Interviews Editor, Andrew Irvin, takes on a centuries of residual vampiric expectations in Sian Mandrake’s Blood of the Taken.
COMIC BOOK YETI: Welcome to the Yeti Cave, Sian! How are things shaping up this spooky season? Any big plans for Halloween?
SIAN MANDRAKE: Oh—just the usual rituals to the old gods.
CBY: …and may you remain ever in their favor. We’re here to talk about your debut graphic novel, Blood of the Taken. From the first concept sketches to the finished print copy, can you share a bit about the journey towards completion on this title? I know there was an illustrated storybook in mind along the way, so when did it turn from its initial form into a graphic novel?
SM: The storybook version didn’t last more than a draft and a handful of illustrations. I think the turning point was deciding I wanted a longer project to work on—something to really sink my teeth in so to speak (eh-eh).
Then I decided to change the story from that of a vampire throwing herself a birthday party to that of the vampire, Theo, creating a new family for herself. From there, Ed tumbled excitedly onto the page, and once I decided Ed needed a friend to share his bleak existence with, Liam slunk rather reluctantly into being.
I completed the prose/novel version of this story in the early months of 2020 and left it to sit for a bit. However, I guess the call of the undead was too strong and I found myself reformatting the story into a comic-script format only a few months later.
Actually joking aside, it took the beginning of the pandemic, several conversations, and a slew of rejection letters to get the ball rolling on turning the novel into a comic. When I say that all made me extremely focused, it’s one hell of an understatement.
CBY: It’s nice to see how that process has paid off with the finished graphic novel. You’ve mentioned Universal Horror and German Expressionism as visual inspirations for your art. What contemporary illustrators most resonate with you? Is there anyone who challenges you to push your style or technique in new directions?
SM: While not necessarily an illustrator, one of my favorite contemporary artists and one that I always find inspiration from is Adam Elliot and his claymation films.
CBY: Oh, that’s an interesting well to draw from that I wouldn’t have immediately called to mind – I just walked past a poster for his film, Memoir of a Snail, which was already on my list to check out. On the topic of technique, I enjoy the high value shading and expressive pen strokes you employ throughout. Can you tell our readers a bit about your process of generating finished pages? As the sole artist, how do you approach pencils, ink, and color as you go along?
SM: Thank you! The biggest part of my process is probably in the layout stage. That’s where I’ll make changes to writing/ story as I begin to actually put the story to paper.
My pencils and inks are traditional and pretty straight forward. I don’t think my process is anything out of the ordinary— I just draw the best I can for that page.
Coloring is digital and I like to do that in batches. For Blood of the Taken’s color palette I’m going for late autumn/ early winter in New England sort of vibes. On top of that they are all a little dead so I wanted everything to always feel a bit cold and a little grimy. Their world is sort of an endless foggy night.
CBY: Okay, I was wondering what sort of hybrid you worked in, if at all, given the “analog” look you’ve achieved with your inks. While you wrote and illustrated everything, you had support from a team including Janice Chiang on lettering, Sean Sobczak on book design, John Galati on title treatment, and Sandy King herself as editor. At what stage did everyone else get involved, and what specific elements did they help you bring to the finished graphic novel?
SM: I feel really lucky as I had total creative freedom on the project. It’s my playground. And what’s more is that the Storm King team was there to bring the project together and make it live once I finished the artwork.
Janice’s amazing lettering gave the characters their voices and the world its sound. I learned so much about lettering/ balloon placement, etc. throughout the process because of her.
Sean put everything together and made sure we all stay organized—he’s awesome!
John’s title treatment and Jack’s (my brother) original logo design bring the book cover together and make it sing. So many people have complemented the title treatment.
Sandy’s the best! There would be no Blood of the Taken out in this format without her.
CBY: The resultant work is really cohesive as a consequence of the effort, for sure. On the other side of the creative process, as a writer, how do you pace yourself? I was discussing with some research colleagues our different styles, and I’m the sort of person who does a lot of weaving in my own mind before spilling mostly structured work out in large bursts. Some write and scrap and re-write, some slowly work on perfecting each paragraph at a time. What have you found works best for your writing, and how does your approach as a writer line up with your approach as an artist?
SM: Like drawing, I like to have some idea of where I’m going before I start writing, but the story/drawing tend to take on a life of their own when I’m working.
I do tend to write several drafts, completely scrapping some, refining others until I get what feels like I can only describe as ‘the right flavor’. Once I have that, then I polish.
The last thing I end up refining is the dialogue. I put in placeholder dialogue in my initial script, once I do my layouts/final art I go back in and change the dialogue. I’m a visual person and find it easier to ‘see’ the characters acting once they are on the page in front of me.
CBY: Oh, informing the character of their conversation with the tone of the completed scene is a very cross-comparative way for the art and writing to become fully entwined. Without any spoilers, I feel comfortable saying the dynamic you’ve created between Theo, Ed, and Liam isn’t an arrangement commonly seen. Are there any model relationships from your lived experience or other stories that you had in mind when structuring the interaction between your main characters?
SM: I often think Ed and Liam’s dynamic with Theo is sort of like having an unhinged elderly roommate. Perhaps that’s making light of their grave situation.
Alternatively I’ve described the story as Nosferatu meets Harold and Maude. I was definitely inspired by both of those films for this story. I’m sure you can see the influences there.
And yes, but without much explanation, I often find myself drawing from lived experience while writing characters and character dynamics. This definitely holds true for this trio.
CBY: I can absolutely see where those two influences mash (and hopefully that piques the curiosity of our readers, as well!) Your setting of Glennburne Falls, Massachusetts isn’t a far cry from Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow haunts in upstate New York. I grew up visiting my mom’s family in the Berkshires, so I’m curious how you landed on the locale. What significance does the setting hold, and what does it offer that you wouldn’t be able to achieve with a story located elsewhere?
SM: Yea—I think it would be about a three hours drive give or take from Sleepy Hollow. I have a bit of a personal attachment to that area as my partner, Justin, is from Western Massachusetts and we go there fairly regularly. Though recently I ironically feel my work drawing the fictional version of this area has kept me from traveling with him as much as I’d like.
As to why I picked that area, I would imagine if you’re a vampire you want a sleepy little town like Glennburne Falls to nest in if you’re raising a new brood. Not a city. That’s a young vampire’s game, and Theo’s going to be 500 this year.
CBY: Definitely. Lots of retirees move up to the Berkshires from New York, so I think you nailed it. I know you’ve mentioned your parents, Tom Mandrake and Jan Duursema, as positive, creative influences during your childhood. You’re also a graduate of, and instructor at, the Joe Kubert school, so you’ve clearly been exposed to the comics industry throughout your life. Can you speak a bit to the difference between the informal lessons learned growing up and the formal education you’ve received in the medium? What unique advice might you be able to share with our readers who haven’t had either your informal or formal experience within the comics industry?
SM: Totally. The best thing I can think of to tell someone interested in the medium is to draw and draw often. Fill sketchbooks and notebooks with doodles and ideas. Draw from the world around you, draw from your imagination, draw whatever inspires you, just draw. Everything else comes with time.
CBY: Relentless effort and experimentation are valuable, indeed. Regarding Blood of the Taken finding its place within the industry, how did you end up working with Storm King to release this graphic novel? What went into catching Sandy’s attention with the project, and what sort of publishing arrangement did Storm King provide to support the comic’s release?
SM: So I actually self published this story as single issues for a year or so and hadn’t brought it to anyone, but I’d been posting a lot of the comic online as well as little sketches/gags of the characters. I guess I’d been kind of going through it, like I hadn’t been in the best head space and I suppose I wasn’t thinking all that clearly when it came to my own work.
So it took Sandy bringing it up to me twice—once online and once in person before it got through to me that she really wanted this project and would like to print it as a full graphic novel. I feel so incredibly lucky that Sandy wanted Blood of the Taken and believes in the project as much as I do.
CBY: Having that sort of external recognition of the value in what you’re doing must be a nice addition to the process of creation itself. To close, let’s take a broad step back and discuss what has been catching your attention entirely unrelated to your own work. What other comics, films, music, art, literature, etc., has been most interesting to you lately?
SM: I’ve been listening to the album Carnival of Souls by Miranda Sex Garden on repeat all week. I re-watched An American Werewolf in London the other night. I haven’t been reading as much as I’d like this month, I need to get back to my pile of books…
CBY: Ah, fantastic recommendations! (My reading pile is also endlessly growing.) Sian, thank you for making time to chat about Blood of the Taken and more! Please let us know where our readers can find you and your publications online!
SM: Thanks! You can find what I’m working on currently over on instagram @sianmandrake and you can find Blood of the Taken over at stormkingcomics.com as well as Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, and Amazon!
Like what you’ve just read? Help us keep the Yeti Cave warm! Comic Book Yeti has a Patreon page for anyone who wants to contribute: https://www.patreon.com/comicbookyeti
