Talking comics with Layman and Golliher

Recently, Kolkata hosted its first-ever Comic Con India, and as the City of Joy witnessed some of the biggest names from the comic book industry, Bill Golliher, the legendary writer from Archie comics and New York Times best-selling author and the creator of 'Chew' comic book series, John Layman attending the event, The Statesman caught up with them to get insights on comics, their creative journey, and their upcoming projects.

- ROUSHAN CHATTERJEE

Q: 'Chew' was a breakthrough series. What inspired the concept? Did you expect it to be such a massive hit? Never.

Layman: thought it would lose money.

In fact, I did it just to show other editors that, "Here's a neat comic book; hire me for other work" (laughs). And then it just took off. Neither Image Comics (publisher of the comic) nor I expected it to be such a success.

Q: Your stories often blend multiple genres crime, horror, humour, sci-fi.

How do you approach storytelling?

Layman: It's not something I do intentionally. I think humour always finds its way in. I also get bored writing straight horror without humour or twists - it gets a little dull. Life isn't just one thing, and I don't think stories need to be either.

Q: 'Chew' and its spinoff series 'Chu' explore a bizarre world of food-related abilities. How do you come up with such unconventional yet engaging topics?

Layman: 'Chew' was a collection of small ideas that I didn't think were enough on their own. A cop who gets psychic impressions from what he eats, a world where chickens are illegal after the bird flu, a person who eats food, and a writer who can write about it, each idea was separate until I realised they all had a common denominator: food. Once I linked them and decided to write a foodthemed comic, the possibilities became endless.

Food is universal.

Whether you're in India, China, the US, or Canada, everyone eats food. Everyone can relate to a good meal, a terrible meal, hunger, or even food poisoning. I didn't decide to write a comic that would resonate globally - it just happened. Once I realised food was at the heart of it, the stories kept flowing.

Q. Have you encountered any Indian comics? What are your thoughts on them?