Last week, WildStorm released what is, in my humble opinion, one of the definitive works in comics in the last two decades. You can read our review of A God Somewhere, but in short, one week after reading it and the questions it raises still linger in my brain. I'll be bold and say that this is the Watchmen of this generation; an absolute must-read original graphic novel and a surefire contender for every award in the industry.
Luckily, we got the chance to speak with writer John Arcudi and artist Peter Snejbjerg about the blood, sweat and tears that went into the making of A God Somewhere, and they discuss some of the concepts and ideas behind the book.
CraveOnline: First and foremost, John, what's A God Somewhere all about? How did the project come into existence, and what made you want to tackle the superhero archetype in this way?
John Arcudi: That's not a short answer, but I'll try to abbreviate it. It started years ago when I thought to myself that I wanted to tell a story about brotherhood and friendship. I was also reading a lot at the time, all kinds of subjects; religion, science, biographies, everything, and I came across this one book The Starship and the Canoe by Kenneth Brower. That book got me thinking about the way we - all of us - seem to value destructive power more than we do constructive power. At least it appears that way sometimes, so then the story became about that, too. As it developed, it became about more and more things until one day it seemed to gel into what it is today.
The superhero component more or less came last in that process. It was only later that I realized that's where it really had been going all along, that this was the "genre" where I could say the most about all these themes, and it's a genre that I could say most about with these themes - if that makes any sense.
CraveOnline: That makes total sense, and it worked great. Peter, how did your involvement come about?
Peter Snejbjerg: Well, when the call came, the script was almost done, as I recall, so I had a rare chance to read it almost to the end before starting. The level of sophistication was really impressive, not to mention a little scary. I could tell at once that it wouldn't be an easy job, but we had plenty of time and I thought it was a great opportunity to do a real meaty, book length story, so I jumped.
CraveOnline: John, you've worked on tons of various properties all across the board - Aliens, Terminator, BPRD, the JLA, the list goes on. How do you approach something of your own creation like A God Somewhere? Is it more gratifying or freeing?
John Arcudi: It's very liberating and incredibly gratifying. Working within parameters has its advantages because there are more problems to solve - which is to say, more opportunities to be creative, more obstacles to imaginatively navigate. You get a lot of great work that way in film and in comics. But I feel as if I really work best on something that I initiate - that I co-create. No other distractions, no tie-ins, or whatever. I can just concentrate on telling a story, which is all I ever wanted to do.
That also means, at least in this case, that I can write the story the way I feel is best - and I would hope Peter felt the same way about his approach to the art. We weren't worried about explaining/depicting every little detail of what the story is supposed to be about. The last thing I wanted was for this story to be didactic, to tell readers what to think about everything. I wanted to introduce questions and let the reader come up with his/her own conclusions, get `em thinking. That said, I worried if people would believe what we were putting together was too open to interpretation, but thankfully most reviews suggest that we succeeded at telling a good story. So when that happens, very gratifying.
Of course, this dynamic creates its own pressures. There's nobody there to help when you do encounter problems, no one to blame when you fail, which is never fun. I always sleep less well when working on a book like A God Somewhere, but still, I love it.
CraveOnline: I'll be honest, A God Somewhere completely floored me and shattered my expectations; it's a very powerful story. While it's been advertised as a "superhero" story, it's really so much more, and could have easily been scooped up by any number of publishers. How did it end up at WildStorm?
John Arcudi: It started at DC Comics first, but where exactly to place this sort of project within DC's publishing line became a problem. Certainly not DCU, so we all discussed where it would best fit and WildStorm seemed the right choice. I was initially skeptical because I knew so little about what WildStorm was publishing but it all worked out great, obviously.
CraveOnline: Peter, your work here is incredibly diverse in that one panel could be an expressive dialog scene between a husband and wife, and the next is an utterly destructive, two-page splash with blood, guts and bones everywhere. What is it about that dichotomy that you found interesting? Did you have to adjust your usual process at all for A God Somewhere?
Peter Snejbjerg: Well, as I said, I knew from the start this wasn't going to be an easy one, partly because of the range of it in terms of subject matter, but also because it's really a story that leaves a lot of things unsaid. And I had to try and hit just the right notes, supporting and enhancing John's ideas without overdoing it and making anything too obvious. And then, as you say, the sudden gear shifts, when overdoing anything wasn't an issue at all. A bit of a tight rope walk, and I did consciously try to adapt a style that I thought might be appropriate for all of it.
CraveOnline: The object of the story, Eric, goes through a sweeping character arc within the pages of this book. How do you manage something like that within the confines of a graphic novel, pacing wise, without it feeling sudden or rushed?
Peter Snejbjerg: Well, when you're working on it, drawing 200 pages... I can tell you, it looks a lot bigger, seen from that angle than when you're breezing through it, flipping the pages! But yes, there's a lot of story in there, and I think it's a great compliment to John's skills that it never feels compressed. Everything happens naturally, and there's room for those tiny little human things that make the characters so real. Very impressive stuff.
John Arcudi: Actually, it was exactly this format that I felt allowed us to take our time in the development. In a monthly book usually a writer has to get right to it, get things going ASAP because even in a long arc the reader has to wait a month before he/she gets the next chapter. Not the case here, and my feeling is the best stories do take their time to unfold. Draw the reader in quickly, yes, but then develop all the characters, all the themes, seed the story, and then you really have something. Of course, you always ask yourself what you could have done if you had more room, but if I know me, I'd be saying that if the book were a thousand pages.
CraveOnline: In the back of the book, there's a sketch gallery that includes one of Peter's sketches for a cover. It's also broken down into chapters. Was this originally conceived as a monthly mini-series as opposed to a complete OGN?
John Arcudi: When it started at DC it also started as a miniseries, so that's what the chapter breaks are all about. Ultimately, when we made the shift to WildStorm, we also decided that presenting it as a graphic novel made the most sense. We reasoned that as a series it might get lost in the monthly grind, and it was much more of a unified narrative by the time we got to the end of writing/drawing/coloring it, so we agreed to put it out all at once in graphic novel form. Still, there were some points where the transitions from what had previously been the end of one issue to the beginning of the next were just too abrupt. The breaks, ironically enough, were what we all felt was necessary to help keep the story cohesive.
CraveOnline: Peter, is there a different approach to your work when you are going issue-to-issue as opposed to a complete 200 pages all at once?
Peter Snejbjerg: Well, I think it helped me maintain a kind of mental stability, to know that the whole thing was divided up into segments. But no, since the script was all there, it didn't make much difference. Of course, from a purely artistic viewpoint, I'm really happy it ended up as one big lovely package.
CraveOnline: Is there anything else you'd like to add about A God Somewhere that we may not have covered?
John Arcudi: Getting Peter and colorist Bjarne Hansen on this book made it what it is and Bjarne really deserves more than just a mention here. He killed, and I can't say enough about the impact he had on the book. It was funny; while we were producing the book Peter's inks would come in and my jaw would drop. I thought "These are perfect! Just perfect!" A few weeks later, Bjarne's colors would come in and I would fall off my chair. He and Peter work together so perfectly. Few other colorists could add so much to Peter's work the way Bjarne does. He's one of the very best.
Peter Snejbjerg: Bjarne is a bona fide genius, and I love his work here, it's indispensable. Overall, I think this book is just an amazing thing, and I can't believe we pulled it off.
CraveOnline: What's next for you guys?
John Arcudi: I've got plans to do another graphic novel with Peter and Bjarne. It's just a matter of if they have the time (and they'd better!)
Peter Snejbjerg: There a little matter of a French album first, written by Jerry Frissen, but I hope we get a chance to put this team back together soon!
CraveOnline: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk guys, we really appreciate it. Best of luck on the book's success!
