The following is an interview with Eisner Award-nominated writer/illustrator Dave Baker regarding the recent release of the graphic novel, Mary Tyler MooreHawk, through Top Shelf Productions. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Baker about his unique creative process in bringing the world and characters to life, his approach to crafting an enthralling dystopian detective story, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the launch of Mary Tyler MooreHawk! For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you tell us about the book’s premise?
Dave Baker: Thank you very much! It’s an honor to be here. Mary Tyler MooreHawk is a hybrid graphic novel and novel project. I’ve been working on it for close to five years. Believe it or not, I wrote, drew, colored, and lettered it, and then I worked with the graphic designer Mike Lopez and photographer David Catalano to bring it to life.
The comics sections follow a group of super-science adventurers, led by teen detective sensation Mary Tyler MooreHawk, as they attempt to stop a villain from a parallel dimension from committing spatio-temporal holocaust. The prose sections of the book take place 100 years in the future. They follow a journalist named Dave Baker as he begins a journey to discover the whereabouts of a reclusive artist, who is responsible for creating a TV show also titled Mary Tyler MooreHawk, that only lasted 9 episodes. To make this quest even stranger… the journalist uncovers the bizarre fact that the mysterious creator is also named… Dave Baker.
BD: How would you describe your creative process in bringing this incredible world and characters to life on the page, especially in light of the various storytelling formats that you utilized in its execution?
DB: I wanted to make something that I hadn’t seen before. I wanted to make a novel and a comic that each stood on their own, but when combined made for something completely unique. I wanted to make a work where the two halves talked to each other. Frankly, the process for this project was a lot of stops and starts. I work a day job, and wrote three graphic novels while working on this project. And I also figured out a way of making my art much faster… by drawing the construction lines in red architecture pencil and then the finished lines in 2B normal led, essentially eliminating the inking stage. That sounds like a very simple process. And maybe for other people it would be… but for me, it required some figuring out. I think I redrew the first issue of the comics sections like… three times? Maybe? It was a lot. And the fact that it was all done in 9-panel grids meant that there was just a ton of leg work to do.
That being said, despite reinventing my art style, and writing a whole-ass novel, one of the most fun parts of this was working with Mike Lopez and building out the graphic design of the Physicalist Today segments. It’s been a blast pulling from old punk and hardcore zines and also from loads of japanese Tokusatsu magazines to develop the aesthetic of what this futuristic world that has outlawed physical objects would look like. Oh, yeah, did I mention that? In the future, you’re not going to be allowed to own that Nightmare on Elm Street DVD Box Set that’s currently covered in dust and sitting on your bookshelf. So, better get to enjoying it now!
BD: Likewise, how would you describe your process in crafting the dystopian detective story? It’s always thrilling to follow mystery stories as the reader, but I would imagine that crafting the narrative and staying 3 steps ahead of your reader is quite the challenge!
DB: Yeah, it was fun to write that stuff. Ironically, the influences for that part of the story were actually not a lot of mystery writers. One of the key influences on the project is this book written by Dustin McNiel all about the making of the Phantasm films. It’s called Phantasm Exhumed. It’s such an exhaustive read and even features excerpts from Rory Guy (a.k.a. Anguss Scrimm’s) journal entries from the production of the film. Fascinating read for any Genre Hound out there. But it was written in such beautiful detail that it conjured this mental image for me of what if we didn’t know what happened to Don Coscarelli? This would be the dude to track him down. So, I started to just let my mind wander about what it would take to push me to the brink in order to become a recluse… and who would come searching for me… and why.
And four years of chasing that idle daydream later, we’re here talking. Wild, right?
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that Mary’s story may connect with and impact readers?
DB: That’s a great question. I hope they fall in love with her in the way that I have. I have so much fun drawing those weird connecting circles that make up her face, I hope that translates to the reader. I mean, I guess my initial hope is that people see themselves in her. Both in a representational way, and in a metaphorical way.
MTMH is obviously built on a long line of archetypes. From Nancy Drew to Jonny Quest to Tom Swift Jr. These recurring themes of children who are interested in science and have an uncanny ability to see the truth in things are ever-present in our culture. And I wanted to attempt to distill that down and push it to an extreme. I wanted MTMH to be a perfect sigil of what it means to be good. Not to just do good, but to innately and effortlessly be good. That being said, of course, you want conflict and drama in a story, so she’s in the center of a found family that quite literally is struggling to stay together. So, laced throughout all of that, I hope there’s an emotional resonance that people walk away feeling something from.
BD: What makes Top Shelf the best home for this story?
DB: I feel extremely indebted to Chris Staros, and all the other amazing people at Top Shelf, who have bet on me and this book. Top Shelf has a long legacy of taking chances on projects that no one else sees the possibility in. And that’s very much the case with me. I pitched this book everywhere over the four or five years I was working on it. And was greeted with “that’s nice but not for us” basically at every turn. And Chris saw the beauty in what I was doing. He saw the fact that I was trying to make something that was unlike anything that had been made previously. He was that I was shooting to do something both dumb and lowbrow and literary and high brow. And that’s why I’m excited to be aligned with the rest of the Top Shelf slate. Because Chris has great taste and takes real chances on books that will push the culture forward.
BD: Are there any other upcoming projects on which you are working that you are able to share with our readers?
DB: Well, currently I’m writing and drawing a project called Halloween Boy. It’s kind of like Hellboy meets Buckaroo Banzai. It’s about an action adventure hero, nicknamed The Demon Who Lives, who thinks he’s the Patron Saint of the Impossible. And each issue is him helping someone out of an unwinnable scenario. Throughout the background of the book, there is a lingering mystery about the true nature of his origin.
With that though, I’m trying to just do this press run and think of it as a victory lap, honestly. Whatever happens with the book is going to be out of my control. I’ve spent so long on this project and it almost broke me. And now that it’s done, I just want to enjoy the fact that it exists and I can hold it in my hands. And the book is now able to be read by more than just my loving mother and a few close friends.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell fans who want to learn more about Mary Tyler MooreHawk and your other work?
DB: You can find me online at HeyDaveBaker.com or on the socials (@Xdavebakerx). If you see me at a convention or what have you, please stop me and say hello, I’m a pretty affable guy. And, also, thanks for having me here. This was a blast to do. Really appreciate you taking the time to chat about my book.
