The following is an interview with critically acclaimed comics creator Ilias Kyriazis regarding the upcoming release of the graphic novel, What We Wished for, through publisher Humanoids. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Kyriazis about what makes the story such a personal narrative for him, what he hopes that readers may take away from the story, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the upcoming release of What We Wished for! This story has carried a great deal of personal meaning for you. What can you share with us about your inspiration for bringing this story to life?
Ilias Kyriazis: Thank you, I’m very excited about it! And it’s true that it’s a story very close to my heart. I always daydreamed a lot and as a child. I always visualized that whoever / whatever would make all my wishes come true was traveling through space to reach me. Even as I grew older and I didn’t actually believe that the fantasy remained. Failing grade in class? Unable to find love? Sick pet? Well… any day now the “magic whoever / whatever” would arrive on Earth and everything would be fine. A comforting thought.
And then the writer part of my brain had to wonder… I’ve been wishing that for forty years, what if I wasn’t updating my desires as I grew older and was stuck with what I wanted as a kid?
BD: The story is an incredibly impactful one, tackling not only our individual concerns about the passage of time, but also in providing a thoughtful discussion about gender and sexuality, the impact of technology, and our collective feels of isolation. How would you describe your creative process in weaving these various narratives together with an incredibly relatable cast of characters?
IK: The thing with the What We Wished for concept is that each individual character’s wish takes you down its own path. I started with a big list of possible childhood desires, and I picked the ones with the most potential for complications. The whole thing grew out of that.
Now, if we’re to talk technical details… I’ve never tackled an ensemble cast before so I had to learn to use some new tools. The most visually interesting answer is that I wrote each character’s story on a series of post-its on my wall that I then mixed and moved around until I was happy with the flow of the narrative. The less visually interesting but more accurate answer is that I did exactly that but digitally on a writing program.
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 this story may connect with and impact readers?
IK: Middle age is something that all the people lucky enough to reach it struggle with, I believe. As is grief, regret, and I’m 100% sure that like one of the protagonists, Stella, most people have very strong feelings about cakes. Look…I’m doing what I always did, writing what I want to read. It’s not realistic to try and create something with the reader in mind. You express your truth with your art, you talk about what’s on your mind, and the reader will find something they connect with. They’re a person, too. Deep down, we’re all concerned about the same things – life, death, success, failure, sex, cakes.
BD: What makes Humanoids the perfect home for this story?
IK: Jake Thomas was exactly what I want in an editor… He let me run loose while providing a framework of support. This is my second Humanoids book (after Chronophage) and I’d easily do it again. Also – and to be fair that’s true for many other publishers – as a creator, I enjoy not having to bother with serialized stories. One and done.
BD: Are there any upcoming projects on which you are currently working that you would like to share with our readers?
IK: I’m bursting to talk about the comic I’m working on right now, but I can’t say much yet. I can only share that it’s again a very personal story but with a very different tone than What We Wished for and that those two projects made me fall in love with comics all over again. Actually, that’s the one thing I would wish for… to be able to keep doing comics like that.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about What We Wished for and your other work?
IK: My website is iliaskyriazis.com but also here [https://linktr.ee/iliaskyriazis] is a linktree with all one could want to know about me.
