Veteran illustrator Gus Gordon, a resident of Brisbane, Australia, makes his solo graphic novel debut with the middle grade comic Into the Bewilderness. Guitar-playing, song-singing brown bear Luis and his grumpy, bespectacled best pal Pablo, a mole, share a love for adventures both big and small. When Luis wins two tickets to attend a play in the Big City, the besties leave their idyllic forest behind on their journey toward the sprawling metropolis. Along the way, silly mishaps test the chums’ friendship, but they’re always able to smooth over any conflict: sometimes with a song, and sometimes with a moment of quiet contemplation. Gordon spoke with PW about his love of contrasts, diversifying his work, and the changes he’s experienced over his 30-year career.
What compelled you to create your own graphic novel?
I had been playing around with these characters for about five or six years. They didn’t have names back then, but I knew what their personalities were like, and I had all these adventures I wanted them to go on, so I did what I normally do: I tried to squeeze their story into a 32-page picture book format. But I just couldn’t seem to do it. And then my agent, Charlie Olsen, who’s a big graphic novel fan, said he could see that there was potential for a longer format story with these two characters. He said, “Gus, have you thought about a graphic novel?” And I hadn’t.
I must admit, I was a bit scared, because making a graphic novel is such a big undertaking. But once I got my head around it, I decided to write a first chapter and see where that went. Everything just kind of fell into place from there.
How did developing this project differ from your previous endeavors?
It was different in a lot of ways. The graphic novel format is really versatile: as long as the story is progressing, it doesn’t really matter how you tell it. For instance, you can tell the story in lots of little panels where the characters could be having an argument, and then, like a picture book, you can open it up and allow the story to breathe.
I started out as a cartoonist 30 years ago, and I used to do panel stuff, so I understood the beats and rhythms of telling stories in this way. What was really different was the script writing aspect. I had no idea how to do that until I started working with my editor, Kait Feldmann. A script is like a screenplay-type outline of the whole story that includes everything that the characters say, sound effects, what’s on the left page, on the right page, every little detail, even art notes. That was quite challenging.
Luis and Pablo have somewhat of an Odd Couple vibe. What did you want to convey by portraying them as such?
I love contrasts in storytelling, and not just visually, because obviously Luis is a big bear, and Pablo is a little mole. So I decided to have their personalities be just as contrasting as their sizes. On one hand, you’ve got Luis, who’s very childlike and naive and curious, whereas Pablo is kind of cynical and cantankerous and pragmatic. And because they were completely, continuously at odds with each other, it allowed me to write a lot of interesting banter about the world. It’s much easier to write dialogue for characters when they are so different, because they set each other off.
Speaking of contrasts, how did you arrive at the idea to have two best buds leave their cozy forest home to venture into the Big City?
I’ve always been fascinated by stories set in the woods or a forest. Stories like “Hansel and Gretel” and The Wind in the Willows have always been favorites of mine. The woods have an eerie, unknowing quality that’s appealing to me.
I needed a setting where the characters were sort of isolated or cut off from the rest of the world and they don’t really have to go anywhere else because everything they need is there, in this vast wilderness. Their community in the woods is a microcosm of our own human lives, whether it’s in a city or the country. So the idea became that something would make them look outside their world and want to go explore.
It really is quite intriguing, the idea that leaving home is scary. That became the premise of the story: getting out of your comfort zone, but also recognizing the value of home.
How has the children’s book landscape changed for you over your career?
I’ve somehow hung in there. I think the key to sticking it out is being able to diversify. That’s why I think it was a good next step for me to do a graphic novel. It just happens to be that graphic novels are doing quite well at the moment, and stepping into this new project felt very organic. I think it’s about time that graphic novels had their moment in the sun.
It is definitely harder to get into publishing now. There are so many people who want to write books, and there are so many people who are really good at illustrating as well, but there are fewer opportunities now than there used to be. Publishing houses have had to cut back a lot, what with the rise in production and paper costs. Publishing is a tough industry, and I don’t think it’s necessarily getting easier either.
What’s next for you?
I just finished writing a picture book. At the moment, it’s called Trouble at the Ice Cream Factory. I’m going back to my comfort zone, I suppose. I’m not saying I won’t do any more graphic novels—never say never—but I think picture books are still my sweet spot.
Into the Bewilderness by Gus Gordon. HarperAlley, $24.99 July 8 ISBN 978-0-06-324612-6; $15.99 paper ISBN 978-0-06324-611-9
