I feel like I’ve known JR for forever. We met him at comic book shops in Northern Virginia years ago. After the last shop he worked at went exclusively online we lost touch. THEN, we found him again at the various conventions we’ve all been frequenting in the area representing his own books. He’s got a wealth of comic book knowledge, and if you find him at a convention, say hi and buy his books. They’re especially perfect if you have children to gift them to.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
JRD: I honestly don’t remember, it was a while ago. I tend to not dwell on my childhood, but I do remember spending a lot of time alone in my room drawing, and listening to record albums of dramas that were either edits of radio plays or actual radio plays from decades earlier, or soundtracks. I also remember very early on how much Peanuts, Tom & Jerry, and Star Wars grabbed my attention, and I had a bunch of books that reproduced the scripts and storyboards from Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back. I do very clearly remember wanting to do “that,” meaning draw the pictures that became the movies.
What did you read last?
JRD: The first half of Tom King and Mitch Gerads’ MISTER MIRACLE. Tom has done a masterful job of taking the discussion of depression and weaving it into a superhero story. That Eisner Award was well deserved for this.
Tom King, Matt Fraction
Emily: I haven’t read Mister Miracle, but you talk about how it deals with depression, etc. I felt the Hawkeye series from 2012-2015 (Matt Fraction) touched on depression as well (though probably not to the same extent.) Granted, Hawkeye didn’t have supernatural super powers, so maybe it’s easier for him to be more human. Have you read Hawkeye? If so, how would you compare? I’m a bit reluctant to read Mister Miracle because everything is so dark right now. It’s the same reason I haven’t finished Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series.
JRD:I read most of Hawkeye—it’s one of those I really need to sit down with and re-read and finish. Matt is a fantastic writer, and he did bring in some of the main traits of depression with Clint, but the primary difference between Matt and Tom is how they interweave their own personality and experiences into their works. Matt is very satirical, and very much a smartass, in a very delightful way. That’s not a mask for his own emotional history, it’s one of his coping mechanisms. He’s that guy in the group that has a dark joke for every inappropriate situation that is both really funny and thought-provoking.
Tom, however, is very introspective. He will talk ad infinitum on a passion, like films, comics, his family, what have you. But with topics that are highly charged or sensitive, he becomes very quiet. He has opinions, but he holds them close. Ask him about The Thin Man films, and he’ll go on for almost as long as I will. Ask him about some recent tragedy, and he’ll quietly nod, and maybe give you a “yeah, yeah,” as he processes everything.
Because of all that, his storytelling is like a form of therapy. Difficult topics are a lot easier to deal with when you are telling a story with Superheroes. It’s the Roddenberry Complex. You can’t talk about racism on television in the 60s, so you create two aliens that look like checkerboards, and voila!
Both Matt and Tom have dealt with a bit of depression, which isn’t for me to discuss, but while it does come through in their works in various ways, MIRACLE is very much a treatise on depression, family, and getting help.
As for SANDMAN…technically I never read it, because the two or three times I tried, I simply could not get into it. It read too much like fantasy for me, which I just am not a fan of.
What are you currently reading?
JRD: Nothing at the moment—I am finishing up my next book. I cannot read anything new, or watch any new films or TV when I am actively writing a book, otherwise plot elements or dialogue seems to end up in my book. Not like my sneaking in a reference or line from, say, HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER into one of my spy books, but I will have to scrap whole sections because I find I have just rewritten the plot of something I just watched or read if it’s new to me. This is why I rewatch THE THIN MAN movies so much. I am so familiar with them that they become white noise when I work.
[Emily: I haven't seen The Thin Man, but I’ve heard of it. For some reason, I confused it with the Slender Man which is creepy and very different. Mark said he read the book after he read The Maltese Falcon, so we looked it up, and who knew there was so much Thin Man out there? We didn’t.]
What are you reading next?
JRD: I want to finish up MIRACLE, then tackle my “To Be Read” stack which is barely touched from the past four years. Most of that is comics, but it also includes a couple of novels by Fred Van Lente, your book, Uniting the Heavens, and a book I just picked up that is the original ballad of Mulan plus four translations of the epic from four different generations over the past thousand years.
Mulan
Emily: Oh my gosh, I’m so excited about Disney’s live action Mulan. What are your thoughts on the Mulan trailer Disney dropped recently? Or what Disney is doing in general with their animation-to-live-action works recently?
JRD: I am very excited for MULAN. My degree is in Asian History, with a specialty in the 16th thru 19th centuries. While I enjoyed the cartoon version Disney did a long time ago, I felt it was a disservice to the original Ballad of Mulan, the text written as far back as the 6th century. I am very excited to see this story told as a—well as much as Disney will do—real historical piece. It’s gotten me into arguments, though, as most of the folks I know are angry there’s no cartoon dragon. I’ve just gotten used to shutting up rather than try and explain 1500 years of history.
This will be the first “live action” remake I go see. My wife has one or two, but to me these are just silly remakes to mess with Disney’s trademark holdings. By doing these remakes, Disney now has a way to tie up the language of trademarks and copyrights to make sure none of their films enter the public domain. Some of the films I can’t even understand why they were made, like the new Lion King, which from what I have seen a shot-for-shot remake, down to the script. Just…why? Redo it with actors in costume like a stage version of Cats. Which is its own can of worms now thanks to that CGI-creepy trailer.
What are you binge-watching?
JRD: Star Trek. Again, nothing new. I would like to finish last year’s DC/CW shows, which I bailed on after the crossover. They were all getting silly, and I couldn’t keep focus. Plus, since we “cut the cord,” watching anything with a week break is getting more frustrating as I get older. I do also watch M*A*S*H, plus my usual crop of pre-1960s films. And youtube videos of Korean street food. That’s a rabbit hole I’m finding is impossible to get out of.
[Emily: We’re also WAY behind on our DC/CW shows. WAY behind. On YouTube, I’m currently watching gigantic jiggly cakes and any video from Li Ziqi.]
Do you write full time?
JRD: Technically, yeah. I’m unemployed thanks to a back injury, so I am technically a writer and stay-at-home-dad.
When do you write?
JRD: Well, my brain is always coming up with ideas, which I am sure you are familiar with, so I keep a traveler’s notebook with field notebooks on me pretty much always. But my “official” writing time is usually after dinner until I either run out of steam or I realize that noise I just heard was the birds waking up and oh geez is that the sun?
Which of your books should we read first?
JRD: While I write my books to by read in any order, MOO THOUSAND AND PUN is the first in the Shakes The Cow series of picture books, and BEAR FROM AUNT: THE HONEY DON’T CASE is the first in that series of chapter books.
What's your book about?
JRD: In MOO, Shakes becomes an astronaut and goes on a spacewalk, but she gets lost and has to find her way home. Each of my books in the Shakes series has an underlying message for kids, and in this one it’s to not panic if you get lost, and you can find your way home more easily. Probably not as easily as Shakes does, but, you get the idea.
HONEY DON’T CASE is about the world’s honeybees disappearing, and Stanley, a spy with the Animal United Network Taskforce, is assigned to find out why. I wish the real problem of a shrinking honeybee population were as easy to solve, but it seemed a reasonable problem for my first book, one kids could read about if they wanted.
What genre is it?
JRD: Both are children’s books – the Shakes books are picture books for ages, well really it’s as early as you start reading to your child. The Bear From AUNT books are chapter books ideally suited for ages 7 to 12.
What have you read from middle school or high school that just stuck with you?
JRD: Probably…AMONG FRIENDS by Letty Cottin Pogrebin, one of the founders of Ms. [magazine]. It’s a treatise on friendship, and was about 30 years ahead of its time given the ways in which social media has dominated the notion of friendship. (I never really read much fiction. One work that did stick but for the wrong reasons was Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, but mostly because it was written in and because of a migraine induced haze. I suffer from migraines as Carroll did, so it was more poignant for me.)
Which paladin do you identify with?
JRD: Something tells me “Richard Boone” is not the right answer here.
Emily: I love the answers I get with this one. I had to Google Richard Boone.
Which pony do you identify with?
JRD: Uh… Heh. See, I have a couple of friends who write the comics, so I *should* have an answer for you, and yet…
Emily: Wait, what? You have friends who write the comics?!
JRD: I do! Rob Anderson wrote a few issues several years back, before his creator owned book REX ZOMBIE KILLER came out, about a dog leading a group of pets trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. Rob was also a regular at the comic shop I managed. I have also chatted a few times with Katie Cook, probably best known for her Star Wars board books and the web comic GRONK. The other friend is Thom Zahler, who now has a web comic on WebToons called Cupid’s Arrows, but I think he’s still best known for the old comic RomCom, LOVE AND CAPES. I’ve known Thom for a long time, and he is both a friend and mentor—he helped me get Shakes off the ground. Literally and figuratively.
Which Hogwarts House are you in?
JRD: I…could never get into HP. Or fantasy in general, for that matter. I love the art, but the stories never grabbed me at all. I tried a few times, both with films and books, but it just never takes. That probably makes me one of the snake ones.
Emily: Haha…you probably shouldn’t read my book…
What's the last movie you watched?
JRD: SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN. Again. But if you mean “new” film, it was SPIDER-MAN FAR FROM HOME.
Emily: We still haven’t seen the latest Spider-man. Sigh.
What's your karaoke song go to?
JRD: I am under orders from the ASPCA to not sing.
Who's your Doctor?
JRD: Dr Singh, over at Inova. Oh! Wait. You mean my Doctor Doctor. Any of the first four. But Hartnell and Troughton are my go-to Doctors.
Emily: I am also super amused by the Doctor answers.
Preferred game class?
JRD: Pong. I’m old.
Finally…which of your characters (and from what book) should I interview?
JRD: Either Shakes or Stanley. You could also interview Percie, Shakes’ best friend who is also an AUNT agent, but she’s a bit of a smartass.
Emily: I’m so excited to meet all three of them!
Interview with Shakes (the Cow)
I’m hanging out at Grand Punwick. I’m about to talk to a cow. She hands me a gift of…
Emily: What is this?
Shakes: It’s some homemade cheese. The milk is…very fresh.
[I ponder how long this cheese will last without proper refrigeration.]
Emily: Where are you from? Do you currently live there?
Shakes: I am from Grand Punwick, barn and raised.
Emily: How old are you?
Shakes: A lady never talks about such things. Old enough.
[I truly can’t tell. I’ve never aged a cow before, and I try not to stare at the udders.]
Emily: Describe your average day.
Shakes: Oh, it all depends, really. I just finished my medical training, so I have a few patients I see—I don’t have an office, I only do house calls. Insurance has made medicine a for-profit industry, which I think stinks. So, I go help families who can’t afford regular health care. When I have the days off, Percie and I usually go exploring.
[I realize now that I have underestimated this cow.]
Emily: What’s your goal in life?
Shakes: Have fun, help people. Stay hydrated.
Emily: What irritates you?
Shakes: Burlap. It chafes me so. But I also cannot stand bigotry and hatred. And, I don’t mean something like, “I hate that movie,” or “I hate that food.” I mean the kind of hatred that causes someone to even consider harming another creature.
Emily: I’m totally with you. On the burlaps, bigotry, and hatred. So what brings a smile to your face?
Shakes: A good pun. A really nice mug of coffee or tea. Being with friends.
Emily: What’s more important: wealth or fame? Or something else?
Shakes: Neither. Again, friends who you can relax with. Those two or three people you can be with and not worry about anything. Not even passing gas.
[I can’t help but snicker at gas jokes. I’m that mature.]
Emily: Are you a sappy romantic or a sensible companion?
Shakes: I can be sappy, but I would like to think I am more sensible.
Emily: Tell me about your best friend.
Shakes: Percie is a nut, but I love her. She is sarcastic, bold, brash, and cares just as much as I do about others. She just won’t admit it.
[I make a note to meet this Percie.]
Emily: Any secrets you want to share?
Shakes: A pinch of salt in coffee grounds before brewing cuts the acid, and a squirt of chocolate syrup instead of sugar is much better in the brewed cup.
[I make another note to try this. I will let you all know how it goes.]
Interview with Stanley, the Bear from AUNT
My next interview is with Stanley…a marsupial? A Koala bear? I want to squeal that he’s so cute, but he seems more the serious type of koala bear. He’s got a gift for me, too. It looks…crisp.
Emily: What is this gift?
Stanley: These are burnt ends, one of the most popular items on the menu at Uncle Machine’s. It’s the restaurant that serves as the cover for AUNT. Oh, I should warn you now, most of this interview will have to be either struck from the record, or redacted. Security, you understand.
[I suddenly feel as though I should be wearing sunglasses and carrying some kind of…gadgets.]
Emily: Where are you from? Do you currently live there?
Stanley: I live in Grand Punwick, have most of my life. It’s a little country in the hills. It’s nice, and even though it’s the home to the world’s most elite spy agency, it’s quite the idyllic place.
[I wonder if I”m going to get my memory erased after this…]
Emily: How old are you?
Stanley: Not quite middle-age. Although my knees say otherwise.
Emily: I bet my knees are older than your knees. So what’s an average day for a koala—I mean, agent of your standing?
Stanley: Oh, I get up, read the paper with my usual two cups of coffee and some eucalyptus jam toast. I work out a bit, then see what’s going on. If we have an active case, we continue from where we left off. If we haven’t any cases to assign, we usually train, or just relax. Sometimes I work with my team on new strategies or even help Cue—that’s our tech-lady extraordinaire—coming up with ideas for new gadgets.
[Gadgets! I knew it! I need gadgets!]
Emily: What’s your goal in life?
Stanley: Making the world safer. For everyone.
[This is a very serious koala bear.]
Emily: What irritates you?
Stanley: People who think they are better than anyone else for the most arbitrary of reasons. Any reason, really. We are all citizens of the world. Children of Mother Nature. Why act otherwise?
Emily: Here here! Peace on earth! I imagine that’s what brings a smile to your face?
Stanley: Yes, when people treat each other with kindness. Oh—and chocolate.
[Eucalyptus jam and chocolate…interesting.]
Emily: What’s more important: wealth or fame? Or something else?
Stanley: The smile on a child’s face.
Emily: So very noble. And are you a sappy romantic or a sensible companion?
Stanley: Sensible. Kind of need to be in this job.
Emily: Yes, of course. That explains the serious demeanor as well. But even someone as serious as you must have a softer side. Tell me about your best friend.
Stanley: I have a couple. Percie, Marco… But I have a special fondness for Tyler. He’s now an agent, but he was part of my support team for a while. A good kid, smart, young, eager. Can be silly. He went through a lot recently, but came out of it all much stronger, and a much better individual for it. Plus, now that he’s a butterfly, he can fly, which is cool.
Emily: Oooh, I love butterflies. That must’ve been quite the experience. Any secrets you want to share? Unofficially, of course.
Stanley: Right, nothing official, sorry. But, I can tell you that the hush puppies at Machine’s are even better if you ask for them to be “double dunked.”
[I wonder if I should asked what they would be double dunked in, but while I ponder that, he disappears to take care of a case.]
Interview with Percie, AUNT Agent
My next interview is with Percie who happens to be a penguin. She also hands me an edible gift. I love edible gifts. I look in the little brown bag and take a whiff. It smells tasty. I was expecting sardines.
Emily: Are these—?
Percie: I made cookies, but it’s white chocolate. We were out of milk.
[I’m confused about the milk comment.]
Emily: So where are you from?
Percie: I guess my being a penguin wasn’t obvious? Technically I’m from the ocean, but I live in Grand Punwick now. I share a place with my friend Shakes.
[I contemplate asking about the climate control conversations that occur between a cow and a penguin, but decide against it.]
Emily: How old are you?
Percie: Old enough to know not to answer that. But if it helps, I’ve already moulted.
[I am unaware of the molting phase of penguins, so I look it up and find this, and now it is difficult to keep from giggling. I have a whole new respect for penguins.]
Emily: Describe your average day.
Percie: Oh, let’s see. Breakfast. Nap. Lunch. Read or watch a movie. Make dinner. More books or films, then bed. That’s if there is absolutely nothing going on. If I’m with Shakes, it totally depends on whatever crazy idea she wants to try next. If it’s during the racing season, then we’re usually doing lots of strategy meetings with mechanics and drivers, or traveling to the next racing venue in between actual race weekends. If I’m with AUNT, my day is completely dictated by whatever case we have.
Emily: Your answer started off as the perfect life, but then it turned into crazy ideas, meetings, racing, and case solving. So what’s your goal in life?
Percie: To nap more.
[High five. High flipper.]
Emily: What irritates you?
Percie: Napping less. And bullies.
[More high fives. More high flippers.]
Emily: Aside from naps, what brings a smile to your face?
Percie: A really good chicken fried steak. Extra gravy. Sausage gravy, mind you. None of that cheap sawmill stuff.
Emily: Okay, now I’m really hungry. Take my mind off the chicken friend steak. What’s more important: wealth or fame? Or something else?
Percie: Money is nice, but peace and quiet is better, especially with friends.
Emily: So I bet you’re a sensible companion as opposed to a sappy romantic.
Percie: Neither. I prefer being my charmingly acerbic self.
Emily: What about your best friend? Shakes?
Percie: Shakes is the sensible one—at times. Where she gets this adventurous streak, or intense curiosity from I don’t know. Not that being curious is bad, but on occasion she takes it too far. Ask her about the jungle someday. She’s a good friend, though.
[Hm…I wish I had spoken to Percie first. I would have asked Shakes about the jungle.]
Emily: Any secrets you want to share with my readers?
Percie: Contrary to popular belief, not all penguins like pickled herring. Most of us prefer breakfast sandwiches with runny yolks.
Ok, now I’m really hungry. I think I’m going to get some chicken fried steak with gravy, some pickled herring and rice, and a breakfast sandwich with runny yolk. Goodness…yum.
For more information on J. Robert Deans and his books, check out the links below:
Twitter / Instagram: @jrobertdeans
Facebook: facebook.com/JRDcartoonist
Web: grandpunwick.com or jrobertdeans.com
Goodreads: J_Robert_Deans