Craig Yoe’s latest graphic novel, Woman and Man+, harkens back to his underground comix roots, delivering an odd-ball, fun, and moving work of art.
Woman and Man+ (which is currently available to back on Kickstarter) is a story that Yoe constructed in four very different locales (New York City, Berlin, the Canary Islands, and the Philippines) and is, according to Yoe, a “…culmination of a lifetime of studying cartooning history and my deeply personal look at comics, art–and life’s lunacy.”
We got to speak to Yoe about comics, art, and lunacy, as well as his time spent as the creative director for Jim Henson and the Muppets, in this exclusive interview.
Can you describe the origins of your new Kickstarter project?
Craig Yoe: A painful birth because of losing my home country of the U.S., then desperately searching for a new life in Berlin, the Canary Islands, and now the Philippines. All this while being punched by a devastating heartbreak.
But, hopefully, at least, there is a smallish positive result art-wise, the telling of my story in a visually surreal graphic novel, Woman & Man+ —a shiny, new, wet-behind-the-ears baby!
You have a great knowledge of the history of comics. Did you tap into one particular era for inspiration for Woman and Man+ or did you combine motifs and styles from many?
Yoe: Oh, geez, I love so damn many comics, cartoons, and cartoonists from the 1860’s to the 1960’s and beyond! I’m sure my obsessively studying horror comics, underground comix, early comic strips, funny animals, weirdo comic book artists, etc. and producing over 100 books about them, provided much inspiration for my graphic novel. Undoubtedly you’ll see my comics Yoe-mance in the graphic novel’s pages.
What aspect of this autobiographical journey was the toughest for you to convey, both in terms of your art and story?
Yoe: I have suffered from different soul-crushing losses through the years and this last period was especially difficult. Maybe creating new worlds and characters via comics is some kind of sad response, yet somehow therapeutic, to deal with the disappearances in my life.
I can’t bring back loved ones and places dear to my heart, but in a fantasy way I’m trying to. I’ll ask my shrink about this in our next session!
Is there a particular image in Woman and Man+ that you are particularly excited for fans to see or that you are proud of?
Yoe: My dear friend, Michael Styborski, who did so much to clean my messy art, worked with me on the color and design, helped tremendously with the layout, and stood by me in the process, insisted a particular page be the last one in the book.
I challenged myself to create that one. It has a little humor and shows some hope. Michael thinks it is the best page in “Woman & Man +”. Maybe it is.
What memories stand out to you from when you served as the Creative Director/Vice President/General Manager of Jim Henson’s Muppets?
Yoe: Good ones… coming to New York and just the thrill of working with Jim. Jim Henson was a man of peace, love, and unmatched quality and supreme creativity. He was my friend, my hero, and my role model. I like Kermit, too. What Jim is to human beings, Kermit is to frogs.
How do you feel about bringing the project to Kickstarter and the idea of crowdfunding as a fan and a creator?
Yoe: I peed my pants when the fine people at Clover Press told me they wanted to publish and crowdfund Woman & Man+ Let’s face it, Walmart does not have the guts to sell the book of my story told with bizarro surrealism, crazed comics, and unrepentant rule-smashing.
We have to go directly to the cult of comics fans who crave the strange and weird, the eroticism, the horror and the humor, and an outlaw aesthetic. God bless them every one!
Woman and Man+ is available to back on Kickstarter until Friday, April 5.
