FYC Replay: Postcards - True Stories ... with Jason Rodriguez

For Your Consideration: Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened

By Chris Beckett

FRONT PAGE: When Editor Jason Rodriguez stepped into an antique shop with his girlfriend, he had no way of knowing what was awaiting him. A year later, as editor, Rodriguez had compiled one of the coolest comic anthologies in recent memory – one where all the story seeds came from old postcards and the notes they carried. Click on in and discover the “true stories that never happened.”

The 411:

Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened

Edited by Jason Rodriguez

160pp. black and white HC

Villard Books

$21.95

What It Is (with apologies to Dave the Thune):

One of the coolest ideas for an anthology comes from Editor Jason Rodriguez, editor of the Harvey-nominated ELK’S RUN. Following his girlfriend into an antique shop one day, Rodriguez happened upon a box of old postcards. As he began shuffling through them, Rodriguez discovered he was being afforded a window into the lives of people long since gone. As his mind wrapped itself around this idea, he realized that therein lay the seeds for an amazing variety of stories.

Inspired, Rodriguez set to work buying postcards and listing creators he felt would do well with such a concept. Bringing together some of the biggest names working in comics – Harvey Pekar, Phil Hester, Ande Parks – with some of the hottest new creators like G.B. Tran, Micah Farritor, and Joshua Hale Fialkov, Rodriguez has compiled an entertaining mix of stories that are at times touching, exciting, and troubling – a great feat that makes for interesting reading.

The postcards used as story seeds for this anthology date, for the most part, from the early half of the twentieth century. With cryptic messages and half-truths embedded deep between the lines, the real stories behind these quick missives will never be found. But as inspiration for the writers and artists brought together by Rodriguez, they are diamonds waiting to be mined.

The emotional tenor of the tales offered in Postcards is of a consistently high caliber. One particularly poignant tale comes from the imagination of Phil Hester. Known more for his artwork – oft-partnered with inker Ande Parks, also present as the writer of a separate tale – than his writing, Hester writes and draws a tale based upon a postcard with the reproachful line “Someone from Adams Co. told the girls that you married a man who had a boy 12 yrs. old.” Expecting a story full of scandal and gossip, Hester surprises readers, including his editor, by molding a very different tale from the few lines left on the back of that card. Delving deeper into the possibilities offered, Hester reveals how happenstance following close on the heels of tragedy can lift a person out of the depression so readily available at a difficult time in one’s life. The main character, his mother drinking poison on the eve of the boy’s twelfth birthday, spies a woman dancing madly within the forest one evening. She seems possessed, but unexpectedly becomes the boy’s stepmother when his father marries her. Within months, the boy’s father passes on and he is left with this woman who suffers from the then-unknown Tourette’s syndrome. As they both work past their grief, the boy discovers a pure, maternal love from this former stranger, a love that shapes his life in unexpected ways, rippling down through the years as he watches his own family grow up to have lives of their own. It is a touching narrative elevated by Hester’s understated and evocative writing – a diamond among gems.

An earlier story within the book that plucks a wondrously full narrative from the sparest of lines is the piece offered by Tom Beland author of his own comic True Story Swear to God. This seed, a Valentine’s card from a secret admirer, offers little in the way of information, stating, “Don’t get brain fever trying to guess who this is from. Just think of apple cake and lemon slice and you’ve got it.” From these few words, Beland creates a touching story that peers in to the final day of one man as he anticipates a reunion with his wife, dead these past five years. In eight pages, readers are able to fill in the details of this man’s life, discovering the romance he was lucky enough to have experienced, something many of us fail to find. For his final meal, the man goes to the diner that was once the soda fountain where he met his wife. Enjoying a blueberry muffin and an earl grey, he ponders his life, achingly aware of his age, surrounded by so many young people. Finishing, he takes the postcard from his pocket, the one from his wife’s photo album, the one he has carried with him every day for five years, and leaves it as a token that love lingered there – a fitting epitaph.

There are many more tales like these to be found in Postcards. Each one is a work full of emotion, some treading close to overly romanticized visions before pulling the audience back from the edge. It is a fine line these creators walk and a testament to Jason Rodriguez that each story is of such a high quality. With stories ranging from one of an expatriate American couple stuck in WWII France of their own accord to a tale of the highest stakes revolving around a game of tic-tac-toe set in the old west to a pulp hero yarn in the vein of the Shadow and the Green Hornet, this is an intriguing mix of story and art that all fans of the medium, and of good storytelling, should have on their shelves.

An Interview with Jason Rodriguez:

Why comics? What was it that attracted you to this storytelling medium?

Where to begin…

Autobio, sci-fi, historical epic…no matter what your story may be your budget stays the same.

There are so many challenges involved when writing a story for comics and so many novel ways that you can address those challenges.

Nostalgia – I can admit that, right? I’ve been reading comics since I was a kid. I still love to be involved in plays and I’ll occasionally write some prose but comics…it takes me back.

The community. The conventions, the message boards, the websites – when you’re making comics you seem to have a support network behind you from the start. Starving actors and unpublished writers are a cliché at this point; they’re in their small apartment trying to get their big break, no-one really helping them. But in comics? You can make a good comic on your own, put it out there, and all of a sudden the community is behind you.

I could go on.

What was the inspiration for Postcards, and how did you sell the concept to Random House?

The idea behind Postcards came from a postcard I found at an antique store. It was in a dusty shoebox, cost fifty cents, and was sent from an army private to his mom before he was shipped out to fight in World War II. I realized that this private may have never returned from the war and I may be holding his last communication in my hand. I wanted to do the book at that moment and everything just fell into place, including Random House who was already on line to publish Elk’s Run, another book I edited.

What has the reaction been to Postcards thus far, and would you characterize it as a successful project?

I’d categorize it as a good start. I think I learned a lot from this project. The book made it into some hands, not as many as we thought it would, but I know some of the things that held it back and I’m learning from it. The second volume (and other projects I’m developing) will benefit from the lessons learned with my first go around.

In your opinion, what is it that makes for a successful anthology? Do you think having a thematic “spine” helped with Postcards?

I think the thematic “spine” helped get Postcards in people’s hands, yes. It made for a very easy pitch. When I hand sell it at conventions it goes very fast because I put a quick pitch out there, people dig the concept, and they come on board. Now that’s not what makes a successful anthology, that’s the first step, I think.

As far as steps two, three, etc…I’m still theorizing on that one. I’ll get back to you.

You have a great mix of talent from well-known creators such as Harvey Pekar, Phil Hester, and Antony Johnston, to up-and-coming talent such as G.B. Tran, Micah Farritor, and A. David Lewis. How did you decide on the final “roster” for the anthology, and what criteria did you use when deciding upon contributors?

Some were friends that have fantastic books out, some were friends that I believed in, and some were folks I admired for a long time. There wasn’t really a formula, I just sat around and asked myself who’d be good for the book and came up with a list of about fifty names. I pulled out the folks that I knew I could get in the book (like Josh Fialkov, Phil Hester, etc) and went to them first. With a bit of a roster on board I went to the folks that I’ve never talked to before (like Ande Parks and Tom Beland and Harvey Pekar/Joyce Brabner).

What other projects are you working on that you would like to tell readers about?

I need a kick in the ass but once I get that, Postcards II is still in development. I’m also co-writing a biography of Sam Cooke with my friend Chris Stevens and I’m writing a young adult novel about a kid that’s known everything from the moment he was born except for how it is he knows everything. I have some other concepts that I like but I need that kick in the ass, as mentioned above.

FYC replay: 13 Steps

Another one from the archives:

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: 13 STEPS FROM PHIL HESTER, CHUCK SATTERLEE and KEVIN MELLON
BY CHRIS BECKETT

The 411:
Thirteen Steps
created by Phil Hester
Written by Phil Hester & Chuck Satterlee
Art by Kevin Mellon
136 pages
b/w with gray tones, $15.99
Desperado Publishing



What It Is (with apologies to Dave the Thune):

What if you were a werewolf in a reality where that wasn’t all that out of the ordinary? And what if you didn’t like what you were? How would you handle that? You could benefit from attending a support group for supernatural beings. That’s exactly what Justin Ullrich does in the new series from Desperado Publishing, Thirteen Steps.

For generations, Justin’s family has been cursed with the blood of the werewolf. Every month, when the cycle of the moon burns toward its apex, Justin needs to be locked behind a reinforced steel door so that he won’t get out and harm anyone. But the best laid plans often go awry and this door doesn’t always hold. When the Wolf is upon him, Justin can’t help what he does, can’t help who he is. It’s not that he loses all sense of humanity when he turns. It’s that within the wolf state he no longer cares about the morality thrust upon him by society.

When the wolf isn’t in control though, Justin’s life is relatively normal. He runs the family’s roller skating rink. Every Sunday he goes to church with his mother. Father Frank, the minister, is not only a good friend of the family, but he also coached Justin in little league. Watching Justin grow and continue to improve as a baseball player has been a personal joy for Father Frank, and he gets as excited about Justin’s achievements on the local semi-pro team as Justin’s mother does. It’s such a passion for Father Frank that he always neglects Justin’s time in the Confessional, preferring to talk hardball.

It is this life that Justin longs to have. He doesn’t wish to be a werewolf or to have a succubus as a girlfriend, which is why he recently broke up with Erin. Justin wants what everyone wants, to be accepted and to live his life with as little fanfare as possible. It’s a small dream but one that seems to reside on the far side of some invisible chasm.

Surprisingly, it is Erin, dropping back into Justin’s life in the hope of rekindling the lust they once felt, that directs him to the support group. Unlike Justin, Erin embraces who she is, relishing the fact that she isn’t some mundane human. It is difficult for her to understand why Justin finds his “animal nature” to be such a burden. But despite her disdain for Justin’s feelings on this subject, she implores him to go to the meeting. Maybe there he can find the solace he craves so much. But things won’t be easy.


Personally, I feel that Phil Hester is one of the most underrated writers in comics. His work always manages to entertain, and more often than not makes one think. Thirteen Steps, co-written with Chuck Satterlee, is no exception. The creative team smartly chooses not to sensationalize the existence of supernatural beings within this world. By treating it so matter-of-factly, they are able to draw in readers who might get turned off by something more fantastical. Grounding the story in this way also makes the characters more believable. They aren’t the over-the-top creatures found in pulp magazines but real people with genuine fears and dreams. The fact that Justin wants to find a way to break this curse, or at least deal with it in a manner resulting in less bloodshed, illustrates that perfectly. It’s a brilliant move on the part of the creators, and one that pays dividends with the emotional heart of this story.

A book about supernatural creatures seeking help through an analogue of AA could have been played for jokes quite easily, but thankfully Hester and Satterlee chose not to go that route. A lot of thought has been put into this story, as evidenced by the opening scene where Justin, in wolf form, chases down an overnight delivery man. Within his internal monologue, the audience learns about the nature of the werewolf – that it isn’t so much the fact that the beast sublimates the host’s humanity but that, with the beast in ascendance, the human side no longer cares about its ethical obligations. Little bits like this and the conversation Justin has with his ex-girlfriend Erin, who happens to be a succubus, help to elevate this book above the traditional supernatural tale.


On art for this series is Kevin Mellon, with whom I was previously unacquainted, and he turns in a superb job. Mellon’s storytelling is clear and precise and his ability to express emotion through the characters’ faces is skillfully subtle. Utilizing a standard grid layout – though one he manipulates to great effect – Mellon only deviates from this when the story calls for it. Whether it is a scene where Justin is attacked by a militant werewolf group, or one where he chases down a couple of hunters in his guise as a werewolf, Mellon has a powerful storytelling sense that allows him to design a comic page for the most effective impact. Also, by showcasing this aspect of his artistry sparingly, it allows those pages to stand out and accentuate the storytelling in a manner often lacking in a lot of mainstream comics.

Thirteen Steps was the first offering from Desperado Publishing after amicably parting ways with Image comics. It is a fine introduction to the quality and entertainment provided by Joe Pruett’s company, and I would heartily recommend you check it out.

An Interview with Kevin Mellon

THE PULSE: Why comics? What was it that attracted you to this storytelling medium?

KEVIN MELLON: um, control. That’s the easy answer. I get too bored writing prose fiction, I don't have the patience to work on a single image for an illustration or painting for months on end, and I’m way too into myself to make movies where you have to rely heavily on other people to bring your vision about. So comics it is.


Plus, I grew up reading them, and they were the perfect bridge between the novels I was reading and the movies I was watching. Growing up, everything is about imagination. You need just enough information to spark it, but not too much that you can't add your own spin to it in your head. Comics fits into that so neatly, because of its reliance on the reader to fill in the gaps between the panels and to read between the lines of what a character is thinking/saying/doing. Plus, it's a medium that plays on the mind’s ability to see a page as a whole thing, but consciously choose to ignore it. The reader forces themselves not to spoil the story and I think that's something that is fun and unique to comics alone.

Plus, the standard answer of "big budget action and drama made with no budget.” As much as we've advanced with movie making, it's still infinitely cheaper for me to draw a werewolf than it is to cgi one, or dress a live human up as one.

That and it's fun. A whole lot of fun.

THE PULSE: Much of the story in 13 Steps is told with a traditional comic grid, but there are a few pages where you open up the design of the page, such as Issue 1 page 24, or page 22 of the second issue. Was this in the script or were you able to design the page yourself?

MELLON: that page element was not in the script (I believe it just asked for a skating montage), and that's actually one of my favourite pages from issue 1. Phil usually does all the page design and layouts on the books that he writes that he doesn't draw, and that's good for a lot of people, and it works very well. I asked to do my own layouts because unlike a lot of artists I’ve met, that's where all the creativity and fun and joy of making a comic book page lies. Determining the look, pace, camera placement on a page is the thing that I get to have the most fun and really show who I am and what I think on the page.


I don't always work on a specific panel grid, but for the kind of book that 13 Steps is, I figured out pretty early on that I could work from a 4, 5, or 6 panel widescreen (across the page) panel grid and then split those in half as needed. So that's what I’ve been working from on 13 Steps. The page that you mention was me consciously trying to break that monotony to show a moment of someone letting go for a minute. Hope it worked.

I tend to do more "widescreen" style layouts, because those are the kind of shots that I see in my head. I’d love to chalk it up to being influenced by people like Bryan Hitch, but I started doing it before I was into his work (i.e. before he did Authority). Seeing him do it well is what made me continue to do it and to work on developing my visual vocabulary for doing such a thing.

THE PULSE: Along those same lines, how much input with the story did you have?

MELLON: other than changing a few panels worth of pacing here and there, none. (I have a tendency to draw more panels than less, and often in the script they'll ask for a splash or a panel that takes up most of the page and my sensibilities don't really lay in splashes or huge panels so I’ll break them up into more panels/actions. a good example is issue 1 page 14 where the succubus Erin is talking to Justin in his bedroom. I believe the script only asked for 4 panels, one of which being a really big one for her to deliver her monologue to Justin. I like character moments where you can really play with the beat of how people speak and I like to take the time to figure out the different facial moments I can take a character through while they are speaking. So I broke it up into the extra panels, which I think conveys her frustration with him much better than just one static shot with a lot of words in it).

THE PULSE: The gray-wash look adds a lot to the feel of the story. Are you responsible for this aspect of the artwork as well, and how is that achieved?

MELLON: I am, and thank you. It’s just Photoshop. For consistency and mostly time, I set up a rule of working only from 3 grey tones (25%, 50% and 75%) plus the white and black that are on the page already. Most of the issues are one or two tones, and then a third will be dropped in here and there when further clarification or depth is needed in a panel/page.


THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on that you would like to tell readers about?

MELLON: my book with Dennis Hopeless, Gearhead, just wrapped up with issue 4. We’re working on putting the trade together for that. I assume that will be out later this year/early next year. That also has been optioned for film by a company called Darius Films.

Also, with Dennis Hopeless, we're working on a book called Cupid. It’s about love as a corporation. It follows kali, a new recruit into cupid's "army" of corporate saboteurs. I’m awful at selling concepts, but trust me, it's good. Think Dead Like Me crossed with Veronica Mars, only with love. We’re talking to a publisher about it now, and we should be announcing it soon.

I believe I’m also supposed to do a couple issues on Phil’s book 'Golly!'.