Steven Bergson Interviews Me About Hereville 2

It’s always fun being interviewed by Steven Bergson of Jewish Comics Blog, because he’s so prepared and knowledgeable. Here’s the first few questions from the interview he just posted:

Jewish Comics Blog : How has your life changed since wining the Sydney Taylor Book Award and having its sequel recognized as an SBTA Honor Book?

JCB : In my last interview with you, you told us to expect a wedding in the 2nd book. Yet, that wedding never materialized. Why did you change your mind and will we be seeing a wedding in a future Hereville book?

JCB : It has already been speculated by comix scholars that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster may have been alluding to the Kindertransport when they had Superman‘s parents send him away from a world on the verge of destruction to the safe haven of Earth. This was mentioned in Harry Brod’s recent book Superman Is Jewish? In Hereville 2, you cleverly made a parallel between Mirka’s great-great-bubba’s journey from the Old Country to the New Country (presumably because of antisemitism, though that’s never mentioned) and the separation of the meteorite from her meteor sisters. Were you inspired at all by the Superman origin story?

To read my answers to these and Steven’s other questions, head on over to the Jewish Comics Blog.

“AJL Reviews” on Hereville: How Mirka Met A Meteorite

The latest issue of “AJL Reviews,” published by the Association of Jewish Libraries, includes a review of the second Hereville book! Here’s their concluding paragraph:

Fans of Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, will not be disappointed in the latest installment. Deutsch’s illustrations are as quirky and engaging as Mirka herself. The artwork, done primarily in shades of green and orange, is fresh and visually stunning with a unique panel layout on each page. Like the first novel, Yiddish is sprinkled throughout the text and Jewish rituals are observed from an Orthodox point of view. Shabbat is lovingly portrayed as a sacred and spiritual time. Hereville is a unique setting for a fantasy, but it’s clear that it faces the same challenges as all communities when bullies threaten Mirka. Readers of all levels of observance will connect to the story, and its elements of fantasy will appeal to girls and boys. The powerful theme of accepting yourself as you are makes this book a winning choice for all libraries. Strongly recommended.

Thank you to Aimee Lurie, who wrote that review (and I’ve met her in person and she’s totally nice, too!).

Just Saw “Rear Window” For The First Time

Just saw “Rear Window” for the first time. What a stunning, amazing movie!

Actually – hard as this is to believe – as of a few days ago I had never seen any of Hitchcock’s movies. Now I’ve seen “A Shadow of a Doubt,” which was wonderful (and surprisingly feminist in some ways), and “The Lady Vanishes,” which didn’t do as much for me.

But “Rear Window” was so perfect that I have a hard time imagining any of his other movies will match it, for me. As well as being incredibly cleverly written, it has a lot of elements that I’ve always found appealing: Storytelling constructed around a severe technical limitation (in this case, that nearly all of the story is told using shot angles that Jimmy Stewart’s character could see from his window), a claustrophobic setup, the close urban neighborhood, and the comic-strip like storytelling of the neighbors lives viewed in panel borders (aka windows).

If you’re familiar with “Rear Window,” I’d recommend taking three minutes and watching this amazing version of the entire movie as a single panoramic view.

Bechdel test report: All three movies pass the Bechdel test, although “Shadow of a Doubt” just barely passes (because of a conversation between the protagonist and a grumpy female librarian). I was also struck by the “no one will believe you, you’re a woman!” theme in all three movies – even in Rear Window (where the male protagonist is also disbelieved), the police detective shows a special disdain for Grace Kelly’s testimony, and comments that he’s never heard a theory from a woman that hasn’t been a waste of time.

A recent drawing from my sketchbook

…And the same drawing rotated 180 degrees.

Over a hundred thousand sign petition against Disney’s Merida Makeover

To celebrate Merida of the Pixar film Brave “officially” joining the Disney Princess line, Disney released some new illustrations of her. In the new illustrations, Merida is even thinner than her already-thin movie version (as Alyssa put it, “what appears to be rib-removal surgery”); her dress has been redesigned into an off-the-shoulder number; she has much thicker eyelashes (and in general, her face seems much more stereotypically feminine); her hair has been changed from out-of-control curls to waves; and her attitude is much, well, flirtier.

I’m not sure that Disney’s Merida makeover represents a conscious strategy on their part. At the, er, official coronation ceremony at Disneyworld, Merida’s appearance seemed modeled on the movie version, not on the new illustrations. (See this photo, for instance – note the covered shoulders, and curly wig.) Nor did Disney seem to shy away from Merida’s tomboy aspects – she made her entrance on horseback, and finished the ceremony by posing with her bow and arrow.

But because it (probably) wasn’t conscious doesn’t mean that it’s not bad. It suggests that Disney subconsciously and reflexively turns their female characters into the same dull and predictable flirty, glittery pin-ups without any thought even being required. (Ever notice how impossible it is to find any Mulan merchandise showing her dressed up for war?)

Put another way, for the folks in Disney marketing, the path of least resistance appears to be a very sexist path.

Except that this time, they’ve encountered a lot of resistance. A petition started by girl-power website A Mighty Girl has gathered 130,000 signers (and counting). The petition says:

The redesign of Merida in advance of her official induction to the Disney Princess collection does a tremendous disservice to the millions of children for whom Merida is an empowering role model who speaks to girls’ capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired. Moreover, by making her skinnier, sexier and more mature in appearance, you are sending a message to girls that the original, realistic, teenage-appearing version of Merida is inferior; that for girls and women to have value — to be recognized as true princesses — they must conform to a narrow definition of beauty.

Disney seems to be taking note: As InsideTheMagic notes, the new Merida design has disappeared from the Disney Princess website, replaced by images of Merida as she appeared in the movie.

One really unusual thing about this is that Merida’s creator, “Brave” writer and co-director Brenda Chapman has gone public with her unhappiness about the makeover, calling it “a blatantly sexist marketing move based on money.”

I think it’s atrocious what they have done to Merida. When little girls say they like it because it’s more sparkly, that’s all fine and good but, subconsciously, they are soaking in the sexy ‘come hither’ look and the skinny aspect of the new version. It’s horrible! Merida was created to break that mold — to give young girls a better, stronger role model, a more attainable role model, something of substance, not just a pretty face that waits around for romance.

They have been handed an opportunity on a silver platter to give their consumers something of more substance and quality — THAT WILL STILL SELL — and they have a total disregard for it in the name of their narrow minded view of what will make money. I forget that Disney’s goal is to make money without concern for integrity. Silly me.

* * *

Alyssa writes:

To a certain extent, Disney’s attempts to democratize what it means to be a princess are admirable. You don’t actually have to be born into a royal title, or obtain one by marriage. […] You don’t have to be white, or European, or in the case of Ariel, the star of The Little Mermaid, necessarily based on land.

But two restrictions remain. You have to be young. You have to have a very particular body type and long, perfect hair. The edits to Merida reflect those priorities.[…]

If it’s important that girls of color and girls of different economic classes be able to recognize themselves and find aspirational stories in the Disney Princess line, why shouldn’t it also matter that girls with wild hair and variable body types see themselves there too?

Although I agree with Alyssa, it’s important to note that Merida’s body type, as seen in the movie, represents only the smallest of small departures from the Disney standard. Don’t get me wrong – I love the movie Brave, and I love the work Pixar did to present Merida as someone who delights in the things her body can do, rather than the way she looks.

But the range between Merida’s body and face type, and that of the typical Disney princess, is pretty darn small. The top of my wish list for Disney princesses – even higher than my wish for a Jewish princess, already! – is that Disney, or Pixar, add a fat character to the princess line.

More reading:

Seriously, Disney, I’m Trying to Take a Little Break Here– MUST YOU? Peggy Orenstein points out that Merida’s makeover is actually part of what seems to be an ongoing project to make all the Disney princess characters more vapid than their movie versions.

Disney’s makeover of its Brave princess is cowardly | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett | Comment is free

The Problem with Merida’s Princess Makeover

So what’s with all those tiny pigs?

If you’ve met me at a comic book convention, you may have noticed the little herd of toy pigs decorating my table. I bought those when I was drawing the first Hereville book, to help me draw the pig character! I took hundreds of photos of those plastic pigs, from every angle and height, and used them as reference while drawing the comic.

You can see a pattern on the pig in the photo above. This was contributed by one of the two small girls I live with, at some point when I wasn’t in the room to stop them. :-p

I didn’t use the models during book 2, since the pig only appeared in one panel. But I still have the little herd of pigs, and when they’re not appearing at cons they stand in my drawing area, near a Peppermint Patty figure.

My Niece Makes Tin Foil People

When kids read my rather depressing and angst-ridden short comic “How To Make A Man Out Of Tin Foil,” they pretty much all react the same way: They make little tin foil people, just as my character Joel did in the comic! Which I think is kind of awesome.

This photo is of my wonderful niece Jemma Andersen. 🙂 And here are her tin foil superheroes:

Stumptown 2013 con report

So I decided that for once, I wouldn’t spend the whole con at my table, instead wandering around and looking at other folks comics and even attending panels now and then. It was neat. The best line I can recall from any panel is Dylan Meconis, in her spotlight panel, suggesting that “the Hero’s Journey” is the french fries of story structure.

Here I am at my table, in a photo taken by Joshin Yamada:

Yes, that is one of my favorite shirts. My one regret about this photo is that it doesn’t show my new sneakers, which are bright bright red.

(Edited to add: And actually, I wish I had put my left hand on my chin, so my pose would more closely echo the post of the character on the cover of “How To Make A Man Out Of Tin Foil.” Oh, well, next time.)

More Joshin pictures from Stumptown: Jake Richmond (colorist of Hereville, creator of Modest Medusa, looking as if he’s doing algebra in his head), Becky Hawkins (rockin’ the lace), Ben Hsu (giving the ever-reliable thumbs up. You can’t go wrong giving a thumbs up!), Jaymz Bernard (sporting a t-shirt that matches her arm tattoo), Diana Nock (I don’t have a snarky comment for Diana), and Taran Manley Lee (flanked by Taran’s frequent sidekicks Jenn Lee and Kip Manley).

I was sharing my table with Becky and with Diane Riffe, who was their with her very first mini-comic, an adorable all-ages tribute to Diane’s dog Luna. Alas, Diane didn’t happen to be there when Joshin came by, so as far as I know she escaped unphotographed.

More comments that make my day (Tumblr edition)

First, This Is Not Jewish wrote, about “Hereville”:

This is a real thing, guys…and a graphic novel to boot.

EDIT: Be still my heart, it has a sequel too! And he’s working on a third! *squee*

Then B’rakha replied:

I HAVE THIS BOOK

IT IS GLORIOUS

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE ON THE PLANET

And finally, 3gee – perhaps trying to counterbalance B’rakha’s all-caps by dispensing with caps altogether – wrote:

what i can’t get over is the fact that barry deutsch, the author, is a white liberal goy living in portland oregon, but he not only did his research, he fucking nailed what it means to observe shabbat in all its glory and frustration, and how you shape your life around prayer and halacha but that’s no big deal, that’s just what you do

her conflicts are with her parents, not her religion

amazing

amazing

I’m not a “goy” by standard American definitions – I’m not observant, but I am Jewish – but whatever, it’s still a great compliment!

Email of the day – Author Visit via Skype in a Georgia ELL classroom

I got this email last week (posted with permission, of course):

I am an ELL [English Language Learners] teacher at Freedom Middle School in DeKalb County, Georgia. My students are all refugees who just arrived this year. Most of them are from Nepal or Burma, but I also have students from Thailand, Russia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Eritrea. The languages spoken in my classroom include Tiringia, Amarhaic, Arabic, Karen, Thai, Russian, and Burmese. Depending on their home country and situation, their educational background varies greatly.

We are reading Hereville and they LOVE it! Since they are learning English for the first time, we spent the first part of the year reading children’s books. When we began reading your graphic novel, which is accessible and age appropriate, they were so excited. They whine and complain every day when we finish our lesson.

I was wondering if you would be willing to meet with my students for a Q&A session. They would prepare questions ahead of time to ask you, and then each of the 15 students would ask their questions. I think the students would really enjoy meeting the author of the book they are enjoying so much.

I am not able to pay you for the session as my school does not have extra funding, and our county is struggling as well this year. But I could send you my lessons that I’ve used to teach Hereville. You could include those on your website, and perhaps that would help encourage other teachers to use the books in their classroom.

Thank you!

Sara Lawson
ELL Teacher, Intensive English Program
Freedom Middle School
Stone Mountain, Georgia

Needless to say, I said yes (I always say yes to Skype visits for schools that don’t have funding for author visits). The visit is scheduled to take place tomorrow; I’m really looking forward to it. And I’m looking forward to posting Sara’s Hereville lesson plans sometime in the future.