Of Mouse and Man...

Bags & Boards wraps up its in depth look at Archaia Studios Press with our interview with David Petersen, creator of "Mouse Guard." Issue #1 of "Mouse Guard" has already sold-out its initial run of 8,000 copies which hit shelves this past February. As David deals with new found popularity, Bags & Boards sits down with him before he really blows up.

Bags & Boards: When and how did you first decide to approach Archaia Studios Press and Mark Smylie?

David Petersen: It was suggested to me in San Diego last year that I should talk to Mark about publishing "Mouse Guard." I was familiar with his book "Artesia" and had spoken with him at a convention years back about my portfolio, but didn't know that Archaia was starting to publish other fantasy type work. After hearing that, I went right over to the Archaia booth and reintroduced myself.

BB: I was quite taken by the black and white version. Did you originally intend
to realize the series in color?

DP: I self published the black and white mostly because of budget. When I drew it, I intended it to be black and white, but I have always thought of the story and characters as a world with color.  The first images I ever made of the mice were in color so it wasn't a stretch in my mind. I'm very pleased with the color results.

BB: How have people responded to "Mouse Guard?"

DP: Very well. It's pretty amazing. Everyone from little kids to the elderly has said they enjoy it. Comic collectors or not, everyone who contacts me about it is pretty positive. The book has received some great reviews, and I could not be more pleased with the response.

BB: In your introduction to "Mouse Guard: Belly of the Beast," you reveal some of the history of the "Mouse Guard." Will you explore the winter of war in a prequel mini-series?

DP: It's a story I decided not to tell when I started Mouse Guard. I didn't want the first story to have weasels at all. I also didn't want the first story to introduce the characters mired in a war.  It's something that I would plan on exploring at some point though. I have verbally told the war plot to a comic artist friend of mine, he made me promise to do that story eventually.

BB: You have Mouse Guard sculptures on your personal website. Did you sculpt and paint those yourself?

DP: Yes, I did. They travel with me to some of the conventions I attend and they are received well. I hope that we can do something similar as a product for the "Mouse Guard" audience.

BB: What other artists have inspired your work as a writer? As an illustrator?

DP: I'm fond of Mike Mignola's straightforward story approach to "Hellboy". It has a great face value. While you can read into it, at that point what you see is what you get. When I 'write' "Mouse Guard," I'm really typing up an outline of a story I have told verbally to myself or close friends. Like a good joke, it gets honed the more it's told. As an Illustrator, I am a fan of the visuals of Rick Geary, Mike Mignola, Arthur Adams, Maurice Sendak, John Tenniel, and E. H. Shepard.

BB: Do you feel Baby Boomers and Gen-X'ers will respond to the material since they've grown up with "Watership Down," "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" and "Red Wall"?

DP: To some degree, yes, I think it runs deeper than that, though. There are no shortage of books and stories with animals as the main characters. Rudyard Kipling, Kenneth Grahame, Aesop, and many Native American tales are great examples of this being an ongoing tradition. You can imply volumes about who a character is by using an animal to represent them.

BB: These three novels eventually came to life as animated films ("Watership Down" and "The Secret of NIMH") and a TV series ("Red Wall Abbey"). Do you hope to see a similar adaptation of "Mouse Guard"?

DP: I think it would be a good fit.

BB: Have you put together a script?

DP: I'm focusing all my energy on the comic right now. I think the 6 issue story arc would be a great outline for a movie script. It introduces the main characters, explains who the Guard is, what they do, what they don't do, and shows you where and how they live.

Reprints of issue #1 and the new issue #2 are available at your local comic book shop this month.