THE CURRENT IMAGE: KYLE BAKER ON LIFE AT IMAGE

[MattBrady]

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

Kyle Baker is not just another ordinary name in the comic book industry.

With 20 illustrious years in the industry, his name has appeared in such critically-acclaimed books as You Are Here, Why I Hate Saturn, The Cowboy Wally Show, King David, I Die At Midnight, Undercover Genie, Plastic Man, Nat Turner, Cartoonists, The Bakers, Birth of A Nation, and Captain America: Truth.

Outside of the industry, he has written and directed Looney Tunes for Warner Brothers Animation, written the Looney Tunes Back In Action feature film, done pre-production character design on Shrek, and is now developing animated and live-action versions of The Bakers.

Late last year, it was officially announced that Baker would join the Berkeley, CA, indie comics publisher Image Comics. The first original Baker title, Nat Turner Book 2: Revolution was released in February, and July will see the publication of the newest installment of Baker’s popular series, The Bakers, loosely based on his own household entitled The Bakers: Babies And Kittens.

We caught up with the outrageously talented Eisner- and Harvey Award-winning writer, illustrator and animator about family, comics and family in comics.

Newsarama: There've been The New Baker, two volumes of Kyle Baker: Cartoonist, The Bakers, and The Bakers Meet Paul Dini's Jingle Belle, correct?

Kyle Baker: Correct.

NRAMA: Except for The Bakers Meet Paul Dini's Jingle Belle which was published by Dark Horse, all the others came out through your self-publishing arm, Kyle Baker Publishing. What went into your decision to publish through Image Comics?

KB: The publishing was taking time away from the drawing. As it is, my wife and I can barely keep up with the orders that pour in daily for the four books we publish ourselves. That’s a good thing, except my living room looks like UPS now (kids love bubble wrap). My main impetus for self-publishing had always been control over format and content. I felt that my work needed bigger art, less text and a 6x9 size. And better pricing. My books look a lot better now, and cost less. The fact that the format is successful now gives me more clout with publishers regarding those choices.



Nat Turner was an ambitious book for which I had specific goals, and so I decided that I would take as long as necessary to get it right, which turned out to be about two years. The first two issues were supposed to be 24 pages and ended up being 32 pages long. You can only get away with that sort of behavior if you’re the boss, or if you’re signing the checks. I’ve been talking to [Publisher] Erik Larsen for years about doing books with Image, and since they’ve recently expanded beyond just super-hero/Sci-Fi stuff, I felt that the time was finally right. Image also lets me retain as much creative control as I want, so I can maintain the higher level of quality I’ve established.

NRAMA: Such semi-autobiographical works as Tom Beland's True Story, Swear To God, Gene Yang's American Born Chinese, Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, and others are getting the mainstream readers' attention and are winning awards and gaining recognition from various quarters in the trade book publishing market and beyond. What do you hope to achieve with The Bakers?

KB: Many of my favorite comic strips are based on the creator’s life, like For Better Or For Worse and Dennis The Menace. Likewise, my favorite comedian is Bill Cosby, who told funny stories about his kids, which inspired his TV show. Stories about families are instantly relatable, because everyone has a family. As for what I hope to achieve with The Bakers, see any of the examples listed above.

NRAMA: In your opinion, why does a semi-autobiographical graphic novel have such a mainstream appeal in this day and age?

KB: The most enjoyable aspect of family entertainment is that you can share it with your family. I’m always trying to think of things I can do with my kids. Every fan of The Bakers that I meet tells me that it’s read by everyone in the household. How many books can you say that about?

NRAMA: Okay, let's meet The Bakers. Now, they're basically your family. And the readers are actually reading the adventures (and misadventures) that you and your loved ones had gone through in various stages of your individual and collective lives. How and why would the reader relate to The Bakers?

KB: It’s funny to see that everyone’s home is just like yours. I’m always surprised at which gags are most popular. It’s often the gags which I think might be too small or mundane to have much appeal. There’s a story I did about a kid’s balloon getting stuck on a high ceiling, out of reach, and Mom’s struggles to climb up and get the thing. People always tell me they love that story, and I never thought it was the best gag in the book. But it’s a universal situation, and everybody gets it, so it’s funny. Folks also like “Master Ike’s Toddler Self-Defense”, which illustrates fighting techniques like arching your back to stay out of a car seat. People laugh because they recognize the situation. The arched back is the ultimate unbeatable kung-fu move in car seat avoidance.



NRAMA: What makes The Bakers not another Peanuts, The Cosby Show or The Simpsons?

KB: The Bakers was created in this century. That’s more important than it sounds. You won’t be seeing the Dad vs. Hip-Hop episode of The Bakers. Also, The Bakers is mostly true. For example, the new book, Babies and Kittens is about how my family adopted two cats against my wishes and hid them from me in our home. True stories are always weirder than anything you can make up. Another unique aspect of The Bakers is how amped-up the Cute Factor is. I would definitely say I’m doing the cutest cartoons in the world right now.

NRAMA: What's the comic book versions of Daddy, Mommy (Elizabeth Glass) and the Baker kids, Lilian, Isaac and Jackie, like in the comics?

KB: I never thought of that. That’s interesting. Usually when I draw Dad at work, he’s working on some really hacky-looking corporate type cartoon. He also works on a bad kiddie cartoon called Precious Pixies, which is his daughters’ favorite show. It’s like a bad Smurfs meets Strawberry Shortcake ripoff, but lamer.

NRAMA: There's also the extended family members such as Eleanor (Kyle's mom) and Cheryl (Kyle's sister). Who else is there?

KB: There are two new cats, named Rosie and Daisy. Dad calls them Ugly and Stupid. There’s also a mouse, which is why we got the cats. You’d see more of my relatives if I had funnier relatives.

NRAMA: So, moving into specifics, July sees the release of Babies and Kittens and it promises an "all-out war between the jealous baby and the fuzzy kitten, and no Baker is safe!" As a kid, did you have any experience with a pet of your own?

KB: I’ve had turtles and a boa constrictor. And I bred mice. To feed the boa.

NRAMA: The circle of life, learned early. What's it like to be going through the whole process, this time with your children and the family pet? What're you most proud of when reliving this moment in your life?

KB: I’m quite proud of the fact that I haven’t run away from home.

That’s a joke.

Our family life is pleasant and serene. Comedy, however, requires conflict to entertain. So I observe and record rare incidents of conflict. It’s fun watching children maul a pet because the pets don’t mind. If I treated my cats the way my kids do, the cats would scream and shred me. The big reason that I wanted to do the story is that the only thing cuter than babies is babies with kittens. Just thinking about babies and kittens makes me smile.

NRAMA: How do you decide on what moments in your family's life to tell in the books? Does the whole family sit down and discuss ideas? Or do you decide on one specific moment and then create the strips for everyone's enjoyment at the end of the day?

KB: Well, not too much happens in our home that’s particularly interesting, let alone funny. If something funny occurs, I sketch it. The gag also needs to be fresh, something I haven’t seen a million times before. Like I never do the “kid mispronounces something cutely” gags, because see that everywhere from Rugrats to Dennis The Menace. I like a gag to be in character, something only that character would do in that way. One of my favorite stories was the time I actually lost a debate against a four-year old Lillian. I was trying to convince her that goblins and monsters were imaginary, like hobbits or fairies, to which she replied, “The tooth fairy’s real.” And that was the end of that. She beat me.

NRAMA: Will you be touching on conventions, fans and super-heroes in The Bakers sometime soon?

KB: A future story has the Baker family car breaking down on the way to a convention. Desperately late, we hitch a ride with a group of people dressed like space aliens, assuming that they are going to the con. They turn out to be real aliens, who take us to their galaxy. Everyone except Dad figures it out. Dad’s doing sketches for the aliens, while his son Ike saves the universe. This really happened, dude.

NRAMA: Speaking of Lillian, she debuted her book, The Dumb People Convention, and other mini-comics in this year's NYCC. How did that go?

KB: She made a fortune. She had a Fairly Odd Parents purse filled with cash. Again, it goes back to the relatability thing. Kids respond to kids. Lillian was inspired to draw by seeing Alexa Kitchen’s (also a kid) cartoons online.

NRAMA: What else can we expect from the real-life Bakers in the coming months?

KB: We’re buying a van. We’ve outgrown the car.

NRAMA: Any plans for The Bakers to meet up/crossover with other creations/characters?

KB: I plan to do a year-long miniseries which interconnects the storylines of every cartoon character I’ve ever created, from Cowboy Wally to Nat Turner, weaving my output of the last 20 years into a single cohesive universe which will become very dark, realistic and depressing as I kill off the less popular characters I don’t use any more. I’ll also kill off one of the more popular characters for a year, then bring him or her back to life in a different costume.

NRAMA: Again, a joke?

KB: You hope.

NRAMA: I understand that there is an animated version of The Bakers in development. Can you give us an update on the production end of things?

KB: They’re already in action on my website, kylebaker.com. I’ve been doing a series of shorts through my animation studio. I’m also developing a live-action Bakers TV show. It’s in very early stages right now. Actors will play us.

NRAMA: In interviews, you'd named Picasso, Ronald Searle, Jack Davis, Peter Arno, Sergio Aragones, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, Charles Addams, Victor Moscoso, and Gahan Wilson as being the artistic influences on you and your work. And after having worked with Aaron McGruder and Reginald Hudlin on Birth of a Nation, and Robert Morales on Truth: Red, White & Black, who else do you hope to work with, and why?

KB: I need more animators. And musicians. I’m currently producing a King David feature, in addition to regular episodes of The Bakers and Quality Jollity, and so I’m currently expanding the production crew.

NRAMA: At this point in your career, are there other company-owned characters you’d like to work with, or are you looking just to work with your own characters now?

KB: I prefer working on my own characters, actually. After over 20 years in the business, I’ve drawn all of the major Marvel and DC characters by now, and I still work for both companies regularly. Just this week, I did a Spirit story and some Batman Movie Licensing art. I enjoyed doing a Tales From The Crypt cover for Papercutz Publishing.

NRAMA: What else is there?

KB: I did a Scholastic Goosebumps story, which will be out soon. I also did a book for Watson-Guptill, called How To Draw Stupid, which comes out next year. The Image books will keep me busy for a while.

[nascarbob43]

Kyle Baker never ceases to amaze me. Always growing as an artist. I really thought that the DC Shadow (One of my many ALL TIME FAVES!!) series would drop off the map after Bill Sienkiewicz left, but it only got better with Kyle on board. It still pisses me off that DC shut it down. He and Andy Helfer rocked that book. KUDOS to KYLE!

[bcondray]

looks great!

I still miss Plastic Man.

[pete_woods]

Kyle Baker is one of the greaest living geniuses this industry has. The Bakers is hilarious, his work on Plastic Man was inspired (and how many people in this day and age can write, draw, color, and letter a monthly book?) If you want a really great read pick up "You Are Here" from Vertigo, it's on my top ten list for best comics ever printed.

[OM]

...You know, there's two questions everyone keeps forgetting to ask Kyle when they interview him:

1) How did Rock'em Sock'em Robots end?

2) Why does his self-caricature have a dead spider on top of his head?

[Syzlak]

Originally Posted by bcondray

looks great!

I still miss Plastic Man.

I agree. I miss Kyle's Plastic Man so much. I remember a week when I picked up issues of Plas, the Goon, and Shoalin Cowboy all at the same time. Such funny stuff! Where have all the funny-books gone? It is so rare for the printed page to make me literally laugh out loud. I really do miss it.

[Johnny Bacardi]

KB: I plan to do a year-long miniseries which interconnects the storylines of every cartoon character I’ve ever created, from Cowboy Wally to Nat Turner, weaving my output of the last 20 years into a single cohesive universe which will become very dark, realistic and depressing as I kill off the less popular characters I don’t use any more. I’ll also kill off one of the more popular characters for a year, then bring him or her back to life in a different costume.



I'd buy that! Hell, I'd buy two copies...