Danny Fingeroth Interview

Danny Fingeroth has lived and breathed comics for most of his professional life. He was a former Group Editor of Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man line and consulted on early versions of what eventually became 2002′s smash hit Spider-Man movie.

In addition to writing for Marvel on other titles that included The Avengers, Daredevil, Iron Man, and What if,as well as comics published by other companies, Fingeroth’s book, Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society, is a revealing analytical work by a writer who also understands a fan’s enthusiasm. Fingeroth also publishes Write Now!, which focuses on both the art and business of being a writer. His upcoming Rough Guide to Graphic Novels will be published by DK in September, and he’ll be at both the DK booth and his own booth with TwoMorrows Publishing.

Graphic Novels have grown over the decades, from Superhero-based tales, of course, to all sorts of other subject matter, delivered in an adult manner through innovative writing and illustration that may seem, at times, to draw on film but is actually its own medium – one that’s come to be respected – and not just for sales, but artistic achievement.

Darryl Morden: How did the book come about?

Danny Fingeroth: I got a call from the Rough Guide folks, asking me to take on this very challenging project. I’ve always been associated with superheroes for Marvel and others. I’ve always been a reader of alternate comics, things like American Splendor, the undergrounds in the ’60s, but that wasn’t the main thing that made me want to do the guide. I thought it would be an exciting, challenging, educational process.

DM: And was it?

DF: There was much research, reading, and involvement. This is Fingeroth’s point of view – which graphic novels to recommend. For everything in there, it’s not a value judgement, but my taste.

DM: Is there a Top Ten?

DF: There is. The Rough Guides were travel guides, and now they’re branching out into pop culture, so this is the best graphic novels. The only superhero stuff touched was Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. The book focuses more on the – for lack of a better term – literary graphic novels. If you go through the history of comics up to undergrounds, a different world of comics diverge from there.

DM: So graphic novels like Will Eisner’s Contract With God…?

DF: Yes, its a good mix of the “classics,” along with the ones I personally think really should be there – Mous, Contract, Kings in Disguise, Why I Hate Saturn…

DM: But you don’t want to claim the lists as definitive…

DF: Another day, I might’ve come up with another top ten. What was important was kind of a wide range of subjects and style, and…you know…yet all were, with one exception, eerily accessible; you could pick it up and get it and see how these are different from super comics I read when I was ten. The only one that was a real challenge is Alice in Sunderland, a remarkable work; you have to sit down, pretty much, and read it straight through. It’s a tour-de-force of both writing and art.

DM: Any bonus material and such?

DF: Yes, there’s a graphic novel in the book – new and original – written by me and drawn by a guy named Roger Langridge. It’s sort of an introduction to graphic novels, as well as story of an aspiring graphic novelist. So it’s different than a usual guide, as there actually is a graphic novel in this guide to graphic novels.