It's finally here, folks... our very first written interview on JournalJabber! We're really excited about all the changes at JournalJabber, and we want to first and foremost thank you, our listeners, followers, and subscribers, for making all of this possible.
Our first blog interviewee is none other than the amazing Carlo Rispoli, author of the graphic novel, Treasure Island, published by Sea Lion Books. We have several goodies for you today, including a giveaway, so be sure to check that out after the interview!
JournalJabber: Can you tell us a little about your latest book from Sea
Lion?
Carlo Rispoli: Treasure
Island is the novel that Robert Louis Stevenson wrote in 1881.
I
am not a book reviewer and my aim doesn’t consist in entering in
unbeaten paths and so analyzing the different interpretations of this
piece of art, Treasure Island is considered the adventure novel
milestone for young readers.
Here
is the story... By chance, Stevenson finds an old letter written by
Miss Fanny to her close friend Polly, London of 18th Century in the background. Only a few lines are enough to draft
Treasure Island.
Jim
Hawkins, the protagonist, is a boy who lives at the Admiral Benbow
Inn on Devon’s Coast in England. An old sailor, Billy Bones, becomes a long-term lodger at the inn, but after the storm of some
pirates, like Black Dog and the Blind Man Pew, he receives a paper
marked with a black spot and drops dead of stroke. Jim and his
mother open Bones’ sea chest to collect the amount due to his
room, where they find a map. They finally escape from pirates, who
invade the inn and then they meet Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney. On
the map, a cross-shaped mark stands to show the right position of
Capitain Flint's legendary treasure. They immediately plan to
commission a sailing vassel to hunt for the treasure, but they ignore
that some old sailors, like the one-legged pirate Long John Silver,
were part of Flint's crew. In Bristol, they buy a schooner, the
Hispaniola, and they hire the captain Alexander Smollet before setting
sail for the Caribbean one morning in spring…
Carlo: I
would like to publish the first volume today (or even yesterday!).
The second one is already finished and I am working at the third,
which is also the last one. Martina Vescera, who is the translator,
is making every effort to finish her work. The publisher is going to be ready in January 2013.
JJ: Treasure Island is a well-known, well-loved classic. What made you decide to redo this into a
graphic novel?
Carlo: May
26th
of many years ago I received a very appreciated present: Treasure
Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was the 1969 edition by C.E.
Giunti Bemporad Marzocco. Only a few days were enough for
me to read it, memorize the illustrations, and breathe deeply the the
salty tang of the sea, the forests, the gunpowder, the noisy
seagulls and the vulgar songs of pirates.
Today,
after many years, I’ve decided to live again those fabulous
feelings that have characterized my days and my nights as I was a
child. To live them again, I embarked on Hispaniola, maybe hired by
Squire Trelawney, or as a stowaway, or also in Long John Silver's train. And I still don’t know if I appreciated more to be a
gentlemen of birth or a gentlemen of fortune, but I don’t think it
would make such a difference!
I
am glad that I can affirm: ”Yes, I was there as well. I took part
in this fantastic adventure!”
Stevenson
in his novel’s prologue is very clear:
This
prologue that Stevenson wrote in 1881 sounds so up to date, it can
give the shivers or bring tears to my eyes!
In
practice, these are the reasons for my work.
JJ: Was there any apprehension about taking on a book that is so
well-known?
Stevenson
is extraordinary at describing the characters of Treasure Island and also the settings, which seem so real you could live them! He is a
master! I really hope I matched up for what concerns the graphic.
Going through the pages, the characters become so familiar that they
seem to live among us and everything seems so real that we can
breathe the perfumes or the marsh miasma and the songs resound in our
ears.
It
is not easy to concentrate, shorten, or summarize. The main risk
consists in debasing the nature of the novel, and this was the last
thing I would like to do.
Together
with Manuel Pace, who has taken care of the adaptation and the
dialogues, we have realized this work. We have decided not to do a
reduction, but an arrangement, as much as possible, closer to the
original text. Actually, we have taken some liberties, not so many,
but I really hope that the readers will appreciate it as well.
Some
other difficulties that even the author found consist in pirates’
dialect. Have you ever heard about pirates who don’t swear or use
coarseness? A particular care to the dialogues was needed to achieve
valid compromises, like the use of pirate slang.
Carlo: In
Italy, I have published two novels in which the screenwriting and
the drawings are both mine, Sweets and Sophie. The first
story is set in the USA and the second one in Italy, but the
protagonists could live everywhere on Earth. In 2013, the stories
will be joined together and published as KNIGHTS AND LADIES,
by Sea Lion Books. I have also worked on some projects with the
screenwriting of Kevin Grevioux.
JJ: I learned that you have a degree in Veterinary Medicine. Jumping to graphic art is quite a
change. What made you decide to switch
careers?
JJ: What advice would you give to anyone aspiring to jump into
the literary world?
Carlo: I
don’t think I am the right person to dispense this kind of advice.
On the drawing board, I have a picture of Ernest Hemingway that says: "All you need is a perfect ear, absolute pitch, the devotion to your work that a priest of God has for his, the guts of a burglar, no conscience except to writing, and you're in. It's easy." I actually don’t know if it can be
useful, but I’ve liked it.
Carlo: I
love adventure. It can be reflected in drawings, movies, novels, and
also in real life! I appreciate also other genres, but here, I feel
more at the ease. I think I’m going on with my writing and drawing
adventure, or at least I hope so! For the moment I have to finish
the third volume of Treasure Island, and it sounds good to me!
I
have drawn a fifteen-page promo for a new project with Sea Lion
Books, which is called The Legendary Cuchulainn: The Heart of the
Hound that is a new graphic novel series from bestselling author
Richard A. Knaak. This new project, set in Ireland, will keep me busy
for a while!
JJ: Where can people learn more about you and your books?
Carlo: I
have a blog, but it is absolutely not trim and updated!
http://carlorispoli.blogspot.it/
Only
the title is important: Buchi & Ciambelle because it is
the title of my very first graphic novel that I wrote in 2002.
If you happen to speak Italian, here is a nice video interview with Carlo. If you don't speak Italian... well, you can see some of the great artwork anyway. :-)
Now, last but definitely not least, you have a chance to win a PDF copy of Treasure Island, the graphic novel by Carlo Rispoli! Just fill out the Rafflecopter below, and good luck!!
