The following is an interview with critically acclaimed Sundance fellow and IFF Boston Grand Jury Prize Award-winning director Bryan Wizemann and National Young Graphic Novel and Pixelatl Chinelo Award-winning artist Edgar Camacho regarding the recent launch of a Zoop crowdfunding campaign for the graphic novel, The Weakest Fish. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Wizemann and Camacho about their shared creative process in bringing the coming-of-age story to life on the page, the incredible backer rewards that will be available to readers, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the recent launch of your Zoop crowdfunding campaign! For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you share with us about the coming-of-age story’s premise?
Bryan Wizemann: The story takes place in 1961 in Texas, where the main character Timothy Ridley, a thirteen-year-old boy, accidentally witnesses his mother having an affair at work. Without realizing it, he ends up confirming his father’s suspicions, and his parents’ resulting confrontation leads to his mother’s death. Now afraid of his father, a father he loves, Tim runs away on foot and reaches the border to Mexico. Tim’s father Jackson chases after him while trying to craft his own story of denial about what happened. It’s essentially about Tim’s survival, the new world he experiences, and his coming to terms with loss at the hands of a loved one.
BD: Given the history of this story’s developmental process, what can you tell us about your shared creative process in bringing it – and its impactful themes – to life on the page?
BW: I can tell you that working with Edgar Camacho was one of the most rewarding creative collaborations I’ve ever been a part of. Chris Staros of Top Shelf Productions turned me on to Edgar, as he recognized the cross-cultural aspects of the story would benefit from a Mexican illustrator. (There’s some intentionally untranslated Spanish in the book.) And he was right, Edgar brought so many details in both the language and the environment that I could never hope to conceive. He also did all the coloring, lettering, paneling, and everything, and I tried to give him as much creative freedom as possible. I often wondered if adapting a script meant just having a book of storyboards, but that’s not the case. It is its medium with its demands, and I will say that if I do ever get to make this into a film, Edgar’s work will have a visual influence on the way it’s approached.
BD: Bryan, given your extensive work in film, how would you describe your transition to writing for the sequential art medium, and do you feel that it provided you with any new or interesting tools to share your narrative?
BW: I’m essentially a screenwriter or a filmmaker who writes original material for the screen. I’ve probably written about fifteen feature scripts and have directed four of those into independent films. I would still love to make this into a film one day. This script is something I first wrote in Ithaca, NY, in 1999. It was kind of a dark fantasy story that didn’t quite work, but I was always drawn to the central idea. Every year or so I would find myself working on it, and, eventually, all of the fantasy elements were excised out of the story, leaving only the essentials. It still retains some aspects of lyrical realism, but everything that happens in the story happens. I don’t think I transitioned much in terms of how I write, the book is pretty faithful to the script, albeit a highly pared-down version. I did try to edit it in such a way that made more sense for how a story unfolds in sequential illustration. I did also at one point try to break the script down into panels and it was a complete mess; Edgar is the hero in terms of how it was translated into a graphic novel.
BD: Edgar, your artistic style naturally exudes deep ambiance, tone, and mood. When tackling a project like The Weakest Fish, is there anything that guides or propels your approach to the artwork?
Edgar Camacho: Bryan had a mood board about what he wanted in the work. I took that as a starting point and implemented it in my style. I wanted to convey a heavy atmosphere, with grain and texture, like looking at an old photo of which you have vague memories.
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 Tim’s story may connect with and impact readers?
BW: I think anyone who has had a difficult upbringing, whether it’s because of divorce, poverty, or abuse, might relate to some of the dramatic tensions raised here. It’s a tension of loving your family but also being aware of the precarious situation you might find yourself in, and how to reconcile those two. A comics editor described this project as Stand By Me meets No Country for Old Men, which I thought was a pretty good combo to portray this.
BD: Are there any specific backer reward tiers that you’re most excited about with the campaign?
BW: Funny because we sort of stayed away from any kind of special rewards, we really just wanted to highlight the book. Of course, you can purchase a signed version, but that’s about it. I am probably a bad marketer in that way, at least when it comes to my work.
BD: Are there any projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
BW: Well, if you like your films sad and dark, you could certainly check out my film, About Sunny. Not a great title admittedly (We were forced to change it.), but it won some awards including the Grand Jury Prize at IFFBoston, and a Best Actress Independent Spirit Award nomination for Lauren Ambrose. It’s a personal story inspired by growing up on the fringes with a single mother in Las Vegas, about a woman who considers selling her kid to give her a better life. I also have a small feature film called You Mean Everything to Me, starring Morgan Saylor and Ben Rosenfield, that was part of the Sundance Music/Sound lab. It’s a tough watch given it’s about coercive control within a toxic relationship, but we’re very proud of it.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell readers who want to learn more about The Weakest Fish campaign and your other work?
BW: Most of my film work can be found at bryanwizemann.com. I’m also teaching film at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn currently, and am enjoying helping students refine their narrative work in film. And of course, if you’d like to support our campaign and order a copy of the graphic novel, just visit https://zoop.gg/c/the-weakest-fish.
