MichaelDoran
10-30-2002, 05:12 PM
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/DaysLikeThis_Cover.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/DaysLikeThis_Cover_t.jpg" width="175" height="270" border="0" alt="DAYS LIKE THIS cover" align="right"></a>Co-written with Alex Segura Jr.
This March writer J. Torres (Sidekicks) and Oni Press, along with newcomer artist Scott Chantler, will help readers recall a bygone era and connect with the music of the sixties. Specifically, the era of the girl groups like the Shirelles and Supremes.
Torres sat down with Newsarama to talk about his upcoming new 80-page black & white original graphic novel Days Like This, which he hopes will connect with readers in the same way the creation of the project did with him.
Like many creative projects, Days Like This started out in a very different form. With a different name title and format…
"Days Like This started out with the working title ‘Girl Pop’, and it was also a three-issue mini-series at first," the writer recalled. "We changed format to a graphic novel and the title around the same time. Deciding on that title took quite a few months (and a lot of back and forth and brainstorming), but deciding to switch to the more economical and bookstore friendly graphic novel took a split second."
The project will be released in digest (6x9) size and retail for $8.95.
The book takes readers back to the sixties music scene, full of girl groups, the Brill Building and the birth of rock.
"The Brill Building is actually a block of music publishing houses in New York City where all sorts of legendary songwriters worked in the 50s and 60s. Historians say it's also where Tin Pan Alley met up with rock 'n' roll and changed popular music forever," Torres explained. "And where people like Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, and Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller literally wrote hundred and hundreds of hits I'm sure most people reading this can sing if not at least recognize if they heard them. Pick up any 50s or 60s compilation and you'll find a something written by a songwriter who worked at the Brill Building."
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg01.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg01_t.jpg" border="0" alt="DAYS LIKE THIS pg. 1" width="150" height="231" align="left"></a>Torres decided the best way to tell his story would be through the creation of a fictional girl group that could fit seamlessly into the period. Using them as a vehicle, he was able to clearly bring to light just how important some people or trends were then and now.
"Days Like This is the story of the Tiaras, a fictional girl group, that's sort of a composite of all the classic girl groups from the era,” he said. “I have a special place in my heart for the music of the Shirelles so the Tiaras may resemble them the most because of that. The Tiaras' manager, Anna Solomon, definitely resembles the Shirelles' manager, Florence Greenberg, who was a suburban housewife who decides to start up her own record company.
"These women, who were only teenagers at the time, along with the singers they wrote for, were true pioneers of pop music. I'm not sure where music would be today without their contributions, the risks they took (creatively and personally) as well the changes they made in the way things were done in the music industry and how women were regarded as artists and professionals."
Though not his intention when writing the book, Torres does note that Days Like This has a definite feminist appeal.
"Days Like This is sort of a snapshot of the era, a time when women started to become more and more involved in music making at every level, not just performance, and became movers and shakers in an industry dominated by men," Torres aid. "I didn't set out to write any kind of girl power parable, but as with a lot of what I write it ended up a coming of age story, the story of people trying to find their place in the world, and the story of families dealing with change."
The origins of the story can be traced back to Torres' childhood, and specifically his relationship with his father, which encompassed both music and comic books.
"I suppose the seeds for it were planted in my youth when my dad used to play all those Supremes records," said the creator. "I definitely inherited my love of music and comic books from my dad.
"And I had written comic stories with my siblings and my mom as models for characters, but had yet to put dad in one. But more than anything, I wanted to write something for him. Last summer, after reading some books and articles about the history of the Brill Building, the Shirelles and the 60s girl group era, I knew what that something had to be."
The work was very much a labor of love for Torres, who hoped to share the graphic novel with his father.
"I was going to surprise him with an announcement about the project and sample art from Scott last Christmas," Torres said. "But sadly he passed away before I had that opportunity."
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg02.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg02_t.jpg" border="0" alt="DAYS LIKE THIS pg. 2" width="150" height="231" align="right"></a>Torres hopes the book serves another purpose: To bring attention to more positive, diverse comic books that don't easily fall into categories like super heroes, science fiction and horror.
"But I've said that if I was told I could only write one more comic book for the rest of my life, this would have to be it," Torres said. "Now, I have my personal reasons for writing Days Like This but Oni obviously had their reasons for wanting to publish it. And I'm sure one of those reasons is to continue to put out diverse types of comics for different kinds of readers out there.
"We hear it all the time, industry types saying that we need to publish more material for non-comic readers, for the books readers out there who may not be into what we consider mainstream material in our world. We've heard the term ‘pop comics’ thrown around a lot lately, too. But from what I've seen, we're getting a lot of action-adventure material that reads like superhero comics without the masks and tights."
While non-super hero fare may find a readership outside the boxes and bins of the direct market, Torres thinks most people might just want to read comics that aren't all that fantastical.
"There are also readers out there who don't necessarily like dark sci-fi or angst-ridden autobio or crime fiction or horror or the usual genres people recommend when asked to suggest comics for non-comic fans," Torres said.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg23.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg23_t.jpg" border="0" alt="DAYS LIKE THIS pg. 23" width="150" height="231" align="left"></a>"We need more ‘feel good comics’ if you ask me. As much as I enjoy Optic Nerve, for example, I'd probably slit my wrists if it was published more than quarterly. Tomine's that skillful at making you empathize with his characters, bringing you down, leaving you feeling blue or empty or even depressed. I like it when a book can do that to you, but my girlfriend doesn't, nor does my brother, and neither do the wives of my comic geek friends."
Torres hopes Days Like This can provide readers with the same positive feelings girl groups like the Shirelles, Supremes and Ronnettes gave him when he'd listen to those records with his father, years ago.
"Days Like This is supposed to be a feel good comic," Torres concluded. "The type of thing that I like to think you could hand to a man in his 60s (like my dad) or a teenage girl and they'd both appreciate it."
This March writer J. Torres (Sidekicks) and Oni Press, along with newcomer artist Scott Chantler, will help readers recall a bygone era and connect with the music of the sixties. Specifically, the era of the girl groups like the Shirelles and Supremes.
Torres sat down with Newsarama to talk about his upcoming new 80-page black & white original graphic novel Days Like This, which he hopes will connect with readers in the same way the creation of the project did with him.
Like many creative projects, Days Like This started out in a very different form. With a different name title and format…
"Days Like This started out with the working title ‘Girl Pop’, and it was also a three-issue mini-series at first," the writer recalled. "We changed format to a graphic novel and the title around the same time. Deciding on that title took quite a few months (and a lot of back and forth and brainstorming), but deciding to switch to the more economical and bookstore friendly graphic novel took a split second."
The project will be released in digest (6x9) size and retail for $8.95.
The book takes readers back to the sixties music scene, full of girl groups, the Brill Building and the birth of rock.
"The Brill Building is actually a block of music publishing houses in New York City where all sorts of legendary songwriters worked in the 50s and 60s. Historians say it's also where Tin Pan Alley met up with rock 'n' roll and changed popular music forever," Torres explained. "And where people like Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, and Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller literally wrote hundred and hundreds of hits I'm sure most people reading this can sing if not at least recognize if they heard them. Pick up any 50s or 60s compilation and you'll find a something written by a songwriter who worked at the Brill Building."
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg01.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg01_t.jpg" border="0" alt="DAYS LIKE THIS pg. 1" width="150" height="231" align="left"></a>Torres decided the best way to tell his story would be through the creation of a fictional girl group that could fit seamlessly into the period. Using them as a vehicle, he was able to clearly bring to light just how important some people or trends were then and now.
"Days Like This is the story of the Tiaras, a fictional girl group, that's sort of a composite of all the classic girl groups from the era,” he said. “I have a special place in my heart for the music of the Shirelles so the Tiaras may resemble them the most because of that. The Tiaras' manager, Anna Solomon, definitely resembles the Shirelles' manager, Florence Greenberg, who was a suburban housewife who decides to start up her own record company.
"These women, who were only teenagers at the time, along with the singers they wrote for, were true pioneers of pop music. I'm not sure where music would be today without their contributions, the risks they took (creatively and personally) as well the changes they made in the way things were done in the music industry and how women were regarded as artists and professionals."
Though not his intention when writing the book, Torres does note that Days Like This has a definite feminist appeal.
"Days Like This is sort of a snapshot of the era, a time when women started to become more and more involved in music making at every level, not just performance, and became movers and shakers in an industry dominated by men," Torres aid. "I didn't set out to write any kind of girl power parable, but as with a lot of what I write it ended up a coming of age story, the story of people trying to find their place in the world, and the story of families dealing with change."
The origins of the story can be traced back to Torres' childhood, and specifically his relationship with his father, which encompassed both music and comic books.
"I suppose the seeds for it were planted in my youth when my dad used to play all those Supremes records," said the creator. "I definitely inherited my love of music and comic books from my dad.
"And I had written comic stories with my siblings and my mom as models for characters, but had yet to put dad in one. But more than anything, I wanted to write something for him. Last summer, after reading some books and articles about the history of the Brill Building, the Shirelles and the 60s girl group era, I knew what that something had to be."
The work was very much a labor of love for Torres, who hoped to share the graphic novel with his father.
"I was going to surprise him with an announcement about the project and sample art from Scott last Christmas," Torres said. "But sadly he passed away before I had that opportunity."
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg02.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg02_t.jpg" border="0" alt="DAYS LIKE THIS pg. 2" width="150" height="231" align="right"></a>Torres hopes the book serves another purpose: To bring attention to more positive, diverse comic books that don't easily fall into categories like super heroes, science fiction and horror.
"But I've said that if I was told I could only write one more comic book for the rest of my life, this would have to be it," Torres said. "Now, I have my personal reasons for writing Days Like This but Oni obviously had their reasons for wanting to publish it. And I'm sure one of those reasons is to continue to put out diverse types of comics for different kinds of readers out there.
"We hear it all the time, industry types saying that we need to publish more material for non-comic readers, for the books readers out there who may not be into what we consider mainstream material in our world. We've heard the term ‘pop comics’ thrown around a lot lately, too. But from what I've seen, we're getting a lot of action-adventure material that reads like superhero comics without the masks and tights."
While non-super hero fare may find a readership outside the boxes and bins of the direct market, Torres thinks most people might just want to read comics that aren't all that fantastical.
"There are also readers out there who don't necessarily like dark sci-fi or angst-ridden autobio or crime fiction or horror or the usual genres people recommend when asked to suggest comics for non-comic fans," Torres said.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg23.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Oni/GirlPop1_pg23_t.jpg" border="0" alt="DAYS LIKE THIS pg. 23" width="150" height="231" align="left"></a>"We need more ‘feel good comics’ if you ask me. As much as I enjoy Optic Nerve, for example, I'd probably slit my wrists if it was published more than quarterly. Tomine's that skillful at making you empathize with his characters, bringing you down, leaving you feeling blue or empty or even depressed. I like it when a book can do that to you, but my girlfriend doesn't, nor does my brother, and neither do the wives of my comic geek friends."
Torres hopes Days Like This can provide readers with the same positive feelings girl groups like the Shirelles, Supremes and Ronnettes gave him when he'd listen to those records with his father, years ago.
"Days Like This is supposed to be a feel good comic," Torres concluded. "The type of thing that I like to think you could hand to a man in his 60s (like my dad) or a teenage girl and they'd both appreciate it."