Comic Book Writer and Illustrator James Chapman
James Chapman is an illustrator from Birmingham, England. A little further north in Manchester now, he’s working on all kinds of illustration and art projects—often themed around language and diversity. He worked on the series Sounds All Around, a set of illustrations about the exciting world of international onomatopoeia. (While in English a dog goes, "Woof" and a pig goes, "Oink," in Romanian, dogs go, "Ham" and in German, pigs go, "Grunz") From animals to people to cars to fireworks, everything makes a sound and every language interprets those sounds differently—and Chapman did his best to illustrate them all. The illustrations have drawn a lot of attention online with various features and even an endorsement from Ashton Kutcher. Chapman is currently a background artist at Brown Bag Films animation studio in Manchester, but he is still working on freelance and personal projects at the time. His next book, A World of Wisdom, is forthcoming from Andrews McMeel Publishing.
James Chapman’s Sounds All Around (Andrews McMeel Publishing).
What do you feel the comic book medium affords creators that other forms of storytelling cannot accomplish?
I feel there’s a lot of scope for sneaking in little extra jokes, and maybe a bit of foreshadowing in a way that’s more subtle than in standard text. There can be quite a lot going on in a panel or page of graphic work, beyond the dialogue, and certain visual clues can be slipped in that a reader might only notice subconsciously. And then when they pay off later in the story in a more prominent way, those little hints from earlier come flooding back. I think every medium has its strengths and unique ways to do this kind of thing, but the balance of visual and textual information in comics can really allow for subtlety in delivering a message.
“I realized science wasn’t my calling…I really enjoyed the process of finding out new things and presenting the information in a fun, visual, and artistic way.”
How did you get started in creating graphic novels?
While I always enjoyed illustration from a young age, for a long time I didn’t feel it was my calling. I put my career focus into science instead, finishing up a PhD in nanoscience in 2015. In my scientific work I had more of a passion for conveying the information I’d discovered, and using visuals to do so, leading to some pretty elaborate graphs and poster displays at conferences. I realized science wasn’t my calling, either, but I really enjoyed the process of finding out new things and presenting the information in a fun, visual, and artistic way. So, during my PhD, I began illustrating a comic series about the sounds things make in different languages, called Soundimals (which then became the book Sounds All Around). This came about through conversations I had in the condensed matter physics department with all these high level scientists from all over the world, even Nobel prize winners. We didn’t talk about their research, but about what sounds frogs made in the languages they spoke. I collected a big spreadsheet of all these noises, and got down to illustrating, and the project only grew from there.
What is your creative process like? Any special practices, rituals or habits?
Being incredibly British, a cup of tea is my main source of inspiration. If I’m struggling creatively, a cup of tea or a long walk is usually the solution to my problems. A little break from forced thinking, opens up a lot of doors, mentally, for me, and can be just as productive in the long run as a full day of work.
What has it been like in working with Allison Adler and the team at Andrews McMeel on your books A World of Wisdom and Sounds All Around?
Allison and the team have been so helpful in developing A World of Wisdom and Sounds All Around into what they are today. As a creator, I’m actually quite selfish, as I’m always trying to write a book that I would want to read. But I’m not much of a wide audience, so it’s great to get more perspective on a book so that it can really reach as many people as possible. This is where Allison has been amazing, helping shape the pages and the ideas, without losing the core concepts that I wanted to share in the first place.
Interior pages from Sounds All Around (Andrews McMeel Publishing).
“Variety is the spice of life, and looking around the world, there’s no shortage of differences we can celebrate.”
What is it about the different aspects of international languages that appeals to you?
I really love how people all look at the same thing in completely different ways. It’s so endless and always so fun in new and surprising ways. Whether it’s the sound a duck makes, the name of an octopus, or the title of the movie Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, there are dozens of ways to say it, depending on where you might be in the world. In Denmark, alone, those are, “rap,” “ink splasher” and “The Boy Who Drowned In Chocolate,” respectively. Variety is the spice of life, and looking around the world, there’s no shortage of differences we can celebrate.
Do you feel as though book publishers are only just waking up to the potential of graphic novels as a meaningful story medium?
While comics have always had a home, it’s so encouraging that that home is getting bigger and bigger. The fact that publishers are taking more chances on graphic novels and helping spread the word to larger and larger audiences is amazing. There’s still so much talent in the comics community too, it gives me a lot of confidence that this growth will keep on going. There are so many stories yet to be told.
Are there any good books on your nightstand at the moment?
I’ve been reading Deadendia by Hamish Steele, a wonderful UK comic artist. A great cast of characters, and a really fun ride! It’s currently being made into an animated show for Netflix, too, so I’m sure it’ll be reaching a whole new audience of people soon enough, and that’s so exciting.
James Chapman’s A World of Wisdom (Andrews McMeel Publishing).
“As a creator, it really means a lot to have someone in your corner, championing your ideas and helping to get the word out.”
How did you find your way to Trident Media Group and go on to get published?
I first got in touch with Trident Media Group after I ran a Kickstarter for the book A World Of Wisdom. It was a self-published effort at the time, and I only dreamt of getting in contact with a literary agent and publisher, but after Mark Gottlieb saw the project we had a few calls and it all came together. I’m thrilled to have such amazing representation. As a creator, it really means a lot to have someone in your corner, championing your ideas and helping to get the word out.
Any advice for hopeful comic book creators hoping to become published authors?
The best advice I can give to any creators is to keep creating, and there’s a great joy in sharing your work, even if you don’t think it’s perfect. We can learn so much through the creative process over time. I’ve come to think of every drawing I do as practice for the next one. Slowly but surely we’re all getting better at what we do, and finishing anything is an achievement, so share it with the world, even if it’s not perfect in your eyes.
Can you finish this sentence? I love reading because…
It’s a great escape. Especially after a year of staying indoors, books all offer their own unique ways to get away, and there’s an infinite number of places you can go.