In her memoir Certain, I’ll Be part of Your Cult, comic Maria Bamford vows she’ll by no means write one other e-book. Once I name her out on that promise since she and her husband, artist Scott Marvel Cassidy, have a brand new graphic novel, Hogbook and Lazer Eyes, popping out on June 4th, Bamford says she really nonetheless stored her phrase because the “new” one was completed first.
“We needed to wait to place this out,” Bamford tells me, explaining that her memoir contract stipulated she couldn’t publish different books six months earlier than or after Cult.
All these months later, Hogbook and Lazer Eyes, a Bamford/Cassidy collaboration that describes their courtship by the eyes of their canine, is lastly prepared for launch — a comic-book tremendous team-up I lately spoke to each Bamford and Cassidy about.
Fantagraphics
Let’s begin with an important query: What’s a Hogbook? And what the heck are Lazer Eyes?
Bamford: I had as my (on-line courting) display screen title for a few years “Humorous Considerate.” That forged too huge a internet as a result of everyone seems to be “humorous” and “considerate.” And so I modified it to “Hogbook” simply because I like these two phrases collectively. I like how they sound, and just one man responded. And it was this man.
Cassidy: You understand why? On OkCupid, you reply like 200 questions, and I used to be matching with individuals 40 p.c, 60 p.c. However hastily, this one got here up a 98 p.c match. I used to be like, What? Hogbook? Who’s Hogbook?
Bamford: I did have a joke for some time. I can’t keep in mind what the joke was, however the finish was, “I simply suppose it’d be nice to have a e-book about hogs referred to as Hogbook.” And I assumed anyone who would have the identical humorousness wouldn’t query that (and) could be an excellent match. I did have one individual reply saying, “Oh, are you a pilot?” As a result of I suppose pilots have one thing within the cockpit referred to as the hog e-book. And I used to be like “No, I’m not a pilot. Do you wanna go on a date?” And so they had been like, “No.”
Cassidy: Lazer Eyes, the photograph of myself within the profile was a type of red-eye images. And I used to be fairly cynical about even happening OkCupid. So like, “Lazer Eyes, I don’t care.” And she or he was the primary one I met.
The e-book begins with one in all your canine saying, “That is our story.” How did they land the job as narrators?
Cassidy: It was initially their thought. They’ve extra of an ego than I do. As you’ll be able to see, the e-book says by Maria Bamford and Scott Marvel Cassidy, however we had to try this as a result of you’ll be able to’t give Social Safety numbers to canine. That was the one approach we receives a commission.
Bamford: But it surely’s by the canine.
Cassidy: I by no means had a canine earlier than assembly Maria. And as you’ll be able to see within the e-book, Bert (Maria’s pug) sort of received us collectively, and we all the time had an ongoing narrative concerning the canine and what they had been considering. We had voices for them. So it was an attention-grabbing approach to hold their reminiscence alive and have it in an precise object.
In some unspecified time in the future within the e-book, the canine fully take over the story. You two turn out to be facet characters after you get collectively.
Bamford: Sure, as we ought to be.
Can canine say stuff you wouldn’t be snug saying?
Cassidy: A whole lot of it’s ridiculous, however coming from the canine’s point-of-view, it makes extra sense.
Bamford: They do appear wiser than we’re. They’re extra calm and mellow frequently and know find out how to stay life. They’ve the supernatural energy of mindfulness, like what everybody’s attempting to attain in Los Angeles however not succeeding. They’re dwelling within the second.
Cassidy: They’re brokers of chaos.
Scott, is that this your first graphic novel?
Cassidy: No, prior to now I used to do Xerox, kind of punk magazines/comedian books. I revealed a number of myself over time right here and there. I’m primarily an artist, a painter, however I nonetheless received my begin doing comedian books.
Bamford: One in all his comedian books, he delivered to our fourth date. And it was so lovely. Autobiographical.
Cassidy: The Ephebic Hobbledehoys. My dad wasn’t an excellent man, however he used to name us the Ephebic Hobbledehoys, which is simply “little rotten boys.” My dad was very pretentious and favored to make use of large phrases, so he would name us that. And it’s sort of creepy for those who look it up. It’s actually bizarre.
Hogbook and Lazer Eyes jogged my memory of Maria’s stand-up in its willingness to debate issues like loss of life and psychological well being and the fragility of relationships. Is there a motive you selected a graphic novel to inform this story?
Bamford: Scott was already making drawings with the canine. And I all the time want merch to promote on the exhibits. And so, he got here up with the thought to do a comic book e-book, and we self-published the unique.
It was a approach to work collectively as a result of each of us are fairly solitary employees. He works on his personal. I work alone. There’s a motive I received into stand-up. It’s as a result of I’m petrified of enter. However that is excellent. He does the drawings, after which we get collectively and flesh it out.
Cassidy: Just like the story the place Bert goes by a trash bag of chocolate cupcakes and passes out. That was only a story that really occurred. I simply do the thumbnails like, “Oh, this may be humorous. And possibly he goes into some psychedelic realm.” It simply naturally occurs.
Bamford: He’ll ask me, “Hey, you wish to put phrases to this?” And yeah, that’s excellent for me.
It may be troublesome to work with a partner. Was this a reasonably clean course of?
Bamford: I inspired Scott to do stand-up as a result of he had a concern of talking. I’m like, “No one’s paying consideration whenever you do stand-up, no person cares. You may do three minutes, learn from the cellphone e-book, you’ll be advantageous.” So then he does it.
Cassidy: I went to Flappers in Burbank. I rise up, and nobody was laughing as a result of everyone seems to be their cellphone. The one one who did snicker was the bartender. I used to be like, “Oh, that’s nice. I simply did three minutes and the one one who laughed was the bartender and he’s in all probability heard each joke 1,000,000 occasions.” I can’t wait to inform Maria. So I received dwelling, I stated, “Maria, I simply did stand-up!”
And she or he’s like, “Oh, nice.”
Bamford: Rapidly, I get defensive and go, “However that is mine!” It’s simply embarrassing as a result of I stated (insert enthusiastic Maria Bamford voice), “In fact!” After which I’m like (insert aggrieved Maria Bamford voice), “Now you probably did it. I wager you’re good.”
Cassidy: It’s like if I used to be bouncing a basketball down Wilshire, and LeBron James drove by and went, “What the fuck?”
Bamford: All the sentiments come up round inventive stuff for positive.
The beauty of canine is the ego would not become involved. Are the canine eager about future tasks?
Cassidy: Yeah, they’re already engaged on it. I’m stunned on the response individuals are giving the e-book as a result of it was, for us, a approach to doc our canine. So it’s been good that individuals are having fun with it.
Bamford: We’re going handy them out to individuals on the canine park. Solely to the deserving, although.
