it’s certainly some of the most sophisticated art I’ve seen in a children’s graphic novel, that’s for sure.

Plus I’m a sucker for little details. Since everyone in town has to essentially wear the same clothes, Deutsch finds ways to reclothe Mirka in appropriate ways. From word problems to her final sweater, Mirka’s clothing is important. And I loved other details as well. The ways in which Gittel looks like her dead mother while Rochel definitely has the beginnings of Fruma’s nose.

Oh. And he also draws really good hands. Knitting hands, hands lighting candles, you name it. I like hands and they are hard to draw. So. There’s that.

Confession: Truth be told, there is very little in this book I do not like. What’s more, it offers me, a children’s librarian, a sneaky way to introduce kids to religions and creeds they might not otherwise have any exposure to in a format they already love. Bereft of any kind of stereotyping you might name, Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword could only make me angry if it failed to produce a sequel in the future. Until then, we’ll just have to be content with this. A remarkable little book and, I guarantee, like nothing else you have on your bookstore, library, or personal shelves.

Jane Yolen Praises Hereville!

A very nice recommendation from a very admired writer. Thank you, Ms. Yolen!

“An unusual eleven-year-old orthodox Jewish girl with more chutzpa than Yentl seeks a magic sword, and has an epic battle with a troll, as author/illustrator Barry Deutsch offers up a mitzvah–a graphic novel which has joy, style, lots of Yiddishkeit, adventure, and magic. Not all of it kosher! (There is a goyisch pig after all.)”

—Jane Yolen, author of The Devil’s Arithmetic, Naming Liberty, and O Jerusalem as well as the graphic novel, Foiled.

(Remember, Hereville is now available for preorder!)

A couple more Hereville sketches

Back when I was selling the self-published comic book of Hereville, folks sometimes paid extra for their comic in order to have me do a drawing on their title page. (A similar offer is now available for folks who preorder the hardcover book). Sometimes these sketches would be requests, other times I’d just choose a theme myself.

Anyway, here are two more of those sketches. You can see a whole bunch of Hereville title page sketches here on Flickr.

And the second one…

Hereville Flip-Though Video

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Remember, Hereville is now available for pre-order. (Yes, you’ll be hearing me say that a lot in the next two months. 😛 )

Thanks to Jenn Lee for making this video!

Preorder The Hereville Graphic Novel!

Hardcover
6″x9″
144 pages (with 139 pages of comics).
Color

The Hereville graphic novel is now available! I have copies on hand, and are generally shipping them out within a week of receiving orders (but it can take longer if you want a drawing). The book is also in stock at many bookstores (both real-world and online).

You can find an independent bookstore that carries Hereville by checking Indie Bound. Or you can preorder Hereville from online booksellers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Due to the discount those folks provide, this is definitely the most affordable way to buy Hereville, and I don’t mind a bit if you’d prefer to order through them.

That said, I am selling signed copies myself. This is the way to go if you’d prefer an autographed copy, a copy inscribed as a gift for someone, or a copy with a drawing in it.

If you order a book from me, I’ll assume you want it inscribed “To [name of person who placed the order]” But if you’d like me to write something else (or to not write anything at all) please let me know exactly what you want me to write, either by emailing me, or by using the “instructions to merchant” option in Paypal’s order form.

Books cost $15.95, plus shipping. Shipping is $4 in the USA, more for folks outside the US.

You can also order an original drawing with your book, which costs either $10 extra (for a quick sketch) or $40 extra (for a more labor-intensive sketch). If you’re interested, you can read more about that here.

I can’t even describe how excited I am to finally be selling copies of the Hereville graphic novel!

Hereville Gets Starred Review In Publishers Weekly!

Woo-hoo!

Publishers Weekly, August 2, 2010

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword

Spunky Mirka wants to be a dragon-slayer, but everyone in the small Orthodox Jewish community of Hereville is against it. When a witch and a talking pig turn up in the woods near home, Mirka can’t help getting involved, much to the dismay of her seven sisters, brother, and argumentative stepmother.

The book brings new material to the original Web comic, completed in 2008, allowing Deutsch to make a great comic even better. His expressive, surprising drawings give life to Mirka’s quest and to the unusual and genuine relationships she has with family members and magical creatures. Deutsch weaves in information about Shabbos, phrases in Yiddish (translated at the bottom of the page), illustrations of the different looks (rebel, pious, popular) girls create with the white shirts and long black skirts they wear – and all of it is lively and engaging.

Fantastical elements mesh perfectly with the deep emotional heart of Mirka’s story. “I live in the family your mother made, surrounded by her children and under her roof,” Mirka’s intelligent, prickly, loving stepmother tells her, in one poignant scene. This is a terrific story, told with skill and lots of heart, that readers of all ages will enjoy.

Waiting For Hereville

I’m ridiculously anxious, waiting for Hereville to come out! It’s like buying a lottery ticket — but then having to wait eleven months to find out if it wins or loses! (Or I guess it’s like that. I’ve never actually bought a lottery ticket.)

Sometimes the odds against Hereville seem immense. The marketplace is so huge, consumers are strapped for money, and Hereville is such a weird book. It’s an action-adventure comic with very little actual violence in it; it’s a mass-market book with a oddball, artsy palette; probably a third of the book is about Mirka arguing with her relatives; the art makes everyone look like muppets; and, of course, it’s about an 11 year old Orthodox Jewish girl.

On the plus side, I’ve been extremely flattered — I’d even say, taken aback — by the positive response I’ve had to Hereville. The first time I took Hereville to a con, I had two publishers tell me they’d be interested, which was an enormous boost to my self-confidence. Actually getting an amazing agent (hi, Judy!) and a book deal is a literal dream come true. Everyone seems to like the artwork, despite what seems to me to be my glaring lack of drawing skill. And most importantly — amazingly — is how many readers have stuck with Hereville, despite the too many years it’s taken for anything to get done.

Of course, unlike a lottery ticket, I’m guaranteed to win. Even if Hereville sells badly, I’m still amazed it’s coming out at all, and proud of the work that Jake (the colorist) and I have done. And even if my audience remains small, it’s such a great audience!

If you create a book, and it flops… well, then, you still have the book!

I’m also committed to creating the second Hereville book, no matter what happens with book one. (Happily, I’ve made major creative progress on writing the second book this week, completing the first draft of the story. And getting the story written is the hardest part for me. Well, that and laying it out. Oh, and drawing it.).

But let’s face it: It will all be easier if the first Hereville book does well commercially. It’s easier getting paid than not getting paid, after all. The book is scheduled to hit shelves November 1st, and by January or February we’ll know how it did in the market. Until then, I guess I’ll just keep working on book 2… and chewing my fingernails.

Hereville is a “staff pick” in Previews! Plus, please tell your local comic book shop about Hereville.

Previews, for those of you who don’t know, is the monthly catalog of available comics sent to comic book stores all over the USA (and I think Canada as well?). Each month is a huge, glossy brick of more comic books than anyone could ever read — so it’s easy for a new and unknown comic to get lost.

(Unless, of course, people like you call your local comic book store and ask them to carry Hereville. Hint, hint.)

So I’m relieved and thrilled that in the August issue, Hereville will be one of seven “Staff Picks.” Woo!

Here’s what Kate Henning wrote in her review of Hereville:

Witches, trolls, talking pigs, and knitting lessons — yup, Hereville brings the goods. With its heroine growing up in a blended family, an orthodox Jewish community, and a rich fantasy world, there are a few different gimmicks this book could lean on, but Deutsch neatly balances these elements rather than belaboring them, making for a fun and endearing story.

Eleven year-old Mirka Hirschberg is a sympathetic, dynamic protagonist who will appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, Jone Yolen’s Foiled, and even Joe Kelly’s I Kill Giants. As a sister, daughter, and aspiring dragon slayer, she joins the heroines of these other works as an appealingly imperfect character learning to understand her own goals. She’s also very bright, and it’s entertaining to watch her start debates with her stepmother Fruma, who is not so much wicked as wickedly clever.

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword is only the first chapter in a story that promises much more fantastic adventure and social tension. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in Orthodox Jewish culture, sword acquisition, or trolls with an affinity for needlecraft.

See PREVIEWS page #218

Thanks so much, Kate!

I loved both Smile and I Kill Giants, so it made my day to be listed in that company. (I haven’t read Foiled, but now I think I really must.)

By the way, that last line — “PREVIEWS page 218”? That’s what you tell your local comic book store, when you ask them to stock Hereville — they can find it in the current issue of PREVIEWS, on page 218. And, of course, you’re going to call them and ask them to carry Hereville, right? Please? Pretty-please? Do it today? Pretty-please with sugar on top?

(I’m not too dignified to beg. Heck, I love begging.)

Of course, you can also buy Hereville in bookstores (on shelves November first), or you can pre-order it from Amazon and other web outlets. In addition, I’ll be making pre-orders available in the next week or two for people who’d like to buy autographed and/or sketched-in copies — I’ll post once I’ve got the details worked out.