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Rediscovering an Old, Lost Book
an interview with Indigo Kelleigh
Conducted by Joe Zabel
The Circle Weave distinguishes itself from other elaborate, well-crafted fantasy comics because it is equally strong in all departments. Artist/writer Indigo Kelleigh is an accomplished world-builder, and his inventiveness can be felt equally in the complexity of court politics in Iscia and the grandeur of the Pogue civilization. He is a brilliant plotter, transforming the flight of the protagonists from the oncoming army of Carrion Knights into a complex negotiation of ever-changing obstacles. He's an exciting action-cartoonist, whose pages come alive with thrashing limbs and bursts of flame. And he is a master of characterization, infusing personality and motive into everyone, from King Gael VIII all the way down to the telepathic beasts of burdens called wollas.
So devoted has Kelleigh been to the Circle Weave saga that he has twice set aside the version he was illustrating and started production anew, with a different perspective and a more evolved and sophisticated art style. The third and presumably final version of the tale contains some of the web's most vibrant artwork and exciting storytelling. But Kelleigh's inventiveness doesn't stop there, for he has completed another graphic novel, Chutney Point, in a radically different style of story and art.
We joined Kelleigh on his hazardous trek through the forest of artistic discovery, tossing questions his way in the hope of unveiling the secrets of his personal Muse. As you may witness below, the artist was in a generous mood.
Q:
Tell us about your early development as an artist.
Were you an artist from the time you were a young
child?
Kelleigh:
Yeah, as far as I can remember I've always been drawing. I remember
many
times sitting with my brother and drawing huge space battles using Star
Wars
and Star Blazers ships on these oversized sheets of packing paper. One
of
the earliest cartooning memories I have was copying and enlarging
characters
from Heathcliff and Garfield, two of my favorite comics when I was 6. I
could draw a pretty mean Heathcliff, if I do say so myself.
Q:
When did you decide to get into comics?
Kelleigh:
I don't think there's ever been any question in my mind. I always had a
thing for comics, but I guess the point that convinced me that I could
actually do it myself was during the black-and-white explosion in the
80s
(for those readers old enough to remember that era). I used to collect
all
the TMNT rip-offs, and still proudly have a complete collection of
Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters (including the 3-d issues).
The
variety of stuff that I discovered at that time, from the first
computerized
experiments, to Cerebus, to Blue Devil and Zot! and Boris the Bear and
Beanworld, just made it very clear to me that there was room for
everybody
in comics, and that if I could draw well enough and tell a concise,
compelling story, I could be there, too.
Then the crash happened, and I didn't know what to think about that.
Luckily, I'd discovered Cynicalman, and Matt Feazell, and again,
through his
minicomics evangelism, I was reacquainted with the idea of doing it
myself.
It's just been that way ever since.
Q:
You were active in comics before the webcomics
revolution. Tell us about your experiences working in
the print medium. Were you a self-publisher?
Kelleigh:
I self-published a few dozen minicomics, and a few larger comics
between
1987 and 1991, I think. I know that 1991 was the year that I really
started
working on Circle Weave, though that didn't see any sort of publication
for
at least a couple more years. Chutney Point started around that time,
and by
then I had 'graduated' from minicomics to digests (5.5x8.5 comics),
because
my stories wouldn't fit in minis anymore. That whole time I didn't
consider
myself a self-publisher, 'cause I was just doing minis and digests. I
was
proud to be a small presser, and I guess I always have been at heart.
My self-publication days began when I was living in Chicago briefly,
and
managed to acquire a couple credit cards to my name. I took the plunge
and
printed the first three issues of The Circle Weave in 1995 to miniscule
sales and practically zero publicity. Basically, I totally blew it. It
didn't help that at the time, Zander Cannon's Replacement God was doing
really well in stores, and retailers kept getting our series confused
(mine
with the story title 'Apprentice To A God' featured prominently on the
cover). The fourth and fifth issues suffered from my inability to keep
to a
publishing schedule or to repay my printer, causing them to decline the
opportunity to print any more issues for me. They were eventually
released
as small press digest comics, though.
Q:
Your website relates how the story of Circle Weave
evolved, and one of the details I noticed was that the
story originally came to you during a camping trip,
when you were left alone for a while. Do you remember
your mental state, and what kind of feelings you had
that led you down the path towards creating this
fantasy universe? Was there anything about the
woodlands surroundings that inspired it?
Kelleigh:
I don't really remember specifically what brought me there, I remember
listening to the radio, but I don't remember what they were talking
about.
The initial concept of a religious leader on trial for the actions of
their
followers just kind of hit me, I think. At that time in my life, I was
often
afforded the time and solitude to just dwell on an idea. Pure thinking
time
is a luxury I just don't have anymore, unfortunately.
Q:
I've always admired the title 'Circle Weave,'
which rolls off the tongue so nicely, and seems to
suggest a mystical, high fantasy setting without
resorting to the usual clichés. It also seems to tie
in with a brief interlude where Rowan dreams of a
design of interwoven circles. How did you come up with
the title? Was the series ever called something else?
Kelleigh:
No, it was always called The Circle Weave. I mean, once I conceived of
it as
a large epic. First it was called Apprentice To A God (a title which
remains, as Part I), but once I started thinking beyond the original
nugget
of story, I knew it needed a 'grander' title. Shortly afterward I
imagined
the Ring design you mentioned (which was revealed to be the sigil of
the
Dama brotherhood in chapter four), and that design took on a life of
its
own, and became an outright character in its own sense.
What made me
decide
to name the series after those rings was an obscure bit of Star Wars
trivia,
something about how R2-D2 and C-3PO are the only characters who were
meant
to participate in every chapter of the saga - the others might come and
go,
and even play bigger parts, but those two would be there for the whole
thing. I decided that this design, my Circle Weave, would be the only
item
to continue on through every part of the story, and that made naming
the
series after it make a lot of sense.
Q:
The world of high-fantasy stories is quite
different from our modern world. No credit-card
shopping sprees, no rock music, no sports cars, no
democratic elections. The reader is transported back
into an ancient world with archaic customs. Why do
you think that appeals so strongly to so many people
in our society?
Kelleigh:
Hmm... you know, there are probably whole books devoted to this subject,
and if
there aren't then maybe there should be. We as a culture have this
bizarre
nostalgia for times way before our own time, a longing for a 'simpler
age'.
But we conveniently forget that things might have been different, but
they
weren't necessarily better way-back-when. I know for me, I like the
idea of
living like Morrim, in tune with his surroundings and really communing
with
the natural world. There's a disconnect between that and today's modern
lifestyle that you can't really overcome, and I think that's pretty
sad.
Q:
It seems that 'road' stories are an important
subgenre of fantasy, with sagas like The Wizard of Oz,
Tolkein's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and the
first of the Star Wars pictures. What do you think
is particularly appealing about travel stories?
Kelleigh:
For a writer, I get a chance to show a lot more of this world than a
story
set in a single town or a house would allow. Character is borne of
experience, and there's only so much you can experience or have your
characters experience in a small location. The more you can get them
out
and interacting with each other and other situations, the more interesting
your
characters can be. As a reader, I like the interesting characters, but
I
also like seeing them BECOME more interesting through their travels.
Q:
One of the things that strikes me about the
opening chapter of Circle Weave is the serious tone of
the narrative. Did the story always have this tone?
Kelleigh:
Pretty much, I mean it was never designed to be a humor comic, like
Chutney
Point was. This was my big, serious, attempt at making something
literary.
In my head it always had this dusty feel to it, like it was an old lost
book
just rediscovered, and it's a story that I've always taken seriously.
Q:
But you still have some great comic relief-- like
when Rowan tells Morrim what Phiteas said about him,
and then when the two meet, Morrim pretends to be
angry.
Morrim seems to combine the role of sage and comedian
in a subtle way. Did you consider putting some kind
of outright fool in the story, to add more comic
relief?
Kelleigh:
There will be fools, for sure. They just don't show up for another
several
chapters. I could tell you more about that, but I want their arrival to
be a
kind of surprise.
Q:
There seems to be a strong sense of balance,
alliances and tension within the group of travelers.
Young Rowan is impatient with Morrim because he's
anxious to proceed with his mission, but Morrim is
also a kind of father figure to him. Morrim and
Phiteas are old friends, Phiteas is protective of his
niece Reyna, who wants to play the hero, rashly
turning back on their enemies at one point. And Reyna
seems to be attracted to Rowan, for a possible
romantic subplot. And there seems to be a lot of
anger and tension between Rowan and the Pogue guide
Ember who joins them.
What were your thoughts in assembling this group?
Kelleigh:
Yeah,
I
tried to have a wide variety of personality types put together here.
Rowan,
as you said, is anxious to get on with his mission, while Morrim knows
the
wisdom of 'everything in its own time'. Phit and Reyna are there to
give
these two something to play off of, otherwise it'd just be the two of
them
and that's kinda dull. There's a lot of backstory to Reyna's character,
and
her relationship with her uncle, that I hope to reveal at some point in
the
future. She doesn't so much want to play a hero so much as she doesn't
want
to be a victim.
As for the Pogues, well, again, they would have been a collection of
pretty
dull characters if they didn't have distinct personalities. And Ember
doesn't have a problem specifically with Rowan, but with all
'outsiders'.
The only member of the group she has even a little respect for is
Morrim, a
fellow Fain. Her dislike for the group causes more problems with Reyna,
I
think.
I find that the best stories are made up of well-defined,
non-stereotypical
characters, and especially with a genre-based story like this, I tried
to
stay away from certain stereotypes, or at least show variances in their
flavor. So Morrim, who is the personification of 'calm wisdom gained
from
experience', also has a mischievous side to him that comes through in
his
interactions with Morrim, his oldest friend. And Rowan, who would
otherwise
be merely a naïve 'blank slate', shows himself to be brash and
disrespectful
at times.
I try to let some of the longer 'dialog' scenes come out of the
differences
in the characters.
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