Interviews - Chris Duffy

On this episode of The Comics Alternative Interviews, Derek and Andy talk with Chris Duffy about his new edited collection, Above the Dreamless Dead: World War I in Poetry and Comics (First Second). This is a unique project, gathering a variety of poems surrounding the First World War — both canonical as well as more obscure — and translating them into comics form. The guys talk with Chris about the genesis of this project and his efforts to bring together an eclectic group of artists, including Eddie Campbell, George Pratt, Hunt Emerson, Simon Gane, Sarah Glidden, Stephen Bissette, Peter Kuper, Isabel Greenberg, Carol Tyler, and Kevin Huizenga. Andy, in particular, is excited about this exchange, because it brings together two of his scholarly interests: World War I literature and comics. The guys also ask Chris about his more general work in comics, his experiences in working with a variety of different artists, the resonance between poetry and comics, and his philosophies in adapting texts from other media. While the subject matter in Above the Dreamless Dead may be sobering, the conversation in this episode is lively and engaging, a great mix of history, literary analysis, and comics-related insights.