Tommy Kovac - Graphic Novelist

Meet Tommy Kovac - Writer - Illustrator - Graphic Novelist

Self-portrait

Tommy Kovac is one of the most interesting, talented people I know. Before sharing a really cool childhood story about Tommy, let's look at some of his first publications.

First comics series, "Stitch"

He's been writing and illustrating these comics since 1999. 

Published by SLG Publishing. 

 

Links to his website are below.  

Tommy describes these three series as "very edgy with lots of mature humor."

"Forget & Sever" is an illustration for his trade paperback, "Stitch."

Here are his latest writing projects, two five-issue graphic novels:  

"Wonderland," SLG/Disney, illustrated by Sonny Liew

and 

an Oz-related series, "The Royal Historian of Oz,"

SLG Publishing, illustrated by Andy Hirsch.

Both graphic novels are for all ages.

I met Tommy at Books Born Here, our writers' group that meets in Riverside, California. One time he shared a memory about his childhood. I asked him to retell it so I could post it on my blog because it says a lot about who he is and why he was the perfect one to write Wonderland, even though his publisher didn't know it at the time he asked him to work on it!

The rabbit hole story and other reflections from Tommy Kovac, in his own words:

           

     "I was little, maybe around 5 or 6, and I loved Alice In Wonderland. We always had lots of books around the house, and it was one of the first books I learned to read all by myself. I used to read it out loud to my parents. I was also pretty obsessed with the ride at Disneyland. I got my dad to dig me a big, deep 'rabbit hole' in our back yard so I could pretend to be Alice crawling in and floating down to Wonderland. I spent hours in that hole, imagining.

   
     "When my publisher at SLG first asked me to write 'Wonderland' for the Disney project, I excitedly told him how much I love the original story and even blurted out the thing about my dad digging me a rabbit hole in our back yard.


     "My publisher said, 'Wow. That's pretty f*&#%d up. Maybe you're TOO into it.' (That cracked me up.)

   
     "I was an only child, and my parents were totally awesome. Still are. Can you imagine a dad going along so easily with his son pretending to be ALICE IN WONDERLAND?! And my dad was a total football jock in high school.
   
     "I remember him trying to throw the football around with me in our back yard. I think he only tried ONCE, and quickly realized I was better suited to drawing and other 'artistic' pursuits. Interestingly enough, my dad is a well-rounded guy and also used to draw and sketch a lot. I remember watching him and being fascinated by the special pencils and the crumbly eraser.
     
     "Both of my parents are very artistic, but in different ways. My mom has a total Martha Stewart streak. Not the insider trading kind, or the scary ice queen kind, though! What I mean is that my mom has a real knack for design and color, and a great eye for visual balance. Her house is always beautiful, and she can make really cool handmade things. She has superb taste, which is a quality I'm not sure can be taught. What I'm trying to say is that I totally get whatever creative talent I have from both parents.

   
     "My mom gave me my first typewriter when I was about 9, an old manual kind that clacked when you hit the keys and chinged when you hit the carriage return. She taught me which fingers are supposed to go with which keys, and I immediately started typing my own little stories. It would be hard for me to talk about my creative pursuits without also talking about my parents, because they've been so encouraging and supportive all the way through.

     "You know, I work with teenagers in the school library, and there are plenty of kids whose parents tell them exactly what they should be and what they should do with their lives. It's sad. You see these poor kids who have been convinced to go to law school, or to become doctors, when they really want to dance, or sing, or paint. They've been taught to equate success with money, which I think is wrong.


     "Some people WANT to be lawyers or doctors, which is great, but there are also some of us who have that burning need to create stories or pictures or whatever, and to share them with other people. And most of us don't make very much money from it! But that's not the point, either, is it?  :)"

Thanks for sharing your memories and insight with us, Tommy. 

To read an interview of Tommy Kovac by Stephanie Jefferson, go here.

Read the awesome reviews of Tommy's work:

Some of his artwork is for sale on his website. 

Here are his other links:

email:  tommy@tommykovac.com

website: www.tommykovac.com
facebook: www.facebook.com/tommy.kovac
library-themed blog: www.smellslikelibrary.blogsot.com/
everything else-themed blog: www.tommykovac.blogspot.com/
Amazon’s page for my upcoming graphic novel release (October 11, 2011)
My comics publisher’s online shop with my stuff

A question for my readers:  What do you think about graphic novels? Do you have a favorite comic book series? Or did you as a kid?