#graybles schmaybles

[gunterfan1992]

Interview with AT Graphic Novelist Danielle Corsetto

I'm currently working on a book chapter about the Adventure Time comics (stay tuned!) and for this project, I've been reaching out to many of the artists who worked on the BOOM! graphic novels. One of the first people to kindly respond to my request for an email interview was Danielle Corsetto, the creator of web comics like Elephant Town, Girls With Slingshots, and Stuck at 32.

Corsetto also wrote three of the Adventure Time graphic novels: Playing with Fire (2013), Pixel Princesses (2013), and Graybles Schmaybles (2015)! Read on for more about her experience working on these books...

Paul: What is the story of how you came on as a writer for the AT graphic novel series?

I'd been creating my webcomic Girls With Slingshots for almost a decade when I was invited to write an [Adventure Time] graphic novel by editor Shannon Watters. Shannon just happened to be a fan of GWS and a lot of other webcomics from the same time period, and when she was tasked with finding creators to work on the  [Adventure Time] books, she reached out to webcomic creators like myself, Ryan North, and Meredith Gran. We just sort of lucked into the property being managed by a long-time webcomic fan.

Paul: Did you have any contact with the other artists who worked on AT graphic novels?

I didn't! I don't think I even knew who was going to be drawing it until the script was done, which was a little nerve-wracking. I'd never written a script for someone else to follow before; I had my own comfortable method of scratching out a script and thumbnail hybrid for myself to follow. So I just sent off the script and hoped that it was clear enough that he could follow it! Luckily they find great artists for these books.

Paul: What was the job like? What did an average week of work look like? How much time did it require from you?

All of the books were written while I was doing GWS five days a week, and two of them occurred while I was also teaching a college course in illustration (which gets easier over time as you massage your lesson plan, but the first couple of times I taught were overwhelmingly stressful for me, as I'd never taught college age students before!). So I was just working every day from morning to night. Luckily my GWS schedule had become pretty predictable―I knew how long it took for me to do every step in the process―so it was just a matter of switching from planning lessons & grading to writing complete graphic novels, which was a first for me (I'd never really written an ending to anything before!). I would head over to the library in nearby Boonsboro to write the [Adventure Time] scripts, which helped me get into a "we're working on this very different thing now" mindset.

Paul: How much contact did you have with artists like Zachary Sterling? Did you discuss layout or design ideas, or were you all in your own corners of the process, so to speak?

Nope! I think I was sent the pages once they were nearly done, because I remember making a few revisions (I think I completely redrew a couple of panels, but I don't remember if they were the books Zach worked on or Bridget [Underwood]'s). To be honest, I was so overloaded with work during all three books, I can't remember if there was more contact than that. I believe there were a few thumbnails I drew because it was easier than writing them out, but I think that's pretty typical.

Paul: How did the job change from the time you first started to when you were wrapping up your last book for the series?

It was pretty much the same each time; the deadline was always very quick maybe three weeks? That may have been partially my own fault, though―I probably set aside specific time to work on the books. Yeah, I don't think anything really changed―it seemed like there were always three weeks to write the scripts, no contact with the artist, and a pretty "go nuts" attitude from the editors!

Paul: Was there anything special or noteworthy about the experience that you think Adventure Time fans would like to know about?

For Pixel Princesses, my original pitch was that Jake and Lady Rainicorn's puppies got stuck in a video game. The pitch hadn't been approved by Cartoon Network yet but my editor encouraged me to go ahead and start writing. I held off and waited to start, just to be sure. Eventually we got word that Pen had different plans for the pups, so they asked if I could switch it from pups to princesses. Luckily it was an easy, fun switch (especially since I hadn't written anything yet)!

A huge “thank you!” to Danielle for taking the time to answer my questions; I really do appreciate it! You can find a link to many of her projects on her carrd. Also, check out her Twitter, Patreon, and Instagram!

[coolpeanut11]

Finn in dress, from Adventure Time Comic : Graybles Schmaybles *This is nuts :‘v *Idk what to tag :'v